But firstly to rewind a little. The end of the 2nd term of the English school year (which goes from September to July and comprises 3 terms) was a time of great busyness for me. The increased responsibilities associated with teaching both secondary Geography and Religious Studies meant that I was flat out with assessment, report writing and the marking of GCSE coursework. Somewhat of a relief then to finally get a good long break.
Before heading off to Spain I decided to catch up with some family down in Bournemouth on the south coast of England. Bournemouth is actually in the same county (Hampshire) as my school in Sherfield-On-Loddon. Of course I'm right at the top of Hampshire while Bournemouth is down the bottom - an hour 1/2 trip or so.
I must admit it was good to be at the beach again (after a 7 month hiatus). Of course English beaches are a little on the average side compared to, well, most places it must be said. Compared to Australia? No Comparison at all. That said, Bournemouth is on the nicer side of the beaches I have seen in England (I have since been to Brighton and the Isle of Wight since). The reason - it actually has sand - yes, remarkable I know. Of course the Atlantic waters are rather chilly and the waves are somewhat flat. But I think we can forgive England that.
It was grand in any case to see the Frame family again. The Frames have been in the UK for a few years now and I had last seen them in London Notting Hill for Christmas. So it was good to catch up again. Here's some of the ways we caught up:
A Jive dance night. Here's Crystal doing it rather well I must say. It would be best not to speak of my performance...
Relaxing afterwards - David and Sue with their daughter Crystal.
Spending an afternoon at the Russell Coates Museum http://www.russell-cotes.bournemouth.gov.uk/. The Coates' were a wealthy family who traveled the world in the late 19th century and gained a vast collection of exotic, rare, valuable and unique items and goods on their travels. The house they built overlooking the coast of Bournemouth contains this collection and has been turned into a museum. 
The beach at Bournemouth - see sand. The guy on the left is not a mysterious stranger who happened upon us - instead he is a Latvian-cum-kickboxer who is boarding with the Frames and learning English. Silvas by name, fortunately stomping is not his game.
"Fear my mighty Kickboxing wrath", cries Silvas. Ok, not true, not true at all.
Just to show you the difference, here I am at Brighton beach a few weeks ago - gotta love those pebbles.Having been kickboxed all the way back to Oxford after my three days at the beach I then proceeded to waste my time playing computer games for a few days. Age of Empires III anyone? Of course it was a holy time of year and even I had to give way to the remembrance and celebration of a ancient Christian tradition known as Pascha. And I was to spend it anciently indeed. I attended some of the complex and rich ceremonies of an Eastern Orthodox service. A humbling and mysterious experience for me, I felt a real connection to the ancientness of Christianity as a religion and framework for cosmology and life.
Standing room only at this Eastern Orthodox service. Christos Anesti!
On Good Sunday I attended my more regular Church - the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. A good contrast of East and West then in the remembrance of this central Christian calendar event.A few days later I was off to enjoy my holiday in Spain. If I had been there at Easter time I might have seen some of these people marching through the streets. Any immediate horror images you have flashing through your mind right now are in fact - WRONG!
No, not the Klu Klux Klan, but a much older and unrelated group known as the Nazarenos. Find out more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Week_in_SevilleI had actually planned my holiday to Spain in January of this year. What initially attracted me to this region of Europe was a week long program run by the Vaughantown company. Vaughantown runs regular programs throughout the year for Spanish people (usually businessmen) seeking to improve their conversational English. How to improve? Well how else better than to speak to English speaking people? The company offers free resort accommodation and meals to English speaking people from around the world, for a week, in return for spending time doing group activities and one-on-one speaking sessions with the Spaniards (who are of course paying). See http://www.vaughantown.com/english/indexenglish.asp
This seemed like a good deal, a sensible idea and a great way to meet people in Spain (both Spaniards and Anglos). And so it turned out to be. Firstly, I was staying in a 4 star resort. The converted Manor House of Puetra de Gredos is located near the Gredos Mountains in the province of Avila. The setting is memorably magnificent - similar in landscape to much of the region around the Snowy Mountains in NSW. Rocky foothills, grassed valleys, fast flowing spring rivers and still snow-capped mountains. The old medieval town of Barco de Avila is nearby as well. Here there are dusty medieval churches, charmingly quiet shops and a fortress of the reconquista. Attractive too are the remains of the old city wall, a 14th century Romanesque bridge and even better, and worth the extra walk, a truly ancient Roman bridge (see pictures below).
The main building of the Puetra de Gredos resort. From one converted Manor House (my school) to the other I guess.
An ancient Spanish ritual on Tuesday night - I can say no more.
The inhabitants of the nearby town of Barco de Avila. 
The old Roman bridge upstream from the town. A Spaniard from the group, Pedro, helped me to track down this find using his handy abilities in Spanish to gain local knowledge. Some 1900 years old apparently.
Grinning inanely, I celebrate my Roman find.
This stork has certainly brought a baby.
One of my two-on-one chats. Though rather one-on-one in this point in time. This was the delightfully full of life Vernena - the brazilian on the program.
A discussion on politics takes place between two intellectual heavyweights. I think I said something as well. :-) I should mention that Colin on the right is a fellow Australian from Brisbane. He and his partner, Angela, were traveling through Europe on their way back to Aus.
Part of the lodgings provided. Did I mention they were free? Yes, free!
The old reconquista fortress of Barco de Avila.
Some fun group activities were to be had every night as well. Here is part of my group's effort. I was the narrator by the way.
The final day and the requisite group shot.A great time then. A good learning experience. A chance to meet new friends. If you are ever in Spain I highly recommend the program.
Madrid and Toledo
The rest of my time in Spain was spent in Madrid and Toledo. I stayed in Madrid for three days, mainly before my time at the Gredos Mountains. Madrid is a vast cosmopolitan city filled with typically Western European architecture - grand facades, majestically shaped churches and cathedrals, decorated squares and a conglomeration of statues, parks, palaces and museums stretching in vast swath from the centre of the city. Madrid is a city set to become the largest in Europe. It currently has over 5 million people and it is rapidly expanding.
Retiro Park has to be one of the best city parks I have so far encountered. There are gardens, statues, lakes, museums and art gallery's scattered throughout. There are also interesting looking trees - as seen above.
Man, I leave England to get the Sun and what am I greeted with? Yes that's right it was cloudy and rainy for much of my time in Madrid.
Romanesque style architecture behind the lake in Retiro Park. The lake and this behind it is a startlingly setting.
There are wonderful features like this all over Retiro Park.
The Royal Palace of Madrid.
Enter for the delights of Spanish Tapas. A certain Italian word spelled backwards by the way.
Why, its a certain Don Quiote and Pancho. Cervantes doesn't really rule in Madrid though. My trip to Toledo, in the province of La Mancha, made for me a discovery of a place stock to the brim with statues and souvenir shops featuring these two 'heroes'.
