Riding the Fast Rail to Madrid

High Speed Electric rail from Seville to Madrid about 96 miles per hour!

The early rail lines in Spain were built around 1850 and they used the "Iberian Guage" which was 5 feet and 5 2/3 inches.  This was unique to Spain and it maybe the reason why the Nazis did not go into Spain during the WWII.  No doubt Hitler would have loved to get hold of all the gold in the churches, even if he was friends with Franco.  Now the rails are more narrow in nature conforming to a "Standard Guage" of 4 ft. 3 1/2 inches. The trains run on electricity and are operated by the national company RENFE.

We were deposited at the train station and had to shlep our luggage from the bus to the train depot.  Ed made arrangements for us to go to the VIP room to wait for our train.  We quickly found outlets and charged up our phones, cameras and IPODS.  There were free snacks and beer and water which made everyone happy.  We waited for about an hour then we were told to shlep our luggage to the train.  We went through a security screening for our luggage then went to the part of the train that was reserved for us.

Carol and Angela getting ready to be served wine.

Carmen, a watercolor by Prosper Merimee

The accommodations were very nice and very similar to an air plane with comfortable seats singles down one isle and doubles on the other.  Ed said that although he told us that we would have a full meal on the train, it was reduced to snacks and wine.  I was lucky to have brought a protein bar and fruit, though I was not hungry after the snacks we ate at the VIP room.  The wine was met with great joy; however, so no one seemed to mind that we were not going to be served a full meal. 

George Bizet

I settled down and got my IPOD out so I could listen to my downloaded recording of Carmen.
I found out that French composer Georges Bizet based his Carmen from the novel by French writer Prosper Merimee.  He concentrated his Opera on the third part of the book.  Carmen was a Romani or gypsy girl who worked at the tobacco factory.  She kind of ran interference for her gypsy clan by drawing attention of the authorities while her clan stole from the group.  Gypsies marry young and as with Carmen she did a great deal of flirting.  In Bizet story she draws the attention of the soldier, Don Jose.  He abandons his childhood sweetheart and his military duties to go with Carmen. After a while Carmen becomes infatuated with Escamillo a glamorous toreador, and Don Jose kills her out of jealousy.  This was the first time in French opera that the main character dies on stage and this became quite a controversy with the audience.  For this reason the opera was not looked upon as a success and played to small audiences.  Poor Bizet never saw his opera rise in popularity as he died at the age of 36 soon after its 33rd performance.

A band of gypsies

Gypsies are an interesting group of people thinking about the ones we had already encountered on our trip.  They originally came from central India. Their language is similar to that found in India and Pakistan.  They migrated through the Middle East and through Europe as early as the 700  AD.  They might have migrated as a result of the Huns invasion along with the Visigoths.  Unlike the Jews and Muslims they have a tendency to adopt the religion of the country to which they migrate; however, they stay in their own communities and have their own way of living that prevents them from assimilating into society.  For this reason, European countries that find them intolerable an in many cases associated with the cause of crime, have tried to eradicate them by sterilization of women, dismanteling their encampments, separating men and women, and placing the children in orphanages.  In America the seem to adjust and melt into the fabric of our nation that is a mix of everyone already.

In Spain they seem to hold a special place with in the cultural community and sports as they are associated with Flamenco music and soccer. This is good for Spain because apart from the art of Flamenco, very little music and dance has flourished in Spain.  It has come to other countries to sing its praises. In his book Iberia, James Michener presents the theory that because Spain became totally Catholic enforced by the Inquisition, its people were afraid to think out of the box.  Spain would have profited greatly in this regard if it did not expel the Jews and Muslims.  Interestingly, the gypsies were not eradicated by the Inquisition and live today bringing us wonderful music and dance from Spain.

As I watch the lovely scenery pass swiftly from the window of the fast moving train, I lean back and listen to my IPOD as it plays the "Toreador" song from Carmen.