Monday January 21

Today for class we visited the Fundación José Manuel Lara, which is housed in the 16^th-century Casa de Fabiola, near the CIEE building. The house itself is less than spectacular because so much of the original furniture and decorations have been removed and replaced with replicas. The entryway was pretty, with tile-covered walls, and the white marble everywhere was cool too, but overall the place had a very sterile look. As far as I understand, the house is used today for forums and meetings, which explains why so much of it has been completely restored and/or substituted with replica pieces.

Right now, the house has a collection of photos of different cities in Spain by Charles Clifford, which is a nice exhibit. Overall it was a mediocre experience because there was a guide and even though he was nice enough, he spoke WAY too fast and with vocabulary that was over our heads (normally our professor serves as our guide). Frustrating. I only took one picture – it’s of a ceiling that’s covered in tiles, or azulejos.