Monday, May 05, 2008
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Comments are welcome
Friday, April 25, 2008
Hotel Los Tilos
[April 25, Granada]
Hotel Los Tilos sits on the pleasant pedestrian square Plaza Bib-Rambla. Our room overlooked the square and offered a 24-hour ever-changing show. The square was ringed with restaurants and ice-cream shops, all the essentials of life as we know it.
Spices? Spices? We don't need no steenkin' spices!
[April 25, Granada]
When you think of Spanish food, you tend to think of spicy Mediterranean fare, at least until you travel here. In fact, the Spanish have a remarkably narrow range of spices in their food, relying mostly on onion, garlic, and parsley. (Ham is also considered a spice as well as an entire food group.) But for Houstonians, or anyone raised in the American culinary cornucopia, there is a sad lack of variety and a desperate lack of picante. Pizza without red pepper? It is not civilization as we know it.
We brought this bottle of Cayenne pepper with us from Houston; as Karl Malden would say "Don't leave home without it."
Donde esta Subway Sandwich por favor?
[April 24, Granada]
The Subway sandwich chain is not our favorite in the US, and we stop there only when we want a simple reliable meal. But frankly, Subway's offerings are better than most sandwiches we find in Spain. The Spanish bocadillo or commonly available sandwich (pictured here) is a poor thing of meager ingredients (usually ham, cheese, a slice of tomato if you are lucky) on a hard baguette-wannabe.
Hispania waves the rules
[April 25, Spain]
In Gibraltar Britannia still rules the waves, but we find often that Hispania waves the rules. Here is an example: our hotel room is designated strictly non-smoking, but just in case, the hotelier provides an ashtray. Similarly, our guidebook advises us in busses to always ask for non-smoking seats, with the observation "it doesn't do any good, but at least it's a statement". Nor are only tobacco-related rules flexible. In a private house museum our guide informs us that photos are not allowed and then adds, "but if you want to take some, it's OK." And similar ambivalence is observed in driving, parking, etc.
We have seen this phenomenon in other countries, and conclude that it may well be a Catholic characteristic. Steeped in Augustinian pessimism about human nature, they accept the breaking of minor rules as routine accretions to our Original Sin. And from the point of view of the Church or the traffic cop, it's probably good for business to allow minor sins that must be absolved or paid off.
Churros con chocolate
[April 25, Granada]
Sometimes two complimentary problems are their own inspired solution. Spanish hot chocolate is rich and thick, so thick it is more like a pudding or porridge and can hardly be drunk.
Carmen lived here
[April 25, Granada]
Along with Sevilla, no place is more associated with Gypsies and flamenco than Granada. Well into the second half of the 20th century the Sacromonte district of Granada contained a thriving Gipsy community living much as they had for hundreds of years in troglodyte dwellings burrowed into the soft hills. Bettie remembers as a teenager visiting Sacromonte during a communal festival, enthralled by spontaneous bursts of flamenco song and dance performed by firelight into the small hours of the morning.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The Alhambra by moonlight
[April 24, Granada]
Though it is only April, we have been dismayed at the unexpectedly large crowds here in Spain and were not looking forward to sharing the Alhambra with massed formations of group tours. We had the happy idea to see the Alhambra at night, when most groups are being stuffed with Spain's notoriously late-hour dinners or treated to an "authentic" flamenco dinner/floor show. We had seen the palace of the Moors by day many years ago and a night visit offered a certain romantic charm.
Days in the Gardens of Spain
[April 24, Granada]
Listen to Manuel de Falla as you look at these photos of the Generalife Gardens. Though part of the Alhambra complex, they well reward a visit in themselves, especially in spring. They spread up a steep hill across from the Alhambra and provide beautiful views of same. They, along with the lovely "summer palace" were built by Moorish rulers of Granada as a get-away from the business and summer heat of the main Alhambra palace. Today they give the visitor some sense of the luxury and elegance of the Moorish court.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Hotel Amadeus
[April 22, Sevilla]
We are staying at the Hotel Amadeus, a unique 14-room hotel in the Barrio Santa Cruz. It is run by a family devoted to music, and musical motifs and instruments fill the hotel. When we checked in, Carmen was playing on a DVD in the lobby (how appropriate for Sevilla, her home!).
Flamenco memories
[April 22, Sevilla]
There is no more evocative place to see flamenco than Sevilla. The problem is to find a genuine performance rather than a flamenco "show" mixed with dinner, drinks, and tobacco smoke. We followed a recommendation to Casa de la Memoria de Al-Andalus (conveniently around the corner from our hotel!) presented by a cultural organization dedicated to preserving the art in full integrity.
Alcazar of Sevilla
[April 22, Sevilla]
The Alcazar is our favorite building in Sevilla. It is a Moorish-style palace built 14th c. by a Christian king (Pedro the "cruel"), who appreciated the artful tradition his people displaced. Being of Christian origin, it was never despoiled and today suggests the splendor that the Moors once enjoyed.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Some of their best friends were Jewish
[April 21, Sevilla]
Spain's relationship with her Jewish citizens has not always a been a celebration of multi-culturalism. Jews at times have felt unwelcome: it is estimated that after the Reconquista 1/3 of Spain's Jews were killed, 1/3 fled the country, and 1/3 converted to Christianity under duress. And the Inquisition was initiated to deal with these latter conversos who were foolish enough to compete too successfully with their good Christian neighbors.
Madmen and geographers
[April 21, Sevilla]
The builders of Sevilla's cathedral promised to "build a cathedral so large that anyone who sees it will take us for madmen". They succeeded. None of these photos can suggest its massiveness, third only to St. Peter's (Rome) and St. Paul's (London).
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Busted Flat in Baton Rouge ...
[April 20, somewhere in Andalucia]
... or rather, on a country road about 15 miles east of Cabezas de San Juan, the closest map reference we could find.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Hotel el Convento
[April 19, Arcos de la Frontera]
Our Hotel el Convento in Arcos is located on a narrow street behind the neighboring convent.
The rain in Spain stays, mainly
[April 19, Arcos de la Frontera]
We are in Arcos de la Frontera, and so is the rain.
Arcos de la Frontera
[April 19, Arcos de la Frontera]
Arcos de la Frontera [map] is another camera-ready white hill town. Like Ronda, ownership has changed several times, from Roman through Moorish to Christian. What remains is a warren of tiny cobblestone streets (on which the local government insanely permits automobiles) walled by white-washed buildings. No famous events of history here, just terminally-quaint Andalusian scenes.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Every man did his duty
[April 17, Gibraltar]
We often visit old cemeteries on our travels, both for the historic significance and for the poignant contemplation of lives gone by.
Britannia rules the waves
[April 17, Gibraltar]
A bit of the Iberian peninsula remains staunchly a part of the Commonwealth, in spite of Spain's persistent and petty pestering to "give it back". Our driver, a 4th generation Gibraltarian, told us, "We've seen what it is like on the other side [Spain], and we like it the way it is."
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
What bull
[April 16, Ronda]
Ronda is the home of modern bull-fighting, a creation of Francisco Romero in the early 1700's. The Ronda style is classic, pure, severe -- not like the flamboyant show-boats of Sevilla.
Juan Bosco doesn't live here anymore
In Ronda we find the House of Don Bosco. Saint Juan Bosco was the founder of the Salesian order. This house is gorgeously beatific, but the saint never lived in it, or even visited it. It was a charitable contribution by a resident of Ronda to the religious order, meant as a retirement home for priests.Moor is more
[April 16, Ronda]
The Modragon Palace was the 14th c. home of the Moorish kings pre-reconquista, and gives some idea of the graceful lifestyle they enjoyed.
A church unmosqued
[April 16, Ronda]
The Christian reconquistas, after a good siege and sack of a Moorish stronghold, loved nothing more than to press home their point by building a cathedral on the ruins of a mosque. Santa Maria la Mayor shows something of its former occupant in its ground plan and tower (former minaret),
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Ronda rough and rugged rock the ragged rascals ran
{April 15, Ronda]
Ronda [map] is one of Andalucia's "white towns", whitewashed hill towns with roots back to Moorish times. These lay along the frontier of the Reconquista, changing hands from Moors to Christians (and sometimes back again), and a culture reflecting both heritages. In visual aspect, and with flamenco, bullfights, and gazpacho, they are the quintessential "Spain" to many people.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Sloth in Salema
[April 12, Salema]
Salema is one of the few places on the Algarve coasts that can still be described as a "fishing village". Tourism is encroaching, condos and golf clubs nibble around the edges, but some people here do fish. It is a charming, no-pressure place to enjoy the ocean, a bit of fresh seafood, and do absolutely nothing. A "vacation from your vacation".
A vehicle of Note
For this trip we have rented a Nissan "Note". Quite a good car. It is bigger than it looks and holds it own on the autovia at 120km/hr. It has modestly high clearance, a useful characteristic on some of the tertiary roads we traveled.
The End of the World
[April 13, Sagres]
Cape Sagres, as this aerial photo shows, juts into the Atlantic Ocean, forms the most extreme southwest point of Europe. Even in pre-Roman times it was known as "the end of the world". Here in the 15th century Henry the Navigator established a school/ think-tank/ research institute for navigation. Though he died (1460) before Portuguese sailors made their greatest discoveries, his farsighted efforts ensured that it was the West that discovered the East, rather than the other way around.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Life is the berries
Ginjinha is a spirit unique to Portugal, a sort of fruit brandy made from the sour-cherry-like ginja berry. It is readily available in Lisbon, but for some reason Obidos enthusiastically features it. We were advised to seek it attill Birnam wood Do come to Dunsinane
Obidos is a postcard-ready medieval (14th c.) castle town near Nazare. Our guidebook characterizes it as "ideal for photographers who want to make Portugal look prettier than it is". It has changed hands several times, including Celts, Romans, Visigoths, Moors, Portuguese, and recently, tourists. 
A good barnacle, but not a great barnacle
Portugal is the land of seafood, and sometimes surprisingly so. We were advised that the local dish of percebes (boiled barnacles) was a must-eat delicacy. The barnacles are harvested (we were told) at personal peril from wave-swept rocks, by fishermen secured by life lines to prevent certain death.Thursday, April 10, 2008
An unlucky deer
[April 10, Nazare]
Nazare is a sea-side resort, a former fishing village but now devoted to gentle pleasuring.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
A beatific vision in Santiago
Many are called to pilgrimage to Santiago, seeking spiritual regeneration, redemption, or transcendence. Each pilgrim finds his own balm for the soul; we found ours in Restaurante Iacobus.
Pimientos Rellenos: mild peppers stuffed with a spiced potato filling, in a tomato-cream sauce.Saint James kicks butt
An armored warrior on horseback, wielding sword and hacking Moors, is not what normally comet to mind when one thinks of a saint. But Saint James, is not your typical contemplative. His remains were "discovered" in the 9th century, when the Christian forces were at a low ebb against the occupying Moors. His role at the time was to rally men at arms rather than souls.
Today, his martial image is somewhat embarrassing to a Spain that prefers dialogue with Islam rather than confrontation, at least among the politically correct. But we suspect that many take a secret pride in the memory of Santiago Matamoros (Saint James, the Moor Slayer) .Why is this man smiling?
This image of the prophet Daniel, in the cathedral of Santiago, is staring directly at a statue of a buxom lady, across the vestibule of the church.Pilgrims' Progress
[April 9, Santiago de Compostela]
This is not the symbol of Big Oil, but of Big Religion. The scallop is the symbol of Santiago de Compostela, Christendom's 3rd major pilgrimage site (after Jerusalem and Rome). On this scallop impression, in the center of Praza do Obradoiro, pilgrims gather to celebrate the end of their 500 mile walk to Santiago.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plan
We show this rather poor photo shot from a window of a moving train for two reasons:Asynchronous posting
If you check this blog every day (and if so, please get a life!), you may notice that articles sometimes show up in arrears.
