betsy's travels

Four Corners Trip: Misc En-Route Home

2008-08-25T13:08:00.000-06:00

Below are some photos from the last day of our trip which was largely spent in the car. Luckily, Southeastern Utah is chock-full of natural wonders, so we never had far to drive between interesting sidetrips. We visited:

CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK: a colorful, geologically fascinating park,

full of immense vistas and interesting juxtapositions of rock

as well as Native American petroglyphs

and a bona fide ghost town. Known previously as Fruita, it was home to a small community of Mormon pioneers who first settled here in 1880. All that remains of Fruita today is the little one-room school house (top right), a farmhouse and barn (not pictured), some farming implements (right), and a peach orchard with over 2,000 trees (bottom and middle). The deer pictured does not date to historic Fruita.

What a spectacular setting for a little peach production operation. (Yes, I know I am romanticizing what was probably an incredibly difficult life). A sign posted at the gate to the orchard said visitors were free to wander through the trees and pick their own peaches. Doesn't that sound fun! Unfortunately, 100 degree weather tends to put a damper on orchard frolicking, so we decided to pass this time around.

As usual, I loved seeing all the different rock formations, and felt the urgent NEED TO UNDERSTAND the creation of each individual formation. ($100, right dad?)

I found the rock pictured at right particularly fascinating. The Canyonlands ranger who gave the geology lecture had said that some rocks had preserved rain drops which have helped determine the climatology of previous epochs. Could this be one of those rocks? Those sure look like rain drops. Click to enlarge and you'll see what I mean. Fascinating!

THE MOKI DUGWAY
not so much an attraction as a cool series of sharp switchbacks down a steep gravel road. It's less than three miles in length, but feels shockingly steep at times (esp for a gravel road) and overlooks some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere.

EN ROUTE
We also stopped at Natural Bridges National Monument and other random scenic spots along the way. For example, I was really taken with the lines of this badlands-ish mountain in the background of this image. I think it's quite pretty in its starkness.

In all, it was an action packed week and a lot of fun! Thanks for the visit Ken. See you in... Turkey?

Four Corners Trip: Monument Valley

2008-08-25T13:07:00.000-06:00

Our final 'big' destination was Southeastern Utah's Monument Valley Tribal Park, famous setting for all those western films and tacky 80's commercials. We arrived just in time to catch the beautiful pre-dusk low light that truly makes Monument Valley come alive! Here are snapshots from our visit:

Four Corners Trip: Colorado

2008-08-25T13:06:00.000-06:00

From Moab we headed into Colorado to take a ride on the...

DURANGO SILVERTON RAILROAD
Our first stop in Colorado was a ride on the historic 'Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.' It's a spectacular journey; in fact, it reputed to be one of the most spectacular rail journeys in the world. When you add the history to the scenery, I am inclined to agree.

Here's a bit of background on the railroad from their website:
"Durango was founded by the Denver & Rio Grande Railway in 1879. The railroad arrived in Durango on August 5, 1881 and construction on the line to Silverton began in the fall of the same year. By July of 1882 (amazingly, only 9 months after construction began) the tracks to Silverton were completed, and the train began hauling both freight and passengers.

The line was constructed to haul silver & gold ore from the San Juan Mountains, but passengers soon realized it was the view that was truly precious. This historic train has been in continuous operation for 126 years, carrying passengers behind vintage steam locomotives and rolling stock indigenous to the line. Relive the sights and sounds of yesteryear for a spectacular journey on board the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad."

We sat in one of the open cars, and luckily it was an absolutely beautiful day. The temperatures were cooler here than the previous days in Utah due to Colorado's higher elevations, and there were nice puffy clouds in the sky that added dimension to the passing scenery.

There was one downfall to sitting in the open air cars: the soot! This is a coal-fired train and the soot was a bit overwhelming at times. In the photo below, that's just 10 minutes of soot accumulation on my pant leg (right). We caught flecks in our eyes and felt coated in soot by the time we reached Silverton. And, of course, we did wonder what kind of consequences our poor lungs were paying for this little outing. Luckily was only bad on the ride up the mountain. The ride downhill--requiring less fuel--was virtually soot-free.

THE MINING TOWN OF SILVERTON

The destination of the train ride (although it's really more about the journey than the destination in this case) is the small historic mining community of Silverton.

Silverton describes itself as "a gritty little mining town with Victorian pretensions." In the mining peak (1900-1910), there were five thousand residents; today there are 500. The town now survives on tourism, not mining (of course), and it does retain quite a bit of its wild west air.

While in town, we climbed up to a large Jesus statue overlooking the city from one of the surrounding mountains. It was an easy hike, and provided great views of the mountains and town. So pretty!

MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK

Our next stop was to see the cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Pueblo people. Mesa Verde National Park preserves over 4,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings! These dwellings were inhabited for over 700 years, from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1300, and are in remarkably wonderful condition.

Tempting as it may be, we decided not to see all 4,000 structures on this visit, choosing instead to focus on Cliff Palace this time around.

We took a guided tour with a park ranger, who did a great job providing additional information that really helped make the sites come alive. We have such a great National Park system! (Too bad it's been so poorly funded in recent years.)

Below are two photos of Ken exploring the ruins--at left he's climbing up one of the ladders to exit the site, at right he's checking out the interior of one of the towers.

EN ROUTE IN COLORADO
Such pretty scenery along the roads in Colorado! We ran across this sunflower field and I had to take a photo of it!

After Durango but before Mesa Verde, we made a quick pit stop at a "honey farm", which really just amounted to a store with a few bees under a glass and tons of honey for sale. Usually I run from these 'factory tour' type activities, but YUMMMMM! How have I gone almost 37 years without gourmet honey? I bought six! I couldn't help myself.

Four Corners Trip: Arches & Canyonlands

2008-08-25T13:05:00.000-06:00

After a few days exploring close to home, Ken and I headed out for an action-packed, five day roadtrip of the Four Corners area (Utah/Arizona/New Mexico/Colorado). First stop: Arches & Canyonlands National Parks.

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

Arches is fantastic. Arches is amazing. Arches renders you speechless!

And Arches never disappoints. Ken was very impressed!

It was scorching hot (about 100 degrees) so we had to keep the hiking to a minimum.

We did go on a few short walks to get better views of 'Balanced Rock' (above) and 'Delicate Arch' (at right, with Ken in the foreground).

Ken also hiked to 'Landscape Arch' while I sat at a picnic bench in the shade and read my book. He really enjoyed that hike!

As the sun went down, hiking was much more pleasant and we spent the early evening exploring Double Arch and others.

Arches is beautiful day and night!

CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK
Next day we visited nearby Canyonlands National Park, both the 'Islands in the Sky' (below) and the 'Needles' sections.

While at Islands in the Sky, we listened to a fascinating 1/2 hour geology lecture by a park ranger. I loved it! I'm a geology geek. I admit it.

NEWSPAPER ROCK
Just outside the entrance to Canyonlands/Needles Section is 'Newspaper Rock', a flat rock with one of the largest known collections of Native American petroglyphs, carved during both the prehistoric and historic periods. The reason for such a large concentration of petroglyphs in this one spot remains a mystery.

Park City

2008-08-25T13:04:00.000-06:00

We spent Tuesday in nearby Park City, a ski town about 45 minutes from my house. We saw:

PARK CITY'S HISTORIC MAIN STREET

Silver mining was key in the Park City area back in the mid 1800s, and by 1880, Park City had grown to a population of over 10,000 people. The historic main street retains this 'Old West' feel, but with a big dose of swank thrown in over the last few decades.

We spent our morning strolling up and down the street, popping in a few art galleries (including Terzian Gallery to check out friend Dave Newman's fantastic art), and even rode the ultra-touristy main street trolley. Good stuff.

Then, a great Mexican food lunch (Ken had actually never had a burrito before this trip!), followed by...

PARK CITY'S OLYMPIC CENTER VISIT

Next stop: the Park City 2002 Olympics Center for a tour of the grounds and a really fast, really curvy trip down a hill.

On the Olympic grounds we visited the museum to gaze with moderate awe at bonafide Olympic medals, then watched with major awe at the practice session of some fantastic ski-downhill-into-water-but-first-do-flips-through-the-air-sport that I don't know the name of but sure liked watching.

It was way tubular, dude!

AND...WE TOOK A TRIP ON THE OLYMPIC BOBSLED. I have done the Olympic Bobsled. Sounds cool to say, eh?

Truth be told, I didn't necessarily enjoy it. Actually, I did like the 30 minute build-up, but I only enjoyed the first 10 seconds or so of the ride. Here's what it was like:

First 30 minutes: nervous anticipation, partial disbelief manifested via non-stop laughter, a five minute 'training' video, the signing over of any rights to sue, helmet fitting, bob-sled situating, frantic last minute questions, then...

Last 1 minute (nay, 1:07 to be precise): a very bumpy, 70mph downhill, loopy, jarring, 4 Gs, sweaty in the helmet, fun-at-first-but-a-bit-nauseating-at-the-end experience.

Worth doing once, for the experience. Not interested in doing it ever again though.

the Great Salt Lake & City

2008-08-25T13:03:00.000-06:00

Shortly after arriving, Ken informed me that he really wanted to see Salt Lake City's namesake--the Great Salt Lake. Truthfully, I had an "eh, okay, I guess so" reaction when he said it.

I had visited the Salt Lake as a 10 year old beach-city-dwelling snob, and just really couldn't get past the 'stinky flies'. After that one visit, I'd never returned. Looking back, I'm not sure why I never thought to reconsider a judgment I'd made at such a tender young age, but, well, I hadn't.

So when Ken asked if we could go there, I figured it'd be a good hostess and take him since he really wanted to go, but I was prepared to not enjoy myself. And wow was I wrong! It was really interesting, quite pretty, and very unique. I'm really glad we went, and Ken actually rated it as one of his favorite places on our entire trip.

THE GREAT SALT LAKE'S ANTELOPE ISLAND

Let's start with some FACTS about the Great Salt Lake (from Wikipedia...skip italicized part if you don't feel like learning something):

"The Great Salt lake is the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere and the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. It is endorheic (has no outlet besides evaporation) and has very high salinity, far saltier than sea water. Because of its unusually high salt concentration, most people can easily float in the lake as a result of the higher density of the water, particularly in the saltier north arm of the lake. Although it has been called "America's Dead Sea", the lake provides habitat for millions of native birds, brine shrimp, shorebirds, and waterfowl."

The water level is much lower now than it has been in previous decades so Ken and I decided to walk out to the current shoreline --a deceptively long trek (about 1 hr R/T). The surface upon which we walked was endlessly fascinating--at times crunchy, crusty, and dry, at other times glowing white, salt soaked, even spongy. [Click on the picture above to see how much the lake floor glowed!]

At various spots, there were small worrying holes in the surface. We walked gingerly at many points, and on the way back I did almost lose a shoe with one particularly ill-placed step.

Just as I remember as a child, there were A LOT of little black files along the shoreline. They feed on the brine shrimp of the lake, so we only had to contend with them for the last five minutes or so of the hike. But they don't bite and they don't stink that badly. I can see how a 10 year old would be unnerved by them, but adults shouldn't let it stop them from visiting. If you click on the picture below, you will see the little black flies on the top right, and some dead brine shrimp on the bottom right.

Walking out on a dried lake floor glowing white and crusted over with salt...what a unique environment and a very memorable little trek.

SURPRISE BISON SPOTTING

Funny thing: I had been thinking lately how much I wanted to go to Yellowstone National Park so that I could see bison roaming free. I calculated that it would be a very doable six hour drive from my house, and put it on my short list of future destinations.

And here's the funny part: forty-five minutes into that six hour drive, I would pass right by the 600-700 BISON that roam Salt Lake's Antelope Island, often within 50 feet of your car. How did I not know this?

We had some great bison sightings on the day we were at Antelope Island, close enough to hear their heavy footprints and labored grunts as they moved through the sloshy ground, even close enough to hear the chomp, chomp, chomping as they ate their way past us.

If you live in the area and haven't seen the bison at Antelope Island, I highly recommend you go!

ANTELOPE ISLAND RANCH
We stopped in for a short visit at the Fielding Garr Ranch, a large cattle ranch that was in continuous operation from 1848 to 1981. Today it's a museum, and a rather dull one at that. We stayed for 10 minutes tops.

Actually, we spent most of those ten minutes trying our hand at cattle ropin'. Whoa! That is definitely harder than it looks. Ken was much better than I was, although he did get a bit of training from an old ranch hand. At least now I know I didn't miss my calling as a rodeo star.

SALT LAKE CITY'S TEMPLE SQUARE

You can't come to Northern Utah without visiting Temple Square in Salt Lake City. I've been there many-a-time, but my Canadian friend had not.

Well, no, actually Ken had been there a few days before. I was attending a conference nearby with Tom (Warren's father) on the day after Ken arrived (Saturday), so we dropped him off at Temple Square. He dutifully took a guided tour on that day and must have learned a lot of good information because over the next week he asked me lots of questions and often referenced facts about the church that 'the sister' had told him (which I kept mistaking for his sister or a nun. The Mormon use of sister didn't even occur to me. Odd!)

Ooops, getting off topic here. Back to Temple Square...

I am all big-churched out after months in Spain, but I did really enjoy all the flowers and interesting plants on the temple grounds.

While everyone else was overwhelmed by the beauty of the temple, I was roaming the gardens, having my own spiritual experience over the beautiful variety and wonder that is nature.

Just look at all those different leaf patterns and colors. It's fantastic!

Darwin said it best: "There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one ... from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved." (On the Origin of Species)

Timp Cave & the Alpine Loop

2008-08-25T13:02:00.000-06:00

After such a long flight, we decided to take it easy on the first day so we stuck close to home. I live about five minutes from the mouth of American Fork Canyon, so we spent our day there. First stop...

TIMPANOGOS CAVE NATIONAL MONUMENT

A few minutes into American Fork Canyon is Timpanogos Cave National Monument, which is...guess what...a cave. Truthfully it's not the most spectacular cave in the world.

Actually, the hike up (1.5 miles, 1,100 ft elevation gain) is one of the best parts of the experience. It's not an easy stroll by any means but the views up the canyon or along the trail are spectacular:

And there's lots of interesting little things to see along the route as well. I actually think I liked the hike better than the tour of the cave.

The cave was moderately interesting, with all the usual cave suspects. Although this cave does have a unique feature that I have never seen before: these crazy 'cave coral' structures. Scientists don't quite understand why they form this way (ie...not in keeping with gravity).

AMERICAN FORK CANYON and
THE ALPINE LOOP

After visiting the cave, we took a relaxing and scenic drive in American Fork Canyon up through "the Alpine Loop", where we caught many nice views of Mt. Timpanogos (11,749 ft / 3,582 m) and it's high neighbors [right].

We also drove through beautiful groves of Aspen trees...

...and made a short pit stop at some natural springs in the area:

Very nice first day!

Ken comes for a visit!

2008-08-25T13:00:00.000-06:00

In mid-August, my good friend Ken came to visit. Ken and I met while traveling in Eastern Europe back in 1997. Ken, Pete, and I spent two weeks traveling together, and had such a great time that we've kept in touch ever since.

Over the past 10 years, the three of us have had several weekend get-togethers (Nova Scotia, Vancouver, and Philadelphia) and Pete and I traveled to Bangkok together in 1998. We've learned that we are all good travel buddies, so you can assume you will see the names Pete and Ken popping up on this site over the next many years!

So, Ken came for a visit--all the way from Nova Scotia, Canada. Unfortunately, Pete couldn't make it because of work. We missed you Pete. Next time.

New Warren Websites

2008-06-17T14:00:00.006-06:00

Ever since Warren died, I have felt a strong need to work on one 'Warren project' after another---from photo albums to DVD slide shows to compilations of his accomplishments. I suppose it's my way of shouting to the world: PLEASE DON'T FORGET HIM!

Upon returning home from Spain, I felt no desire to finish my own blog. Instead, I needed to create two new sites about Warren--one dedicated to the life he led and one dedicated to what we are doing in his memory. They are both now done, and I would be so happy if you would take a few minutes to look them over and remember the wonderful man that so brightened all of our lives.

The sites are:

Remembering Warren:
A memorial website about Warren's life, including examples of his published writings, his designs and photography, portions of the memorial service, and photos from our travels together. (This site replaces the previous memorial site, which I was never quite happy with.) A link to the Remembering Warren website is at right under the Related Websites section, or you can click here.

Warren Parkes Memorial Fund:
This website tracks the accomplishments of the Warren Parkes Memorial Fund, which was set up after Warren's death and focuses on causes that were important to Warren throughout his life. Thank you to all those who have donated, and please do take a minute to look at all the good that has been accomplished in his name. A link to the fund's website is also at right under the Related Websites section, or you can click here.

Thank you.

Back Home! Time to sign off...

2008-06-17T13:01:00.020-06:00

I'm back home. HOME! HOME! HOME! As great as my (almost) year of traveling was, it's great to be home.

And since this is a Travel Blog, this will be my last entry for awhile. I'll pick up blogging again on my next international trip, but for now...this will be my last entry.

HURRAY FOR COMFORT! HURRAY FOR SAMENESS!
One of the benefits of traveling abroad is that it creates renewed appreciation for your own surroundings. My first week back I was stunned anew at the beauty of the Wasatch mountains that lie just outside my front door. And I was utterly giddy over the thought of having my very own washing machine, a closet full of clothes, and a refrigerator and microwave. Living on the road--out of a backpack no less--for months on end surely does help you appreciate the little things in life.

MY NEW HOME
For those of you who have not been to Utah, it truly is beautiful here and I'm happy to report that I have decided to settle here for awhile. Below are some photos of the area (for all my new international friends). I live just minutes from the mouth of American Fork Canyon, and in an area with pockets of small grazing land (luckily all small scale...no stinky manure smells wafting around). There's horses, llamas, and sheep on small plots here and there, making a nice little diversion on my nightly walks with my sister.

MY FUTURE
I've spent the last year contemplating next steps, contemplating what a life without Warren could look like. And, I have come to a decision.

I love learning, and even more, I love sharing what I have learned. I think this world is fantastically, amazingly interesting, and the thought of sharing that wonder with others is very exciting to me. So, I've decided to teach.

I have enrolled in a one year program to get a MA in Education (since my MA in Geography gets me nowhere in this case. Argh!) Nerdy girl that I am, I can't wait for classes to start. But...they don't start until end of August, so in the meantime I have months of relaxation ahead of me. So many books, so little time. Scratch that. So many books, nothin' but time. :) Looks like the backyard lounge chair is gonna get a lot of use this summer.

Santiago

2008-06-17T12:30:00.011-06:00

I have truly LOST the desire to blog, so some photo commentaries for the pilgrimage trip will be very short. Someday I might get the desire to go back and fill in the details.

Pilgrimage Monuments
On the hill just before entering Santiago de Compostella--in view of the spires of the church--there are two monuments to the pilgrims (above and right). This hill was a popular resting place throughout the centuries, an emotional spot where the exhausted pilgrims could finally see the cathedral and the end of their journey.

Santiago's Cathedral: End of the road
The destination of the pilgrimage is, of course, the beautiful 12th century Baroque cathedral, legendary home of the bones of the Apostle James. This cathedral and it's famous relic made Santiago de Compostella the third most important place of pilgrimage anywhere in the Christian world, after Jerusalem and Rome. Below are pictures of the exterior and interior of this important church.

At left is the tomb, reputed to hold the bones of the one and only James. It lies in the crypt beneath the altar in relatively simple setting (as compared to the ornate detailing in the main cathedral area above).

The Botafumeiro
On occasion, services in the cathedral are concluded with the swinging of a huge silver incense burner that is suspended from the ceiling in the center of the cathedral. Lucky for us, we were there just in time to catch it in action.

After the mass (in Spanish so a bit hard to follow) and then communion, eight priests pulled on the rope to make the huge contraption swing in a wide arc up and down the cathedral transept, spewing sweet-smelling smoke. At one point, it looked as if it would hit the ceiling, and the audience let out an audible gasp.

Supposedly the custom began in order to counteract the stench of the pilgrims, and legend has it that priests would enhance the good mood of the congregation--already giddy from having completed the camino--by adding a pinch of cannabis to the mixture. Huh...this cathedral is certainly full of legends.

(I especially like this picture above because the man in the foreground looks just like Warren.)

My last nun spotting
'Birders' get a special thrill to see an exotic bird in its natural habitat. I, on the other hand, like spotting nuns. Nuns and priests. Guess that makes me a 'nunner'. Seriously, Spain in the perfect place for viewing nuns and priests in their natural habitat. I was in heaven!

I am just mystified by them. I have so many unanswered questions. What is your life like? Do you get bored? What made you decide on this cloistered life? I am in awe at their dedication and sacrifice, bewildered by the whole experience. Someone hook me up with a nun, please. I'm busting with questions.

To feed my curiosity, I visited a convent one evening in Santiago to hear the nightly singing of praise by the nuns. I shamefully snapped this photo during the service (sin flash). I couldn't help myself.

And totally unrelated to the above...
Just before leaving Granada I bought this cheap plastic bag at Spain's version of a made-In-China $1 store. I needed a big bag that would hold my two carry-ons, as the budget internal Spanish flights only allow for one carry-on. I then shamelessly used the hideous thing for the entire camino trip, totally unaware that I was advertising my sinful nature. It wasn't until I got home that my sister pointed out that I was not Singing in the Rain with this bag, but Sining in the Rain. I love funny translations. :)

Although...perhaps it wasn't a translation mistake. Perhaps the bag's goofy tagline "I sometimes want a time when I can laugh" has more layers that I originally thought.

Back by popular demand: A FOOD entry

2008-06-17T12:10:00.020-06:00

THE 'INTERESTING' STUFF
I ate a few interesting things while on the camino. Octopus (“pulpa”) is real delicacy in the Galicia region, with “pulperrias” in towns throughout the area. We stopped in one very crowded pulperria for lunch one day, and took a seat amongst the locals to sample our own plate o’ octopus.

Served steamed with a red spice drizzled on, it was definitely an odiferous meal. Did I like it? It was edible, pretty spongy. That is, unless you are eating the tail end of an arm. Then it’s crunchy…and not in a good way. I ate about a third of my plate, but I didn’t necessarily enjoy it. Frying it probably would have helped. Or soaking it in butter and garlic, like escargot. I loved escargot when I was in France, and realized then and there that I could eat a shoelace if it was soaked in butter and garlic.

Another delicacy in Spain is pig’s ear. This did not sound good to me, but I HAD to try it and so I did. Unfortunately, I can’t really tell you what it tastes like because I was so overcome with the texture issues. Just as you’d expect from any type of ear, biting into pig’s ear means getting a mushy, fleshy bit and a hard, structural bit (cartilage?) There is no escaping the knowledge of what you are eating. The texture is all ear. I didn’t even swallow the one bite that I took. I’m usually not terribly wimpy about this stuff. (In fact, I actually really enjoyed tucking into guinea pig in Peru). But this was just…wrong! It was all WRONG.

AND THE GOOD STUFF

I did have some absolutely delicious meals while in Galicia, however. I had the WORLD’S BEST omelet at some little refuge/café along the camino. I have no idea what they did to that thing, but I ummmmmmmm’d my way through the entire thing. If this is the difference between farm fresh food and food that’s been hauled in the back of a truck for hundreds of miles…I’m moving to the country. This omelet was UNBELIEVABLE. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to photo-document this meal until I was almost done, so the photo at right is a bit gross. But YUMMMMMM!

I also loved the kebabs in Spain. I had a favorite kebab spot while in Granada, which I ate at very frequently considering the price (cheap!), the atmosphere (with seats on a centuries old plaza) and the delicious food. I also ate kebabs in Madrid, Morocco, and other places, but nothing compared to the kebab shop in Santiago. (Sorry, I forgot the names of these places).

I am seriously tempted to buy a big spit and raise livestock in my backyard so that I can attempt to recreate this delicious meal at home. :)

GOODBYE SPANISH FOOD
In truth, I didn’t love Spanish food. There were some delicious dishes, and tapas bars are a lot of fun (bottom left: tapas bar in Santiago). But it’s very meaty, and that’s not my thing.

As usual, I did enjoy the culinary oddities, and Spain does have plenty of them. Santiago is known for a special type of cheese that they produce locally, and is very openly referred to as breasts because of their shape. In fact, the individual cones are usually topped with little nipples. Seriously! (The one I photographed doesn’t show this, but most do.) Very interesting.

And Santiago, being close to the ocean, is known for its seafood. When you eat in a nicer Santiago restaurant, you often are able to select your dinner from an assortment of live sea creatures (like you do with lobsters in the states). One of the more curious options was these little tube guys—pictured in the bottom right—which were squirming around like little blind worms. Yuck! I didn’t try it—I should have—but I did stare at them through the window for awhile. No idea what they are.

So that’s it for the food entries. In the end, Spanish food was interesting, at times good, but I wouldn’t count it in my top 10 locales for great food.

Cool stuff along the way

2008-06-17T12:00:00.022-06:00

En route on the pilgrimage, we stayed at charming little villages, visited various religious sites, and explored castles, Roman walls, etc... Here's some examples:

O CEBREIRO
One trip highlight was staying in the unusual village of O Cebreiro, "a tiny wind battered settlement of stone houses high above a patchwork quilt of green valleys. The village is famous for its 'pallozas'--traditional circular thatched roof houses" (from the trip itinerary). Here are some photos of the village...

Structure after structure, entirely out of stone. Amazing.

It was cold and rainy, but still sorta cozy as we strolled around the village.

Surrounded O Cebreiro is a patchwork quilt of green valleys:

Staying at O Cebreiro has always been a 'reward' for pilgrims for completing the camino's highest elevation gain. On our itinerary, it was definitely the hardest hiking day--5 hours, all uphill, in the pouring rain.

And, uh, I must admit, I didn't quite earn the reward myself. Something about 5 hours, uphill, in the rain didn't sound fun to me. So, I rode with the luggage instead, arriving at O'Cebreiro in just 20 comfy minutes rather that 5 waterlogged hours, and spent the afternoon exploring the little village and reading in my warm, rustic room. I suppose I should be embarrassed by this clear display of laziness, especially since I was by far the youngest person on the trip, but eh...it's a vacation. And really, if I had hiked that day I wouldn't have my special memory of reading a great book over hearty, homemade stew in the atmospheric village restaurant (right).

SAMOS MONASTERY
One late afternoon, after a long day of walking, we visited the Samos Monastery, one of the most important monasteries in Galicia.

After a long wait in the monasteries gift shop (where I bought a CD of what I thought were Gregorian chants), we took a guided tour, and even spotted a few real live monks. :)

The monastery is architecturally stunning and so very peaceful.

It was so fascinating to be in a working, active monastery!

Although, I must say I don't know what this fountain is doing in the center of a monastery courtyard! Topless sea nymphs and celibate monks... that's not a natural pairing in most people's minds.

Like so many sites in Spain, the monastery has its share of religious relics, housed in the brown cabinets pictured on the left. However, since it took me so long to write this journal entry, I have zero recollection of what exactly the relics are. Oops.

Pictured on the right (below) is the guide discussing one of the MANY life size murals that line the courtyards of the monastery. Quite a sight to behold.

After the tour, we stayed around to catch the nightly chanting of prayers by the monks. I was VERY excited that we just serendipitously stumbled upon this experience. I love Gregorian chants.

We waited and waited, and then the monks filed in one by one and eventually began chanting. My first thought: "Man, I just paid 15 Euros on a CD by these guys." Not exactly a holy response to the experience. Um, let's just say the beauty of the experience was not to be had in the voices of the monks. But, once I shifted my focus away from the singing and instead started focusing on the sincerity of their praise and the sacrifice of their lives, it became more of the experience I was hoping for. But the singing...yikes.

I think I will still hope for a "catch a live performance of monks singing" experience. Despite catching the Samos performance, I don't think I've truly had that experience yet.

Below are photos of the interior of the cathedral where the monks sang (taken before they entered):

TEMPLAR CASTLE
En route we also visited a bona fide Templar castle. It makes sense that there'd be Templar sites along the pilgrimage route, since the Templars stated reason for existing was to protect the faithful on pilgrimages.

Since the group consisted of mostly Brits who live in a country brimming with fantastic castles, I was definitely the most excited about this castle. And actually, I was the only one who cared to explore inside, which was interesting but paled in comparison to the entrance area. Disney either borrowed heavily from this castle, or else someone has done a little creative restoration on this site because the entrance, the drawbridge, the moat...this is the most fantastically ideal castle entrance I have ever seen.

I think a lot of what is visible today was added on after the time of the Templars (as the castle changed hands through the centuries) but it was still neat to first my first Templar site nonetheless.

More walking...

2008-06-17T11:30:00.023-06:00

...in the positively un-editable Galicia.

Galicia is Spain’s northwestern region, and WOW is it pretty. It’s almost oppressively green. I took an absurd amount of pictures. This entry really needs to be edited down to a few great shots. Someone help me!!!!!!

Interspersed throughout the pictures, I will include text about the region from my Lonely Planet guidebook:

”In Galicia everything changes: it’s permanently green and hilly, there are countless villages and hamlets, the grand monuments disappear and are replaced by small country churches, the houses are all stone, the roofs are slate, and the rural people speak the local language, called Galego.” Thus, despite my newly acquired Spanish, I had a very difficult time communicating with the locals in Galicia. Like, for instance, the gentleman pictured at right. He was sitting on a stone wall, singing aloud as his sheep grazed in the pasture behind him. (I'm not kidding. It was like out of a movie.) I stopped to chat with him for a bit, but could only make out about a third of what he was saying. Friendly old guy. Probably plopped himself down there along the camino hoping to make some new international friends that morning.

Oops, I got off topic. Galego, the language of Galicia, is actually quite distinct from Spanish. The photo at left is of a sign written in Galego. Can you see the similarities with Portuguese? This region lies on the border between Portugal and Spain, and as such, the language is a bit of a melding of the two: Galego words are very similar to Portuguese words, but the Spanish influence is evident in the pronunciation.

"The scenery is spectacular, with wildflowers everywhere and “old-growth oak and chestnut stands lining the way. Peeking in barn doors you’ll see cobwebbed remnants of the area’s strong ties to the land and late move towards mechanization, such as wooden ploughs and carts. Don’t be surprised to see wizened old men and women (the latter dressed n black) carrying huge scythes to the field or trundling high wheelbarrow loads of hay, greens or potatoes.”

RIGHT: In regular intervals along the camino route there are small shrines for pilgrims to stop and worship. Many are no larger than a one-car garage, and quite simple in adornment. I thought they were sweet: evidence of faith and dedication by people who have very of material wealth to offer.

Many pilgrims carry the Pilgrim’s Credential, a small booklet that they get stamped daily at the various churches and refuges along the way. Then, upon reaching Santiago’s cathedral, the pilgrims receive a ‘Compostella’—a Certificate of Completion. (Pilgrims must have hiked the last 100km or biked the last 200km, and must claim a religious or spiritual motive for their journey.) I didn’t bother with the credential since I was only hiking a small percentage of the trail, but others on the trip did get the stamps, and I was surprised to see how neat and varied they all were (right).

It rained A LOT while we were in Galicia. Apparently it rains 70% of the time here, so rain was to be expected. I didn’t bring a poncho because I didn’t want to carry it on the entire trip, so my pants were quite often soaked. However, I am very happy report that my spiffy new rain jacket is fantastic---breathable but truly waterproof!

One the last stretch of a particularly wet hiking day, we got Shanghaied into a small chapel by the local priest who pointed out various parts of his little chapel, led the group in a few hymns, did whatever he could to keep us there. Truthfully, we were soaked and just wanted to get to the hotel and get changed, but he was not to be dissuaded.

Eventually we broke free, but only after he managed to charm us all with his intensity and friendliness.

Man-made Bryce: Spain's Las Medulas

2008-06-17T11:02:00.005-06:00

One day we took a break from the camino to hike in through the surreal orange formations of Spain’s Las Medulas.

Although this looks like Utah’s Bryce Canyon, it’s actually MAN MADE! This was once the most important gold mining area in Roman times. To extract the gold, the Romans honeycombed the hills with canals and tunnels through which they pumped water to break up the rock, freeing the gold within (see diagram below). The result is a singularly unnatural natural phenomenon.

We hiked along trails through its hills, and explored the many caves and strange sculpted rock formations.

At right is a photo of the mountain just behind the Las Medulas mountains. This is most probably an exact replica of what the Las Medulas mountains looked like before the Romans built their mines.

This was a fascinating site to behold in person given the immensity. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, further proving my theory that visiting World Heritage Sites should be my sole life ambition. (Okay, just kidding, but I really do want to see more of them!)

To hike in the Las Medulas, we stayed in the nearby town of the same name—a charming little place with lots of wildflowers, old buildings, and scenic little roads to explore.

Cities en route: Burgos, Leon, Astorga

2008-06-17T11:01:00.018-06:00

In addition to small villages and pretty countryside vistas, while on the camino we also saw a number of historically important, larger cities like Burgos, Leon and Astorga. Below are pictures of all three cities:

BURGOS
...our first larger city that we visited along the camino, and what a pretty little place.

I especially liked the fascinating trees that created natural walkways throughout the city:

Burgos was an important way station along the camino in medieval times, and statues abound throughout the city center that harkens back to this time period:

But the big draw in Burgos isn't the trees or the statues. It's the monstrous cathedral--utterly stunning! I took way too many photographs.

(It's really so rare to be able to photograph inside a church that I couldn't help myself.)

Below are images of the interior of the church:

ASTORGA:
...a charming city, surrounded by Roman walls and chock full of cathedrals, small chapels, and even a fairly-recent castle designed by Gaudi:

My favorite of Astorga's cathedral is pictured here, with its spectacular and unique pinkish facade. This is one of the prettiest church exteriors I've seen in Spain. Unfortunately, we were not able to go inside.

And, just as ever-present as cathedrals and castles in Spain are groups of old men sporting caps and canes (or sometimes umbrellas) and gathered together in public squares to chat and people watch. It's like a dress code, a very adorable dress code.

LEON:
Leon is a really important city with really important buildings, but I had a really big headache when we were there so I don't have much to show for my visit. Here's a shot of Leon's main cathedral--beautiful but curiously French in style. In fact, it's actually more similar Paris's Notre Dame than to any other Spanish church I have seen.

CAMINO MARKERS:
Even through the larger cities like Leon and Burgos, the camino is very clearly demarcated with little shell tiles, engravings and street signs. Spain has done a very good job of making the logistics of the pilgrimage trouble-free. It would be very hard to get too far off the camino with so many signs everywhere.

Lots of walking...

2008-06-17T11:00:00.019-06:00

Since the point of the journey was the walking, I thought I’d better capture some sights along the way. Here are collages and images from the first few days of walking:

On Day 4 we reached the highest point in the entire Camino. At 1,482m, this milestone of the pilgrimage is celebrated with the famous Cruz de Hierro (Iron Cross), where centuries of pilgrims have been leaving a stone brought from home, an offering they hope will give them protection for the rest of the pilgrimage.

There were indeed a lot of rocks surrounding the cross, plus an odd assortment of other ‘offerings’ (old shoes, a bra, many letters…)

Below are images of one of the camino’s many shrines. This one appeared to be dedicated to lost loved ones of those hiking the camino. I so wished I had known about this little shrine so that I could have brought a picture of Warren to add. But alas, I did not, and all my photos were tucked in my luggage en route to the night’s hotel. Oh well.

Bilbao

2008-06-17T10:59:00.015-06:00

I spent three days in Bilbao before heading out on the pilgrimage. Most of that time was spent leisurely walking around Bilbao’s Casco Viejo (old town), pictured below:

Home of the Basques
Bilbao is home to the Basque people, a separate ethnic group that lives in northern Spain (and even spills over into southern France. The culture is an ancient one, predating most of the peninsula’s waves of inhabitants.
In fact, the Basque people speak an ancient language totally unrelated to any other language on earth (as opposed to most other European languages, which are of the Indo-European family.) Evidence of this language is evident all over the region (officially called “Pais Vasco”—Basque country), with signs first in Euskara (the name of their language), then in Spanish.

The Basque language, culture, and way of life is very important to the Basque people, and they work very hard to preserve it. Surely many of you have heard about the terrorist attacks by Basque separatists over the past several decades. Things have calmed down a bit, but it is still very much an issue in Spain, and the post-Franco government is MUCH more open to expressions of Basque culture than was experience in most of the 20th century.

Royals Sighting
While I was in Bilbao, I caught a glimpse of Spanish royalty. A large crowd had gathered outside the theatre, so I assumed it was some actor or actress inside. Not terribly interested, I passed by the crowd and continued exploring. When I returned to the area an hour later and saw an even greater crowd, I asked a local who was inside and was pleased to hear that the Prince of Spain and his wife were about to make an appearance. That’s worth sticking around for, so I got out my book and read while I waited.

Finally they appeared, and, surprisingly, got right in their car and drove off. I suppose I was anticipating the sort of public appearance you’d expect by an elected official in the US. But, considering at the Prince’s position is assured by his birthright, I guess the whole waving/thumbs-up/hand shaking/small speech routine isn’t part of the job description. Nope. It was out of the building, a few quick waves, and into the car.

Considering how long many of the locals had been waiting, I looked around to see if anyone appeared offended by such a dismissive display (to me), but actually I saw smiles…and even a few tears. Spaniards sure seem to love their royal family. :)

The Guggenheim Bilbao
I love this building! I giggled with glee the entire time as I walked the perimeter. Seriously. For me, it’s just one of those unique places in the world that has everything. It’s fascinating yet beautiful, over-the-top yet ingeniously so, bizarre yet thought-provoking. I took many, many pictures of the exterior (mostly stitched together panos):

Side view:

Entrance:

View across the river, with bridge (which is actually part of the architectural design):

Another side view:

Architect Frank Gehry, who designed the museum in 1997, drew as his inspired the anatomy of a fish and the hull of a boat—both elements of Bilbao’s economy. The building’s skin—shiny metallic fish-like scales—is made of a thin titanium, and from many angles it does abstractly resemble a huge, shiny fish.

In front of the museum is another bizarre yet fantastic element: a 42 foot tall Terrier covered in 60,000 plants and flowers (by Jeff Koons). It seems such an odd juxtaposition when placed in front of the glimmering steel museum, but…it works. As Clinton and Stacy would say, “it doesn’t match; it goes.” (If you don’t get that reference, don’t worry. Probably only my sister will get it.)

I did visit the interior of the museum, and some parts were thought-provoking. Most of it was of the “it’s-art-because-some-famous-dude-says-it-is” variety (ie… “telephone on table”, “plastic arm in flower pot”) and I just can’t get into that.

So, back to the exterior :)…. Outside the museum are smaller modern art pieces, which were fun to walk around. I loved the giant metal spider best. Creepily cool.

And elsewhere…Interesting architecture and tree-lined boulevards are to be found all over the city. It’s a very livable city in my opinion (other than the terrorism, of course.) Here are some examples of other buildings and sculptures that I particularly liked:

Bilbao is a great city: definitely worth a visit!

Camino de Santiago 101

2008-06-17T10:50:00.009-06:00

So what is the Camino de Santiago? Here are segments from my Lonely Planet guidebook to give a bit of background.

The start of the pilgrimage
“What originally set Europe’s feet moving? Tradition tells us that Pelayo, a 9th century religious hermit living in the remote areas of northwestern Iberia, follwed a mysterious shining star to a Roman mausoleum hidden under briars, Inside were the remains of the apostle James (in Spanish, Santiago). Confirmed by the local bishop and Asturian king Alfonso the Chaste, the earthshaking discovery spread like wildfire and put the incipient Compostela indelibly on European maps. Today it’s hard to imagine the impact of the news, but in that age pilgrimage to holy sites with relics was tantamount to obtaining a ticket to eternal salvation. Relics were sacred commodities: the more important the relic, the more important the shrine that held them. And Santiago’s relics were gold: nearly intact and belonging to one of Jesus’ apostles, making them Europe’s finest. When word got out, the devoted high tailed it to Spain.”

But how did James get all the way to Spain?
According to legend…“In the year AD 44, pagan Queen Lupa was more than a little suspicious when two Palestinian refugees landed in her territory, near Padron in western Galicia, with the decomposing and headless body of a Christian martyr, and requested permission to bury him.

The apostle James is by tradition thought to have preached in Iberia. The map at right is said to detail his travels in the area.

Herod Agrippa had him executed on his return to Jerusalem and Santiago’s (aka James) followers whisked the body to Jaffa, from where they let Providence guide their stone boat on a miraculous sea voyage through the Straits of Gibraltar back to Galicia (pictured at right).

Promising safe passage and burial, Queen Lupa sent the loyal disciples out to a field to retrieve two oxen to pull the body on a cart. Instead they found two wild bulls eager to gore them. Not to be daunted, the disciples prayed to Santiago (James) who transformed the bulls’ ire into cowed obedience and the two bowed their heads and were peacefully yoked. Impressed by this and other exploits, Queen Lupa converted to Christianity. Santiago remained forgotten until the hermit Pelayo saw the star in the woods.”

The pilgrimage today

“Now, pilgrimage is back in style. In an unprecedented revival, unlike anything since the 13th century, people are once again following the medieval Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) pilgrimage across northern Spain…Modern pilgrims do it for the Romanesque and Gothic art, the physical challenge, the gorgeous ever-changing landscapes, to decide what’s next in life, take a spiritual or religious journey, enjoy a cheap holiday, or to work out a mid-life crises; inevitably, they end up having the adventure of a lifetime.”

The map at right shows the different pilgrimage routes that were used over the centuries (must be enlarge to see):

While the route is MUCH longer than the portion I am doing, I am satisfied with my little chunk. Below are pictures from my starting point, Bilbao: a seashell on a church facade (seashells are the sign of the camino); my feet at one of the path markers along the route through Bilbao; and one of the many carvings of pilgrims that line the camino.

Granada

2008-06-17T10:45:00.013-06:00

My month in Granada was spent doing lots of non-touristy, not-interesting-to-blog-about things. I read a lot, listened to public radio shows via the internet while doing a giant puzzle on the floor of my room (where the desire for doing a puzzle came from I have NO idea), and walked a lot. I tried to walk three hours a day, for the exercise of it and also in preparation for the pilgrimage.

What I didn't do a lot of was Spanish...at least for the second half of the month. For the first two weeks, I was GUNG HO on studying Spanish, spending hours outside of class reading the first Harry Potter book in Espanol, creating little study sheets for myself, drilling on verb conjugations. I was having a blast.

But, I was also having sleeping problems, and often could not fall asleep until 5am or later. Eventually I got tired of feeling tired all day, and decided to just sleep if I needed to. (I couldn't switch to afternoon classes because there weren't any at my level). I ended up missing most of my classes during the third week and all of them during the fourth week. It was a bummer, but such is life.

I did manage to spend some of the off-time exploring the city, but often without my camera. Here are some shots taken on occasions when I did bring my camera:

Right:
The Alhambra is visible from many parts of the city center, and all high points of Granada. It makes for a spectacular backdrop for al fresco dining in Granada's beautiful spring weather.

Bottom:
Southern Spain is home to the Roma people (previously called Gypsies) and their impromptu outdoor street performances provided a nice accompaniment in many popular spots throughout the city.

Above:...I mostly walked in the early evening, as the low light made Granada all the more spectacular. Here's just one of the many squares I strolled through on my nightly walks....

Below:...and some miscellaneous scenes of Granada from the old Moorish quarter.

Double Decker Snooze
One of my friends from school bought a two day pass on the city's double decker bus, but decided to just use it for one day so she gave it to me for the second day. It didn't sound terribly thrilling, but I figured I might as well give it a whirl.

BORING! There were literally people falling asleep en route! And stopping to pick up new passengers every few minutes--many of whom had to pay for the excursion before getting on... argh! Let's just say: I do not recommend.

My accommodation in Granada
Since this is kind of my catch-all entry for Granada, let me just take this opportunity to share a few pictures of my accommodation (since many of you have asked about it in emails.)

The student residence was an old hotel, so the rooms were decent--not nice but serviceable. The bed was a nightmare but in general it was a pretty good deal for the $35 or so I paid per night. Below are photos of my room and bathroom:

There was also a large communal kitchen, but I didn't use it much since communal kitchens tend to lack a certain standard of cleanliness. I cooked on occasion but mostly opted to eat out. Of course, I'm sure restaurants often lack that same level of cleanliness, but at least at restaurants I don't have to see it.

By far the most distressing part of the accommodation was the Wall o' Mold that I had to walk by every day (below). It appeared to me to be several stages beyond 'out of control' so I am not sure why it was not properly attended to. But again...at $35 a night, a little mold might just be par for the course. So, I just held my breath and hoped the little mold spores kept to themselves.

Farewell Granada, Farewell Blog (for now)

2008-05-18T07:57:00.016-06:00

Ahhh, technology... It appears that my Photoshop has gone on vacation with the muse. I now cannot downsize photos for uploading to the site (or have fun creating little collages) because Photoshop won't launch.

Although, in truth, I can't blame my recent dearth of entries on technology. I've been in Granada for a month now and have only managed to squeeze out one journal entry. What can I say...I've lost that bloggin' feeling.

So, I won't be sharing any more photos or journal entries of my trip until I get back home in two weeks. You can wait, right?

LAST PHASE: THE PILGRIMAGE ROUTE OF CAMINO DE SANTIAGO
Tomorrow afternoon I fly to Bilbao, a city in Northern Spain, where I will spend a few solo days before meeting up with my hiking group. Then, like centuries of pilgrims before us, we will spend almost two weeks hiking long, arduous days, dressed in rough, brown handspun wool cloaks, and carrying all our belongings on our backs. In one hand, we will each carry a large wooden staff; in the other, prayer beads. We will sleep in centuries-old communal rooms, often housing up to 50 other pilgrims, and eat simple food typical of our pilgrim predecessors. As we walk, we will sing songs and recite sections of Canterbury Tales.

Okay, no not really. Who needs all that self sacrifice. I'm on the comfy pilgrimage. We stay in hotels and have a vehicle that carries our luggage from place to place. In fact, we can't even be bothered to walk the 'boring' parts, so we are shuttled from interesting segment to interesting segment. I think we only walk about three to five hours a day. Now that's my idea of a pilgrimage.

Below is a map of the route and a blurb about the journey:

Excerpt from the Explore brochure: "Join us on foot to follow in the steps of pilgrims from all over Europe who, since the 9th century, have been making their way to the tomb of Saint James who according to the legend is resting in Santiago de Compostela. The main pilgrims' route crossing the north of Spain has gained fame as both a wonderful walking trail and for its fascinating culture and historical monuments. Our trip focuses on the most scenic section between Burgos and Santiago, passing through rich pasture land in the high plains of the Castilian Meseta and into the hills and mountains of Galicia. Historical cities such as Burgos, Leon and Astorga house some of Northern Europe's finest examples of medieval architecture in northern Spain.¨

Brief Itinerary: 1 Join Bilbao. 2 Drive Burgos, sightseeing; walk en route to Leon (3hrs). 3 Guided city tour, bus to Astorga. 4 Walk through Meseta to Molinaseca (5hrs); drive Las Medulas. 5 In Las Medulas, exploring surrounding hills on foot (3hrs). 6 Walk into Galicia (3hrs). 7 Walk to Sarria (4hrs), visit Samos monastery (optional). 8 Walk to Portomarin (5hrs). 9 Walk to Boente (4hrs). 10 Walk from Arzúa to Alto de Santa Irene (3hrs); drive Santiago and visit cathedral. 11 In Santiago; free for exploring town. 12 End Santiago."

SO THAT'S IT FOR NOW
Check back mid June for photos and journal entries about Granada and the Camino. Until then, keep in touch!

Alhambra teaser

2008-05-18T07:43:00.011-06:00

Text and many more photos to be loaded in a few weeks...

Absurd signs from around the world

2008-05-08T08:47:00.013-06:00

Click here to see a short but funny slide show of ridiculous signs from around the world.

Big thanks to Michael and Lisa for sending the link to this site. (Michael and Lisa are new friends from my Morocco trip).

The Day of the Cross

2008-05-04T09:04:00.033-06:00

Yesterday was Granada's annual Dia de la Cruz. It was FANTASTICO!

What is the Day of the Cross? Every May 3rd, each of Granada's MANY neighborhood churches decorates their square with an elaborate scene centering around a large Christian cross.

This being Spain, with a church on practically every corner, there were A LOT of crosses to check out. Most were elaborate and spectacular, full of fresh flowers and elegant fabrics, but some were decidedly more, um, 'folksy', with an odd assortment of props and crosses made of oranges and twigs. Each scene has a theme, and each year the most beautiful scene wins the big Grand Prize!

This is one of my favorite cross scenes, put up by a church I pass by each day on my way to school. (The picture is actually three shots stitched together because my camera doesn't have a wide angle):

But the crosses weren't the real treat. I was much more enthralled with seeing all the locals decked out in traditional flamenco dresses and bolero jackets (and other stereotypical Spanish attire that I don't know the names of), and even MORE entralled with watching the costumed men and women riding horseback through the streets, with their horses prancing in high, fancy steps!

And as if all that weren't enough...the locals literally dance in the streets. Yup! It was crazy, as if right out of a movie. In squares over the city, locals danced to the sound of flamenco music blaring from loud speakers. Costumed and uncostumed locals alike danced their dramatic flamenco moves while other locals looked on, clapping and shouting Ole!

What a fun, happy event. Spaniards really know how to enjoy life! As usual, I took an absurd quantity of pictures. Here's a sampling:

The church squares were packed:

With all the dancing going on, this would have been a good time to have a video camera. Oh well. Here's three shots taken seconds apart...as my feeble attempt to show the movement of the dancing:

I wonder how it is that so many Spaniards know how to dance Flamenco. Maybe it's part of high school PE. :)

I was taking a lot of pictures of this one group on horseback, and unfortunately caught the attention of one Rico Suave dude (bottom middle) who probably thought I was trying to pick up on him. But no matter. I've got my trusty "Oh, yo no hablo espanol. Yo ingles. Ingles."

I really love how much Spaniards cherish their culture and traditions!

the last bit of Morocco

2008-04-26T09:12:00.039-06:00

The muse is still on vacation but, lest I get too behind, I'd better post the rest of my Morocco photos:

A WALK IN THE PALMARIE
The Kasbah was located in 'the Palmarie', an oasis-type landscape about 15 minutes from the outskirts of Marrakesh. Here are some photos from the walk I took through the area one afternoon:

kasbah from a distance:

I got a bit parched on the hike because apparently living in Phoenix for five years didn't teach me to bring a bottle of water along on a walk in the desert (d'uh!), but I enjoyed myself nonetheless.

Here's a sampling of the textures and colors of a Moroccan oasis:

I especially liked the sections that were lush and dense with palm trees and other vegetation. It gave me this thrilling middle-of-nowhere sensation. But...it didn't last long because truthfully, the majority wasn't as picturesque as all my childhood cartoons had led me to believe. The trees looked forlorn, mournful:

I must be inordinately influenced by my environment because it was kind of a pschitzophrenic walk---"wow this is fantastic", "ooog why am I even on this trip", "oooh, so pretty", "it's too hot to be out walking"... Maybe I should have just walked in circles in the oasis parts.

There was an optional camel trek offered across the dirt road from the kasbah. I had originally planned to do it, having never ridden on a camel before, but when I saw the outfits you had to wear and the slow, nose-to-butt pace I decided that I didn't quite 'fancy' a camel trek after all (to use a little British lingo).

However, I did enjoy checking out the camels up close once the others had returned. They really are bizzare looking creatures (which, of course, makes me love them even more). I had no idea they were such 'itchy' animals, always trying to scratch here or there, all the while making odd 'ah-that-feels-good' noises.

As per usual, my fascination led me to spend far too long observing the camels, and eventually the Berber tenders had to gently shoo me away in order to get their work done. Ah, to be a camel tender...

WANDERINGS IN MARRAKESH
I went into Marrakesh many times over my two weeks at the kasbah. Most of the time I just wandered around, aimlessly taking in all the sights and sounds and smells.

I don't have many photos to share of this time because (a) I deliberately wanted to just wander around taking it all in, and (b) I often found myself opting against snapping a photo of a particularly photogenic scene because it seemed inappropriate or impolite. But oh how I wish I had an invisible camera so I could've captured it all.

Here are a few of the photos I did take:

And, I also spent some time in Marrakesh's modern section. I don't tend to photograph the modern parts much, as it is kind boring to me. But...lest I give you the impression that Morocco is all ancient, crumbling buildings, here's a modern shot to counteract that:

And you know what's so great about Morocco? I spent quite a long time people watching in the modern section of Marrakesh and I was absolutely fascinated--and impressed--with the degree to which Moroccans accept each other and mix together. It was not uncommon to see a fully-covered woman in a long robe and headscarf walking and chatting with another woman dressed in clothing so sparse that I certainly would never wear it. There doesn't seem to be much judgment of each other here. I'd heard that about Moroccans--that they believe religious belief is a personal choice, and not something you could judge others on--but I wasn't expecting to see it this extent!

JARDIN MAJORELLE
Marrakesh has a number of beautiful, well-tended gardens that serve as little respites from the chaos and heat of the city. The most famous and fabulous is the Jardin Majorelle so that's the one I visited.

It was started 'way back when' (by I which I mean that I have no idea about the history of the garden) but it is currently owned by designer Yves St Lauren, who grew up in neighboring Algeria and has a strong affinity for the region.

It's a beautiful place to be, and like so much of Marrakesh, it's bursting with color!

It seemed to me that at times the garden bordered on overkill, with so many bright colors it was almost too much to take in.

Then again, I suppose it might be possible the Yves St Lauren knows a bit more about good taste than I do.

Short Update

2008-04-22T13:55:00.004-06:00

Hi all, I´ve arrived in Granada and am doing well. I´m super behind on emails, but will catch up in a few days.

Today is my anniversary with Warren. Happy Anniversary Warren. (y si)

A year and a half

2008-04-18T10:20:00.004-06:00

Today marks one year and six months since Warren died.

Feels like so much longer. We all miss you Warren!

Shopping a la Marrakesh

2008-04-17T12:45:00.006-06:00

Scenes from Marrakesh’s endless market area (‘souq’):

Djemma El Fna: Marrakesh's main square

2008-04-17T12:44:00.013-06:00

(Note: Text from travel guides only. See "Change of plans…" entry)

From Rough Guide:
There’s nowhere in Morocco like the Djemaa El Fna—-no place that so effortlessly involves you and keeps you coming back. By day it’s basically a market, with a few snake charmers, storytellers and an occasional troupe of acrobats. In the evening, it becomes a whole carnival of musicians, clowns, and street entertainers.

Djemma El Fna is the largest central square in all of Africa. [The square is much too large for my camera lens, but I did attempt to photograph--then stitch together--several images showing the width of the square, below:].

When you visit Djemma El Fna, what you are part of is a strange process. Some say that tourism is now vital to the Djemma’s survival, yet apart from the snake charmers, monkey handlers and water vendors (all of whom live by posing for photographs), there’s little that has compromised itself for the West.

In many ways it actually seems the opposite. Most of the people gathering into circles around the performers are Moroccans—Berbers from the villages and lots of kids. There is no way that any tourist is going to have a tooth pulled by one of the dentists here, no matter how neat the piles of molars displayed on their square of carpet. Nor are you likely to use the scribes or street barbers or, above all, understand the convoluted tales of the storytellers, round who are gathered perhaps the most animated, all-male crowds in the square. [Note from Lonely Planet: In 2001 Unesco declared the square a World Heritage site, as ‘a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.’]

Nothing of this, though, matters very much. There is a fascination in the remedies of the herb doctors, with their bizarre concoctions spread out before them. There are performers, too, whose appeal is universal. The square’s acrobats, itinerants from Tazeroualt, have for years supplied the European circuses—though they are perhaps never so spectacular as here, thrust forward into multiple somersaults and contortions in the late afternoon heat. There are child boxers and sad-looking trained monkeys, and finally, the Djemaa’s enduring sound—the dozens of musicians playing all kinds of instruments. (p329)

From Lonely Planet: As the sun sets, the beat of Djemma El Fna gets turned up and the square disappears in a cloud of smoke. The snail soup is steaming, the kebabs and sausages are smoking on the drills, and it al smells delicious. Friendly chefs woo passers-by with promises of fresh produce and free mint tea… (p295)

Change of plans, change of pace

2008-04-17T12:43:00.003-06:00

ITINERARY CHANGE
I’m not currently traipsing around Morocco’s Atlas Mountains as originally planned. I’m still in Marrakesh, still at the hotel/spa. A few days before I was set to leave on my second Explore trip, I decided not to go. I am sure it would have been amazing (in fact, I plan to come back and do it another time).

But…I craved something different. In the last few months I have seen a lot, experienced a lot, learned a lot. And after all that, it felt like it was time for more of an inward journey than another outward journey. ( Ooog, that’s corny.)

So, I have spent the last week relaxing, journaling, thinking, on occasion planning. It’s been a good thing for me.

BLOGGER'S BLUES
And…I’ve decided it’s time for a break from blogging. Ever since Madrid, I have just not been in the mood to write my travel journal. I’ve kept at it for over a month (hence the increasingly dry blog entries). I kept thinking the muse would return, but alas, it appears that she too is on vacation.

So, until the mood returns, I’m just gonna stick to posting my photos and forget writing text for awhile.

But…
Since I do want some sort of journal of my trip, I sometimes I will include the text on a given locale from my two guidebooks, the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet.

GoodReads

2008-04-12T16:52:00.004-06:00

I'm now on GoodReads. If you are too... "wanna be friends?" Email me.

3 minutes in a Marrakesh souq

2008-04-11T14:17:00.006-06:00

Three minutes in a Marrakesh market ("souq"):

(15 second intervals)

Sipping fresh squeezed orange juice and watching life go by...Marrakesh is heaven for people watchers.

At da Kasbah

2008-04-09T08:56:00.021-06:00

"If you need me, you can ring me at the Kasbah."

Damn, I wish I had a friend in Marrakech that I could say that to. It just sounds so cool. A kaaasbah. I’m at the kaasssbaah, dawling. I can see it now…years of trying to work this experience into conversations. ‘Oh that reminds me of the time I was staying in a kasbah in Marrakech…” (He he.)

What am I talking about? Right now, I am staying at the Kasbah le Mirage, a spa hotel outside Marrakech. (The banner above is from their website). This place is great! I just stumbled upon it while searching for accommodation on the internet. Most hotels were fully booked (I was looking while in Cadiz), but I found an opening here. And it's actually pretty cheap compared to most mid-range Marrakech accommodations (under $100). And what luck…it’s beautiful and relaxing. It's exactly what I needed at this stage in my trip.

My room has a big canopied bed, fantastic Morrocan detailing, even a two person shower (so sad...just one needed now). Throughout the grounds there are lots of cozy places to sit and relax:

At right--the central courtyard (which my room overlooks) and the main Kasbah le Mirage entrance.

Most of all I like all the little decorative touches, like the various ceilings and ornate lighting. (below)

And they have an on-site spa, which I hope to take advantage of before leaving. I want to get a hamman—the traditional if somewhat painful rubdown (similar to Turkish baths.) At right is a photo of the spa facilities.

(Up until this point I have resisted the urge to work Rock the Kasbah into this journal entry mainly because I’m not really sure what that phrase is implying. But if it’s clean--as most rock lyrics tend to be, right?--then yes, I am rocking the Kasbah.)

There is one kinda not-so-spiffy thing. The beautiful, (relatively) expensive Kasbah le Mirage is built right in the middle of a very poor, old kasbah. From the second floor of the spa--while sipping mint tea and waiting for your 2:00 four hands massage--you can actually sit on the veranda and look down into the courtyards of your poor, unpampered kasbah neighbors. I think it would take a very detached person to actually sit on that veranda. I haven’t seen anyone out there yet.

I’m sure the hotel employs locals and thus supports the economy. It’s just sad to see so wide a divide.

And on that cheery note, I will end.

But wait, I just saw that there are some photos on the hotel’s website, so…as if I have not shown enough photos yet, here is a collage of the photos from the website. They’re overly saturated, but still pretty. :)

Capital City Rabat

2008-04-09T08:42:00.054-06:00

From Fes, we took the morning train to Rabat. En route, a little kid threw a rock at the train and shattered the glass on one side of our compartment. Drama! Everyone was fine, thankfully. Kids these days, I tell ya…

Rabat is the capital of Morocco, and compared to Fes a bit of a snooze. It’s modern, clean, organized, blah blah blah. I like exotic, crazy, ancient. Oh well, I guess it’s good to see a country’s contrasts.

Our first stop was a visit to Morocco’s DC…big buildings, kinda cool. At right is a picture of the Royal Palace, where Morocco’s King Hassan (the something…II??) lives. Moroccans love their king, and actually he sounds like a pretty decent guy.

Note: as you will see in this picture, the traditional kaftan robe and fes hat is not a costume from the past! Ordinary folks wear them every day. One of my favorite things about Morocco is all the great frocks that the men and women wear….so colorful, so many different types, some with pointy hoods, some with matching hats.

And, even better, Moroccans DO indeed wear pointy slippers. No kidding, on any given day you will find tons of Moroccans wearing them, men and women (sometimes with heels). So cool! As someone who lives in clogs, I can appreciate this fashion choice.

CHELLAH NECROPOLIS

Next we headed to the “Chellah Necropolis”. I don’t really know much about it, even after visiting there, because the guide we used was terrible (ie...pointing a finger, “Roman ruins, Roman ruins”, then moving on to the next spot as if nothing more needed to be said…) Well, the setting was certainly evocative, so I’ll have plenty of photos to share.

Surrounded by walls and towers, you’d think it was another walled city, but no one lives there now except dozens of storks, which I proceeded to photograph as if they were Britney, Paris and J-Lo.No one has lived there since 1150 AD.

Inside the walls are:
(1) the ruins of an early Roman settlement, with visible outlines of a forum, temple, and craftsmen’s quarter. (right)

(2) Islamic ruins of a mosque and royal tombs. The symmetry of the mosque was quite striking in it's ruined state. I spied it off in the distance and coaxed a few other group members to go explore it with me, thus preventing our speedy tour guide from moving us on to the next location without so much as a glance at these beautiful ruins. (below)

Below is a stitched together panorama of the ruins:

And really, that's all I know about the place. Silly. Oh well.

Indulge me with two more picture of the storks. I really couldn’t stop myself from taking pictures of the storks. Fascinating birds—at once both graceful and clumsy.

HASSAN MOSQUE AND MAUSOLEUM OF MOHAMMED V

Next we visited the ruins of an old, enormous mosque and the mausoleum of Kind Mohammed V, who died in 1951.

Here are some shots from the site. At right, a guard at the entrance through the old mosque walls.

The majority of visitors to the mausoleum were Moroccans, which I found interesting given that Mohammed V apparently wasn’t such a nice guy.

(Does anyone else see Steve Carrell's long lost Moroccan brother in the bottom right guard???)

If it wasn’t for the people watching opportunities, this stop would have been a bit of a snooze.

(On the slim chance that any Moroccan's stumble across this page...Sorry!)

First kaftan’d, then henna’d
On the way out, I paid $1 to get a henna design on my hand. What a bargain. These centuries old ‘temporary tatoos’ are very common for women in Morocco, and sometimes it seemed as if only the foreigner women weren’t sporting pretty curly designs on their hands and feet.

Basically, it’s a dye made of henna that is squeezed out onto the skin in pretty, loopy designs, then allowed to dry for at least 30 minutes, creating a light brown temporary tattoo that should last several weeks. I wiped mine off after about 15 minutes because waiting for the henna to dry is basically the Moroccan equivalence of the ‘wet fingernails’ nuisance. I’m too impatient for that. So, due to my premature removal, my henna design was orange rather than brown. It looked like someone took a magic marker to my arm. Pretty, but not a new accessory for me.

(For days afterward, I would catch the sight of the color on my hand and have a momentary panic of ‘Am I bleeding somewhere?” Unless looked at directly, it kind of looked like dried blood.)

LAST STOP: KASBAH DES OUDAIAS

Our last stop (which was good because I was tired) was Rabat’s Kasbah des Oudaias, founded in the 1200s as the site of the city’s original fortress (“rabat”) and citadel.

And for all you Clash fans who have always wondered what a Kasbah is, here’s the scoop: A Kasbah is usually a palace center or fortress of an Arab town, but it can also refer to a walled residential quarter around a central market. Basically, it’s a walled city, like those I visited in Spain (…what seems like eons ago!)

The neighborhoods within the walls of Rabat’s Kasbah have an airy, village-like feeling to them. With their stark blue and white color scheme, it actually reminded me a lot of Mykonos, Greece, and I found myself having repeatedly remind myself that I was indeed in Morocco. It just seemed so out of character from what I had seen so far. Pretty though, eh?

Lastly, the Kasbah is built high above the coastline, and provides beautiful 180 degree views of the Atlantic Ocean.

One last thing about Rabat (with no accompanying photos)
Rabat was the major pirate headquarters in the seventeenth-century! Home to the infamous “Salle Rovers,” the pirates based in Rabat specialized in plundering merchant ships returning to Europe from West Africa and Spanish America, and on occasion they even raided as far afield as Plymouth and the Irish coast. (Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe began his captivity here.)

After decades of successful plundering, the pirates even established their own pirate state in Rabat—the Republic of the Bou Regreg—and accepted European consuls in it’s heyday. Unfortunately, there’s not much of a pirate feel left in Rabat to experience, but it didn’t stop that dumb ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ song from taunting me the entire afternoon.

Fes Cooking School

2008-04-09T08:38:00.019-06:00

On our second afternoon in Fes, a group of us took a Moroccan cooking class. What a blast! It was a really long and tiring experience (7 hours from start to finish), but well worth it. And I don’t even like to cook!

The class was given by Chef Lachen Beqqi of the Riad Tafilalit. Chef Beqqi has come into some degree of fame recently after being featured on some British cooking show that I’ve never heard of but seemed to impress all the other tour members (the group is 80% British).

The Riad Tafilalit, where we cooked and ate, is absolutely beautiful. Fes, and many other Moroccan cities, have countless old palaces that have been carefully restored and converted into guesthouses, known locally as “riats’. I wanted to stay at one while in Morocco. Hasn’t worked out that way, but at least I can say I cooked in one.

We started out with a trip to the market to buy all the ingredients. This included two live, freaked-out chickens that--right in front of us and in little more than two minutes--were weighed, decapitated, drained off all their blood, and boiled to remove the feathers. Sheesh.

With shopping completed, we headed for the Riad to get to work. In actuality, it wasn’t really a cooking class, per se, but rather just a group effort at chopping and chopping and chopping all the ingredients. No matter, I enjoyed it anyway.

And finally, we enjoyed the fruits of our labor. Delish!

The Tanneries of Fes

2008-04-09T08:34:00.012-06:00

While in Fes, we visited the leather tanneries. Shockingly horrible and oddly beautiful at the same time. My guidebook does a good job of explaining the tanneries, so I’ll borrow from them:

“There is a compulsive fascination about the tanneries. Cascades of water pour through holes that were once the windows of houses; hundreds of skins lie spread out to dry on the rooftops; while amid the vats of dye and pigeon dung (used to treat the leather), an unbelievably gothic fantasy is enacted. The rotation of colors in the enormous honeycombed vats follows a traditional sequence—yellow (saffron), red (poppy), blue (indigo), green (mint) and black (antimony)—though vegetable dyes have mostly been replaced by chemicals, with worrying effects on the heath of workers involved.

This innovation and the occasional rinsing machine aside, there has been little change here since the 16th century when Fes took over from Cordoba (Spain) as the preeminent city of leather production. As befits such an ancient system, the ownership is also intricately feudal: the foremen run a hereditary guild and the workers pass down their specific jobs from generation to generation.

The process is best seen from the surrounding terrace rooftops. There is, oddly enough, a kind of sensuous beauty about it—for all the stench and voyeurism involved. Sniffing the mint leaves that you are handed as you enter (to alleviate the nausea) and looking across at others doing the same, however, there could hardly be a more pointed exercise in the nature of comparative wealth. Like it or not, this is tourism at it’s most extreme.” (Rough Guide 2000, p208)

I don't have a lens wide enough to capture the entire scene, but here are a few photos stitched together that should give you an idea:

The lime vats, to prepare the skins:

FES! Like no other

2008-04-09T08:33:00.023-06:00

After Tangiers, we boarded a train for the Imperial City of Fes to sample the city's intoxicating mix of centuries-old souqs (markets), imperial architecture, and rich traditional culture.

Fes was truly a highlight of the tour. We spent two days there, but could easily have entertained ourselves for three times that amount. Below are some photos of my time spent in the fascinating maze that is Fes:

I feel like I should say something about what makes Fes
so great, but...since I'm really behind on my journal,
I'm just going to borrow text on Fes from my guidebook:

“Fes is the largest living Islamic medieval city in the world. Nothing quite prepares you for your first visit, which can truly be an assault on the senses. Its narrow winding alleys and covered bazaars are crammed with shops, restaurants, workshops, theological colleges, extensive dye pits and tanneries--a riot of sights, sounds and smells.

Donkeys and mules remain the main mode of transport, and but for the mobile phones and satellite dishes on the skyline, you could be forgiven for wondering which century you’ve actually slipped into.” (Lonely Planet 216)

ALL KAFTAN'D UP---NOT MY BEST LOOK
On my first night in Fes, I visited a store in search of a scarf to wrap around my head. And, while in the store I, of course, had to try on one of the “kaftans” that the majority of women in Morocco wear.

Ooog, this is not a good look for me. It’s comfy, I’ll give it that, but rather than ‘hide a few pounds’ (which you’d think is one of the kaftan’s greatest strengths), I swear that thing added 15.

My friend Elkie snapped my picture, then showed it to me on the digital screen. Nooooooo! No. I actually had her take two or three more shots because I was sure that I didn’t actually look that enormous in my comfy new attire.

But uh, yeah, I did. Photos don’t lie, as they say. So, to protect myself against the inevitable future blackmail attempts that I would suffer by putting such a hideous shot of myself out in the public sphere…I have cleverly disguised my appearance with a fake happy face. (Actually, I was in fact smiling in this shot. It was the first one…before I saw what I looked like.)

In Morocco: First stop Tangiers

2008-04-09T08:27:00.008-06:00

From Spain, we took a short one hour ferry ride across the Strait of Gibraltar, and poof…we were in Africa. Wow…what a huge cultural leap for such a small geographic distance. Immediately upon disembarking from the ferry, we were clearly in Africa.

Our first stop was Tangiers--a big, hectic city, and in my opinion, not that interesting. So, I’m just gonna share some photos of my time there. No text. If you neeeeeeed to know more about what I did in Tangiers, watch The Borne Ultimatum. That is basically where I was while in Tangiers (well…the street level, not the rooftops. And I didn’t actually punch anyone while I was there. But, roughly…)

White Villages of Andalucia

2008-04-09T08:06:00.012-06:00

rief text coming

brief text coming

Rhonda

2008-04-09T07:53:00.017-06:00

brief text coming

Malaga

2008-04-09T07:44:00.005-06:00

brief text coming

Alive in Marrakech

2008-04-06T13:14:00.002-06:00

I'm now in Marrakech, Morocco. I am alive, I just haven't been able to access the internet much, and when I could, the Arabic keyboard drove me crazy and made the whole effort too frustrating.

I'll try to upload some Morocco pictures sometime this week.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Next Segment: Traveling in Spain and Morocco

2008-03-23T04:40:00.015-06:00

Tomorrow morning I leave for the next segment of my itinerary: travel in Southern Spain and Morocco. The following maps show exactly where I'll be going:

First, I travel the itinerary shown on the map on the left. Then a solo week at a kasbah outside Marrakech, followed by the itinerary shown on the map at right. And after all that, back to Spain for a month of Spanish study in Granada.

BUT FIRST, THE DREADFUL TRAVEL DAY
I don't want to lug all my city/school clothes around Morocco for a month, so I have arranged to store them at the Granada Spanish school. But to pull this off I have a horrible travel day ahead of me tomorrow:

-taxi to train station
-2 hr train ride from Cadiz to Sevilla
-1 hr layover
-3 hr train ride from Sevilla to Granada
-2 hr layover during which time I will take a taxi to the Granada school, drop off some luggage, then return to the train station
-1.5 hr train ride from Granada to Bobadilla
-1 hr layover
-1.5 hr train ride from Bobadilla to Malaga
-taxi to hotel

I could have saved myself an hour and about $20 by taking buses instead but (1) the bus drivers for the line servicing Cadiz were on strike as of last week, and (2) trains are just so much more comfortable.

Wish me luck!

A bit of Old Cadiz

2008-03-23T04:38:00.064-06:00

Time to Go Slow
It's been a leisurely five days here in Cadiz. I didn't actually do much sightseeing-- probably only about three hours in total, in fact. The interesting part of Cadiz--the old town--is fairly small, so I was able to quickly see all that I wanted to see, then get back to the serious business of relaxing.

I did make almost daily laps of the Cadiz "coastal walk", an atmospheric and breezy walkway on top of the old city wall that snakes around the edge of the peninsula. The photo at right shows one of the many small watchtowers that line the walkway. The image below shows the many fishing boats stranded during low tide in front of the Castillo (castle) de Santa Catalina.

Cadiz's Castillos
I visited Cadiz's Castillo de Santa Catalina today, and truthfully, it's a bit boring inside. It does have a moat though! Moats are cool. I really like moats. They remind me of learning about the Middle Ages in 7th grade and thinking that it was all just a bunch of hooey. Moats, damsels in distress, knights in shining armour...come on. It was all just too fantastical for my 13 year old sensibilities. Eventually I did give in
and believe in the whole 'Middle Ages' myth--probably around high school, but to be honest it took actually seeing castle after castle in Europe during my 20s before I could realllly embrace it.

For those of you that have unfortunately been to Florida (he he)...the castillo reminds me a lot of St. Augustine's fort, also built by the Spanish. They might have been built about the same time but maybe not. It's after midnight so I don't feel like googling it. But you can. :) At right is a period diagram plus an aerial model...to show you what I mean about the similarities.

Only about 1/2 mile away is another seaside castle, the 18th century Castillo de San Sebastian. They both seem more like forts than castles to me, but eh, semantics.

Unfortunately this fort, I mean castle, is closed to visitors, but I did walk out the long causeway to it's gate. It was low tide, so from the shore it looked a lot like a very small Spanish version of France's Mont Saint-Michel. With all the exposed rock at low tide it was quite a pretty scene so I stitched together four images to make the below panoramic shot. (I did so while watching CNN drone on and on about the US election...this is not make me miss television at all).

Cadiz's Towers
Yesterday I didn't leave the hotel until 4pm. Seriously. I did visit the hotel cafe for lunch ($16 for a club sandwich and Diet Coke, what a steal!) but that's inside the hotel so it doesn't count.

When I did finally set foot outside, I figured I'd better cram in some exercise so I decided to climb two of Cadiz's many towers. First, I climbed the cathedral's main tower and caught the beautiful views from the top (right and below.)

Next I climbed the Torre Tavira, the highest and most important of the city's old watchtowers.

In the 18th century, Cadiz was a booming port, enjoying 75% of Spanish trade with the Americas! Whoa! In fact, Columbus actually set sail from Cadiz on his second and fourth voyages. During this time, Cadiz became the richest and most cosmopolitan city in Spain. Many glorious mansions were built, complete with tall towers on top in order to watch the comings and goings of the great ships. In fact, in its heyday, Cadiz had no less than 160 towers! Today 127 remain, and from the top of the Torre Tavira, I could make out many of them.

I have sloppily circled some in the photo below to give you an idea.

And in case I haven't gone on and on enough about Spain's narrow streets, I'm gonna go ahead and do so a bit more. The black stripe down the middle of the photo at left is Cadiz Old Town's WIDEST street...only wide enough for one car!

Again, people do live here
Ooops, didn't take people shots again. Morocco will change that. I do have one people shot to share. A lots-of-people shot. Below is a stitched together shot of Plaza San Antonio on Easter Sunday, full of families out enjoying the sun and each other. Great spot to people watch.

And one last thing too important not to mention...
Cadiz is probably the oldest city in Europe. It was founded as a trading base for the Phoenicians way back in 1100 BC. Cool, eh?

Farewell Sevilla, Heading to Cadiz

2008-03-23T04:37:00.044-06:00

On Saturday I bid farewell to Sevilla and took a 1.5 hour train ride to the coastal city of Cadiz, where I am right now. I enjoyed my time in Sevilla, but I was definitely ready to move on. All those Semana Santa crowds plus the hours I was keeping between classes and sightseeing....phew, enough!

FAREWELL TO MORE NEW FRIENDS
The problem with traveling and meeting great new friends from all over the world is that there are so many goodbyes. In Seville, I spent my Semana Santa days with Gilda, a NY resident who is taking a one-year career break, spending most of it in Italy learning the language. And, after the Italian teachers moved out, a very nice, very energetic French Canadian couple moved into the house, and I had great dinners talking with them about all manner of subjects. You really do meet such interesting people when traveling.

"Nothing Compares to You"

2008-03-23T04:37:00.042-06:00

I can travel all over the world, have exciting new experiences, meet new remarkable people, learn fascinating new things. But nothing compares. Nothing compares to Warren.

I can't get that Sinead O'Conner song out of my head. It pops in at least five or six times a day, at times when I realize that regardless of what I am doing at the moment, it's just not the same without my Warren. Nothing could ever compare.

I miss you Warren. Me without you is as wrong today as it was on October 18, 2006. I will continue to hold to the possibility of 'someday'.

Clearing out the Sevilla folder, part 2

2008-03-23T04:36:00.038-06:00

I have just a few more pictures of Sevilla to share. Such a pretty city!

PRETTY PARKS
I love the parks of Sevilla, so low key and full of diverse, leavy vegetation and giant, buttressed trees.

Sevillanos definitely take advantage of their parks, particularly in the late afternoon with family or a good book.

PEOPLE DO ACTUALLY LIVE IN SEVILLA
I've noticed that I have an overabundance of building photos. Snooze. I need to take more people shots...that's more interesting (to me, at least). Here are a few of the shots with people that I did take. As with Madrid, great storefronts! And sidewalk cafe dining is king in Sevilla. It's often near impossible to find a spot, but does create a friendly, pleasant atmosphere.

MORE STREET PERFORMERS
There is an 'invisible man' that sets up 'shop' outside the cathedral, and leaves the kids spellbound! He attaches his hat to a post, zips his head into his jacket, and has a fake invisible dog leash. When someone puts a coin in his jar, he makes Herbie Hancock noises, moves around like a robot, shakes their hand, then pats his invisible dog on the head. So simple, but hillarious to see the kids faces.

And Dad, there are a lot of accordian players here in Seville. You would feel right at home! My dad played accordian as a kid, and he just LOVES when we tell people that. :)

Semana Santa 101

2008-03-23T04:35:00.020-06:00

It's hard to put into words what I have just experienced during Sevilla's Easter Week. Perhaps the pictures will speak for themselves. To help explain what Semana Santa is all about, I have made the following brief Semana Santa 101:

Every day during the seven days leading up to Easter Sunday, richly bedecked, life sized pasos depicting scenes from the Easter story are carried from Seville's churches through the streets to the cathedral accompanied by processions that often takemore than an hour to pass. These rites took on their present form in the 17th century, when many of the 'pasos'--some of which are supreme works of art--were created."

A 'paso' is a kind of portable altar or processional platform on which an episode of the gospel is represented. Each participating parish, church, or chapel has at least two pasos--one depicting Jesus, usually alone, crucified or carrying the cross, and the other depicting a sorrowful Virgin under a canopy.

Some churches have one or two pasos in addition to the main above ones. These additional pasos each depict a portion of the Easter story, and are much more elaborate. I soon learned to seek out these processions first, and found myself unable to just let them pass by. I had to walk along side them, drawn in by their enormous size, expressive artwork, and rhythmic movement.

The pasos move thanks to 'costaleros'—-the men under the platform-—that carrying the weight of the paso on their shoulders, "moving in a hypnotic swaying motion to the rythmn of their accompanying bands and the commands of their capitaz (leader), who strikes a bell to start and stop the paso (For more on the costaleros, see my earlier Semana Santa Preparations entry.)

Each pair of pasos has up to 3,000 costumed followers, known as Nazarenos. Most wear tall Klu-Klux-Klan type capes, which cover their heads except for eyeslits. It should be noted that Nazarenos wore these costumes for several centuries before the KKK even existed. Apparently the founding KKK leaders took their inspiration from seeing the Nazarenos outfits, but there is no other connection aside from that. In Spain, the attire of the Nazareno is a sacred costume, to be worn only during Semana Santa and only with the upmost reverence.

Many Nazarenos participate in order to give thanks and ask for blessings.

However, some Nazarenos are penitents--'sinners' who carry a cross on their shoulders and even go barefoot. The hood originates from this type of Nazareno, implying that the identity of the penitent is known only to God.

Some processions are accompanied by one or even two large bands playing special music used only for Semana Santa. There are some processions that are carried out entirely in silence, but for me the addition of the music made the experience so powerful that I eventually decided to attend just the accompanied processions.
Sometimes, someone in the audience will spontaneous start singing a 'saeta'--a special Semana Santa song that is strongly influenced by Flamenco and sounds like opera. When a saeta starts, the entire crowd falls silent and the procession stops to listen. I was lucky to witness saetas on a number of occassions, and got goosebumps several times.

The processions don't just wander through the streets. Each day from Palm Sunday to Good Friday, seven or eight churches send out pasos in the afternoon or early evening, all headed on a specified route toward the main Cathedral. They pass through the Cathedral, then head back 'home' again. Although the routes vary according to the location of the church, there is an 'official route' for the last portion of the journey, and seats along that portion (shown at left below) provide the best viewing opportunity. Unfortunately the seats are reserved and impossible to get, as they are kept within the family for generations upon generations.

The shortest route takes about 4 hours, the longest ones 14 hours. I snapped the photo of this procession participant catching a little shut-eye at the 13th hour of his procession.

The processions were incredibly crowded, which occassionally made me wonder if it was all worth it. (It was!) The crowds were so large I couldn't capture them all with one shot, so below is my stitched-together attempt to show one crowd gathered to watch a paso leave its cathedral.

(Alright, I'm losing steam here. The rest is going to be short...) On Thursdays, women throughout Sevilla wear special black attire in commemoration of the death of Jesus. The special headpiece is called the mantilla.

Semana Santa isn't just for adults. Children participate in the processions as well. Altar boys carry staffs, swing incense burners...

...and young kids participate by passing out candies, walking along as a Nazareno (the non-penitent type), and even running around at night collecting the dripping wax from the candles of the Nazarenos to create giant wax balls. I wondered if Spanish children found the sight of the Nazarenos frightening, but it appears as though Spaniards have done a good job of making the holiday a positive, fun experience for children as well as adults.

Phew! I hope that wasn't too much to digest in one sitting. I suppose it would have been good to include some of my personal experiences during the week, but it took a week of viewing the processions for me to figure all this out, so I decided to focus on getting it all down 'on paper' before I forget any of it.

What a week!

Scenes from Semana Santa

2008-03-23T04:35:00.019-06:00

Here are some additional scenes from Semana Santa in Sevilla:

Success for the Warren Parkes Memorial Fund

2008-03-22T15:32:00.021-06:00

GREAT NEWS!
Thanks to your donations to the Warren Parkes Memorial Fund, three small business owners have improved their businesses and their lives. I just got word this week that we have received full repayment from three of the nine businesses that were part of the Fund's first round of recipients. And, I just checked our profile on Kiva, and the remaining six recipients are all making payments as scheduled and should fulfill their loans soon as well.

THE FIRST THREE SUCCESS STORIES
Together, in Warren's memory, we helped:

(1) Small grocery store owner Blanca from Honduras to increase her inventory and grow her customer base.

(2) Embroidery company owner Habiba from Afghanistan to buy three sewing machines (for her apprentices) to attract more clients.

(3) Used clothing vendor Maria from Mexico to increase her inventory to allow her to start selling at a local market.

NEW LOANS
The returned loan money has now been reloaned to the following three small business owners (photos and text from Kiva's website). I'll keep you posted on their progress, as well as the other six recipients.

Koffi from Togo (Africa)
Koffi Sowonou is the man sitting on the far left. The others in the photo are his apprentices who are learning the trade of tailoring. Mr. Sowonou is 45 years old and the father of 6 children. His tailor shop is located in Avenonou, a small village located about 120 kilometers from Lomé, the Togolese capital. With this loan, he would like to buy 3 sewing machines as well as fabrics suitable for men, to make clothes to sell to his clients. He hopes that with this loan he will be able to expand his business and with the profits he will gain from making and selling more clothes, he will be better able to cater for the needs of his family.

Heab from Cambodia (Asia)
Mrs. Heab Kong, 29, is a mother of three children that stays at home looking after the children and cooking food for her family members. After the house work, she works as a tailor and normally earns around $4 a day. Her husband supports the family as a motor-taxi driver, making around $3.50 a day of profit. To increase their standard of living they request to loan from Kiva to purchase another motor-taxi for their son to run as a business.

Macario from Ecuador (South America)
Macario is in the business of selling clothes and other items. He travels around the community and also to the rural sector, specifically targeting friends, family, and acquaintances. Macario has been selling clothes for about six years. Although his business is somewhat profitable, it does not always provide enough for him and his family. Therefore, Macario also buys and sells rice. He travels in his truck to rural Ecuador where he buys directly from the rice farmers. He sells the rice to many small stores around Guayaquil. Macario is on his third loan with this organization. He has proven to be a very responsible client who is a savvy investor. With this loan he wants to buy more school supplies as he knows that the new school semester is approaching and kids will be looking to restock. Macario is 53 years old and has two kids. His wife works as a housecleaner and sometimes gets jobs taking care of the elderly.

IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH KIVA...
The Warren Parkes Memorial Fund uses Kiva, a nonprofit organization that "lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world—empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty." The loan amounts are small ("micro-loans") but sometimes a few hundred dollars is all that a small business owner in a developing country needs to completely change their lives! Check them out for yourself at www.kiva.org.

The Mezquita at Cordoba

2008-03-18T05:43:00.018-06:00

On Saturday, I took a one hour train ride to nearby Cordoba to see the famous Cordoba Mesquita (mosque), with its rows and rows of red-and-white stripped arches disappearing off into infinity.

CORDOBA 101
I didn´t know much about Cordoba before coming to Spain, which is actually quite surprising considering the historical importance of this city. In case I´m not the only one who apparently missed the day Cordoba was discussed in history class, here´s a short synopsis (largely borrowed from Lonely Planet):

Founded in 152 BC, Cordoba (then Corduba) was a major Roman cultural center, provincial capital of Baetica and the birthplace of the writers Seneca and Lucan.

In 711 AD, Cordoba fell to the Muslim invaders and soon became the Islamic capital on the Iberian peninsula (home of modern Spain and Portugal). At its heyday (912-961 AD), Cordoba was the biggest city in Western Europe, with a population between 100,000 and 500,000. It had dazzling mosques, patios, libraries, observatories, a university, and aqueducts. The city became a place of pilgrimage for Muslims who could not reach Mecca or Jerusalem as well as a major multicultural center for scholarship, frequented by Jewish, Arab and Christian scholars. While the rest of Europe languished in the Dark Ages, the sciences, astronomy, mathematics and philosophy were thriving in a religiously tolerant Muslim Cordoba.

Eventually the city was recaptured by the armies of Fernando III of Castile in 1236, after which it experienced centuries of decline that only began to be reversed with the coming of industry in the late 19th century.

WHY JUST THE MOSQUE?
I have recently embarked on a serious exertion-minimization program. I´m tired. Between 4-6 hours a day of classes plus seeing the sights and going on weekend excursions, I´m exhausted! I have one more week to push through (Semana Santa in Sevilla) and then I am taking five days to relax in Cadiz, a beach town on the southwest coast of Spain.

So, in line with my exertion-minimization program (sounds so official, eh?), I went to Cordoba--one hour outside of Sevilla by train--just to see the famous mosque, and nothing else. Not the cathedral, not the Alcazar (castle), not the labyrinth of medieval streets in the city´s historic center. I went for the mesquita and then I went back to Sevilla. In fact, I didn´t even bother to leave for Cordoba until 12:30 in the afternoon.

THE MOSQUE
What an experience! Cordoba´s mosque is so unique and atmospheric, from its endless arches and intricate woodwork:

to its shimmering golden mosaics that line the walls of the maskura, where the caliphs and their retinues would have prayed.

I loved all the scalloped arches, and the bursts of red throughout the enormous building (23,000 square meters!)

After the Christian reconquest of Cordoba, the mosque´s interior underwent significant alterations, including a 16th century capilla plunked right down in the middle. During my visit, I avoided these altered portions, so incongruous with what was surely a fantastic building to start with. And actually, not everyone was in favor of these Christian alterations. After seeing the Christian alterations, King Carlos I is reputed to have exclaimed to the church authorities, ¨You have destroyed something that was unique in the world.¨ I don´t think it´s destroyed, per se, but then again I never saw it before it was altered.

CORDOBA'S GATE
I entered the old town through a gate in Cordoba´s old city walls, so I snapped a few pictures and stitched them together, below:

WHEN ONE DOOR JUST WON'T DO
And I couldn´t help taking a picture of one the many courtyard patios that I passed en route to the Mesquita. I covet these patios!

Clearing out the Sevilla folder, part 1

2008-03-18T04:56:00.026-06:00

I am determined not to get too behind on my journal, so this entry (and another one tomorrow) will be my jumbled attempt to clear out my Sevilla pictures folder before boarding the train out of here on Saturday. Let´s call this jumbled entry ¨Sevilla´s major buildings.¨

Torre de Oro

This 13th century riverbank Islamic watchtower once crowned a corner of Sevilla´s city walls. It´s called the ´tower of gold´ because either (1) according to my guidebook, the dome was once covered in golden tiles, or (2) according to my Spanish teacher, this is where the conquistadors stored their New World booty upon returning to Sevilla. No offense against Moises, but I think the guidebook is more reputable on this one.

By the way, this is an ongoing problem for me. I get lots of conflicting stories on the origins of places, characteristics, etc. Like the prevalence of interior courtyards in Andalucia, for instance, which date to (1) when the Romans ruled the area, or (2) when the Muslims ruled the area. I´ve heard both, several times, and both are probably true. Who knows. In short, it´s probably best to not take what I say on this sight as the absolute truth, okay. :)

Plaza de Espana

This monstrous plaza is a highlight for many tourists visiting Seville. I didn´t particularly care for it. Built for the 1929 International Fair, it´s the epitome of World´s Fair-style building--enormous structures demonstrating zero restraint toward a particular style, in this case typically Andalusian tilework. ¨Over the top¨ is an understatement for this structure. Actually, it was on this spot in 1930 that humankind learned that valuable lesson that more is not always better. Okay, not really, but it sure could be. The photos don´t really convey what I am droning on and on about, so I´ll end the rant here. (I don´t want someone to send me a virus!)

Below is a stitched together panorama of part of the Plaza. Imagine 10% more on the left and 30% more on the right, and that will give you an idea of the size.

Fabrica de Tabacos

"Today´s university was yesterday´s fabrica de tabacos (tobacco factory), which employed 10,000 young female cigareras--including the saucy femme fatale of Bizet´s opera Carmen. In the 18th century it was the second-largest building in Spain, after El Escorial.¨ (Rick Steves)

This building is extremely large and ornate for a factory! I especially enjoyed looking at the reliefs on the exterior of the building, like the smoking Native Americans.

When I was there, the school was bustling with students, and the interior courtyards looked like such a welcoming place to study that it made me sad for my long lost college years.

And lastly, the Cathedral

Sevilla´s cathedral is the third largest church in Europe (after the Vatican´s St Peters and London´s St Paul´s) and the largest Gothic church anywhere in the world. And yet, I still haven´t so much as peaked inside. I´m a little churched-out at the moment, but a month of viewing mosques in Morocco should cure me. Who knows, I still have almost a week in Sevilla. It might still happen.

Semana Santa has begun

2008-03-17T03:43:00.042-06:00

Yesterday--Palm Sunday--was the first day of Semana Santa. I was out all day (12 hours!) watching the processions. Absolutely incredible! However, I am going to hold off on posting anything about Semana Santa until the week is over. With classes and the processions, I am going to have time for little else. So...my Semana Santa report most likely won´t be until Sunday.

However, I have some old posts that I have written but haven´t had time to upload. I´ll post those over the next few days, so there will be something to check out. I know you are all hanging on my every word, eh? :)

Flamenco Culture

2008-03-17T03:43:00.041-06:00

On the bus ride to Seville, I decided it was time to read a bit about my new home for the next three weeks.

So, I cracked open my Rick Steve's book, and here´s the first sentence I read: "Seville is the flamboyant city of Carmen and Don Juan, where bullfighting is still politically correct and where little girls still dream of growing up to become flamenco dancers."

I had no idea at the time how true that statement really is!

Seville is a thoroughly modern city, offering everything you need for comfortable living (including American brands...see left). Yet at the same time, Sevillianos have kept their unique, centuries old traditions alive in a very real way. These traditions are not simply dragged out in order to attract the coveted tourism dollar.

No, Sevillianos live their traditions.

And I think little girls here do dream of becoming flamenco dancers. Little girls, and big girls too. I rarely passed a flamenco store without seeing window shoppers admiring the latest dress designs, the hair accessories, the beautiful woven shawls, colorful handpainted fans, and enormous, dramatic earrings.

There are dozens (maybe even 100) stores selling nothing but flamenco attire. This is prime season for buying a new flamenco dress, as Sevilla´s big annual fair is just two weeks away. Called ¨The Feria¨, this week long celebration is a kind of release after the solemnity of Semana Santa. For an entire week, the women wear their fabulous flouncy flamenco dresses, and eat and drink and dance until dawn. The party goes on for literally 24 hours a day for the entire week.

But it´s not a drunken Lalapoluza. It´s very much a family affair, as much for the children as it is for the adults. Little girls dress in flamenco dresses of their own, and the entire family enjoys the party together.

I am not staying for the feria. It will be great, I am sure, but I am moving on. I will be sad to miss seeing all the women in their beautiful dresses, the horses and carriages that parade the feria grounds in their finery (horses are dressed up too), the men on horseback with women riding behind them side-saddle. That would all be very fun to see.

But, then again, I don´t really like the big partying fair scene in the US, so I´d probably get tired of it pretty quickly!

I did want a piece of the experience though, so the other day I mustered up the courage to go into one of those many flamenco stores and try on a few dresses for myself. At right is me before--in my boring old city clothes--and after, transformed into a flamenco momma.

I didn´t mean to chop off my head in the picture. I just couldn´t back up far enough in the dressing room, and I was NOT going to go out and ask the store employee to take my picture. And the verdict? Do I have flamenco in my soul? Um...I felt like a stuffed sausage to be honest. Most of the dresses didn´t fit me very well because I am so much taller than the average Spanish woman. But...it was fun to try.

first England, now Rome

2008-03-14T06:11:00.043-06:00

Last week I visited England. Yesterday, Rome.

...Ancient Rome, that is. Did you know that emperors Trajan and Hadrian were both from Spain? I sure didn't. I'd assumed that all Roman emperors were, well, born in Rome. But, in fact, Hadrian and Trajan hail from the Sevilla area, from a sizeable Roman settlement called Italica.

Founded in 206 BC for veterans of Rome's victory over Carthage, Italica was the first of many Roman settlements in Spain. And thanks to it's favorite sons Hadrian and Trajan, the city received a tremendous boost, with grand projects that were, in truth, on a scale entirely uncalled for given Italica's population size.

When the empire fell, Italica was largely abandoned, and what remains today is a fantastic peak into the majesty of the Roman metropolis.

Italica's layout is a perfect example of the marvel of Roman town planning, with distinct sections designated for public, semi-private, and private buildings, all of which integrate beautifully into an exceptional landscape.

MOSAICS
For me, the most captivating aspect of Italica was the prevalence of beautiful, intricate mosaics, covering virtually every room in the homes of the Italica's political elite and wealthy residents. Even simple hallways were decorated with unique and colorful mosaic designs. At Italica, there's not simply one or two mosaics to be seen; there are dozens! Here's just a sampling of the designs (including our friend Medusa up in the top middle):

There were so many great mosaics, but unfortunately because I was standing on the ground and not hovering over them from the air, I wasn't able to get good photographs to share with you. At right are images from the large House of Birds mosaic, which depicts more than 30 different species of birds. Each bird is so colorful and artfully created, it's truly magic to see. But, sadly my photography just doesn't do it justice. Oh well.

AMPHITHEATRE
Italica has one of the largest of all Roman amphitheatres, with a seating capacity of 25,000--clearly more than was needed based on the size of the town's population.

I enjoyed walking around the grounds, through the interior corridors, onto the main central arena. I tried to imagine it full of spectators, but couldn't due to the site's decaying state and the sun's increasing heat.

I did spend some time in the Gladiator's room, trying to see if I could decipher any of the Latin words that make up the Gladiator's creed, or prayer. This is where they would gather, awaiting their designated time in the ring. Spooky.

In all, it was a great visit...a must do for anyone visiting Sevilla, especially since it's a simple half-hour bus ride from downtown Sevilla...and just $3 round trip! :)

Preparations for Semana Santa

2008-03-13T07:24:00.018-06:00

Semana Santa starts this Sunday and you can feel the excitement building.

“Semana Santa” is a week of elaborate and dramatic processions and floats to commemorate the Easter event. Semana Santa celebrations are common throughout the Spanish-speaking world, but it’s at its most Catholically extravagant in Seville. It's a very serious affair, full of pomp and glory, and I can´t wait to experience it in person.

Over the last few weeks I have seen all the preparation involved, and can tell you first hand that this is no mere tourism extravaganza. Semana Santa in Sevilla is by the locals for the locals. It is an emotional event, full of neighborhood pride and religious devotion. And it is much more complex than I originally imagined. This week in our culture class at school we are learning about Semana Santa, from it´s origins in the 1700s to how it is practiced today. As the week goes on, I will share some of what I learned on this site, with accompanying pictures.

Rehearsals
A few days ago I was on my way home around 7pm when I ran across a rehearsal in action.

(...Ooops, gotta head back to class. I´ll finish this entry tomorrow.)

Semana Santa hits the stores

Plaza de Toros

2008-03-13T07:02:00.012-06:00

On Tuesday morning I visited Sevilla´s bullring, reputed to be the oldest in Spain and one of the most beautiful. In fact, it was probably here (and nearby Rhonda) that bullfighting on foot--instead of horseback--began in the 18th century.

I went on an interesting, half hour tour of the ring, which included a small museum with artifacts dating to the earliest bull fights. I´ve always been curious how this sport came about. Too many bulls and not enough to do? I learned at the museum that bullfighting originated out of a military training exercise. At first, soldiers on horseback practiced knocking faux heads off of a statue in the center of a ring. This is depicted in the painting below, and aside that are photos of the original statue and four of the Pirates of the Carribean-esque heads. Eventually, this challenge was too easily mastered, and new challenges had to be introduced. Por fin, the bull. Fighting an massive agitated bull on foot does seem to me to be the zenith of all imaginable challenges.

By the way, the word "matador" translates literally as 'the killer'!

One odd thing I learned while on the tour: If the matador, aka the torrero, kills the bull in a particularly spectacular manner (apparently there is a complicated point system), he/she is given the ear of the bull as a souvenir. This seems very odd to me... what on earth is the matador going to do with it once he gets home? Use it as a paper weight? Some of the bullheads at the museum were indeed missing ears, signifying that they died 'spectacular deaths'. Lucky bulls.

I enjoyed seeing the ring and learning about bullfighting, but I don´t plan to attend a bullfight while in Spain. I went to one about 10 years ago while in Guanajuato, Mexico. For me, once was enough. However, putting aside my general feelings about this ´sport´, I will say one thing: the Sevilla ring has fantastic poster art!

If you like intricate tilework...

2008-03-12T05:44:00.013-06:00

If you like intricate tilework, Sevilla´s a great place to visit.

I don´t have much time to write today, so I will just share some examples of the beautiful tilework to be found throughout the city. Below is a sampling of common tile patterns:

In addition to geometric and floral patterns, countless painted tiles decorate Sevilla, often depicting the history of Spain and everyday life in Andalucia:

Tilework truly is everywhere, from floors and walls to building facades and park benches (like these benches in the Plaza de Espana):

And, ´back in the day´, tiles were even commonly used for advertisements. I love this billboard-sized tile advertisement for those snazzy new Studebakers. It was hand-painted in 1927, and for being almost 100 years old, it´s in pretty good shape considering it´s on the wall of one of Seville´s busiest (pedestrian-only) shopping streets!

Sevilla's Amazing Alcazar

2008-03-11T05:58:00.018-06:00

I toured Sevilla´s Alcazar (castle) on Sunday and was absolutely speechless the entire time. Feeling a bit castled-out, I had actually considered skipping Sevilla´s castle since from the outside it isn´t terribly enticing. What a tragedy that would have been. This castle is entirely different than the others I have seen, and absolutely, unbelievably gorgeous. It was commissioned by King Pedro I, aka Pedro the Cruel. By all accounts, he was a despicable human being, killing off anyone who got in his way, including his own siblings. But golly gee did he leave us a purty castle to look at.

After much effort, I find myself entirely incapable of editing down my photos to a digestible quantity, so I will keep my commentaries short and let the photos speak for themselves. Please do click on the images to enlarge them. You need to see the detail in order to really appreciate it´s beauty.

At top is a photo of the main inner courtyard--¨the Patio of the Maidens¨. Below are some detail shots of the interior of the palace, including the exquisite doors:

the beautiful interior rooms:

and close-ups of all the intricate detail. I am guessing the builders and designers never uttered the words ¨let´s ask the King to pick which design he likes best.¨ If one design is good, five is better. And yet it works so beautifully here.

Underground Banos

In a cavernous space under the castle is a stunning luminescent orange reflecting pool. I didn´t go on a guided tour of the grounds, and my guidebook was woefully inadequate for this site, so I have absolutely no idea if the pool served any purpose other than being a sublime place to bathe. All I know is that it´s called ¨Banos de Dona Maria de Padilla¨ and it is a sight to behold.

[By the way, contrary to what most gringos think, bano is not bathroom in Spain, it´s bath. These are not the castle toilets.]

Jardines
The palace also has large beautiful gardens,

including a real labyrinth. Fun! In the picture below, find the heads popping up above the hedge...that´s how high the passage ways were.

But the best is yet to come...
As breathtaking as this castle was, from what I hear, Granada´s castle (´the Alhambra´) is even more beautiful that Sevilla´s. I can´t wait.

Socialists rule Spain for 4 more years

2008-03-11T05:42:00.012-06:00

Spain held its general elections over the weekend and the current president was re-elected for another four years. Over 75% of the population voted. With the memory of Franco still fresh in the minds of most Spaniards, the right to vote is highly treasured. (Franco was a dictator that ruled Spain from 1936 to 1975.)

President Zapatero, shown in the campaign poster at right, is from the Socialist Party. I have asked around quite a bit but have not been able to decipher what exactly ´Socialist´ entails here in Spain. In the US that word is loaded with negative connotations, but in Spain, I think not. As far as I have been able to determine, the Socialist Party in Spain might be the counterpart to the Democratic Party in the US.

I was rooting for Zapatero because I like his slogan: Vote with all your strength. (I guess the ¨...but don´t break the pencil lead¨ is implied.)

Day Trip to England

2008-03-10T05:26:00.037-06:00

I visited England last Saturday. I ate fish and chips, walked down Winston Churchill Avenue, and relished the ability to communicate freely in English.

What??? Okay, I actually just went to Gibraltar, but that is part of England. Most of you have heard of Gibraltar, that big lump of limestone at the southern tip of Spain, just 16 km from Africa.

It´s always been one of those places I´ve looked at on the map with great curiosity. I had to go check it out. It´s just two hours from Seville by bus, so on Saturday I took a day trip there with some other students.

Turns out my curiosity was not well-founded. Gibraltar, I´m sorry to report, was a bit of a bore. Yes, it does look like 1960s England in many respects, but after some typical English food and 10 minutes of strolling, the novelty wears off and the visitor is left with little to do other than shop.

Tourism, in the form of day-trippers, is the mainstay of Gibraltar´s economy. (Well, that and ¨financial services¨--the Cayman Islands sort.) Most of the tourists were there to shop for cheap booze, cigarettes and electronics. The main street (¨Main Street¨) was packed when I was there. I´m not much of a shopper, so this was not my scene.

After several hours of aimless wandering we went on a short tour to the point, then up the mountain. That was much more interesting. Here are some scenes of the Rock and the Strait of Gibraltar:

British monkeys

The Rock´s most popular residents are its colony of macaques, 300-something in total. They are Europe´s only wild primates (having been introduced from Africa in the 18th century) but for wild animals, they certainly had no fear of humans.

The tour guide rightly warned us not to touch or get too close to the monkeys. But, within minutes of seeing a pack, the bus driver was feeding them nuts and playing 'high five'. This, of course, emboldened the rest of the group, and suddenly everyone wanted a photograph sitting next to a monkey. There were some tense moments when comfort zones were crossed (for both species) but for the most part the monkeys were bored with our presence. Although I saw my share of monkeys in Africa, the feeling wasn´t mutual. I could watch them all day.

St. Michael´s Cave

Being a giant lump of limestone, Gibraltar sports its fair share of caves. After the monos (monkeys), we visited the St. Michaels cave and had your typical cave-visiting experience. Five minutes of fascination followed by 20+ minutes of repetition. I did particularly enjoy seeing the cross section of a stalagmite, and was amazed to discover that, like trees, they have rings that tell of their formation and that of the surrounding environment. Very interesting.

And then we went home
So, that´s all I have to report on Gibraltar. Not a home run for me. I suppose at least now I can say I´ve seen ¨the Rock¨. (Of course, the response I´ll probably get from most people is ¨Did you get his autograph?¨)

Style de Sevilla

2008-03-07T09:08:00.019-07:00

Best thing about Sevilla:

The beautiful courtyards, all ornately tiled, full of plants and fountains and chirping birds. Beautiful little Edens, respites from the hectic world just outside their walls.

Worst thing about Sevilla:

I CAN´T SEE MOST OF THEM! Occasionally I get a peak into a courtyard when the exterior door is left open a crack, but for the most part these little jewels are hidden from the outside world by a big exterior door, then a vestibule and a wrought iron gate just beyond the exterior door (see below).

The Spanish courtyard-style home was actually introduced by the Moors (Muslims), who ruled the Iberian peninsula for centuries during the Middle Ages. Courtyards protect the privacy of family members, particularly women, from the attentions of others.

And enclosing these fantastic spaces with simple exterior walls is in keeping with Muslim teachings to not attempt to position yourself above others. Indeed, from the outside, the houses all look pretty much the same. It´s a fantastic sentiment, with one little downside for nosy tourists like me.

And also...
Another typically Spanish architectural detail that is especially strong in this region of Southern Spain ("Andalucia") is the use of wrought-iron decorative railings, balconies, window coverings, etc... Que bonita!

My Life in Sevilla

2008-03-07T09:03:00.015-07:00

I´ve just finished my first week of school here in Seville. I love the area, like the accommodations, and remain undecided about the school.

The School
Elemadrid definitely set the bar high for all other Spanish schools I will attend. This school here in Seville, "Enforex", is a good school, but in my opinion, not nearly as good as elemadrid. I don´t feel as if I am progressing as much as I did at elemadrid, and I am even studying more in my spare time now than in Madrid. It´s probably too early on in my schooling here to make such pronouncements. Perhaps it´s not worse, just different. Time will tell. I´ll keep you posted.

Other than the learning aspect...the staff are all very friendly, fun people, as are the students. And the building the school is housed in is spectacular, designed by a famous architect and full of colorful Mujedar details.

The Accommodations:
In Madrid, I was in a shared apartment. Here in Seville, I am staying in the home of a local woman named Ana. I have to say I was a bit sketchy about the situation at first, but I'm okay with it now. It´s fun to live in a neighborhood, to live like a local if only for just three weeks. You know those things I said I wasn´t going to photography anymore...well, I live on one of them. And here I am, one entry later, breaking my rule and photographing them again.

These streets and homes all look so similar that I get lost a lot! I used to think I was good at navigating around, but Spain is certainly disproving that belief. Ah, the things you learn about yourself when you travel. It starts from the moment I step out the front door. Crazy as it sounds, I head in the wrong direction AT LEAST 75% of the time. It´s laughable, really.

I live in the home of Ana, a very nice middle-aged woman who has lived in Seville all of her life. She operates her own catering business out of her house, and rents out two of her rooms throughout the year to students from all over the world. My room is TINY--the picture at right shows the entire width of the room--and sorta, well, not what I had hoped for. Oh well. Also staying at Ana´s right now are two high school teachers from Italy, here for a week to chaperone 35 high school students. Yikes!

Ana cooks breakfast (toast and OJ) and dinner for the three of us each day. Since she´s a professional chef, the food is really very good. The night before last we had some delicious paella (a staple dinner in Spain), and then last night we had a variety of lightly fried fresh fish. I enjoyed most of that dish, although I must admit that I only took a few bites of the fried fish egg sack. I had to try it (you could see the veins of the womb and everything!) but I didn´t particularly care for it. And with thousands of little eggs in there, I felt like a mass murder with each bite!

The neighborhood:
Sevilla is much more laid back than Madrid. Although I definitely enjoyed Madrid, this type of atmosphere is more my style. The people here dress and live more casually, and the city is full of quiet little squares to read and relax or chat with friends. Below is the square just around the corner from my house.

I will surely write a great deal more about Sevilla over the next few weeks, so I will save more information about my neighborhood for those posts. I will not be posting as often as in Madrid because I do not have internet access at the house, and because I am trying to study more each day than I did in Madrid. In fact, I´ve already found a perfect study space, pictured below. This learning Spanish business is harder than I thought it would be. I guess the verdict is in: I do NOT have a special gift for learning languages! Oh well, it´s fun nonetheless.

Update: Now in Seville

2008-03-05T03:45:00.005-07:00

On Sunday I bid a sad farewell to Madrid and boarded a six-hour bus ride to Seville. I could have taken the high-speed train, which takes just over two hours, but it costs 5xs as much ($30 vs. $150). Considering the length of this journey, I try to economize every chance I get.

Although I dreaded it, the ride wasn’t too bad. I had two seats to myself, and actually slept through half of it (which is very unlike me!)

En route to Seville, we drove through Castile-La Mancha—home of Don Quijote and his windmills, and hours and hours of rolling hills. Castile-LaMancha is on Spain’s ‘meseta’, a sparsely populated and dry tablelands that actually occupies almost half the territory of Spain. And contrary to what you may have learned from My Fair Lady, “the rains in Spain do [NOT] fall mostly on the plains.”

Bullfighting is serious stuff here in Castile-LaMancha (as it is in Andalusia as well), and the bull is a strong symbol of the area. Lest the traveler forget this important fact, there are frequent reminders along the roadside in the form of giant wooden bull cut-outs. Viva el torro!

Round Three: Toledo

2008-03-05T03:30:00.016-07:00

Last Saturday, I took another out-of-town excursion, this time on Spain’s high speed train. In just 25 comfortable minutes, I was zipped from Madrid to Toledo (pronounced Toe-Lay-Dough), and you’ll never guess that I saw. City walls and a huge old cathedral and narrow windy streets and a castle. Whoa!

Clearly, I’ve got a bit of a pattern developing here. So as not to repeat much of my Segovia and Avila entries, I’m going to limit my comments on Toledo’s versions of these ‘attractions’ to a sentence or two:

The Castle: Toldeo’s castle (alcazar) is very large but also closed for renovations so I didn’t get inside.

City Walls: The walls themselves are pretty ho-hum but the entrances are quite spectacular.

Cathedral: This is the cathedral that ate Chicago. It’s huge and extremely ornate. I spent one hour there, but could have spent three.

Narrow, winding streets: I don’t know why I have such a thing for narrow streets. It isn’t as if, by contrast, I hate wide boulevards. There is just something about them.

But I will say this: I have now found a subject more impossible to photograph than a whale. It’s a narrow, winding street. Too much light at the top + not enough at the bottom = horrible exposure. Impossible. I’m officially done photographing narrow streets. It never works. Enjoy these last four (bad) shots because it’s the last you are gonna get from me. So there.

And…I also found a new feature to obsess over during my visit: Toledo’s fantastically ornate wooden balconies.

SO TOLEDO IS JUST ANOTHER AVILA OR SEGOVIA?:
Nope. What Rome is to Italy, Toledo is to Spain. Still referred to as the Imperial City, Toledo crams over 3,500 of history into a small outcrop protected on three sides by the Tajo River. It was a key city—-or the city—-for the Romans, then the Visigoths, then the Moors, then the Spaniards. For thousands of years, it has been a very important city. But more importantly…

“during its medieval heyday, Toledo was famous for intellectual tolerance—a city for the humanities, where God was known by many names. It was a Sesame Street world of cultural diversity, home to Jews, Muslims, and Christians, living together in harmony.” (Rick Steves)

This tolerance and respect is visible in the city’s pervasive Mudejar architecture—a beautiful blending of Spanish and Muslim styles.

Even Toledo’s historic Jewish synagogues are built in this Muslim-inspired style, making them actually appear more Muslim than Jewish. Here are a few images from the interior of the Sinagoga del Transito.

MORE IMPORTANTLY: WHAT’S THERE TO EAT
I have received several requests to continue sharing information about the foods here in Spain, so…what did I eat while in Toledo? Delicious fried calamari. I have never been much of a fan of calamari, but I absolutely love the way it is prepared in Spain—very lightly fried and using only the freshest, most tender calamari.

And to make sure it’s not just bad for you, but extremely bad for you, they dip it in mayonnaise. Sounds gross but trust me, the mayonnaise adds just the right touch. It’s one of those “an apple pie without the cheese…” combinations.

Toledo is perhaps best known for it’s Mazapan, so after lunch I bought a bag and tasted a few pieces. Not for me. I gave several pieces away to my fellow travelers, then trashed the remainder. It doesn’t taste bad, just not terribly good either. To me, it’s bland, dense cookie dough. For the wallop of calories those little guys pack, I can do better.

ON MY WAY OUT OF TOWN…
Toledo’s medieval street plan is very confusing. I had no trouble making my way from the train station into town, but when it came time to leave, I just could not seem to find my way out. It’s a good thing I gave myself plenty of extra time because what took 20 minutes on the way in, took 60 minutes on the way out. It actually got pretty funny, and I was oddly disappointed when I finally emerged victorious. I was really getting a kick at how badly I was fairing.

During that ‘lost hour’ I happened to stumble across one of Toledo’s MANY churches and decided to take a peak inside. Turned out that this church was just one of 10 Catholic churches throughout the world that was, at that very moment, participating in a live telecast with the pope. I arrived just in time to see the pope enter the room, and the faithful in attendance wave their yellow flags with glee.

They waived the flags several times over the next few minutes, no idea why, but it was quite fascinating to experience. The energy in that Cathedral was fantastic. Everyone was just so happy.

Not able to follow such speedy Spanish, I left after just 10 minutes. It was fun to experience for a few minutes, but not something I was interested in sitting through.

AND NOW I AM IN SEVILLE…
…another city with a huge cathedral, a castle, and winding narrow streets. Bet’cha can’t wait for the next entry. (he he)

And for a little added drama…

2008-03-05T03:23:00.006-07:00

On my last two nights in Madrid, there were large protests in the square just steps from my front door. On the first night, I heard the helicopters circling and police sirens flooding into the area, but I was snug in my room so I didn’t see anything. Good thing, because the protest turned un poco violent. I’ve included an excerpt from an AP article below.

The next night, Saturday, I was en route home from Toledo at about 9pm, and saw the protesters as I emerged from the subway at Tirso de Molina square. I could tell something was brewing from the energy in the square and the presence of scores of policemen in full garb. I had barely reached my room before I heard shouting. I saw that the landlady and her daughter were watching from her balcony window, so I asked if I could enter to watch as well, and she welcomed me in. (My window overlooked the interior courtyard). At right is a photo of the protest that night, and some of the accompanying police.

It looked pretty tame to me, so once they passed I asked the landlady if she thought it would be fine for me to venture out to get something to eat. She said as long as I avoided Puerta del Sol, where the protesters were headed, I’d be fine.

But see…that wasn’t gonna work. This was my last night in Madrid, and I just had to get take-away from my favorite little vegetarian restaurant—located off Puerta del Sol—one more time. I had to take one more whack at figuring out how it’s possible that cauliflower could taste so good. (Oh, and also…Spanish policemen are really good looking.)

Clearly, as you can see, I had no choice but to venture into the heat of battle. (He he). No, actually, it was fine and I made it home safely, veggie takeout in hand. I don’t think there were more clashes on Saturday night, but I’m not sure because I left for Seville on Sunday without checking the news.

--
Spanish police break up clash between rival demonstrators in Madrid
from the International Herald Tribune, The Associated Press, March 1, 2008

Spanish police broke up a clash between far-right demonstrators and counter-protesters in downtown Madrid on Friday, firing tear gas and clearing burning cars and trash containers.

Two far-right wing groups — Nacion y Revolucion and Combat Espana — which had been given permission by city authorities to demonstrate in Madrid's central Tirso de Molina square began to congregate at around 8:30 p.m. (1930 GMT) among heavy police presence.

Groups carrying anti-Nazi banners attempted to disrupt the demonstration when police charged, scattering clusters of demonstrators in different directions, including toward the largely immigrant Lavapies district.

Alex Sand, a British tourist caught up in the action, said some right wing groups began running into Lavapies district and residents tried to stop them. "People started pulling dustbins into the street and setting fire to them, there were cars set on fire," said Sand.

"The police started charging down the street and it seemed the fascist groups were behind them and people got really scared," said Sand. Local resident Isabel Sotomayor said she saw men dressed in black, their faces covered, throwing cobblestones at the police…”

Farewell Madrid

2008-02-29T15:33:00.002-07:00

Today was my last full day in Madrid. I will spend tomorrow in the nearby city of Toledo, then leave on Sunday for Sevilla. Although I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Madrid, I'm ready to move on, ready to try out a new city.

I only wish I could take elemadrid, my Spanish school, with me. I cannot say enough good things about elemadrid. The teachers are exceptional, the atmosphere is professional but fun, and the other students (at least right now) are all very fascinating people with great careers and interesting lives. For example, today I went to lunch with one of my fellow students, Helena. What an amazing life she has led. For the last 25 years she has worked as an assistant producer/financial something (?) in the entertainment industry, and has lived all over the world while working on different films. Most recently, she worked on The Golden Compass in London, and all three Lord of the Rings films in New Zealand. She has had some fascinating experiences—so fun to listen to—and her down-to-earth outlook on life is refreshingly non-Hollywood. :)

I will definitely keep in touch with my new elemadrid friends, and who knows…maybe I will come back to Madrid again someday for another round at elemadrid.

MY LAST WEEK IN MADRID
I don’t have a great deal of ‘blog-worthy’ activity to report on this week. Instead of exploring the city in the afternoons, I decided to focus my free time on el espanol, particularly ‘controlling my verbs.’ I now possess the ability to formulate intelligible thoughts in a variety of past tenses. However, no mere mortal could possess the patience it would take to carry on a conversation with me when I am using these new tricks of mine. So I decided to spend the week exercising my brain in the hope that it will pick up the pace a bit.

I spent several nights this week writing my life story in Spanish. I decided that’d be a good project to work on while here. I completed nine pages, and just got the corrected version back from the teacher today. Not too bad, but lots of room for improvement.

the good retreat park

2008-02-29T13:36:00.022-07:00

This afternoon I wandered through “El Parque del Buen Retiro”, Madrid's central park. The name translates roughly as 'the good retreat park', and within minutes of passing through the grand park entrance, I felt like yelling out "I concur, I concur!" Until that moment, I hadn't realized how much I miss nature. After a month in the city—with it’s concrete and crowds and car exhaust and noise—it was fantastic to breathe fresh(er) air, get a little elbow room, and take in the fresh scent of nature. Cities are exciting, but I NEED nature. This little 'retreat' was definitely just what I needed.

And I was not alone. The park was crowded with families rowing on the lake, old women strolling arm in arm, professionals on their lunch break roller-blading along the pathways, kids chasing ducks and chomping on candies. I can’t believe I almost didn’t visit this fantastic place! I wish I had time for a few more visits, but alas, today was my last full day in Madrid. Here are some photos of what I saw on my walk:

After wandering around for awhile, I sat on a park bench and ate my canapé lunch. Turns out I don’t care much for canapés. Well, now I know. When I was almost finished, an ancient woman came upto me, growled something incomprehensible to me in Spanish, let some half eaten food pool out of her mouth, then suddenly grabbed my last canapé and scurried off. I was so taken aback by her face—wrinkled so far beyond what I thought was physically possible—that I failed to protect that last little canapé. But then again, I hadn’t planned on eating it since just moments earlier I had accidentally dropped it on the ground. I suppose I could have yelled after her in my broken Spanish to warn her about the canapé, but truthfully I was just too preoccupied with locating the final resting place for all that slobber… (“pleeeeease not on my bag!”) Odd encounter!

la Plaza Mayor

2008-02-29T13:31:00.015-07:00

Before leaving Madrid, I should share a few photos of Plaza Mayor, the main plaza closest to my apartment. It’s a large and beautiful square and a fantastic place to people watch.

Like many central squares in Spain, the Plaza Mayor was the center of city trade and life for centuries. It was in this square that madrilenos enjoyed their bullfights and spectacles of royal pagentry, held open air markets, and even witnessed public burnings at the stake carried out by the Inquisition.

The most beautiful aspect of the plaza is the Casa de la Panaderia, shown above and below. The facade of this former baker’s guild headquarters is covered with brightly covered frescos that catch the sun and create a beautiful luminescense in the square.

I passed through this square on countless occassions and snapped photos now and then. Here is a sampling of life in the square:

I have yet to pass through the square without seeing at minimum two or three street performers, regardless of the hour. Most are only marginally interesting to me, but one particular performer is so enchanting to young children that I cannot help but stop and watch.

His act is not terribly challenging, but it is pure magic for children. With 'tinkly' music playing on a nearby boombox, this performer stands perfectly still on tall stilts until a child drops a coin in his metal jar. It is then that he comes alive, looks all about until he 'finds' the one special child he is looking for, and then pulls a bit of gold glitter out of his little lamp and sprinkles it into the outstretched hands of the child.

It sounds so simple, yet for the children it is nothing short of magical. And so is watching the expressions of joy on their faces!

The Walled City of Avila

2008-02-24T04:32:00.018-07:00

Yesterday I took a 90 minute train ride to the walled city of Avila. It was bitter cold the entire day but still a great daytrip nonetheless.

Here's a bit of history on the city from my guidebook: "Avila is like a picture of a bygone age. Encircled by a fairy-tale stone wall with 88 watchtowers, it's easy to imagine Avila's days on the battleground of medieval kingdoms. [It is] a place where the past seems more alive than the present. For almost 300 years, Avila changed hands regularly between Muslims and Christians, until the fall of Toledo in 1085. By the end of the 16th century, the city's heyday was over and it has only recently begun to shake off the deep slumber of neglect that ensued." (Lonely Planet)

At right is an image from Google Earth, showing the intact wall that surrounds the city. Visitors are permitted to climb to the top and walk portions of the perimeter, providing great views of the city and the perfect setting for imagining Avila in all its medieval glory. I can't say I pretended to be a knight guarding the tower (because I'm not 10) but I did really enjoy walking the same steps that guardsmen walked for centuries during the Middle Ages.

Below are some views from atop the wall:

In addition to the preserved wall, Avila is also home to an enormous 12th century cathedral. I couldn't take pictures inside (as usual) but I so wish I could have because THIS IS A GREAT CATHEDRAL! For me, it's the most spectacular cathedral I have ever seen. What made it so great for me was that its cold and harsh exterior is warmed by its mish-mash, hodgepodge, imperfectly executed interior. Most cathedrals are masterfully executed, with each piece of art blending smoothly into the whole composition. But not this cathedral. An amazingly intricate wood altarpiece sits right next to a charmingly folksy painting of a medieval scene. An austere marble tomb of a medieval knight is housed under a wall that is hand painted in bright checks and diamonds as if part of a Guatemalan village church. It was this style, then that style, all over the cathedral, and it made an enormous, imposing structure so warm and personal at the same time. I loved it!

And, to top it off, they had Illuminated Manuscripts, easily five feet wide and so fun to look at!

Un Poco Diferente

2008-02-23T12:39:00.021-07:00

When I get out of Spanish class each day, my brain is tired. It doesn't want anything to do with real thinking, so this is usually when I notice the little trivial things that are different between Spain and the US.

It goes something like this: "Huh, they have cool round mailboxes. Ours are square and blue, theirs are round and yellow. They are different. One is yellow, the other is blue." or "Our phones don't look like that. Ours are more square. Theirs are more round" etc. Not a whole lot of brilliant, high level thinking going on just after class.

Then I take a picture of the item, and people look at me funny. Now, I have amassed quite a number of these relatively-pointless photographs, and feel I must do something productive with them. So, let me take a moment to enlighten you on a few differences that you probably never really cared to know:

There are A LOT of Smart Cars here. I love looking for the Smart Cars. I know there are presently a limited number of Smart Cars in North America, but here in Madrid they are quite popular here. I think the picture at right does a pretty good job of illustrating why! (I wonder if this is even legal?)

I know these cars are sort-of 'death-traps' but the environmentalist in me loves how popular they are here.

For those of you that are also reading Joanie Calder's South Korea blog, you'll surely remember when she showed a photo of a Korean building under construction that was covered by a lovely tarp to disguise the work-in-progress. Guess what Joans...they do that here too. They even make their coverings faux-colonial. Nice touch! (Has anyone seen this done in the US?)

And here's one more thing that's a little different, but pretty cool. In order to increase the number of pedestrian only zones, Madrid has this great system for allowing only residents of a given street access the street. There is a small post blocking the street, and only residents know the code to make the post lower down momentarily to allow them to pass through. They punch it into the key pad, and the little post lowers. Much less obtrusive than a big gate or a flimsy piece of wood blocking the way.

Okay, yeah...I know it's a odd thing to take note of, but I think it's kind of cool. (And perhaps it is also done in the US, but I haven't seen it yet.)

Escorial & Palacio Real

2008-02-23T12:31:00.037-07:00

This was my Shockingly Enormous Old Structures week. Let's call it S.E.O.S. for short, (as a 'shout out' of sorts to my previous co-workers in the acronym-ridden world refugee resettlement :)

I saw a 650ft x 500ft monastery, a 2000 room royal palace, and a city enclosed by giant medieval walls. Phew...I'm tired. I'll focus on the first two in this entry, then write separately about the third.

MONASTERIO DE SAN LORENZO DE ESCORIAL
After class yesterday, I took a 1 hour bus ride out to the small town of San Lorenzo de Escorial to see the monstrously huge 16th century monastery. At right is the photograph I took as I rode over the monastery in a helicopter. Either that, or it's a picture that I found at www.velo-touren.ch and decided to use on my blog in order to show the immense size of this structure.

Honestly, it's kind of a gloomy building, more like a spiffed up prison than a house of worship. It was clearly intended to be a statement of power, and it's absolutely enormous. With over 100 miles of walkways and thousands of rooms, I got lost over and over again during my visit.

My favorite part was most definitely the astoundingly beautiful library. You are not permitted to photograph inside the monastery, but someone apparently disregarded this rule because I found the photo at right on the web. While 'you had to be there' is certainly true in this case, the photo perhaps gives a glimpse at how spectacular the library is, with its beautifully painted ceiling, rich wood bookshelves full of priceless ancient texts, and oooooh....such fantastic globes!

But it wasn't the globes that got me. I don't mean to betray my geographic training, but I was utterly enthralled with the Illuminated Manuscripts. So beautiful! It's fascinating to me to imagine some monk centuries ago toiling for hours over each small detail, each decorative flower, each placement of gold leafing, each fanciful letter. From the first time I saw Illuminated Manuscripts in the British Museum in London (10 years ago), I was hooked. I could stare at them for hours. But unfortunately, this is DEFINITELY a 'you have to see it in person' experience. I have never been able to replicate the same degree of awe by looking at coffee table books with reproductions of the pieces. It's gotta be the real thing.

But, library aside, did I enjoy my visit to Escorial? Kind of no. Perhaps I've had my fill of big buildings full of art (for now), but I just couldn't get into it. I enjoyed the moments when I was able to get a sense of what monastic life might have been like centuries ago, but as far as the room after room of paintings and tapestries and other things hanging on walls... I just didn't have the attention span for it.

I did have a pretty bad headache, so that surely contributed. In the end, I spent just over one hour at Escorial, deciding to throw in the towel when visions of my bottle of Advil held more attraction than priceless, centuries old works of art.

PALACIO REAL
On Monday of this week I visited Madrid's royal place, the 'Palacio Real.' The present king and queen don't currently reside there, but for centuries it was the home for Spainish royalty.

I was expecting a Spanish Versailles, and that is sort of how it felt to me: lots of rooms that don't really seem to serve a purpose other than to make the palace bigger. You have room 32 with three chairs against the wall and two clocks, followed by room 33 with a small sofa along one wall and a painting on the opposing wall, followed by room 34... etc, etc. Does anyone know if this is really how the royals lived in these palaces? Maybe, 'in the day', they were full of furniture and purpose, but now it's just one room after another.

However, the first five rooms of the Palacio Real are SO over-the-top ornate that I LOVED them. The rest of the rooms: ho-hum. But these first five rooms were crazy! There was not a wasted square inch of empty space, and yet it somehow worked. I don't know what happened for the rest of the rooms, but whoever designed these rooms was an insane, impassioned genius. Again, no photography was allowed so the best I can do is borrow pictures taken by others, then posted on the web.

Next to the palace (still part of the complex) is a museum housing an extensive collection of medieval armor for both man and horse. Amazing stuff, but more about that in the Avila entry...

Tapas! Tapas! Tapas!

2008-02-23T12:11:00.019-07:00

There's one particular Spanish tradition that I so wish America would adopt: TAPAS! Tapas are perfect someone with food-related-ADD like me: just a little bit of this, then a little bit of that, then a little bit of this, and so on and so on. Considering my fondness for these little Spanish wonders, I figured they deserved their own entry.

Tapas are as Spanish as bullfighting and flamenco. It's not just a type of food, it's a way of life here, and the Spanish even have a verb that means "going out for tapas." If you have never heard of 'tapas', in short, they are small portions of seafood, salads, meat-filled pastries, and other goodies, often served on top of a slice of baguette. They are like appetizers, except much much much better.

Spaniards don't just go to one bar and order a bunch of tapas. They eat one or two at bar X, then head over to bar Y for another one, then move onto bar Z for several more. The typical 'tapas run' involves four or five bars, and sampling a whole array of tasty tapas. So, in true Madrileno style, Welmoud, Tom, Alan and I went on a 'tapas run' last Friday night, hitting five tapas bars and sampling over a dozen of different dishes.

Before getting to the plot (the food), let me introduce the characters: that's Alan (a retired union negotiator from England) at left, Welmoud (a geologist from Holland) in the middle, and Tom (an artist from Canada) at right. Tom had just bought a rose from a roaming salesperson, and had rigged it into the wall of the bar. (Can you tell from his pose that he is the artist of the group?)

We arrived at our first tapas bar at 7:30, and in true Spanish style, they were just opening for the night. Since we were "so early", we were only able to order drinks, since food wouldn't even be ready until after 8pm. So we drank a round (and yes, I stuck with my oh-so-classy Diet Coke), then headed to bar #2, which specialized in tapas from the Basque country. DELICIOUS--my favorite of the night! After four different tapas here, we headed to bar #3 at about 9pm, a standing room only bar that has absolutely delicious (if a bit pricy at $4 a pop) tapas. We had four different tapas here as well, then, at about 10pm, wandered into bar #4, which had been recommended to us by an elemadrid teacher.

I was less impressed with the three tapas we had here--kind of bland--but that's the beauty of the system. Low commitment! At about 11:30pm, we hit bar #5 for two more tapas. We could hardly find a place to sit it was so crowded (and actually this was after giving up on several other tapas bars that were just way too packed). For bar #6, we returned to the bar that we started at, and had another round of drinks until 2am.

Sound late to be eating? Not for Madrid. At 2am, when we left our last bar for the night, the streets of Madrid's "La Latina" neighborhood were full. Madrilenos are nicknames 'gatos' (cats) for their incurable night prowling. By Madrid standards, we actually headed in early.

So how does one choose which tapas to eat?
At most of the tapas bars that I have been to, the tapas are displayed under glass at the bar, so you don't really have to know Spanish to order. You just see what looks good and point.

But, if you don't have the option to preview your selection ahead of time...no matter. It's just a tapa. If you order badly, oh well. Just order something else. It's not like ordering an entire entree that you end up disliking. It's just a little tapa!

Tortillas, Spanish style
Of the hundreds (or more?) different kind of tapas, perhaps the most traditional and popular one is the tortilla. However, the Spanish tortilla is NOTHING like the Mexican tortilla. In Spain, the tortilla is a dense and buttery potato omelet that somewhat resembles a less cheesy version of potatoes-au-gratin. I've had "Madrid's best tortillas" at the atmospheric, 100+ year old Cerveceria Alemana, and (at other non-disclosed locations) I've had some not-so-delicious versions, like the one pictured at right. But, in general, I give the Spanish tortilla two thumbs up.

A future full of FREE tapas...
I'm going to be in Granada for the month of May, and I've heard from several sources that most Granada tapas bars give a free plate of tapas with every drink you buy. Count me in! Of course, the going rate in restaurants for my drink of choice--Diet Coke--is about $2.50-$3.00 a can, so it's not the amazing savings it sounds like. But, it's better than paying for both.

As if I needed another reason to spend a month in Granada.

Flamenco, Ole?… Flamenco, Oi Vay!

2008-02-20T16:06:00.005-07:00

I took a Flamenco dancing class on Wednesday night. I actually don’t particularly enjoy dancing, but when in Spain, you don’t pass up an opportunity to learn Flamenco!

How did it go? Well, the teacher didn’t exactly gush over my innate Flamenco ability, but then again I wasn’t any worse off than any of the other students. It wasn’t the moves that got me. Thanks to the years of dance lessons as a child, I have an adequate level of coordination. It was my brain, which had absolutely no interest in participating in the endeavor. This was me most of the night:

One, two, three. One, two, three. One…Do I need to do laundry tonight? No, I think I’m…Oh crap, where are we. Oh, okay…Clap, stomp, stomp. One, two, three. One, two, three…It’s too hot in here. Why doesn’t anyone else look hot? Is there a… Oh crap…

I could NOT get myself to concentrate. I wasn’t too hard on myself about it though. Really, my brain, which would not be chastised into cooperating, had a good point, which was “Who are you kidding? You don’t like dancing. I am not going to be a part of this.”

So, final judgement on the experience: I’ve danced Flamenco in Spain, but I don’t have a new hobby.

Madrid: An Art Lover’s Paradise

2008-02-20T08:36:00.019-07:00

I couldn’t possibly spend an entire month in Madrid without writing at least one entry about the city’s fantastic museums. Madrid is a virtual treasure trove of spectacular works of art, and is absolutely packed with art venues. If you are not much into art, you can skip this entry.

I am going to briefly write about ‘the Big 3’ museums, but trust me, there are dozens more that deserve to be included! If you love art...you must come to Madrid!

THE PRADO
I just got back from visiting the Museo del Prado, one of the world’s top museums, boasting an incredible collection of Spanish and European art, much of it originally collected by Spanish royalty. Many consider it to be the ‘best’ collection of art in the world.

Today was my first visit to the Prado. I plan to go again next week. Like the Louvre or the Met, you can’t “do” the Prado in one visit. For me, it would take MANY visits since two hours seems to be the limit of my art appreciation attention span. But I’m just going to go twice.

The Prado is best known for its extensive collection of works by three renowned Spanish artists: Velazquez, Goya and El Greco (who, in truth, was actually Greek—‘el greco’ means 'the Greek’ in Spanish—but he lived in Spain as an adult.) I focused today's visit primarily on these great artists, but was also able to check out many works by non-Spanish artists as well. Que fantastico!

At right is one of the Prado's BEST: Las Meninas by Velazquez, one of the greatest pieces of art of all time. (And Nancy, I gladly said 'hi' to them for you!):

THE REINA SOFIA
Just down the street from the Prado is Madrid’s museum of modern art—the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. I visited the museum about a week ago with Welmoud, my Dutch friend from elemadrid. Unfortunately I wasn’t in an artsy mood, so I kind of just wandered through, not experiencing the thrill I felt at the other two museums. In fact, Welmoud and I probably spent as much time at the museum as we did chatting at the adjacent Starbucks during a mid-viewing break. :)

Like the Prado, the Reina Sofia has pieces from Europe and other regions, but works by Spanish artists dominate. In fact, almost half the museum is devoted to Pablo Piscaso, a Spaniard who fled to France when Franco took power. They have everything from his doodles on newspapers to world-renowned masterpieces, including Guernica (below). I was particularly taken by some of his busts. Brilliant!

Along with Picasso, they also have many pieces by fellow Spanish artists Miro and Dali, (examples below), as well as numerous pieces by other artists. Despite my lackadaisical mood while at the Reina Sofia, I’d definitely say it’s a Must-Do when in Madrid.

THE THYSSEN
The Museo de Thyssen-Bornemisza’ was the first of the three museums that I visited, just two days after I arrived. Although it is often considered the least spectacular of the three, I had such a fantastic time here. It really gave me a shot of creativity about my future (which is another story, for later) and before I knew it, four hours had passed.

Many people feel this museum complements where the Prado is weak--like Impressionism--so if you love art or have two weeks or more in Madrid, I’d recommend going to the Thyssen as well as the other two. Here are a few pieces that stuck out for me:

(Degas/Kandinsky/Lindner)

Spectacular Segovia, part 3

2008-02-19T06:12:00.044-07:00

Our last stop on Betsy's virtual tour of Segovia: THE CASTLE!

The most spectacular site in Segovia has to be its "Alcazar" (which is Spanish for 'castle', and was originally derived from the Arabic 'al-qasr'). What an evocative sight! The crenellated walls, Rapunzel towers, and an honest-to-goodness moat... it almost seems right out of Make-Believe-Land.

Actually, according to my Lonely Planet guidebook, Walt Disney took its design for Sleeping Beauty's castle from this castle! (Of course, the guidebook then goes on to say, "... or so Segovia’s town propagandists would have you believe.")

Before touring the interior, we climbed to the top via a narrowing and winding staircase—quite a claustrophobic experience for me but surely nothing compared to how it must be in the hot, crowded summer, when the narrow passage has to accommodate those ascending AND those descending at the same time. (This is Spain’s low season so we only occasionally had to squeeze by other visitors going the other way.)

But…the view from the top was worth the strain on the lungs and the psyche. Que fantastico! The photo above is back toward the center of Segovia; the one at right is of the countryside behind the castle; and the photos below are of the castle's courtyard.

(Locate the church in the middle right of the picture to the right: That’s the Knight’s Templar church I mentioned yesterday.)

The interior was in that typically royal style of 'if a little is good, more is better.' Obnoxiously overdone, but curiously beautiful at the same time.

And, although my photographs certainly do not do them justice, I particularly liked the stained glass windows that lined the walls of the throne room and reception room. (Please click to enlarge, then use your imagination to picture them very large and very brightly lit from behind.)

Most surprising of all, I LOVED all the armory, and while I could go on and on about that now, I am going to save it for another entry...So, that's it for Segovia. Hope you enjoyed your tour. :)

Spectacular Segovia, part 2

2008-02-17T16:14:00.014-07:00

It's late Sunday night/Monday morning, and I can't sleep so I thought I'd get up and do something useful until my body is willing to cooperate. So...here's the next entry on Segovia. It's late so my writing will be grossly inadequate for the subject, but I know you'll forgive me. :)

The HISTORIC TOWN CENTER
In truth, what captured my attention most about Segovia wasn’t its imposing cathedral, its grand aqueduct, its evocative castle. It was the myriad designs embossed on the ordinary businesses and towns in Segovia’s historic town center. It’s unlike anything I have ever seen in all my travels. Simply stunning.

I took dozens of photographs, and included many below. To really see the designs, you'll need to click on the image to enlarge it:

Pretty great, eh? Here are more examples—-small squares of other embossed designs on Segovia's homes and businesses. Amazing!!!

Beyond the designs on buildings, the city really is very charming. I loved the layout of this plaza--the Plaza de San Martin:

The center of old Segovia is the shady Plaza Mayor, lined by an eclectic assortment of buildings and cafes. My little camera doesn’t do groovy wide angle shots, so here’s my (poorly) stitched together three shots of the Plaza:

Here’s an example of a typical street in the historic town center:

And here’s one more image of Segovia to leave you with, until tomorrow:

UP NEXT: Photos of Segovia’s breathtaking castle.

Spectacular Segovia, part 1

2008-02-17T06:53:00.047-07:00

I saw this yesterday. Me, in person. I took this photograph of Segovia's stunning Iglesia de San Miguel from the top of Segovia's fairy tale castle. Ah, Segovia! Nothing I could say would do the town justice, but I will attempt to share a bit of my experience anyway.

Yesterday, I went on a day trip out to Segovia, about an hour outside of Madrid by bus. Segovia is a gem of a town, loaded with monuments, an aqueduct, cathedrals, a castle... The city center and the aqueduct were recently named Unesco World Heritage Sites, and I can't imagine it wasn't a unanimous decision!

I went on a guided tour conducted entirely in Spanish for students like me. The guide, Sonia, was fascinating, and I was able to understand most of what she said. I sat by her on the bus and was even able to carry on a decent conversation. So fun! I could have just gone to Segovia alone, but I learned so much more by going with Sonia and the four other students (from a different school).

I have dozens of photographs to share, so I am going to write about Segovia over the next three days. I'll start with the aqueduct and the cathedrals.

the AQUEDUCT
Our first stop was the aqueduct, Segovia's most recognizable symbol. I’m feeling lazy, so, uh, here’s what my guidebook has to say about it:

“[The aqueduct] is an extraordinary feat of engineering, made even more remarkable by the fact that it was first raised here by the Romans in the 1st century AD. The 728m granite block bridge you see today is made up of 163 arches and, remarkably, not a drop of mortar was used to hold the whole thing together. The aqueduct was part of a complex system of aqueducts and underground canals which once brought water from the mountains 9 miles away to where the castle now stands.” (Lonely Planet)

The guide took us around a hidden corner to a spot where we could see the actual width of the top portion that carries the water.

It was surprisingly narrow, and quite a reminder that large projects built by the Romans were often massively more grandiose they needed to be. After all, who’d be impressed with a trench dug into the ground?

the CATHEDRAL
At the heart of the city is the beautiful 'Iglesia de San Miguel', embellished to the hilt with pinnacles and flying buttresses. I absolutely love this cathedral. When I first saw it, I think I took 20 photos of the exact same shot because I just didn't know what to do with myself.

This Gothic cathedral was built in the "Flamboyant Gothic" style (the overripe, final stages of Gothic) and took over 200 years to complete. Once completed, it was the scene of Isabel's coronation as Queen of Castile.

The architecture and artwork on the interior was quite impressive, and the guide provided fascinating details about its creation, but sorry…photography was not allowed inside so I have no photos to share.

One of my favorite parts, however, was the cloistered garden—so peaceful and majestic—and I was able to photograph that part:

There are many, many other cathedrals and monasteries in Segovia (as with virtually any other Spanish town!) but none as spectacular as the Iglesia de San Miguel. Most of the other churches are Romanesque in style, and are much less grandiose but still quite striking. I especially liked the many figured capitals on one of the churches. Here are just four of the 12 or so different capitals:

Segovia even has a church built by the Knights Templar! Called “La Iglesia de la Vera Cruz”, it long housed what was claimed to be a piece of the True Cross ('vera cruz'), and the knights stood vigil over the holy relic 24 hours a day. Unfortunately I couldn't visit this church due to time constraints, but I saw it from afar. I got closer than I've ever been before. (See, my medieval goblet is half full.)

TOMORROW...
I'm going to sign off for now, but tomorrow I will share a bit about Segovia's historic city center, and on Tuesday I will write about the piece de resistance--Segovia's spectacular castle!

ARCO8 Contemporary Art Fair

2008-02-15T06:57:00.007-07:00

One of our fellow elemadrid students is a Canadian artist named Tom Hopkins. Tom is in Madrid to learn some Spanish, but also because he has several paintings on display at the big International Contemporary Art Fair ("ARCO") that is currently taking place in Madrid. ARCO is a huge international annual event in the world of contemporary art, with hundreds of galleries from all over the world displaying works by their hottest new artists.

So, to support our new friend and see more great art, Alan, Welmoud, and I took the metro out to the big exposition center yesterday to see the show. Tom was able to score us free "Professional Artist Passes" so we were feeling pretty spiffy.

Here is one of Tom's paintings on display at ARCO this year. Very nice!

(http://www.tomhopkinsart.com/)

After checking out Tom's paintings, we wandered around for a bit, and I soon found myself absolutely and completely...

BORED! I wasn't liking the majority of what I was seeing. Maybe I just wasn't in an arty mood. I certainly don't know much about contemporary art, so maybe I just wasn't seeing what experienced art connoisseurs would see. But to my untrained eye, there seemed to be such an overabundance of macabre, ultra-bizarre art.

After 15 minutes of wandering, my attention shifted over to people watching, my favorite sport. Deals were being struck, exotic languages were being spoken, eccentric personalities were freely expressed... For me, the human dimension of the show held much more interest than the art on display.

Happy Valentine's Day Warren! I miss you.

2008-02-14T13:32:00.004-07:00

Yet another food entry...

2008-02-13T16:21:00.021-07:00

I’ve been doing a lot of walking in the last two weeks, so to even things out (since I wouldn’t want to, say, lose a pound or two) I have been sampling Madrid’s tempting array of pastries.

LA MALLORQUINA
The king of pastries—in my opinion, and according to the ever-present mobs in the store, apparently the opinion of the rest of Madrid—is La Mallorquina, located just off Puerta del Sol. A visit to La Mallorquina is an event in itself, with its white-jacketed wait staff, rack after rack of stunning treats, and the palpable energy of fifty or sixty happy, sugar-drunk patrons.

My love for La Mallorquina began when I tried the "Chocolate Napolitana". Yowsa. I have been spoiled for pastries for the rest of my life. I was just three bites into it before I started formulating rules for myself. “Okay, I can only have a Napolitana if I walk at least two hours a day. Oh, and only if I’ve had a small dinner. And then I can’t have another one for two, no three days…” I know when I have met my match.

Luckily, the other pastries have not been as devilishly good. This afternoon I had a "Palmera", a honey-soaked, buttery, flakey treat. It was good, even great, but doesn’t eclipse my Napolitana. Nor does the donut-like "Rosquilla". Next in line is the "Madrilena", pictured below at left. I’m not so worried about that one. Doesn’t look too good, eh?

I have to try it though because I have a compulsion to try all odd looking/sounding foods when I travel. (Wait till I tell you about sampling some of Madrid’s more exotic tapas, like pigs ear.) But if the Madrilena is anything other than a blissful experience, I will stop ‘wasting’ my time and focus entirely on Napolitanas.

CHURROS AND CHOCOLATE
Probably the most popular dessert in Spain is churros con chocolate. When I sampled it the other evening at the local Maestro Churrero (recommended to me by my taxi driver from the airport), every single other patron was also indulging in churros con chocolate.

Unlike the Mexican variety, Spanish churros don’t have cinnamon on them. Eaten alone, they are actually quite bland. To sweeten them up, Spaniards dip these little fried donut sticks in a warm chocolate liquid that would fall somewhere between chocolate milk and chocolate pudding on a consistency-of-chocolate-liquids scale.

I didn’t care for it. I found it a bit boring. Sorry Maestro Churrero…no more Euros from me. Thanks for the memory though.

THE ODD BALL
This morning I was running late, so I didn’t have time for my usual yogurt-and-orange breakfast. By break time (11am), I was famished, so I decided to patronize the local Juan Valdez Café downstairs (yep…same Juan Valdez that graced our TV screens in the 70s, alongside his compatriots Mr. Whipple and the Kool-Aid man.) The Juan Valdez Café is a Starbucksesque coffee shop, so all they had were pastries. I was momentarily disappointed until I spied my victim: a pastry BALL. Nay, a whole rack of puffy, airy, cakey balls. Not like little donut holes. These were big and spongy. They looked very odd, sitting there all serious like a real food item.

I ordered it, along with a fresh orange juice, then scurried back upstairs to see what I had just gotten myself into. Before I left the store, I asked the barista what was in it, expecting to hear chocolate, or apple, or some other sweet filling. The answer: "cheese and corn". My mind interpreted that to mean a nacho cheese type filling with some corn kernels mixed in. Eeeek!

The verdict: it was an utterly tame cornbread ball with a slight hint of cheese and a bit too much butter. Nothing exotic, nothing I’d have to choke down. Not that I was disappointed. Well, my intellect was a bit, but my stomach was happy with the result. I was pretty hungry after all.

AND ONE LAST PASTRY TALE
Here’s a little something that you really don’t need to know: In Spain, the ever-popular McDonalds apple pies are still of the artery-clogging FRIED variety! Remember when they used to be fried in the States, like 10 years ago.

Trust me…there is no need to be nostalgic for the good ol days of fried McDonalds apple pies. The baked versions sold at U.S. McDonalds are tremendously better, unless you like your apple pie to taste a bit fishy.

Spectacular Storefronts

2008-02-13T12:20:00.012-07:00

My obsession with Madrid's painted tile street signs has been eclipsed by a new quest: to stumble upon more of Madrid’s countless quaint storefronts. Every afternoon walk is like a little journey of discovery. Madrid has some fantastically detailed storefronts, from stunning old tile work to beautifully rich wood finishes. Here are a few recent finds:

In Madrid, even something as mundane as displaying seafood at a Tapas bar is often taken to new aesthetic highs...generally drawing me over, even from across the street.

Espanol with elemadrid

2008-02-09T16:13:00.009-07:00

I have now completed my first week of Spanish classes at “elemadrid” and I love it! But don't worry...I will resist the urge to start peppering my blog entries with my fancy new Spanish words.

I have come to the sad realization that I have LOST most of my Spanish knowledge from high school and college. I am back to Advanced Beginner, if that. I find it very frustrating when the words WILL NOT come out of my mouth correctly or when my mind draws a complete blank when asked a question. But...it’s still a lot of fun, and I think I have progressed a lot in just the last week.

Below are my three teachers (photos taken from the elemadrid website). First I have two hours of Spanish grammar with Lola, then two hours of conversational Spanish with Marta. Elena heads up the activities, so I have her three days a week in the afternoons.

MY FELLOW LEARNERS
I chose elemadrid because the school is geared toward adult learners. I did NOT want to be surrounded by a Let’s Go toting, party-thru-Europe crowd of early twenty-somethings. And sure enough, our class if made up of outgoing and interesting adult learners.

There’s just four of us at the Advanced Beginner level: Wilmoed, a 32 year old geologist from Holland; Tom, a 60-something artist from Canada; and Vilmer, a 60s something business consultant from Germany. Our group gets along great, and we often spend time together outside of class. At left is a photo of Welmoud buying us some chocolate treats one afternoon while we were strolling around the Chueca neighborhood.

ACTIVITIES
I also chose elemadrid for all the extra afternoon “practice sessions”, which are ideal for testing and improving general comprehension. They are already my favorite part of my studies.

Tuesdays:
‘Spain Today’ lectures
Last week we had a lecture, in Spanish, about the terrorist Basque group called ETA—their history, the present threat, etc… Fascinating (and fun because I understood about 75% of it!)

Wednesdays:
Interview with a local professional
This last week a local judge came to talk about the legal system in Spain (although…I admit I didn’t attend it.)

Thursdays:
“Discover Madrid” field trips
This week we walked around the historic center of Madrid with Elena, the practice session teacher. (See picture above.) As with everything at elemadrid, it was entirely in Spanish and full of new words. By the end of the two hours, my brain was tired but my spirits were high because I'd understood the majority of what she had explained.(Comprehension is easiest for me. Actually forming intelligent sentences...that's a long ways off).

Hey…that’s me. It’s a photo of me, here on my website. It’s photographic proof that I actually am here in Spain. It’s not a particularly interesting shot, but I’m including it here for those of you that have inquired as to why I never have photos of myself on the site.

Truthfully, it's only because I just don’t think to have them taken. But, on this day Welmoud suggested that she take a picture of me with my camera, so...here’s me standing in front of a statue of some Spanish dude in the middle of yet another historic plaza.

The Daily Commute...What a treat!

2008-02-09T15:30:00.002-07:00

Well, this is certainly the best commute I have ever had. It takes me about 20 minutes to walk to school, and it is an absolute pleasure! Here's a play-by-play of what I see:

(Note: Some photos were taken en-route to school when it is still a bit dark out, while others were taken on the way home at 1pm.)

1 MINUTE: The plaza just around the corner from my apartment.

3 MINUTES: An example of the little streets that I walk down next.

6 MINUTES: Next is Calle Mayor, the main street of the historic center. During this time I walk through Puerta del Sol and on to...

8 MINUTES: A charming little round plaza that doesn't want to be photographed but is really spectacular.

11 MINUTES: Crossing the Gran Via, a major artery of downtown Marid and full of fantastic historic buildings.

14 MINUTES: The roundabout of Plaza de Cibeles, with the over-the-top ornate Post Office in the background.

17 MINUTES: A few minutes later on the Gran Via, a view back toward the Cibeles fountains and the Gran Via where I just walked.

19 MINUTES: Another roundabout, this one called Plaza de la Independencia. From here, I turn down one of the arterial streets off the roundabout, and I'm there! Phew...what a great 20 minutes.

Of course...
I could take the subway. I've taken it a few times to other places, and it's very clean and efficient. But this would be the view on my commute:

Not a tough decision.