Spain Diary - Dominick Martin
May 26, 2006
The Yale men's basketball team is taking a 10-day trip to Spain. Periodically during the trip, the players will file updates. The team took a walking tour of Madrid on Thursday night and then visited Toledo on Friday. Dominick Martin writes about the experience.
Last night was a lot of fun. After a late afternoon "siesta" and walking tour of Madrid, we all went to dinner on our own time. Many went for Spanish tapas.
This morning we had breakfast in the hotel and then got on the bus headed for the old Spanish Capital of Toledo. It is a very picturesque and beautiful city that seems to still hold that Medieval Spain feel. We walked through the streets that were once a part of a Roman city, then converted to Arab stronghold, and now you can see how the Christians have left their mark on the old capital.
We saw the paintings of "El Greco," the famous artist who was from Toledo. All of his works were very impressive. His artwork thus far has been the most memorable thing that I have seen this trip.
On the way back to our hotel, we stopped at the "football" stadium that is the home of Real Madrid, perhaps the most famous team in the world. While the stadium itself was beautiful, the most impressive part was the museum inside. All of the many trophies that the team has won were on display and there were video highlights of the many great players who have played for the team, including Ronaldo and David Beckham.
This trip has been such a blessing for me because it has been a chance for me to see the country of Spain. Next year I am hoping to move to this country and continue my career, hopefully playing professional basketball. I am very grateful to be here, it has been a blast thus far, and I can't wait to see the city of Barcelona.
Yours,
Dominick
