Guernica

So, we decided to take a bus somewhere. (Dad likes taking buses. He says they are fun.)


When we got off the bus, we were in Guernica, a Basque city of, shall we say, contrasts.


It is an absolutely beautiful town surrounded by mountains (and sheep), with beautiful buildings and amazing open plazas and parks.


It is also the town that Hilter's Condor Legion practiced (in preparation for later activities) by committing the first saturation bombing in history. This was the first time that this sort of bombardment was done almost primarily with the goal of killing and intimidating civilians. The bombing, which took place on a market day, lasted three hours and resulted in approximately 1800 deaths.

The city, as a target, was selected by Franco during the Spanish Civil War since the Basques were, in his opinion, causing him more problems than he wanted to deal with.

Picasso's mural, named after the town, is located in the Reina Sofía Musuem in Madrid, but there is a replica in town so that all can remember...



Today, the city has rebuilt to now include a Peace Museum and a large park dedicated to all of the peoples of Europe. The park, with its creeks and trees and sunny benches, is also home to two large pieces of modern art...



And a bunch of turtles!



Seriously--lots of turtles!




(I had almost as much fun with the turtles than I had with Poopy. And that's a lot.)