Day 8, June 1 (Madrid)

Today was mostly devoted to traveling to Madrid. We loaded the buses and were on the road at 8 am. As we left the city limits, the topography began to change--Barcelona is definitely in a Mediterranean climate, with lots of lush vegetation and humidity. As we traveled west, however, the vegetation changed to an arid desert, not unlike the Texas panhandle or southwestern Colorado. We had a brief stop at a rest area, and then we arrived at Zaragoza for lunch.

Zaragoza is famous for its Basilica, which was built by St. James, who brought Christianity to the Iberian Peninsula. We didn't have time to stop and visit, but we could see the building from a distance. Our main task was to have a quick lunch and then get back on the road.

After another 4 hours on the bus, we arrived in Madrid. Whereas Barcelona has mountains and the sea to frame its location, Madrid is less spectacular in its geographic location. It is, nevertheless, a beautiful city with lots of ornate buildings and wide avenues. Our hotel is near the city center, and after we arrived, we had just a short time to freshen up and get back on the buses.

Our evening activity was not a concert but a special reception hosted by Luther alum Steve Schaver and his wife Asunta. They live in a beautiful home in Pozuelo, a northwestern suburb of Madrid. We were joined by Rick and Judy Torgerson and the companion tour, whose members have been terrific supporters of the choir at our other concerts in Pavia, Aix and Barcelona. It was a truly memorable evening, with wonderful food, drink and conversation. In addition to singing their traditional blessing before the food was served, the choir also sang a thank-you song to Steve and Asunta, and later in the evening, we heard some impromptu music making from several members of the choir who happen to be members of an a capella group on campus.

Video of "Undeclared"

We ended the evening with a brief driving tour of downtown Madrid, just to see the city by night and acquaint ourselves with the area a bit more. We'll have more time to explore Madrid on Wednesday.