Carmen Festival that Wasn’t or How to make Lemonade out of Lemons
Jerry & I saw an ad by the tour company, AESU for a tour called “Carmen in Seville,” offering Bizet’s opera in three locations including the bull ring (the scene in the final act of the actual opera). We had never been to Spain, therefore this was going to be a wonderful opportunity. To make the trip even better, we added three nights in Barcelona at the end of the tour. But not all travel plans go as expected.
Snafu one: Three weeks before the trip, the conductor, Loren Mazel, had an eye injury and the festival was canceled. AESU reacted quickly and gave us three choices: (1) Delay the trip to next September (on the assumption that the festival will be held) and they would cover ½ of the land cost package when we arrive in Seville. (2) Sign up for any other AESU valued at 110% of the Spanish trip. (3) Go to Spain as planned, with a substitute performances, some added meals and $300 per person cash back. We chose option 3.
Snafu two: We arrived at the airport @ 2:30 PM for a 6 PM flight. The Iberia check-in counter was still closed with about 40 people in line in front of us. The doors opened at 3:10 with the announcement that the flight is cancelled and we would be re-booked. The rebooking process was slow and our only choice was to take the flight the following day at 4 PM. Apparently, the plane had engine problem in Madrid and would make it to NY in the morning. We had checked flight status from home at noon and the flight was listed as on time. Strange since at that time, it was still in Madrid.
Iberia put us up at the JFK Marriott and gave us vouchers for dinner and breakfast. This was a better option than a two-hour trip home and back to the airport. Unfortunately, we left the cell phones home. (Remember, this was 2004 and we didn’t think we would need it). However, we had to call the tour company to let them know that we would need to be picked up the following day. To make the calls, we had to buy a phone card and then wait in the room for return calls.
Snafu three: The next day we got on the van at the hotel to go back to the terminal. But before the van started, someone pointed out to the driver that the tires were leaking air. We all had to get off with our bags (luckily we just had 2 small carry-on bags but others had huge bags and boxes). The driver got another van from the parking lot and we piled back into the van to go to the airport. This was our third snafu (though a minor one) and I decided that three was a charm – the rest of the trip was great.
Madrid
Only 3 people opted to take the re-structured trip; Jerry and I and a nun named Jane from Philadelphia. She was tons of fun and we had wonderful experiences together. The tour began and ended in Madrid. In our free time we went to the Prada Museum, which has fabulous art work and was a delight. However, seeing Picasso’s Guernica at the Reina Sofia Museum was an emotional experience. I remember seeing it in NYC, when it was not allowed in Franco’s Spain. It was powerful then, but even more powerful in Madrid.
Seville
Madrid was lovely, but Seville was fantastic. We met our guide; Eva and she was wonderful. We meandered the old town streets, often only 2 feet wide; fascinating.
I could never sit through a bull fight, but the visit to the bull ring that holds 8,000 people, the stables for horses and bulls and the museum was a delight. I did feel sad that we didn’t get to see the last act of Carmen in front of this bull ring.
The two most impressive sites were the cathedral with its tower and the Palace Real Alcazar.
The cathedral tower is the highest point in Seville. We walked up was via a series of 35 ramps to the top. The view was terrific.
The actual furniture was no longer at the Palace Real Alcazar, but the grandeur was still apparent. The walls were decorated by geometric designs, since they were conceived by the Moslems who built the palace for the catholic kings of Spain.
The tour had arranged three fabulous performances as replacement for the opera. We heard the Prague Chamber Orchestra with Rostropovich playing the cello. A flamingo with Antonio Canales, the #1 flamenco dancer in Spain at that time, and finally, a harp and flute concert on the grounds of the Palace Alcazar, with front row seats. Wow! The tour company really went all out to make our days in Seville memorable.
We also spent a day in Toledo. I had a hankering to see this city because one of my favorite paintings is El Greco’s “View of Toledo”.
I stood at the walls of the city, trying to put myself where El Greco sat when he painted his famous “view”. El Greco lived in the city and many churches have his paintings.
This old walled city of toledo with its narrow streets was fantastic. The Gothic cathedral has three organs and on special festivals they play all three. It must be awesome.
To me, the most interesting was Synagoga Santa Maria de Blanca Church. It was originally a synagogue, built about 1185 CE, by Moslem architects in the Almohad style, with horseshoe arches. When in 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella decreed that all Jews and Moslems must convert or leave, there was no longer need for the synagogue. It was converted into a church.
Barcelona
We added a few days in Barcelona at the end of the “opera” tour. Barcelona is awesome.
Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia (left), his Park Guell (middle), as well as his other architectural buildings (right) are reasons enough to visit Barcelona. I also loved walking up and down La Ramblas and visiting the various stores and restaurants. Another wonderful experience was eating Paella. I don’t usually get to have it because I don’t eat shell fish – but in Barcelona I could have chicken, beef, or vegetarian Paella. Finally, the Picasso Museum had a collection of his work from his teens through many of his periods. He gifted his work to the museum.
Finally I took a bit of time off from sight seeing to play in a park.
Final Comments
- Always travel with your phone with you even if you expect to turn it off once you are no longer in the U.S.
- Travel with carry-on bags if possible, since it will allow you to be more flexible and mobile.
- Use a reliable tour company. AESU more than made us whole when the trip had to be re-worked.
- Make lemonade when you are handed a lemon. It might taste really sweet.
Nili's Adventure 
Excellent review of trip to Spain. Agreed—Barcelona is wonderful. And those snafus were pre travel today which is filled with snafus. CIAONorma and Terpsichore
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