Bradley Stokes
IT was the very epitome of a cultural Spanish tour.
A day in the Prado, a day in the Reina Sofia looking at Picasso’s famous Guernica and Velazquez’ Las Meninas, and then a night watching flamenco.
Add in meetings with the country’s most famous actress Penelope Cruz and film director Pedro Almodovar, not to mention the king AND prime minister, and you’ve scored the perfect ten.
That was all part of the two-week sojourn the Obama family have been taking in Spain this July.
The former US president was joined by wife Michelle and daughters Malia, 20, and Sacha, 17, for much of the tour, which also took in a climate change conference in Portugal and a leadership event in Madrid.
His Spanish-speaking daughters have taken a number of trips to Spain over recent years, including holidays in Mallorca, as well as Marbella and Ronda.
This time, they saw a lot of the capital, after attending the wedding of tech tycoon Elon Musk’s brother in Girona.
In particular, they had a private tour of the Reina Sofia museum by King Felipe, where they took in various Picasso and Dali paintings, before spending a couple of hours the next day at the Prado.
The following night, then headed to El Pardo, a village near the capital, where they watched flamenco star Pitingo, alongside Spanish icons Penelope Cruz and Pedro Almodovar.
Oscar-winner Cruz shared a snap of herself with Michelle and Pedro on Instagram, saying: “What a pleasure and honor it has been for Pedro and I to meet the most inspiring couple.”
Also in attendance was close friend, former US ambassador to Spain James Costos, with whom they later travelled to Mallorca for a few days of R&R.
A Marbella businessman, who met the famous family in Portugal, told the Olive Press how working with former US president Barack Obama has been a ‘real honour’.
Pancho Campo helped to organize Obama’s appearance at the Climate Change Leadership Summit in Porto, two weeks ago.
“Yes we can, yes we did,” he explained. “It was a great opportunity for me and my company.”
