Willy’s take on Madrid/Barcelona
I just returned from my first WBJC music tour – this one to Madrid and Barcelona. Although I wasn’t the only first timer, there were many in our group of 25 who had taken several trips and were glowing about all of them (hearing YoYo Ma playing Bach in Berlin was one of the tops). But ours had so many highlights – seeing Aida in Madrid after viewing Picasso’s “Guernica” at the Museu Reina Sofia. And then taking the high-speed AVE train to Barcelona with food and drinks in route where we had a fantastic piano recital by Rafal Blechacz, a private cello performance at Paolo Casals’ home on the Mediterranean and a second opera, Andrea Chenier. There were other music events and museum visits but a highlight for me was seeing Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia which is still under construction but scheduled to be finished in 2026, marking 100 years since Gaudi died. And I haven’t even mentioned the food and wine in special settings – or the fantastic guides whether local or our genius Gavin who managed to pull minor miracles getting us places when buses didn’t show as promised. Needless to say I’ll look forward to taking another one of these tours in the future.
Day 1 in Barcelona (credit: Larry Medoff)
Evening shot of cathedral in Madrid (credit: Willy Sydnor)
An alley in Palma (credit: Larry Medoff)
Palma (credit: Larry Medoff)
Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia (credit: Willy Sydnor)
Gaudi’s Park Guell (credit: Willy Sydnor)
At Augustus Forum (credit: Larry Medoff)
Roman aquaduct in Segovia (credit: Willy Sydnor)
The stars heading out to see Aida in Barcelona (credit: Willy Sydnor)
Maestro Guide, Gavin Miller, has our rapt attention, in a Barcelona square (credit: Larry Medoff)
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