Spain – Fake Flamenco

April 1 and Day of the Holy Innocents

I’m happy to report that we have made it safely to Caracas! Tomorrow we’ll check out the botanical gardens, the Teleférico (aerial cable car) and the Museo Bolívar. We love Venezuelan food, we’ve tried it in Madison and we know this will be a tasty trip. It’s so amazing how we traveled the 2500 miles […]

Open the Door: Study Abroad

What do Amanda Gorman, Ang Lee, Harper Lee, and Vera Wang have in common? All four studied overseas! Amanda Gorman studied in Spain during her junior year at Harvard. Filmmaker Ang Lee from Taiwan studied in New York. Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill A Mockingbird studied a semester at the University of Oxford. Designer […]

history, Spanish Culture and Language, writing

First Paper Mill in Europe

The Spanish and Italians vie for the title of first producer of plant-based paper in European history. Spain claims the year 1056, Sicily 1102. If 1056 is dismissed due to “limited evidence,” then Valencia is second, with its mill in 1150. I believe the Spanish claims, it is logical that the Muslim Caliphates brought paper […]

Architecture, photography, Spanish Culture and Language, Study Abroad, travel

Throwback Thursday: Day Trip to Segovia

Segovia has a marvel of Roman engineering from the second century! The elegant granite block aqueduct is made without mortar and still standing with a few small repairs. It is 28.5 meters tall, around 94 feet at its highest point. We traveled there our second to last trip together during the 1987 Toledo Program. Our […]

history, photography, Spanish Culture and Language

Alhambra Mind Palace

A nod to the BBC Sherlock series, modern retelling of Sherlock Holmes, in this discussion of a mind palace; a place in our heads dedicated to thought. Such a place functions as a retreat, a refuge, a sanctuary of the cognitive kind. I’d like my conceptual safe haven to look like the Alhambra Palace of […]

history, Mexico, Spanish Culture and Language

4 Ports of the Maritime Silk Route

In 1565, Spain conquered the Philippines. The Manila Galleon, a famous trade route, began among; China, the Philippines, New Spain (Mexico) and Spain. This route called the Maritime Silk Road, the Manila Galleon, or the China Ship (Nao de China in Spanish) lasted for 250 years; 1565-1815. Once a year a vessel would begin in […]