Day 10, June 3 (Madrid)

It's hard to believe that this is our last full day in Europe. The time has gone quickly, and though we've seen and experienced so much, there are still so many more wonderful things to discover. Today we got to sleep in a bit, then headed out to explore Madrid around 10 am. We began with a bus tour of the central city, led by our guides Josu and Nacho. We stopped at the Temple of Debod, a Greek temple built in the 2nd century BC and given to Spain in the 1960's. We ended at the Plaza Mayor, which was filled with street performers, demonstrators, and tourists. We then had free time to explore the city on our own. Many of us spent some time at the Prado Museum, one of the world's premiere art collections. Last evening, I recommended that the students check out the Black Paintings of Francisco Goya, painted in the 1820's, and I was so happy to hear that many of them made it to the museum and saw the Goyas along with works by Rembrandt, Velazquez, Reubens, and many others. Many also decided to take a walk through the beautiful Parque del Bien Retiro, located just behind the Prado and a short walk from our hotel. Shopping and wandering around the old city quarter of Madrid were other popular afternoon activities.

At 5:00, we reconvened at the hotel and headed for dinner at our new favorite restaurant, Fres Co (this was the third group meal we've had at this chain restaurant, and it's become a running joke). We then headed to the city of Alcala, located about 45 minutes to the east of Madrid. Our destination was the beautiful Cathedral of Alcala de Henares, a gothic church which has been wonderfully restored, with a beautiful, modern organ and fresh coats of paint. In contrast to last night, the acoustic was very live, with a long decay time. Tonight, of course, was our final concert of the tour, and for many students, the final concert of their Luther careers. As such, emotions ran high. As expected, however, the group performed magnificently, with beautiful sounds and wonderful expression. As has been true of every other performance on the tour, the choir received a standing ovation, with many of the audience members remaining to visit with the students. A Luther alum from Madrid, who had been informed of the concert by Steve Schaver, made the trip to Alcala to hear the choir.

Willan, "An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Hosts"

Our final event of the day was a reception help at a local restaurant in Madrid, just up the street from our hotel. We gave our thanks to Stacy, tour coordinator from Gateway travel, and Josu and Nacho, our Spanish guides. A few songs were offered as well. We finally closed down the joint arounde 1:30--this is a group that enjoys each other's company.

Tomorrow, many of us will board an Iberia flight at noon, bound for Chicago. Others of us are going to London and other locations. Wherever we're headed, we will all treasure the memories we've made on this trip. Truly, this was an extraordinary tour, with wonderful weather, no illnesses to speak of, terrific audiences, and absolutely stunning places to visit.

I'll make one last blog entry when we arrive back in Decorah, where I'll be able to post a few more pictures as well as links to sound clips and videos.