Well, things have been moving at warp speed, and my brain is a little bit sluggish. The Global Studies lectures are good. Gerald Bowler . He constructs his lectures as a storyline. Two days ago three invasions of Egypt, yesterday the fall of Rome. He is entertaining, which is critical as he has a “class” of 750 or so spread across 1 large lecture hall and 9 satellite classrooms that all roll through a few degrees left, then right, then left, then right….zzzzzzz.

This morning we should be passing Gibraltar. Thursday 8am local time we get to Barcelona. Last night we attended two “explorer seminars”. Warren Boeschenstein gave an architect’s appreciation of Barcelona. He did cover some of the more interesting buildings, but the lecture was mostly about the organization of the city and the history that led to current features. Barcelona is said to have perhaps the best sidewalks in Europe. One of the features planners incorporated were to “cut-off” the corners of blocks. The makes for more room at intersections (an octagon).  The major designer of this revitalization/expansion of Barcelona was Cerda .

Next up David Gies. David described the transition from the fascist dictator Franco to the liberal democracy Spain enjoys today. I was ignorant of the turmoil that Spain successfully navigated after Franco’s death in 1975, including the attempted coup in 1981 and King Carlos’s role in supporting democracy at that point.

Seizure of congress… video
The King’s speech, 2am… video

Just got word we will pass Gibraltar around 11am. Sky is clear, sea flat. We should get a great view of Spain to port and Africa to starboard. 8 miles across. just slightly farther than Burlington to NY across Lake Champlain.

And now.. misc pics.