Granada Pictures

This is the Harem at the Alhambra Palace on the right. The women could look down into the garden with being seen.

On the left you can see the first snow fall on the mountain range outside of granada.

I just tried loading about six more and it is taking too long for this computer to do it. Afraid I´ll need to wait till we get to the next place. Sorry.

Friday in Lisbon

Friday in Lisbon
Last night we had an excellent, very gourmet, dinner in the Pousada’s restaurant. It was right across the street from the hotel. There was a large group of middle-aged men wearing suits in the bar when we arrived. Our waiter explained that they were the military officers from the base right behind the hotel. They have a large dinner party at the restaurant every year and this was the night.
The most interesting thing about the restaurant is that it is located in the Royal Palace and was originally its kitchen. There is a big hearth in the middle of the room with a sort of huge stone hood over it. It was obviously where they roasted meat. There is a giant wrought iron spit in the center. The kitchen for the restaurant is not in another room and the “old kitchen” is just the quite attractive restaurant.
This morning I got up early and went downstairs willing to give the hotel’s internet computer a try. I told the desk clerk I wanted to use it for an hour and handed him the 5 Euro fee. He looked embarrassed and said for me to keep a secret but to go ahead and use it free. Another very nice person we’ve encountered.
That is something that stands out about our visit to Spain and Portugal. We continue to meet people who go out of their way to be helpful and friendly. Before I left on this trip some friends who had recently visited Spain told me that the people weren’t very friendly and that they were annoyed when your mispronounced their Castillian Spanish. We have not found that at all. People have been very friendly and patient with us even when we completely mess up their language. Of course we don’t speak Portugese (so far only one word we are sure of – Obrigado – which means thank you). However, if they don’t speak English they can usually sort of understand Spanish.
Today we headed into Lisbon. It is noticeably much poorer than its counterparts in Spain. Many buildings are in need of paint or plaster repair. We took a double decker bus ride to get the general “lay of the land” which was very useful. It is a pretty city with a big waterfront. Portugal owes its success to the sea so there are many monuments to it. The waterfront smells like fish (not particularly fresh fish). Lisbon does not look like it was ever so grand as Madrid, Granada, or Barcelona. Even its Royal Palaces seem modest.
After our bus tour we wondered around the old section of Lisbon. We found a “marching” band of about 20 people (looked like University students) playing pretty good music – many American tunes (things like The Quiet Jungle the Lion Sleeps Tonight). Then we hiked up the hill and visited the Moorish Castle which was very small but well preserved. There was a man playing beautiful guitar music in an open area.
On our way down the hill we stopped at a wine bar whose proprietor prided himself on having over 100 wines from all over Portugal. I had a white, Judy a red, and Michael a beer (he is somewhat frustrated because it is impossible to find a dark beer here). The wines were delicious mine from the North, Judy’s from the South. Actually all the Spanish and Portuguese wines we’ve had have been really good. I wish I could remember what their names were.
Saturday am
I am finishing writing this before we hit the road this morning heading inland on our way back to Madrid. Can’t believe this segment of my trip is ending. It’s gone really fast. So far I sure am not homesick although I do miss Angel.
Last night we returned to Lisbon for dinner and Fado music. Fado is their traditional singing – usually very plaintive. We parked in a garage in the main square and then took a cab. The area where the Fado singing is is supposed to be quite dangerous (at least on your valuables). It consists of tiny alleys, little bars and restaurants, and apartments. Very dark and dingy. The cab stopped on a street and pointed up the hill saying it was too hard to drive there. We walked up the hill not sure of where we were going. Judy stopped to ask an older woman wearing an apron. Not only did she tell us where it was, but she took Judy’s arm and escorted us. She warned us to “watch your paper.” We think she was referring to money.
We were met at the door by a fat waiter who seated us in the restaurant. The “show” had already started. We ordered our food (which was ok) and watched/listened to the show. We ended up seeing it 3 times. It repeated (although) the songs varied every 45 minutes. There were several singers – the waitress (very pretty, dressed in black, good voice), the waiter (very fat, incredible voice and emotion – reminded us of Pavarotti), a blind man (who stood outside the front door between shows, very well dressed, great voice), and then one of the cooks (a female, very good voice). It was a great experience.
We walked down the hill, took a cab to our car, and headed home to the hotel. Bye Bye Lisbon.

I got this to work Pictures to follow

I finally got this computer to work. I will post the pictures later. Probably tomorrow

Saturday This is out of order

Saturday leaving Toledo Arriving Granada
We left Toledo in the early morning as the drive to Granada was to be the longest of the entire trip. We had some difficulty getting onto the right freeway (this seems to be a continuing problem). However once on the road there was no traffic and it was smooth sailing at a pretty high rate of speed. We made it to Granada in 3 hours. The landscape for the first half of the drive was boring – flat, pretty barren, and no towns that looked inviting in the lease. The only thing mentioned in the guidebook as a possible interesting stop was La Mancha – a ruined castle with some windmills. We were so bored with the landscape we were even considering a stop here but it turned out we could see it (or at least something that looked just like it in the guidebook) so we just kept on “truckin.”
The second half of the drive was much more enjoyable. The landscape changed to rolling hills covered mostly with olive trees and a few vineyards. The weather was much was much warmer, low 70s. When we got about 25 miles from Granada we could see the Sierra mountain range which is the highest on the Iberian Peninsula. It had a dusting of snow on the highest parts. Obviously the rainstorm we had when I was in Barcelona and the first day in Madrid was a very cold one.
Since our Granada Hotel is inside the Alhambra we found it pretty easily following signs to the Alhambra. The hotel is extremely quaint and looks just like other structures in the Alhambra. It has an inside patio that our rooms face onto and there is a fountain running all the time. The patio is covered with a grape arbor. Of course my room (a single) is about as big as a jail cell.
Cars are parked by the main entrance to the Alhambra so we drove down there after unpacking. We then had a nice lunch in a beautiful patio restaurant. It had a pond with coi (sp)in it.
Our ticket for the Alhambra palace is Sunday but we were able to buy a ticket that permitted us to see other parts. It is “other worldly,” There are shade trees everywhere and water runs in streams, troughs, fountains, and fountains. The sound of water is everywhere and it is very shady. There are incredibile views looking out at the old and new cities and the scenery beyond. We were able to visit some builidings/gardens on a low cost all day ticket – it is very Moorish with intricate carvings in the courtyards and hallways. One can imagine what an oasis this would be during the hot summer weather. The only drawback to this peaceful experience is that there were hordes, and I do mean hordes, of visitors. It is worse than Disneyland. I can’t imagine what it would be like at the peak of tourist season. Very disappointing to me was that my camera battery was dead (a good lesson I will be sure not to repeat) so I was unable to take any pictures of this beautiful sight.
We returned to the hotel and had some rest – knowing that it was going to be Saturday night and we should be ready to stay up late. We had made dinner reservations at a place recommended by Rick Steeves that is a “Carmen” in old Granada. This means an old home that now is a restaurant. (You have to ring a doorbell for entrance. The hotel person said it could be walked to in an hour but she didn’t advise it as it was hard to find, there are many narrow paths passage ways that can be dangerous at night. Michael thought we should try to walk it anyway and if we didn’t find it in an hour take a cab. Fortunately Judy and I prevailed and we took a cab from the hotel. It was “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” – in fact a long distance also.
We went on a myriad of tiny passages, some so narrow the driver had to fold in the side mirrors just to get through. We passed many fountains, down numerous unmarked streets, up and down steep, steep hills, through neighborhoods without any notable shops/restaurants, until we finally arrived at our destination – an unmarked alley way. The driver told us to go up the tiny walkway above us and then take a left and we would find the “Carmen”. He was right – there it was with a tiny unlit sign and a doorbell. We were 45 minutes early – it wasn’t yet open. We had planned to walk around the area until we could go in. However, there didn’t appear to be anything public around us. We decided to walk a little and be sure to remember the way back.
We ended up in a little square with just a few local people and dogs hanging out – there was a very nice view of the Alhambra from there. We could hear a lone male voice singing flamenco in the near distance. We tried to locate him by walking around but could not and decided he probably was in one of the homes within a few blocks of us. Where we were is very close to the Sacromente district which is where most of the gypsies live. There is a very large gypsy (preferably called Roma) in Granada. They don’t dress like gypsies that you see in many European cities like Rome – most of those are from Eastern Europe and are not at all assimilated into the local culture. The Roma here have been here a very long time – in fact they are responsible for the whole Flamenco thing. Additionally, they don’t appear to be in the pickpocket business here. They seem much more just like local people living their lives.
We managed to find our way back to the “Carmen” and were seated at a table on the patio with a beautiful view of the Alhambra across the river. It is lit up at night and is very beautiful to see at night. A nice dinner, plenty of vino, and we were really enjoying southern Espana. After dinner we asked them to call us a taxi as we knew we would get hopelessly lost if we tried to walk down the hill through all the twisted streets and then we would still have to get to our hotel which was quite a distance away since it is in the Alhambra itself. We knew we were interested in some night life, preferably flamenco and decided to ask the cab driver. We are fortunate in that Judy is very fluent in Spanish, more so after all the practice she has had this week.
The taxi arrived and we hopped in. He could pull out right away because there was a large crowd of local people coming down the street. They appeared to be headed to a small appearing bar in the next block which hadn’t been open earlier. Judy asked the cab driver what the crowd was going to and he explained it was a flamenco place run by a friend of his and “it is highly recommended would you like to go?” We said YES. So he drove us the 100 feet to the front of the place and spoke briefly to the owner who was at the door. The owner put us in the front of the line. Michael paid the driver, probably the most money for the shortest ride in his experience.
The owner explained that it was 25 euros a person for the show. I gave him two 50 euro bills and expected 25 euro in change. He told us to go ahead and be seated he would pay me later. We were escorted in a cave like room with seats lined up theater style and a small wooden stage in front with six chairs on it. When the audience was seated a waiter came and took drink orders. Soon the dancers and musicians came down the center aisle. The music began – a single guitar, a woman singing (more like wailing), and the whole group clapping various rhythms. The first was a somewhat attractive young woman and seemed to be the most junior dancer. The second dance was an geriatric women, probably at least sixty, with long black hair wearing black and red with a red rose in her hair. She was danced very gracefully and played castenets (sp?). It turns out she was the only one who used them. She appeared to be the most respected of the group. The next dance was a middle-aged man with an Elton John haircut and a red polyester outfit. He had a lot of energy but was a bit short on grace and style. Two more dancers followed one of which was a little overweight and looked like a cross between Bill Murray and Joe Cocker. The final dancer was the best of the men he was also younger and a whole lot better looking. The crowd was very enthusiastic. The show ended about 12:30. I was sure that I should just forget about my missing 25 euros but as we left the owner came up to me and handed me 25 euros. We were very impressed. He called us a cab and we headed home. This was a great day.

Thursday Sagres to Queluz

Thursday – Sagres to Queluz (outside of Lisbon)
We left our sleepy little town of Sagres early this am and took freeways to arrive at our hotel for the next two nights, another Pousada just outside of Lisbon. Approaching Lisbon there are many huge apartment complexes – not quite as bad as the Soviet ones in Prague and other previous eastern block countries but similar. There are many warnings in the guidebook re: taking care not to get robbed/mugged. It is definitely a poor country with the problems associated with being poor.
The Royal Palace is across the street and the hotel is “under the clocktower.” I hope the clock doesn’t chime out the hours! We arrived here at 12 noon so we just through our luggage into storage and headed out to see the area as we plan to spend all day in Lisbon tomorrow.
Driving out to the coastal towns just west of here was impressive. These towns are referred to as the Monaco of Portugal and it is easy to see why. These towns are on the beautiful coast, reminds me of California’s rocky coastal areas, with big waves against the rocks. There are very fancy hotels, resorts, casinos, and palatial estates/mansions.
We wanted to have lunch on a deck over the ocean. Checking the guidebook wasn’t very helpful but it had a suggestion that turned out to be a British Restaurant, no deck, very stuffy, very formal, and clearly not where we wanted to be. We left and found a place on our own that turned out to be perfect. We overlooked some of the most spectacular scenery. We ordered salad and pizza. Our waiter suggested that we share some steamed clams to start with. They were exceptional – those tiny little clams I have only seen in Europe that are so sweet – very unlike ours.
We drove around a big loop that included this incredible coastal area and then went up through the mountains ending in Sentra. According to the guidebook Lord Byron declared Sentra to be the most beautiful spot in the known world. It was very nice but I think it was probably in a lot better shape when Lord Byron was there. At this point it is mostly in a glorious state of decay. We toured another royal palace there. There is a Moorish castle on a high hill over the town which took some effort to find. Unfortunately we didn’t find it until after closing time. It appears to be a completely intact castle including ramparts. We may visit it when we leave this area on Saturday.
We’ve now returned to the hotel and checked into our rooms which are lovely. The only drawback is that it seems the “Pousadas” of Portugal are a little out of date. No in room internet access and you must pay 5 Euros an hour for the one hotel computer with internet that guests can use. I give up. I am going to copy the blog texts I’ve been doing onto a thumb drive and load them in the am. I will try to post some pictures but it may take too long to do this but I am going to try.

Wednesday in Sangre

Wednesday – Hanging out in Sangrese
Well it is definitely quiet here. Very few people staying at our hotel. In town mostly just the few local people, surfers, and a sprinkling of European campers. The European campers have RVs, the surfers have beat up VW buses. Many of the houses advertize “simmers, rooms” and we saw a number of hostels. One sign we saw on the road said “Heaven is where nothing happens.”
We slept in late – getting into the vacation from the vacation. Had breakfast on the patio. Checked out the pool temperature – too cold to swim. Eventually we decided to drive up the coast a little and took a nice bottle of red wine, some crackers, and cheese. These items we had purchased yesterday at a local market. The market was very limited to say the least. We tried to purchase some plastic utensils but they didn’t have anything like that. What they did have was a little frightening – especially the deli case which had what appeared to be over-the-hill ham. The vegetables consisted of wrinkled potatoes, moldy bell peppers, and some wilted carrots. I certainly hope there is another place for people to buy food here.
First we drove to the Fort that can be seen from our hotel. It was built in the 1400s and originally included a navigation school whose graduates included the likes of Vasco DeGamo and other early oceanic explorers. It was actually very interesting. From the Fort’s location you can see a vast expanse of the land in every direction where there is land and then the ocean which is on 3 sides of the fort. Past the Fort itself you can walk out to the point. Out there the views of the ocean and cliffs along the coast. There are also two blow holes which you can hear and then locate them on the top of the cliff – they are pretty small from the top and you can mainly hear the sound they make and see the wind they create shaking the vegetation around them. Interestingly they are unmarked so I guess they just expect that people will hear the sound and watch their step.
We drove up the coast and found a road that led out to the cliffs and had paths to walk on that were wood slats. There were many platforms with benches on them to watch the surf and see the coastal views. The waves were huge (it looked like the North Shore in Hawaii). A few very experienced surfers were out there and took some amazing rides.
We had our picnic lunch on one of the platforms with a great view. Unfortunately the experience was marred by millions of flies. They were the type you see in the sea weed in San Diego beaches. They descended upon us landing on the cheese, the wine, and us. We braved them and did our best to keep from eating or drinking them.
Up further north we stopped in a small town. It was probably pretty typical for this area. All the buildings are white and have red tile roofs. It did not appear to be interested in the tourist trade, few shops or cafes and those that were there looked like they were only for locals. There were quite a few old men, dressed well in dark pants, white shirts, dark sweaters, and hats. Most looked pretty weathered and were short in stature.

Tuesday Sevilla to Sangres

Sevilla to Sangres – Tuesday – Judy’s “Birthday”
We left Sevilla pretty early without seeing much of anything. The previous day’s harrowing experiences were too fresh in our minds. We decided to leave the bad karma behind us and push on to Portugal. We felt that Sevilla is no doubt a great place and worth a return visit but after having so many problems trying to navigate to our hotel, we’d probably get lost just walking.
We’d even had problems inside the hotel. It was very charming – located in the middle of the block on a one block street (unmarked of course). Once inside there was a large common space with antique furnisher, lots of nicknacks and musical instruments (e.g., piano, cello, violin). Each room was named for a famous composer (although I’d never heard of mine). The only staff person at the hotel when we arrived was an elderly man who spoke nothing but Spanish, and he made little attempt to try to understand our Spanish. This was interesting because Judy’s Spanish is quite good. Mainly his response to anything we said was, “I don’t speak English. My name is Francisco.” This was very frustrating because we needed some important information – mostly where do we park the car? When we returned after dinner (not that Judy or I ate anything) it was late but I wanted to check my email. I had some trouble getting onto the hotel’s wifi – so I tried to ask Francisco for some help. He wasn’t any – only repeatedly said “My name is Francisco.”
So we decided to just have breakfast and get out of town. We took a cab from the hotel to the parking garage (it turned out to be only two blocks), got in the car, turned on Garmin and trusted her advice. Miracle of miracles – we got out of town with no problem. We drove all the way on the most major roads after the backroads experience the day before. Judy and I had both fully recovered from our food poisoning so it was a pleasant drive.
We stopped In Faro to have lunch and take a look at the place. It is obviously thriving on northern Europeans escaping their cold climates for sun and sea in Portugal. There are lots and lots of new appearing houses on the hills. In town there are many high rise condos (for the less economically benefited visitors). We walked through the old town which appeared somewhat rundown but quaint. We had lunch at a little café across from the Cathedral (not very grand compared to those in Spain). I decided to check it out and saw at the entrance a posting that the fee was 3 Euros which seemed pretty cheap for a modest cathedral. So I waited a few minutes and entered as part of a tour group.
The rest of our drive to our hotel in Sagres was uneventful. Our Hotel is Pousado Do Infante an upscale resort but a little worn and out of date. They provide one computer with internet access in a common room which is free. If you want to use your own computer you can but they charge 8 Euros an hour. Yikes… We upgraded our rooms to ones with a view which is spectacular. The rooms that we were originally given had no view of the ocean but looked out on a out building.
This is truly a beautiful place. It is on a cliff over a large cove. There are huge waves crashing on the rocks below. There is an old fort on the point that we look out onto. Apparently this is a big surfing spot. We see lots of European surfers, most with dreadlocks.
This is clearly a good place to have a vacation from our vacation. It is very quiet, with not much to do other than walk on the beach, smell the salt air, and read a good book. We needed this.

Monday Granada to Sevilla

Monday – Granada to Sevilla – Judy’s Unbirthday
Re: Sunday in Granada – I forgot to mention that we had stopped for a glass of vino in a local square at the top of the town prior to going to the Flamenco show. I left it out because it didn’t seem particularly memorable at the time. I mention it now because it had quite an effect on the next day. Well, the local square looked very “local” with non-tourists hanging out including a few “black feet.” Black feet is the name given by the Souterners to a large contingent of young people from Northern Spain who are spending time (months, years) in the South getting by camping, etc. ) They are sort of present day Spanish hippies many from wealthy families. Dreadlocks are common. Anyway we stopped for a glass of vino….
We sat out in the square and the closest “restaurant/bar” waiter came and took our order. He returned with the vino and a small plate of mystery meat in a brown sauce and French fries. It is very common in Spain to be served “tapas” in the afternoon/evening complimentary. We were going to be having dinner later at the 10 pm flamenco show but we sampled the “tapa” so as not to appear rude. The meat and sauce was barely warm. Michael didn’t partake believing cool meat to be potentially dangerous. Judy and I had a couple of bites each and a few French fries, which had the sauce on them. We decided that it would be best to feed the remainder to the dogs that were hanging out at our table. One of which, a part Great Dane female, obviously belonged to one the black feet females.
The dog’s owner came over and we had a very nice conversation with her. She had been in Granada for almost a year coming to be with her “novio.” She was educated as a social worker but said it isn’t possible to find a job. She was from Barcelona, very delightful, and seemed to be enjoying her life as a black foot.
We planned have a great day – one of the reasons being that it was Judy’s birthday. We left early to drive to Sevilla, planning to take our time and drive on some back roads and see a few hilltowns and rural landscape. Our rental car came with a Garmin GPS system. We didn’t follow the Garmin’s directions because we had already decided our preferred route. The countryside was very beautiful. The first hilltown was charming built on the top and side of a gorge. We had lunch in the first nice looking (actually quite elegant) restaurant we passed. We ordered lunch – Michael lasagna, me tomato/seafood soup (I suddenly wasn’t feeling so good, and Judy ordered eggplant expecting a stew. I tried my soup and it tasted “off” and I ate about half of it. Michael’s lasagna was very strange and obviously just microwaved. Judy’s was definitely the worst though – it was hunks of fried eggplant with a thick very doughy and very greasy covering.
After this delightful lunch we got back in the car and headed out for more rural driving. This turned out to be very, very rural with cows in the road and very windy and hilly. By now both Judy and I were feeling what we thought was car sick. By 5 pm we got to the second hilltown – realizing we still needed to drive to Sevilla. Judy and I were glad to get out of the car but anxious to get to our hotel in Sevilla. After a quick tour of the hilltown we decided to let the Garmin GPS lady get us Sevilla. Unfortunately apparently the Garmin was set on taking the shortest route vs. the fastest. We were directed to a really bad road that didn’t even have a white line divider in the middle and it was again very windy with signs saying look out for livestock. It took us about 2 ½ hours to get to Sevilla. By now I was becoming aware that it wasn’t car sickness but food poisoning.
We had already heard from some Americans earlier at one of our hotels that the Sevilla Hotel, Amadeus, was impossible to drive to. We were sure that the Garmin lady would solve this problem. By the time we got to the Sevilla old town we knew we were in deep trouble. She kept telling us to turn left when there were signs saying no left turn. Around and around we went for about 45 minutes. Up and down one way streets, around blocks, never even find the street for the hotel. We were becoming desperate. We ended up on a little street blocked by a taxi unloading passengers with a lot of luggage. Judy got out to ask the cab driver where the Amadeus Hotel was. He told her but of course since we didn’t know the names of any of the streets it didn’t help. Then Judy had a great idea. She got in that cab and he drove, we followed, to the Amadeus. Of course finding a place to park the car was another major undertaking. We were directed to a garage but it was very confusing and we ended up in the wrong part of the garage. Fortunately a very nice couple in the garage escorted Michael and Judy to get to the right place the second time they parked the car.
By this time we were pretty sure we were having a bad day. We decided this shouldn’t be Judy’s birthday. Tuesday would be better and that would be her birthday. We did, however, think it would help all three of us if we would go to a nearby restaurant for vino and a bite to eat. We found a place that looked fine, ordered, and tried to make the best of it. About the time the food arrived, so did the more graphic symptoms of food poisoning. It was not a good experience. We were certainly glad that this wasn’t her birthday.

This may have to wait

I thought I would be able to copy stuff onto the blog from my thumb drive. Unfortunately this relic of a computer here at the hotel doesn´t seem to recognize it has a slot. I will try one more thing and if it doesn´t work I probably won´t be able to post for two more days. I definitely won´t have this problem in France as every place had wifi. Oh well the price you pay for quaintness.

Catching up

I am using the hotel computer and going to try to load on posts from the past few days. I may miss a few days from awhile ago. So bare with me they may be out of order and clunky for a few days.

Sunday in Granada

We love our hotel here. It is a little on the funky side but feels very quaint and southern Spanish. Ouir rooms overlook the patio garden and there is a fountain which made water sounds all night and aided sleep.
After breakfast we headed into town. We first went to the overlook spot that Rick Steeves recommends and the views were great. There were quite a lot of people there and it was nice people watching as well as scenery. We met two British women school teachers who were very friendly and talkative. We even discussed politics – they loved Clinton, hated Bush, love Obama – hate Tony Blair and Camilla. Regarding Camila they said her face looks like a horse.
Next to the overlook is a fairly recently built Mosque. This was built by the city to honor the Moslem population which is substantial. In the Mosque there is information trying to tell “the other side of the story” compared to what the local guides saY “perpetuating misinformation.” The local guides say that the Moors were invaders and that the Christians reclaimed the area and expelled the invaders. The mosque counters that the Moors were Mulims who had lived in this area for centuries and during their reign of power were very tolerant of their Jewish and Christian neighbors. In 1492 the Spanish Christian Army won the area as the result of a long fought war and banished the Moors (and Jews).
We spent the next several hours wandering the twisted streets and then took a break at a little open air café on the river. It was very pleasant and relaxed. Most shops were closed for Sunday.
We took the local minibus to get back to the Alhambra. This was a lot of fun. It was packed with locals and kept stopping five minutes at a time for reasons unclear. At one point several of the passengers bursted out in song.
We spent most of the afternoon at the Alhambra. This is probably best described in pictures. It was all wonderful. The Palace is the highlight with its intricate carvings, reflecting pools, and vistas. But I think I enjoyed the lush gardens with the water flowing everywhere the most.
We had made reservations for dinner and flamenco dancing performance for 10 pm in the same general area where we had been the night before. So we went into town a few hours earlier. The town by the river was very quiet (it was Sunday) so we took the minibus to the general area where the flamenco restaurant was. It let us off but we couldn’t see which way to go. We stopped to ask directions from a local and he told us exactly where to go and said “for flamenco?” We said yes. As he left all three of us realized he was the same fellow who had been the handsome flamenco dancer of the previous night. Small town….
The show at this second flamenco event was great. Much better than the food – oh well. The group was a family (male singer, his young female cousin (dancer), a handsomThje man and beautiful women married couple who were both excellent dancers. They all had a ton of energy and were very exciting to watch.
Then a taxi home and to bed.

Toledo to Granada

I was without internet access for a couple of days. I ended up writing text in the car today. Will post pictures later.

Today (Monday) wasn't great. We spent longer than we wanted to in the car, took too many roads we didn't want to take, and Judy and I both got sick. Hopefully tomorrow will be much better. We are in Seville tonight.

Here are the text posts for the days prior.


Saturday leaving Toledo Arriving Granada
We left Toledo in the early morning as the drive to Granada was to be the longest of the entire trip. We had some difficulty getting onto the right freeway (this seems to be a continuing problem). However once on the road there was no traffic and it was smooth sailing at a pretty high rate of speed. We made it to Granada in 3 hours. The landscape for the first half of the drive was boring – flat, pretty barren, and no towns that looked inviting in the lease. The only thing mentioned in the guidebook as a possible interesting stop was La Mancha – a ruined castle with some windmills. We were so bored with the landscape we were even considering a stop here but it turned out we could see it (or at least something that looked just like it in the guidebook) so we just kept on “truckin.”
The second half of the drive was much more enjoyable. The landscape changed to rolling hills covered mostly with olive trees and a few vineyards. The weather was much was much warmer, low 70s. When we got about 25 miles from Granada we could see the Sierra mountain range which is the highest on the Iberian Peninsula. It had a dusting of snow on the highest parts. Obviously the rainstorm we had when I was in Barcelona and the first day in Madrid was a very cold one.
Since our Granada Hotel is inside the Alhambra we found it pretty easily following signs to the Alhambra. The hotel is extremely quaint and looks just like other structures in the Alhambra. It has an inside patio that our rooms face onto and there is a fountain running all the time. The patio is covered with a grape arbor. Of course my room (a single) is about as big as a jail cell.
Cars are parked by the main entrance to the Alhambra so we drove down there after unpacking. We then had a nice lunch in a beautiful patio restaurant. It had a pond with coi (sp)in it.
Our ticket for the Alhambra palace is Sunday but we were able to buy a ticket that permitted us to see other parts. It is “other worldly,” There are shade trees everywhere and water runs in streams, troughs, fountains, and fountains. The sound of water is everywhere and it is very shady. There are incredibile views looking out at the old and new cities and the scenery beyond. We were able to visit some builidings/gardens on a low cost all day ticket – it is very Moorish with intricate carvings in the courtyards and hallways. One can imagine what an oasis this would be during the hot summer weather. The only drawback to this peaceful experience is that there were hordes, and I do mean hordes, of visitors. It is worse than Disneyland. I can’t imagine what it would be like at the peak of tourist season. Very disappointing to me was that my camera battery was dead (a good lesson I will be sure not to repeat) so I was unable to take any pictures of this beautiful sight.
We returned to the hotel and had some rest – knowing that it was going to be Saturday night and we should be ready to stay up late. We had made dinner reservations at a place recommended by Rick Steeves that is a “Carmen” in old Granada. This means an old home that now is a restaurant. (You have to ring a doorbell for entrance. The hotel person said it could be walked to in an hour but she didn’t advise it as it was hard to find, there are many narrow paths passage ways that can be dangerous at night. Michael thought we should try to walk it anyway and if we didn’t find it in an hour take a cab. Fortunately Judy and I prevailed and we took a cab from the hotel. It was “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” – in fact a long distance also.
We went on a myriad of tiny passages, some so narrow the driver had to fold in the side mirrors just to get through. We passed many fountains, down numerous unmarked streets, up and down steep, steep hills, through neighborhoods without any notable shops/restaurants, until we finally arrived at our destination – an unmarked alley way. The driver told us to go up the tiny walkway above us and then take a left and we would find the “Carmen”. He was right – there it was with a tiny unlit sign and a doorbell. We were 45 minutes early – it wasn’t yet open. We had planned to walk around the area until we could go in. However, there didn’t appear to be anything public around us. We decided to walk a little and be sure to remember the way back.
We ended up in a little square with just a few local people and dogs hanging out – there was a very nice view of the Alhambra from there. We could hear a lone male voice singing flamenco in the near distance. We tried to locate him by walking around but could not and decided he probably was in one of the homes within a few blocks of us. Where we were is very close to the Sacromente district which is where most of the gypsies live. There is a very large gypsy (preferably called Roma) in Granada. They don’t dress like gypsies that you see in many European cities like Rome – most of those are from Eastern Europe and are not at all assimilated into the local culture. The Roma here have been here a very long time – in fact they are responsible for the whole Flamenco thing. Additionally, they don’t appear to be in the pickpocket business here. They seem much more just like local people living their lives.
We managed to find our way back to the “Carmen” and were seated at a table on the patio with a beautiful view of the Alhambra across the river. It is lit up at night and is very beautiful to see at night. A nice dinner, plenty of vino, and we were really enjoying southern Espana. After dinner we asked them to call us a taxi as we knew we would get hopelessly lost if we tried to walk down the hill through all the twisted streets and then we would still have to get to our hotel which was quite a distance away since it is in the Alhambra itself. We knew we were interested in some night life, preferably flamenco and decided to ask the cab driver. We are fortunate in that Judy is very fluent in Spanish, more so after all the practice she has had this week.
The taxi arrived and we hopped in. He could pull out right away because there was a large crowd of local people coming down the street. They appeared to be headed to a small appearing bar in the next block which hadn’t been open earlier. Judy asked the cab driver what the crowd was going to and he explained it was a flamenco place run by a friend of his and “it is highly recommended would you like to go?” We said YES. So he drove us the 100 feet to the front of the place and spoke briefly to the owner who was at the door. The owner put us in the front of the line. Michael paid the driver, probably the most money for the shortest ride in his experience.
The owner explained that it was 25 euros a person for the show. I gave him two 50 euro bills and expected 25 euro in change. He told us to go ahead and be seated he would pay me later. We were escorted in a cave like room with seats lined up theater style and a small wooden stage in front with six chairs on it. When the audience was seated a waiter came and took drink orders. Soon the dancers and musicians came down the center aisle. The music began – a single guitar, a woman singing (more like wailing), and the whole group clapping various rhythms. The first was a somewhat attractive young woman and seemed to be the most junior dancer. The second dance was an geriatric women, probably at least sixty, with long black hair wearing black and red with a red rose in her hair. She was danced very gracefully and played castenets (sp?). It turns out she was the only one who used them. She appeared to be the most respected of the group. The next dance was a middle-aged man with an Elton John haircut and a red polyester outfit. He had a lot of energy but was a bit short on grace and style. Two more dancers followed one of which was a little overweight and looked like a cross between Bill Murray and Joe Cocker. The final dancer was the best of the men he was also younger and a whole lot better looking. The crowd was very enthusiastic. The show ended about 12:30. I was sure that I should just forget about my missing 25 euros but as we left the owner came up to me and handed me 25 euros. We were very impressed. He called us a cab and we headed home. This was a great day.

Friday in Toledo

We left Madrid this morning. It wasn't easy. They didn't have the rental car we had ordered. It is very tiny and barely holds us and our luggage. My suitcase had to go in the backseat. The rental car company did give us a free Garman -voice to give us directions. Trying to follow the "voice" out of town didn't work because there was a whole lot of new construction. Mike had much more faith in the voice than did Judy and I.

We did make it to Toledo before 11 am. Not a very long drive at all. Toledo is beautiful and has tiny cobbled streets and many, many hills. Unfortunately the El Greco House/Museum is closed for reconstruction. Here is Mike & Judy at a square in the town center.

The Cathedral is the main thing to see (on left). It is huge and full of jewels, gold, and other fancy stuff (along with quite of lot of dead people - cardinals I guess).

It was somewhat hard to locate the Cathedral as there are so many hills and narrow alleyways you can't see any distance so we probably walked about four times as far as we needed to.

We also went to the the old Sephardic Synagogue. It is right by our hotel. Toledo had a large Jewish population and they were very well accepted and held prominent places in Toledo's community. But then in 1492 they were kicked out thanks to the Inquisition. The Museum was mostly interesting for the Synagogue (on left). The rest was pretty much just explanations of various Jewish traditions (not really specific to the Sephardic Jews or to Toledo).

We are now resting before heading out to dinner. The hotel is very nice. My room especially. For some reason they gave me an upgraded room at no charge. Doggone it to bad we are only staying one night.

Here is Mike and Judy with Toledo in the background.

The Cathedral from a distance. It is the largest and grandest in all of Spain - so they say.

Madrid Day 4

Our last day in Barcelona - we put on a lot of miles on foot. First we went to the Botanical Gardens then to another Museum where there is a lot of newer Spanish Art including Picasso and Dali. There were non-Spaniards there as well including Alexander Calder (above is a Calder that wa out in the patio. Also above is Plaza Mayor which was close to our hotel. We had dinner in a great restaurant the night before - very old and very Spanish. The specialty was baby lamb cooked in a wood oven - the most delicious ever. Great ambience, food, and wine. We got there early (8 pm) and not another soul was in the place. However by 9 pm there wasn't an empty seat. Only drawback was a lot of cigarette smoke which we managed to tolerate until someone at the next table lit up a cigar. Yuk. Oh well the price you pay....

Here is a candy store we passed on the way to te museum. Lots of little stores like this everywhere. The Spanish economy seems to be doing well. Last night we noticed locals all had full shopping bags as walked through a trendy shopping area.

We have been very careful not to tempt pickpockets so we carry our stuff around our waists. Only problem is that we look like geriatric pregnant ladies.

Here we are walking through the "central park".

After the park Judy & Mike went the Royal Palace. I had already been there. I went to yet one more museum - The Thyssen. It was huge. After I struggled through a lot of old dutch masters I discovered the very extensive Impressionists collection. A number of Van Goghs, Gauguin, Pisarro, etc. It was hard to appreciate them though because my feet were really tired.

We met up back at the hotel and went out to a very nice restaurant not too far from the hotel (also recommended by Rick Steeves). The food was very good but the portions were huge so we had ordered too much food which was kind of a turn off. The other wierd thing was that all the wait staff looked alike and were not very friendly. Mike (in rather bad taste) asked where "are all you people from?". The answer - "The Phillapines". Kind of wierd...

Madrid Day 3

Michael and Judy arrived today. It is great to have them here. We are going to have a great Spain/Portugal experience I am sure. They felt pretty good so we walked to the Prado, hired an English-speaking guide, and had a very enjoyable and educational Prado tour. Our guide, Lola, was excellent. She focused on just a few, but the most important, works in the Museum.

For me the things that made the biggest impression were the rapid evolution of painting in Italy around 1400. Lola showed us several paintings close to each other chronilogically, but very different in content and style. The first was very stiff and looked much like a religious icon. The next was a huge leap in technique and content with people that actually had real forms and substance and this painting used perspective and geometry very effectively (and apparently for the first time in art history). Goya was also very interesting and we learned quite a bit about his politics. He favored the French takeover of Spain and after it failed he was exiled and spent the rest of his life in France. The Goya painting in the Prado are mostly of the Spanish royalty for whom he worked (and didn't like). Then there are two nudes which apparently were kept hidden and were very revolutionary in their time. Last, and best of all, is a very famous painting by Velasquez. Viewed from a distance it is very clear and has amazing perpective. Up close it is blurry and you really can't tell much about it. It is a painting of the artist doing the painting that you are viewing with the King and Queen reflected in a mirror. This is the painting I learned about at the Barcelona Picasso museum. Picasso believed that this was the best painting ever done and he did over 50 studies from this painting. Seeing it in person, I think he was right.

After the Prado we had lunch in a little non-descript place, walked back to the hotel, and Judy and Mike are napping.

Weather still cold and crisp. Felt like it was going to rain, but didn't.

Day 2 Pics

The first picture on the left is the train station.

Above is "Central" Park. I can't remember its exact name. It is huge and was created in the 1700s.

On the left is the Royal Palace.

Madrid Day 2

Madrid Day2
The purchases I made today will give some indications about the day - effervescent Vitamin C tablet, umbrella, wool socks.
I awoke with a slight sore throat. No I am sure it isn’t H1N1 – just likely a plain old cold. Since I am feeling a lot better this afternoon, I don’t think it is even a bad one. I am pretty sure I know where I caught it. In Barcelona one evening, I was having a glass of wine and a pretty seedy bar in a very touristy area. A fellow sat down next to me (pretty seedy himself) and proceeded to blow his nose repeatedly in Kleenex that he deposited on the bar and then asked the bartender to throw them away for him. The bartender did so and then continued to serve/prepare drinks and bowls of olives. I should have left immediately but I did finish my wine before I did (I think that was the mistake).

I looked outside when I got up and it was very dark and cloudy. I thought probably I should skip the tour bus and stay inside. However when I checked the weather forecast the weather looked even more rainy tomorrow. So I took the tour bus and froze to death. It hadn’t started raining yet when I got to the Royal Palace but it felt like it was going to any minute. I visited the Palace and was glad just to get inside. For a palace – it was VERY palacial. I took a guided tour (in English) and apparently the tour is intended to be one way only (talking that is). She didn’t take any questions and talked very, very fast. It was still good. Those Spanish kings were very, very well cared for. The Royal rooms were all quite grand with brocade walls, frescoed ceilings, and incredible chandeliers. The king and queen had separate apartments (including bedrooms and dining rooms) they ate, and slept, alone. The latter I doubt very much probably just not with each other.

The current King and Queen do not live at this palace – they have a new modern one. However, they still use this palace for certain state events. Such an event was held last night, a president from somewhere was visiting (I couldn’t hear where from and like I said she didn’t take questions). They had a royal reception followed by a state dinner. We saw the dining room and it was AWESOME. These days the state dinners are done by take out (I am sure quite gourmet takeout).

There were two additional museum viewing associated with the Royal Palace - The Armory and the Apothacary. Both were very interesting. I didn't get a lot out of the Apothocary. It didn't have any posted information in English. It looked to me that it mainly consisted of jars that contained every possible plant substance ground up so it could be used for pharmaceutical purposes. The Armory was far more interesting. It had the armor for men, horses, and CHILDREN. Scary.



eems very serious compared to Barcelona whose old and new architecture is playful and light.
There are a lot of museums here. I will probably go to a couple tomorrow. Expect that Judy & Mike will need a nap. We will probably go to the Prado the following day.

I am looking forward to getting out in the country to some open space and some old towns that are a little less daunting, although after today I have some idea of how the city is laid out.
A few pictures follow in the next post. Sorry they aren’t better or more interesting. That is just the kind of day it was.

Tonight I headed out in the rain and found a nice little non-descript bar/restaurant. It was fine with salad and grilled shrimp with the most wonderful aoli (garlic mayo) I have ever tasted. It was raining hard. Looking outside the restaurant windows I was reminded of one of my favorite films - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. It was raining hard and all the passers by had their umbrellas open. Probably no one but me remembers it. But it was very romantic and artistic. I saw it with the first sophisticated man in my life. I have seen it many times since. If you've never seen it then you have not appreciated cinema as it can be.

And Today Madrid

I arrived in Madrid yesterday late afternoon. Took the AVE high speed train from Barcelona. The scenery was pretty boring. Some agriculture and the rest pretty flat with scrub bush looking very dry. They showed a movie - Vickie, Christina, Barcelona (which fortunately I saw before). Its actually a really good one and was shot in Barcelona so has lots of good visuals. On the train it was dubbed AND subtitled in Spanish - so an English speaker would be completely lost. But good for me, since I knew the story I was able to practice thinking in Spanish.

The hotel I am staying in is located very well. I didn't know this when I got here because I didn't bring a Spain guidebook (as I knew Judy and Mike would have one and I brought a strictly Barcelona one instead). Unfortunately Judy & Mike don't get here till tomorrow. So I was a little bit lost when I ventured out of the hotel. I did notice that there is a large square (Plaza del Sol) right outside the hotel and I thought that would help me stay oriented. I walked down two blocks and found a large department store so decided to check it out. It had everything anyone could want from cosmetic counters carrying everything we have in the USA, shoes, clothing, computer and camera stuff, luggage, furniture, hardware, paint, linens, and cookware and then in the basement a full supermarket.

Walking back to the hotel I decided to take a few side streets to see what was in the neighborhood - within 20 minutes I was completely lost. Fortunately I was able to find my way back by asking where Metro Sol was. I bought a map immediately. Today I am going to take an open top tour bus ride and try to get a bit better oriented. I did learn in checking on the web that the Plaza del Sol is "the heart of Madrid" so I think I am going to be ok.

I will take pictures today and post them later - nothing much to see yesterday and the day before there was something wrong with the "card" I had in my camera.

More later....

Problem with pictures

Not sure what is going on but I am unable to upload the pictures I took today. I keep getting message that there is an error in the jpeg file. So I tried uploading older picture - of the fire place in the Gaudi house. It worked.

This one is from a couple days ago. I believe I changed the card after I took this series. So I will switch back to the old card. The new picture view fine on my laptop. Wierd.....

Barcelona Day 4

Barcelona Day 4

Today was my last in Barcelona (that is till next summer – I am sure to make at least one trip here while staying in the exchange house in the South of France – only 3 hours to Barcelona from there. I feel like I have only scratched the surface of what is here but did a pretty good job of seeing and experiencing a lot in a short time. I highly recommend Barcelona as it is beautiful, full of culture, good food, unbelievable impromptu entertainment, a long and interesting history, art that encompasses the very old, very new, and everything in between. It is modern and ancient at the same time. It is important to remember that, as I was reminded frequently by graffiti, Catalunya is NOT Spain.
As you will see in some of the pictures that follow in the next post, Barcelona is a huge city. It is also a wonder of urban development done well (as least it appears so to me). It started out populated by prehistoric people, later was a Roman city (Barcilina), and then became Barcelona populated by Catalans (between France and Spain along the Mediterranean). They built their city on top of the Roman one – hence under the Gothic Cathedral is an archeological dig. The medieval city was walled. When the city became more and more dense they tore down the wall and let it spread. There were a number of villages away from Barcelona – over time these have become part of Barcelona.
Eventually Barcelona and other parts of southern Catalonia became part of Spain (rather than France), however it has retained its own culture/language and it would rather be its own nation. Apparently the Civil War was a very tough time here – the Catalans did not support Franco. There are still demonstrations here against the Spanish government – I saw one last night in front of the Government center.
Barcelona embraced the industrial revolution and apparently became quite wealthy because of this. There were many factories, chimneys, and pollution all along the waterfront. Immigrants from many areas (I guess primarily southern Spain) came to work here. Just north of the factories there were dense shantytowns of these workers and their families. Eventually the factories closed, moved, or whatever – but they are gone (only a couple of old chimneys remain). The port was beautified and made much bigger and it is a primary source of Barcelona’s success. The shantytowns were replaced by modern (if pretty modest apartments) – now an area called Barceloneta. The last Olympics also added a lot to this area. There are a lot of open green spaces as well.
Today I took the Metro, to Montjuic, and went to the Cataluyna Museum of Fine Arts. It was great. I was mainly Catalan art over centuries. There were frescos from medieval churches that have been installed in reproductions of parts of churches. There are classical works that look a lot like medieval Italian religious paintings. Then there is a whole section on impressionism (who knew there were Catalan impressionists??). Finally a little Picasso and Dali. Miro has his own museum but it was too crowded when I got there so I skipped it.
After that museum I took the funicular up to the “castle” which is really an old military fort surrounded by a moat. It was pretty anticlimactic but the views of the city were amazing. Then I walked down the hill, off the beaten path, following a few signs to a Metro station. When I got to the bottom of a huge set of stairs (equivalent to two blocks) there was no sign of a metro stop and the map I had wasn’t helpful. I found a young woman who gave me directions which was very fortunate since I would have gone to the right instead of down a narrow quiet street straight ahead as needed. I walked quite a long way through a modest old neighborhood and then heard a brass band playing “Brazil”. I figured there must be a parade ahead but no – it was just about 20 people in band costumes playing great music as they marched up and down one block. The only spectators were a few locals standing in their doorways and me and two other tourists.
Now back at my hotel resting my feet. I have already packed so I will be ready to leave tomorrow. My train isn’t till 12 noon but I have a tendency to sleep later than usual (probably because my room gets like no sunlight).
Off to Madrid tomorrow on the high speed AVE train. I realized I forgot to bring a Spain guidebook so I am winging it using the internet for some guidance. Steve lent me a guidebook on Barcelona which was much more extensive than the general Spain one so I left mine at home. So Judy & Mike please bring yours!!!

Barcelona Day 3

Barcelona Day 3 – Saturday
I put a lot of miles on today. It really feels good to sit for a spell.
I started the day by walking down to The Rambla and having capuchino at the Opera Café recommended by Steve Schwartzberg. It was full of local color including a lot of cigarette smokers. Other than that it was fine.
T hen I took a walk through the market again and saw all the variety of stuff. Yesterday I missed the whole baby pigs.
Afterward I walked the full length of The Rambla to the waterfront thinking I might get good views and maybe find a good place to have some seafood for lunch. No such luck. The harbor had pretty boats and Cruise ships but other than that not much except for a modern shopping center with all the usual stores, Ben & Jerry’s, and McDonalds. So I headed back up The Rambla to a plaza near my hotel which has OK outdoor restaurants. I got Octopus salad and fried eggplant. I was a pretty happy camper. While eating lunch I watched a man I suspect was a pickpocket talk for a long time with a middle aged woman tourist who had her purse sitting in the middle of her lap. I suspect she was flattered he was so interested in her. He kept pointing in a direction for her to look toward and I watched him carefully but didn’t see him open her purse. However, I suspect that later when she went into her purse she found her $ missing. Maybe I am just too suspicious.
I then walked through the “Cal” which is the old Jewish Quarter (very close to my hotel but I didn’t figure that out until today. It has very, very narrow walkways as the Jews were not permitted to build outside the Cal and so could only expand their houses by building them forward into the walkway. Of course they are “long gone.” The Sephardic Jews had a significant population here, and elsewhere in Spain, from the 7th to the 14th century. Everyone got along well for many years with Jews being very important as they were the “money lenders.” Then the Christian fervor of the middle ages gave them a mandate – convert to Christianity, leave, or we will kill you. All three options were popular. The only thing left to mark the Cal here in Barcelona is a small plaque on a building. How sad.
Then I visited the Historical Museum which is practically across the street from my hotel. This is in the the Gothic area as it was where the first city was built here. It turns out that it was built upon a much older Roman City which has been excavated and lies beneath the museum. You walk over the excavation on ramps. Question: Did you know that the Roman laundry technique used human urine as a laundry bleach/disinfectant? They placed vats outside the laundry so that passerby could contribute to this laundry additive.
After this I went back and crossed the Rambla to walk around the Raval area (previously the seedy part of early Barcelona). Much improved now but looks like it has more recent immigrants and graffiti. I went to the Contemporary Art Museum – my advice skip it. Not much in myopinion.
By now my feet were ready to rest so I decided to head back to the hotel. Then, as has been my experience so many times, something unplanned and very interesting catches you. As I was walking on the Rambla I heard “Frank Sinatra” type music (Jeff Goffo eat your heart out). There was some sort of festival happening in an open space off the Rambla. The musical group appearing was a trio (singer, saxophone, keyboard) sure enough singing old style music – and they were really good. They sounded like they were from Chicago and the singer sang tunes with an American accent. However, when they did introductions at the end they Catalan. This is an amazing place.
I limped backed to my hotel and decided it was time that I made my arrangements for getting to Madrid on Monday. Well technology failed me. I was unable to make reservations using the train website (if you think I’m kidding just try using their website). In desperation I thought – I’ll check out flights – they are probably about the same price anyway. When I hit the “purchase” button the site told me it couldn’t sell tickets on the weekend. So …… I went to the train station and bought tickets the good old fashioned way. Actually this was a good thing as it forced me to use the Metro (which was actually very easy and cheap. I plan to use the Metro tomorrow (my last day here). I am going to take myself on a tour of the Modernisma architecture.
10 pm
I went out for the evening not expecting anything in particular. First there was a square filled up entirely with Catalons (and their band) dancing the traditional Catalon dance where they dance in a circle and then jump. These were just plain old (and young folks) just having a good time. And then later in another square we were treated with opera – a tenor who obviously does this regularly (he had his CD player). But there was also a number of other people who just love to sing kind of backing him up. Then the most special – a middle aged soprano who was excellent. It was truly special. I love Barcelona!!!

Here is the large market off the Ramla

Some of the products make you hungry and some have the opposite effect. All are very colorful though.

Barcelona Day 2 - Friday

These photos are of a private residence designed by Gaudi. It was AWESOME.

Barcelona Day 2 Friday
6 pm
I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know this city – my feeling is that you could spend a very long time here and not get bored. I have only begun to scratch the surface. I think it was a very good idea to take the tourist bus these two days to get an idea of the layout of the place. Tomorrow I plan to try the metro system.

Some of my impressions are:
· This is a very sophisticated place.
· It is full of incredibly beautiful architecture over many centuries – the gothic area which is built upon Roman ruins, the Modernistic – full of the amazing architectural masterpieces of Gaudi and others, the waterfront – previously shanty towns and factories and now futuristic business buildings, shopping areas, and modern apartments, and then other neighborhoods that previously were other nearby towns each with their own character.
· Although it is densely populated there is a lot of open space, green parks (with lots of wild parrots) screeching. Many more than in San Francisco.
· Art is much appreciated (for instance today I witnessed several classes of young children (??7-10) visiting the Picasso Museum and clearly paying attention to their teachers’ discussion of the paintings.
· This isn’t Spain – it is Catalonia. I think there is much more difference than just the preferred language.
· Gaudi was definitely a genius but I think he was pretty odd. The Sagrada Familia clearly demonstrates this. Who would design such a place knowing that it couldn’t be completed in the next 200 years (and actually expect that it would be completed so long after his death? However the private residence that I saw today – Casa Battlo? Sp? was absolutely beautiful and felt to me like a dreamscape. For me, I appreciated his genius far more in this than the huge and complex Sagrada Familia.
· Picasso’s genius is easy to appreciate. While the Museum here doesn’t have a huge collection of his most famous works, it does let you see his art develop over time. The most interesting is about 50 different interpretations/studies he did from an old master (Valesques) painting.
· The “touristy” stuff is a bit much although I have enjoyed rambling on the Rambla. One needs to be very guarded from pickpockets.
· I visited the massive market which has amazing displays of fruits, vegetables, fish, fowl, and meat (including “parts” that Tony Bourdain would swoon over).

I missed John a lot today. This is definitely the kind of place he delighted in traveling to and researching ahead of time. Somehow I did feel like he was with me and that in my mind I shared my thoughts with him. On our last trip to Catalonia, in the fall of 2002 before his brain tumor was diagnosed the following March, we planned to come to Barcelona. However, we were so relaxed enjoying the Costa Brava at the end of that trip we decided to delay Barcelona until our next trip here. Of course that never happened. I am enjoying my solo status on this trip but I wish John (the old pre-tumor John) was with me. I sure do miss him.

10:30 pm

I went out walking tonight. I headed to the Rambla but found it much more entertaining in the squares off of it. First large square had live Catalan music with a group of young Catalans dancing the “levitating” dance. They were wearing traditional costumes. It was great.

Then on the opposite side of the same square there was an incredible “choir” of about 40 people dressed all in black. They were very theatrical and sang a wide variety of songs with much gusto and a lot of dancing/mugging/and general theatrics. They did a medley of Mexican songs such as the Mexican Hat Dance (with lots of aiyee yai yahs). Other songs included Oh Happy Day and Alleluja. Amazing.

Later in the square adjacent to the Gothic Cathedral there was live Catalan music and folk dancers (some pretty senior) in costumes who were teaching any interested person how to Catalan dance. It was a great sight with lots of positive vibes. Unfortunately I didn’t take my camera with me tonight.

More Gaudi

After Sagrada Familia I went to this park. It is very beautiful in a strange way. One of the most unexpected things here is that there seem to be more wild parrots than San Francisco. They are quite noisey but remind me of home.

It got pretty cold while I was walking about the park and pretty soon started to rain. Brrr.

Last night I rambled on The Rambla (a walking street very long and wide with lots of shops and touristy stuff. You need to protect your belongings well as apparently there are many pickpockets. I was very safe with my money belt underneath my clothes. Found a great tapas place where everyone sits together. Good wine and great tapas. It was not right on the Rambla as most of those are supposedly awful.

Today I am heading for museums - starting with Picasso.

More later.....

Thursday in Barcelona

I arrived in Barcelona on Wednesday night. When my plane from SFO was scheduled to leave we were at the zenith of a major rain and windstorm. We sat on the runway for over an hour and then returned to the gate. I knew we were going to have a major delay when they give us an energy bar to eat. Finally left 3 hours late and of course missed the connection in Frankfurt. So I waited there another 4 hours waiting for a flight to Barcelona. The good news was that it was late enough in Barcelona I got my "second wind" and went out for a late dinner, came back to the hotel and slept until 10 am thereby avoiding jet lag entirely.

I spent Thursday seeing Guadi - first Sagrada Familia and then Parc Guell. Both are amazing. First Sagrada Familia:

Note: I am having some problems figuring out how to format so just bare with me. Later I will make this look better. Can't seem to figure out how to move text and pictures. Above are pictures of the Sagrada Familia. This is the Cathedral that Gaudi started 100 years ago. It was only just begun in his lifetime. It is still under construction and won't be completed even though they are now using very modern technology. The last picture shows a workman very high up in one of the towers. You take an elevator up there after waiting in line for 1 1/2 hours. It was definitely worth it though.

My next trip

So I am getting ready to travel again. This time I'm off to Spain, Portugal, and France. Spain and Portugal will be a new experience for me. France is one of my favorite places and where John and I had many happy times. This time I will be traveling alone for about a week and then the rest of the time with three sets of friends/family and different periods of the trip. I hope to keep this blog up to date as I travel. I leave October 13th.

Till then....

p.s. thanks Laura for introducing me to this blogging stuff.

Some Kenya pictures

Well now I am going to get started

My niece, Laura, helped me set up this blog before I went to Kenya last spring. I never did get going with it. Now I am refocused having retired from my full time job and fully enjoying my life.

The last few years were very tough. My husband, John, and I had a great life together. We had a great life together with friends and family and fully enjoyed our life living in San Francisco. We shared common interests in such things as theater, the music scene, exploring the back country, and sharing good food and wine with friends. Then in 2003 John was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor - the same kind that Ted Kennedy had. After surgery John was a trooper - went home the day after surgery, returned to work (physician), and carried on bravely. Unfortunately the treatment of the tumor (which did give him over 5 years of survival) left him with deficits making it impossible for him to continue working or driving. Despite this we had a pretty good life for 4 1/2 years when the tumor returned. After that surgery the course was downhill and he lost his valiant battle on Novemer 18, 2008.

The picture above was taken 1 year after John's first surgery during a trip to the East Coast.

I miss John very much and think of him every day. He told me to live the rest of my life any way I wanted to and so that is what I am doing. One of the things that we loved to do together was travel. Last March I took a safari to Kenya. It was wonderful - never thought I would see anything like it. I am posting a few pictures below.