We landed in Madrid, taxied in to downtown where our Paris-based son was to meet us, only to find out he misunderstood when we were planning on arriving, so the hotel had us booked for the next week.  Hmmm!  What to do.  So we called Paris, he arranged to fly down that night, and the hotel provided us accommodations for that evening.

Things went more smoothly after that.  We visited the famous art museums (including the Reina, my wife’s name), managed to sample as many tapas bar as our stomachs would permit, and walked the streets and parks of Madrid.  The architecture was wonderfully varied and exciting, so I was compelled to take scores of photos.

Next we hopped a fast speed train down to Seville and stayed in a quaint hostel in an out-of-the-way alley.  In Seville the sun was extreme, the sky crystal blue, the people charming, and the food sumptuous.  We walked the crowded, friendly streets, visited the beautiful cathedral and palace, and toured the Alcazar—a phenomenally beautiful mosque.  While in Seville, we rented a driver and explored the surrounding countryside and mountain hill towns, their homes all white-washed and tiled in red, some built into the hillside rock formations and caves.  The beauty of these towns and countryside compelled me to again take an uncommon number of photos.

From Seville, we traveled to Cordoba, the center for Jewish/Muslim/Christian cohesion and intellectual enlightenment for hundreds of years until the inquisition destroyed this beacon of religious tolerance.  We visited the old Jewish center, where Maimonides, the great Jewish philosopher and biblical interpreter, heralded from. While there we toured a glorious Muslim mosque that had since been converted to a Catholic church, both traditions remaining obvious to the eye.  Despite admonitions from the queen (my wife, Reina), I managed to capture many interesting sites with photos.

From Cordoba, we trained back to Madrid, where after settling into pleasure accommodations, we bused to Segovia, where we visited the ancient Roman aqueduct and Muslim palace, as well as the earlier center of Jewish culture.  As you might have guessed by now, I managed to slip in a few (okay, many more than a few) photos.

Upon return to Madrid, we ventured next day to a wonderful Cathedral and next door to Queen Isabella’s humongous palace, with only 2,900 rooms.  We didn’t manage to view each of the rooms, but enough to be impressed.  As you might have imagined, we attempted to visit the remaining tapas bar we’d missed during our earlier stay, but alas, we did not succeed, causing us to vow we have to return sometime in the not to distant future….assuming our planned trips to other exciting places around the globe would allow.

Hoping to run across you somewhere on our exciting travels…remember it’s a small world …I remain your loyal POGO volunteer in arms, Dr. Paul Chassy.

The visit included a packed audience to hear Danielle speak about “Going Above the Influence to Make a Difference,” crazy hats, one member of the staff getting inked, and an announcement that was so warmly received by Smithies that it looks like Keith Olbermann got a little jealous. Check out our slideshow of photos from Rally Day below.

- Mandy Smithberger

More background here.