Toledo (August 15-16)

We left Barcelona on August 15 and traveled through Madrid to Toledo. This is a very interesting and pretty city. They were also having a festival while we were there.

Barcelona (August 12 to 14)

On August 13, 2015, we went to the Palau de la Música (Palace of Music.) It was extraordinary. Very Gaudi-like in design. They played the pipe organ and the sound was amazing. I imagined Elton John at the keyboard. Oh, my. This place was amazing. Leea didn't really want to go when I told her we were going to the "palace of music," but she was completely mesmerized once we walked into the place.

While in Barcelona, we also went on a harbor cruise and to visit one of Gaudi's first works, a gate house.


On August 14, our last day in Barcelona we went to the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's most well-known work. It was breathtaking.

Barcelona (AUGUST 11, 2015)

August 10 to 11, 2015

We arrived in Barcelona about 8:30 pm and got to our hotel about 9 pm. Even though I had declined an email offer to upgrade our room to one with a view that would be soundproof, I declined. I knew the hostal was on La Rambla which is noisy 24/7, I didn't believe it would be sound proof, and I didn't want to pay the money to be kept awake all night. Well somehow we got the upgraded room, didn't pay the extra money, and it is pretty sound proof. So we made ourselves comfy and relaxed after our 11-hour journey. 

The next morning we went to the Mercat, an amazing market of fresh food. They have stalls with an extensive offering of juices or cups of cut up fruit and melon. This morning I had a cup with watermelon, cantaloupe, pol de sapo (which the Spanish just call melon- kind of like honeydew only better,) pineapple, dragon fruit and a piece of fresh coconut. Leea had juice. She also had a croissant and I also had a Spanish tortilla. And we both had café con leche, of course. The latter we got at a little cafe where you sit around a stall on stools and in the center of the stall, in full view, they prepare and serve the food and drinks. It's a great place to people watch. This morning we saw a woman, older than me, with a full head of purple hair.  

Breakfast at the Mercat

 After breakfast, we sussed out a laundromat for future use. Then we hopped on the Hoppy bus. The one here has three different routes. We took the red route this morning. There are lots of people in Barcelona right now. I have been here four or five times in the past 15 years and I have never seen it this crowded. The hotels are at 95% capacity. And they have become the number one cruise ship port in Europe. It is crazy busy. 

Toward the end of the red route, it was getting hot so we hopped off the hoppy bus and walked along the port to a nice restaurant and had a bite to eat. Leea had salmon and patatas bravas, and I had grilled razor clams and small portions of Leea's lunch. Then we had a couple of café con leches. After lunch, we went back to the hotel for a brief respite. 

About 6 pm we hopped on the metro and rode up to see one of Gaudi's buildings, Casa Batllo, and to hop on the Hoppy bus for the blue route. The weather was cooler and there was a nice breeze. This route goes by the Sagrada Familia,  

Sagrada Familia

 Gaudi's masterpiece. He died in 1970 before it was finished and they are still working on completing it. I can't believe how much it has changed since I saw it in 2006. What was then the front side, is now more like the back side. Leea saw it when we were here in 2009, but I was busy recovering from major surgery at the Hospital del Mar down in the port. One of the highlights of the hoppy tour this evening was two young good looking guys on their balcony in their skivvies waving to the tourists. lol

On our way home from the hoppy bus we ran across a demonstration about human rights. I think it was something about the way some of the people who are in the country illegally are being treated.  What was really interesting is there were no cops in riot gear. There were a couple of cops in their normal uniforms patrolling La Ramla, as they always do, but they were just walking in front of the protestors. So there was no riot.   

Protest

 We stopped for helado before going to the hotel to relax and sleep. 

Granada (AUGUST 10, 2015)

August 8 to 10, 2015

We are on a train to Barcelona. Our Camino Andalucía will be interrupted for five days while we visit Barcelona. Then we will return briefly to Andalucía to visit Toledo before we fly home. We loved Granada. The heat and humidity caused us to rest in the middle of the day, but that was probably a good thing.
On Saturday, we rose early and took the city bus to the Alhambra. It is an amazing experience! There are lovely gardens, many waterfalls and pools, a fortress and a Palace. The structure was built by the Moors and was taken over when the Spanish "liberated" Granada in 1492. The grounds were built roughly in the 8th to the 10th century. We got the audio guides but all the yapping about dates went by me because I was transfixed, once again, by the never ending beauty of the place. There were times when I was standing on a third-floor patio nor by a pool when I could just imagine being a Moorish princess, or even a servant.  

One of the pools and fountain

  

A window detail

We spent six hours exploring the grounds and the structures. Of course, if there is anything to climb, we cannot resist. So we climbed the highest towers in the fort. Though there are majestic views of Granada from dozens of spots, this one was the best.
After our exhausting romp around the Alhambra, we went home to rest. There was a stage set up in the plaza in front of the hotel. Upon inquiry, we were told that every Saturday there is a musical concert from 8 pm to 12 pm. So we knew we wouldn't be going to sleep early. Everywhere in Spain, we had heard American rock and roll. They seem to play it on all the stations even though all the talking parts of the program were in Spanish. It is a little weird.
So, we thought we would hear some rock and roll. I mean, we didn't expect the Rolling Stones or anything, but just a band playing rock and roll. The band started setting up at about 7 pm. When they started playing a small crowd had gathered and began dancing the polka to Spanish polka music. lol, I would not have believed it if I hadn't heard it with my own ears. But it was fun to watch. The music varied between polka and swing music, the stuff that makes it easy to twirl around the floor. By 9 pm the plaza was packed. There were three rows of chairs set up and people from 8 to 80 were swaying and twirling.
The next morning we slept in and had a leisurely breakfast. We spent the morning walking uphill through the gardens and forest that lead up to the Alhambra. On the way, we saw a statue of Washington Irving. I thought, 'What the heck?' Why do they have a statue of an American?' Well, it turns out Irving spent a lot of time in Spain, as well as other parts of Europe and wrote a book about Spain. Who knew?
It was hot and humid again, so we returned to our air conditioned room for a brief respite. That evening we went to explore the Albayzín which is the Gypsy/Moorish quarter with shops, tea houses, and narrow winding streets. Shortly after we entered a young man inquired if we wanted marijuana. I couldn't figure out what it was about us that caused him to pose that question. ; ) Maybe it was the purple haired on one of us and the blue/green hair on the other one of us.
We climbed through the winding streets until we came to a place with another breathtakingly beautiful view of the city. Leea was navigating this trip, she put away the map and took us down a very steep way as the pathway kept shrinking until it was barely wide enough for a person to fit through and we could hear people in their homes eating and arguing and stuff people do in their homes. It was a little sketchy to say the least. It was very exciting in an "I wonder what the headlines will say when they report our fate" way.
We finally returned to the marketplace and ducked into a tea house, complete with hookahs, for some tea and crepes. Then we returned home so we could get to sleep early and be well rested for the long day today. Note to self, do not drink tea in the Albayzín if you want to sleep anytime in the next eight hours.  

Albayzín tea room

We got up early. Had to take a bus to Antequerra to catch the train to Córdoba to wait four hours to catch the train to Barcelona. We bought our tickets late and the direct train from Granada to Barcelona was sold out. But we are excited to be going to Barcelona. We both love that city. 

Granada (AUGUST 8, 2015)

August 5 to 7

It's been a busy time here in Granada. We got in town about 8 pm on Wednesday. We checked into our hotel, got a bite to eat, took a little walk around and went to bed. Our hotel is in a great location on a little plaza in the center of Granada.  Our room has a view of the plaza. 

In the morning, we got up and had breakfast upstairs in the kitchen/lounge. After breakfast, we went out for a walk. It turned into a long walk. After wandering around for a while, we found ourselves walking up the road to the Sacromonte, where the gypsies have lived in caves four several centuries. 

There is a museum with model caves set up showing how they did ceramic work, metal work, weaving, gardening; as well as model living quarters and a stable. There are still folks living in caves in this area Some have built into the front of the caves to have more room. This is the third time we've visited the Cave Museum.  We were here in 2006, 2009, and now in 2015. 

Someone's home in a cave

  

Example of a kitchen in a cave

 
 On the way to the caves, we ran across a park, museum, historical society and went in to look around. No one else was there. Leea was reluctant to enter. She said, "No one else is in here." I'm like, "So?" And proceeded to go through the park and into the house. She relaxed by the time we left the house and saw some other people were walking around. I don't know if she thought we were going to end up in a Spanish prison for trespass or something. The house had been someone's house and was being used as an example of a typical house in Granada in it's early days. There were several fountains and while we were sitting by one I got my buff wet and put it on my head. It has been an unusually hot summer in Spain. And this day it reached about 100 degrees. 

After the caves, we went back to the hotel for siesta time. That evening we wandered around the Albaicyn, home of tea houses and a mix of cultures. 

Friday morning after breakfast we walked around and took the city bus up to the Alhambra to pick up our tickets for Saturday. Then we came back and had lunch at Plaza Nueva. After lunch, it was siesta time. It was not only hot, the humidity was about a 100%. I said I hoped it would rain, so it would cool off. And sure enough, it did during siesta time. 

The problem with the rain is that we had reservations to dine at Venta de Gallo on the terrace overlooking the Alhambra. Shucks, I should have been more specific about my hope for rain. lol. It was still raining when we went to meet our bus to go to the restaurant. Venta de Gallo is up in the Sacromonte, just below the cave museum. We discussed the rain and terrace dining with the guide on the bus. We all agreed that surely it would stop raining by the time we arrived for dinner And sure enough, it did. Hmm?

We had dinner which was yummy, and then went downstairs to the cave for the flamenco show. The show was fantastic. Leea and I were here in July of 2009, shortly before we went to Barcelona and I ended up in the hospital for emergency major surgery. But I digress. Anyway, the flamenco show was great just as it was before. All the performers are gypsies. Last time there were four dancers, one of which was an older woman that we loved.  Her expressions said, "Been there, done that." This time, there were four dancers, one of whom was a young girl about ten or eleven, and she just nailed it. She was so good.  

   
 Well, more about Granada in my next blog. There's just too much to cover in one blog.

Málaga, Spain (AUGUST 6, 2015)

August 2 to 5, 2015

We were finding the humidity and heat a little oppressive in Córdoba, so we decided to change the route of our Camino Andalucia and spend a few days at the beach in Málaga. 

I had never actually stayed in Mâlaga before. John and I lived down the coast a month or two in Fuengirola. Málaga, however, was the scene of the great 'almost losing Leea' fiasco. We were living in a rented caravana (motor home) at the time. Leea had come to visit us for a couple of weeks. Something had broken on the caravana and we were taking it to a place in Málaga to have it repaired. 

We could not get to the repair shop. We circled round and round. We could see it on the map. We could even see it from the road, but we could not find the right route to actually get to it. We had been going round and round for about an hour when we stopped by the side of the road to look at the map together. During a very pleasant conversation about my navigational skills as compared to John's driving skills, we didn't notice that Leea had stepped outside to smoke a cigarette. After we finished our pleasant discussion John proceeded to drive away. We suddenly heard this banging from the back of the caravana. We thought something had dropped off or was loose. So we stopped. Leea came running up to the window explaining to us in a pleasant and cheerful voice that we almost drove off and left her with no money, no passport, no ID at all in a foreign country and a place where she had no idea where she was. Whoops!

Well, so far I don't think that has been the reason to seek therapy. lol We all calmed down, and after we found the repair shop, it occurred to me what a disaster that could have been. Since we didn't know where we were when we stopped. We had been lost, I'm not sure we could have found her. She had no phone, money or ID and didn't speak Spanish much at all. So we escaped a bullet on that one. 

So over the years people have suggested I should visit Málaga and I've always thought of it as a very busy confusing place. But, Leea and I knew it had a beach and that it was Picasso's birthplace. So, off we went.  

 It was lovely. We spent time at the beach. We walked through a lovely park every day, Leea bought a bathing suit at the Bazaar Chino. We visited the Castille and Alcazaba, both of which were very disappointing after Seville and Córdoba.  

 We also went to the Mercado de Abastos. This is like a farmer's market in the states, but it is indoors, usually in a lovely building. It is open every day until about 2 pm. The vendors have permanent stalls. It's one or two stories and they have meats, fish, olives, and all kinds of things in addition to fresh fruits and vegetables. I just love these  
 

 
 

 
 

After the beach on Wednesday, we caught a bus to Granada. It was a very super plush comfy bus. 

Moving to Malaga (AUGUST 1, 2015)

August 1, 2015

I haven't written in a couple of days because all I want to do is whine. But I just can't hold it any longer. So, wah, wah, wah. Shortly after leaving the Camino I came down with a monster cold that went in and out of sinus infections. And being in 100-degree humid weather is yucky with a cold. Normally I love hot weather, but not with a cold. It is so hot here that from about 2 pm to 9 pm it is like a ghost town. 

Ok, I'm done with the whining. We are shortening our stay here in Córdoba and heading down to Málaga for a few days at the beach on the Mediterranean. It's about 15 degrees cooler there. 

We've been on the Hoppy bus twice, visited the Alcazar gardens and the Mesquite Cathedral. The Mesquite Cathedral is really unique. Most of the Cathedrals built over mosques were just built over the mosque and changed the inside to Christian motif. Like the Cathedral in Seville. The only thing left of the mosque is the garden of orange trees. 

In Córdoba the mosque is huge. They left all of the Arabic arches, tiles, and carvings. Around the perimeter are little monuments to saints and in a fairly small space in the middle is this small but terribly lavish cathedral. It is just fascinating to see the two cultures intertwined like this.  

Leea in the Mesquite Cathedral

 Córdoba is known for it's patios built inside houses. They are the entry way and the house is built around it. There are hundreds of them and they have lush gardens. It's a cool tranquil place to hang out. Many of these patios can be seen just walking around the streets. In May, they have a celebration of the patios and they are all open up for viewing. 

There is so much history in this city. We walked across a bridge that was built before the 5th century. There are buildings that are over a thousand years old and are still standing and functional. It's amazing! Especially when you live in a country when things are declared historic sites if they are 200 years old. lol

Today I was trying to add more color to my hair. I was in the shower rinsing it out when I slipped and the shower curtain, rod and all, fell on my head. I said, "help," so Leea would come and assist the replacement of the rod and curtain. She said she heard a thump and "heeellp" and thought she was going to find me in the tub with broken bones. I just needed help getting the shower rod and curtain rehung and I didn't want to slip again. Also, I had gotten soap in my eye during this fiasco. She fixed the shower rod and left. Two minutes later it fell again. I just rinsed off and left it all sitting in the tub. Leea decided she would wait until we got to Málaga tomorrow to take a shower.

We are going to a flamenco show tonight that doesn't start until 10:30 pm and ends at 12:15 am. Leea is already grumbling about it, so I put her down for a nap. ;) I saw this show two years ago when I was here and it was spectacular. I hope it is this time, or I will never hear the end of it.