Old folks wandering in a new country
If Granada is the city of Carmens then Cordoba is the city of… …patios. They are everywhere in this tight, old part of the city – the Jewish Quarter. There is even a annual civic event where an award is given for The Best Patio. People take pride. There are often two sets of doors … Continue reading Córdoba: Welcome
In Avila, Helen dubbed them our “Coffee Angels”. They were young and friendly and they experimented with their English as they helped us with our Spanish. We were welcomed and nurtured with food and hot coffee con creama. It started there. In Segovia we really needed an angel as we struggled with Admissions at the … Continue reading Wonderful Life
School is out, yesterday and today because it’s “Corpus.” This is a day, actually a week, when several towns and cities in Spain but especially Granada, celebrate with numerous festivities. According to donquijote.org, “Corpus Christi is a Catholic event that celebrates the tradition of the Eucharist… This feast day celebration is always observed on the … Continue reading Corpus Chrsti
Just around almost any corner in The Albiezin, there is music. If you are not coming from music, you are headed toward music. I have some attraction to the guitar so I seem to hear it everywhere. It may not be an illusion as Andalusia is the birthplace of flamenco. There are flamenco studios for … Continue reading Street Music
“Carmen” comes from the arabic word that means garden. In Granda, it also loosely refers to villas in the old city, the Albaićin, where we are currently quartered. A carmen has a walled garden that is a focal point of the home. Many of these homes date from after the Reconquista (1492). Moorish homes were … Continue reading Carmen
In Segovia, a near neighbor wakes up really early – before the sun. She lives in the tall trees right across the street. She starts singing just before the 6 o’clock church bells. She is alone and then there is a call and response pattern between her and another like her farther way. A few other … Continue reading Knew Sounds
On a day when this city was overrun with class after class of school childeren bent on completing the required cultural scanveger hunt, The Museo de Arte Contemporaneo was blissfully quiet. It was “Free Thursday” and no one was at the MAC, except us and the docents. They were glad to see us at what … Continue reading Dime
To quote Rick Steves “In the Lavapiés neighborhood, the multiethnic tapesty of Madrid enjoys seedy-yet-fun-loving life on the streets…….The district has almost no tourists”. We booked this funky apartment without having read that part of the instuction manual but we seem to have landed in a comfortable place for us. After arriving in an unusual … Continue reading Lavapiés
I wasn’t going to write about food “yet” because it has not been the highpoint so far. This is not to say that we haven’t had some surprising, interesting and tasty dishes. We certainly have, including our most recent lunch out – a Spanish/Middle eastern fusion cuisine – but that may be a post for … Continue reading It’s Not About the Food
A young friend of ours reports that Salamanca is the only city in Spain to have two cathedrals. There are also more than a few parish and minor (major) iglesias. There are just lots of churches in Spain. Parts of the Salamanca’s medieval (500-1000) church remain – mostly the cloisters and small chapels adorned with painted stone details … Continue reading In the Provinces
