Bye bye Barcelona

Barcelona is a major working port city, with a bustling marina and a far reaching urban sprawl.

I haven´t been so lucky with my final hotel, FrontAir Congress, a purported 4 star in the Cuitat Commercial area of Sant Boi. It´s a large multi-storey box next to other large boxes and I suspect I´m in an industrial park at the edge of town.

Being right next to a ginormous supermarket has its food supply advantages, but public transport seems to be one lone bus which heads into Barcelona´s Plaça de Espanya on the hour, and despite having purchased a 4 day tourist pass (at the not cheap cost of 19.50 euros) it seems it covers all the Metros, trams and funiculars in the city, but this bus isn´t on the partnership! :(

Oh well, it´s a place to rest at the end of a day´s sightseeing and I have a few channels in English so at least I can keep up with general world news. (Australia beats England in the Ashes! BBC World sorrowfully exclaims.)

My most consistent TV here in Spain has been CNN, German MTV and BBC World News. While CNN is okay, it is alarmingly repetitive with a definite US and Big Business skew - but there have been a couple of cool things - The Daily Show Global Report (I love Jon Stewart:) and a similar satirical Washington watch called Political Mann presented by irreverant pundit Jonathan Mann.

Sunday in Barcelona and I head out to explore the works of the city´s celebrated architect atist Antoni Gaudi, who has imprinted his glorious, colourful and organic design onto much of the city´s facade.

The Metro helpfully took me to the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) stop and I discovered that a lot of Barcelona appears to be in the midst of construction...
Is it just me? I seemed to have noticed this everywhere - large scaffolding and netting covering up beautiful monumnets and uglifying a lot of Spain´s cities.

Yes, the Sagrada Cathedral is a work in progress, but while the exterior was still stunning, the interior was practically gutted. I didn´t expect it to look so...unfinished.
There was a small museum on the lower floor which detailed plans, models and the artist´s draft illustrations of the various sculptures for the edifice and interior which was comforting to look at, else I would have thought I´d just paid entry to look inside an empty building. Gaudi´s vision is exciting, but it looks to be a long, long way from completion.

In the afternoon I visited Parc Guell, with it´s fantastical pavilions (also by Gaudi) and the famed steps flanked by mosiac animals (now regularly mobbed by summer tourists). The gingerbread style Casa-Museu Gaudi can also be visited in the park, it contains some of his stylised Modernist furniture (I have some flash free photos!) and he actually lived here for about 20 years in the early part of the last century.

During my Gaudi gaga day I had taken some cool exterior shots of Casa Mila and Casa Batllo in the Eixample´s Quadrant dÓ (these buildings are gorgeous) but the cost of entry was about 16.00 euros each so I was priced out of my budget for the day, but it´s cool, I still got to experience his intensity and enigma and understand why so many artists are crazy about his work.

I know Franz (my soon-to-be brother-in-law) has pooh-pohed The Old Town´s Las Ramblas for being totally touristy and a magnet for thieves, but how could I NOT visit Barcelona and take a holiday stroll along this avenue? :)

So Monday was centred on snaking my way (bag in front) along this mall, pushed along with the rest of Barcelona´s summer visitors and merely glancing at the plants and birds, but really craning my neck at all the costumed and painted human statues trying to outdo each other in imaginative gimmicks.
There were gargoyles, goblins and grocery stores (truly, a woman seemed to be dressed as a whole fruit shop!) and a family friendly theme seemed to be the way to go as parents posed their kids theme park style with some of the garishly painted characters. Street portrait artists soon followed later in the street, eager to render "You, On A Holiday".

On my way to the Museu de la Xocolata, I got sidetracked by the charmingly persistent Charlie, who had exclaimed the Spanish word for attractive? (I´m still not quite sure how to pronounce it - whappa? gwappa? ) when I was walking past him on the sidewalk. I had smiled at him and evidentally that´s enough for a guy here to hustle back and ask you out for a date :)
...actually, this has happened to me in London too, so maybe it´s a European thing! (The guy in question that time had been a gorgeous strawberry blond Swede - yum!)

Anyway, Charlie wanted to show me around Barcelona´s marina, and I had a nice enough pedi-conversation with him punctuated by smiles and attempts to understand each other (he also spoke French, but I´ve been concentrating so much on Spanish in recent weeks that my French vocab has taken a catnap somewhere in my brain).

He seemed funny, cute and attentive but I like to be able to understand and appreciate my date and express myself too, so after about 30 minutes or so, I had to say sorry, thanks for the lovely walk, but it´s just too difficult to figure out what you´re saying. Lo siento! (I´m sorry).
He understood and I kissed him goodbye on the cheek.

Though pleasantly delayed, I made it to the Chocolate Museum eventually and received a superfine bar of chocolate with my ticket entry which I think helps you not drool on the exhibits :)

There were some delicious sculptures worthy of a Cadbury campaign and my chocolate bar was soon gone as I continued feasting on the rest of the displays with my eyes.

My final location on Monday was the fabulous Palau de la Musica Catalana as quoted in my DK Spain, "a Modernista celebration of tilework, sculpture and glorious stained glass". It is almost hidden from sight from the street but once you come upon it, it´s lumious beauty is sublime and I was lucky that being August, tours have been extended to about 6pm else the theatre closes to the public early to prep for that evening´s performance.

We got a brief and very well put together 10 minute screen presentation of the history and some of the artists who have performed at the Palau, and then a tour of the theatre itself which included an acoustic musical check with the large pipe organs high above the stage.
It´s supposed to seat about 2146 people (I was astonished, I wouldn´t have expected that many) with small seats available next to the organ traditionally for child choristers.
There are ceramic roses dappled throughout the stage and the audience columns, images of angels on the spectacular dome glass skylight and muses decorating the back stage wall - all in all it´s actually quite representational of the artistically idealised feminine.

I faced the opposite on Tuesday, when I visited Castelle de Montjuic, an 18th century fortress castle which is now a military museum and had been a prison after the Spanish Civil War (1936-39).
Apart from the expansive view of Barcelona from the sea to the suburbs, it´s quite a sparse and desolate place (though the front gardens look to be softening that look a bit) and there were tourists enjoying the view and the cable car ride to the lookout point but there was little more to explore. Most people ended up catching the cable car back down to the rest of Montjuic and visiting it´s museums, art galleries and the Olympic stadium from the 1992 Barcelona Games.

I enjoyed a wander through the air conditioned Museu Nacional dÁrt de Catalunya which had beautiful sculpture (both classical and modern), a variety of Spanish art, and an astonishing display of 12th century frescos taken from Catalan Pyrean churches - I couldn´t get over how these were actually pieces of walls and buildings which has been painstakingly and carefully extracted and then put together to mimic it´s original form in this museum.

So finally Wednesday (today!) and the last couple of sights to see before I head home tomorow.
The Hospital de la santa Crue i de Sant Pau, a working hospital which had innovative and beautiful design concepts encompassing gardens, decorated pavilions, sculptures and mosiac murals conceived by Llius Domenach i Montaner - I spotted numerous nurses on a smoko break (!) when I was snapping my pics; and the Parc de la Ciutadella, close to the Parc Zoologic, containing the Parlament de Catalunya and angling out to the Arc del Triof where everyone seems to be napping or having a picnic in today´s hot summer day :)

So that´s my Spanish adventure, and I can´t wait to work on all the great photos I´ve taken to share with you all (and relive all that I´ve seen).

Hasta luego!

Bilboa

Just when I start getting the hang of speaking Spanish, I head onto Bilboa in northern Spain and soon realise that I will be in the Basque country (Euskadi in the native language) and that they are self proclaimed to be proudly a very different culture to the rest of Espana.

This is the 50th anniversary year of ETA, a Basque separatist movement, which has marked the event by staging an explosion about a week or so ago in Mallorca that killed 2 policeman. Despite regional autonomy, the separatist movement are still seeking to sever ties with the national government in Madrid. So I am a little cautious at the moment, but hopefully nothing will happen during the rest of my time here.

There are three languages in the North - Spanish, Euskera and a small amount English, and there seems to be a lot of X´s and K´s in Euskera so I´m not even going to attempt to pronounce it, seeing as Spanish already has interesting versions on the letters, V, H and G!

I had caught the 8am train from Madrid´s Chamartin Estation de Tren and the weather seemed to turn considerably cooler the further north I travelled. Undulating plains and fields of tall yellow sunflowers eventually gave way to sloping hills and pretty town dappled valleys.

Pulling into Bilboa´s main station at around 1pm I was greeted by a massive stained glass upper wall pouring soft light into the mildly bustling space. Beautiful.

I´ve upgraded for my last two hotels in Spain and I am enjoying 4 star accommodation here and in Barcelona (book early enough in advance and you can get some pretty bargains!), so I´m at the rather stylish and comfortable Barcelo Avenida about 1.5km from the Guggenheim.

I actually took a walk after lunch to gauge whether I could hoof my way there tomorrow but while I got within sight of the amazing structure (it´s definitely gasp-worthy); with the hilly inclines I suspect its actually a lot further to walk to then just distance through line of sight. But I´m looking forward to exploring it tomorrow!

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The number 48 bus just outside my hotel took me practically to the entrance of the Guggenheim and I was again tickled by Frank Gehry´s strangely fish/ boat-like silvery creation, it´s titanium scales reflecting a soft sheen in the overcast Bilboa morning.

Unfortunately there is quite a lot of construction close to the front of the building and I couldn´t get a clear shot of the whole structure and it´s whimsical pet...yes, there seems to be a gigantic flower dog sitting next to the fish. (Don´t worry, I do have photos! :)

I breezed easily through the entrance and thought I had arrived late enough to have avoided the queues, but it turns out that I had just been lucky and early myself - half an hour after I picked up my audio guide (which is included in the ticket price - cool), the shallow stairs leading down to the entrance was packed with people who had obviously opted for a late breakfast.

Sigh... again no pictures or video were allowed inside (though I managed to ignorantly sneak a couple of both before being reminded of the fact).
Y´know, you just can´t tell here...the attendants had no problems with photos at Madrid´s Reina Sofia just as long as the flash wasn´t used, but at the Prado and Thyssen it was definitely nixed.

I really wish I could have taken at least a few pictures inside the galleries, even if it was just for Jess and Scott; there was a retrospective of Chinese born, now New York based artist Cai Guo-Qiang and some of his installations were amazing. (Sorry if I have used this word far too often in this blog!)

His signature pieces involved gunpowder on paper, the final record in an evolving work which usually initially begins with fireworks and explosions in the real world space (he videos these and then recreates them on large panels). There were massive canvases displayed scatter shot with soot and burns to signify his ideas.

He also likes to represent concepts three dimensionally and had an unbelievable work involving 99 wolves running, jumping, flying and hitting head on into a clear glass panel only to pick themselves up and head to the beginning to do it all again. You could walk amongst the wolves, under the ones suspended full flight and also view from the other side of the panel the animals hitting the wall.

There was a delicate porcelain peony in full bloom unfolding from it´s tile...shot and coloured with gunpowder residue - beauty with violence; a flotsam wreck of distressed wood from an original boat beached on smashed porcelain plates and holding more broken pieces and the revered figurines of Chinese goddess of mercy, Guan Yin; and a massive room depicting in life-like but crumbling clay the famed Communist images of the Peasant Revolt, the marble eyes of the statues unnervingly animated though their bodies were frozen and turning to dust. Exceptional.

These are the kinds of art installations which excite me, which make me eager to tell my friends about, to happily chorus and eagerly question.

So now it´s onto my last Spanish site before heading home - Barcelona!

Marvellous Madrid

I´m in the capital of Spain at the moment and it is impressive indeed with rococo styled buildings and beautiful historical architecture that has been superbly maintained - in essence, Madrid is gorgeous.

I had been worried that my three star Travelodge accommodation in Torrelaguna was going to be on the outskirts of the city, but while it wasn´t close to all the action, the taxi fare was reasonable, and my afternoon walk with multi fold map delivered me within 10 minutes to a Metro stop.

I love Metros (light underground rail) and have used both the London Tube and New York´s Subway in the past, not to mention Beijing´s brand new transport system during last year´s Olympics; and I love how they can get you to just about every location in the city you could ever want to visit. They are fast, easy to figure out and economical, and unlike trams (sorry Lian!) they don´t mar the skyline with electrical cords.

A handy tourist pamphlet gave me a rundown of a transport deal - 11.60 euros for unlimited travel for 3 days on all transport systems in the city. So that was my first order of business Monday morning (you´ll need to provide proof of identity so keep your driver´s license handy - on another note, if you pay anything by credit card in Spain, all vendors will also ask for photo ID, so don´t leave your license home, else you´ll be carting around your precious passport).

I decided to visit the sumptuous Palacio Real, the royal palace which dominates Old Madrid, and was reminded that yup, it´s the summer holidays here in Europe when I was greeted by a long queue at the entrance.

A Spanish fan (they´re not just decorative!) and my hat kept me cool for the 45 minute wait, but I then got me a guided tour (in English) of some of the amazing rooms housing the most grandiose chandeliers, furniture, interiors and design - heavily rococo and with just about everything gold plated (even parts of the walls and ceilings!)

There were fantastic painted frescoes in most of the rooms, and one particular waiting room brought gasps from just about everyone as the exquisitely detailed and carved stucco was exceptionally fine, done in a Chinoise style - apparently all the rage during the height of Spain´s Bourbon royalty. Unfortunately no interior photos allowed :( and the palace is still a working building, receiving heads of state and used for royal galas and events for the current monarchy which was returned to Spain after decades of Fascism.

After the tour we were invited to view the extensive royal armoury, now exhibiting medieval suits for both men and their war horse steeds. I imagined draught horses of old (that may be particularly English) but the amount of armour that these horses would have had to carry, not just for their own battle protection but in addition to the weight of a fully suited up and weapon wielding knight...!

Shockingly, there were full suits of armour for children too - obviously the princes of royal blood were sometimes taken out onto the battlefield to view the art and tactics of war.

I cannot emphasize the amazing detail that a lot of this armour had; engravings on not just the helmet but also the torso pieces, and this would continue though to the saddle, shield and broadsword as well.

I spent the rest of Monday afternoon wandering around the Parque del Retiro and the Plaza de Espana, taking pictures of anything pretty which included the Monument to Cervantes, the lovely Gran Via and the Monument to Alphonso XII which faces Retiro´s Boating Lake.

The next day it was straight to the galleries with the Museo del Prado being the biggest and therefore to be tackled in the first part of the day.
As usual, there was a queue, but at the taquilla (ticket booth) I scored a Paseo del Arte, a 3 museum pass for access to the Prado, the Museo de Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia - pretty much all the galleries worth hitting if you are visiting Madrid. All for the discounted price of 14.40 euros (each gallery´s average entry cost is about 8 euros each).

I´ve now visited all three (took me two days!) and my favourite would be the Prado, though the Thyssen has some great works too, especially from the last 200 years. The Reina Sofia is mainly work from the 20th century and mostly houses modern art which I forget sometimes is not so much images as installations.
This means large tracts of space devoted to abstract ideas or expressions and while I was allowed to take a few flash free photos there (I especially liked the opportunity to see Dali´s works and also a gigantic Man Ray metronome); the priceless historical art in the Prado was a standout from the hundreds of pieces I think I have now viewed.

Reina Sofia also used to be Madrid´s General Hospital and I dunno, the converted space has a slightly spooky facility feel about it, especially if you´re in one of the large ward/ spaces on your own.

I had quickly visited Madrid´s Mudejar facaded Plaza de Toros this morning after I realised from my DK book that it was only open until about 1.30pm most days. The tour in Spanish and English was pretty good and my small group got right down to the sandy grounds where some of the bloodthirsty fights actually take place. The space, which houses about 24,000 is also used for major concerts (Kylie, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and the Rolling Stones have been recent acts) and has got great acoustics, though the guide didn´t actually know why, professing that he´s "not a architect!" :)

So it´s a early night tonight as I´m catching the 8.00am train out of Madrid and onto Bilboa tomorrow morning!

Toledo

I think you could very well say that Toledo is the medieval heart of Spain. It´s narrow streets are even more of a warren, and where at least in Seville and Granada you could imagine horses riding abreast, here you´d be lucky to have pedestrians walking in that same space - it´s twisty and sometimes steep paths giving no inkling as to what´s around the corner (plaza? or maybe more maze-like corridors) and with its mostly cobbled stones used throughout, I can imagine in wet weather getting around here could be a little dicey.

Yet pedestrians do not have the right of way, cars regularly squeeze themselves through, making people jump into handy shops to avoid getting run over!

About 30 minutes out of Madrid, the Toledo train station has a gorgeous interior of stained glass, painted tiles and craved wood. I flagged my cab to the Hotel Eurico, a modest 3 star tucked into unassuming Calle Santa Isabel, a stone´s throw from Toledo´s much lauded cathedral. Sighting that within five minutes, I went for a wander in the opposite direction with a detailed map courtesy of the hombre at reception.

I noticed most of the tourist stores here seemed to specialise in a type of gold inlay carving called damascene which proudly displays a Made in Toledo sticker; and scores and scores of medieval weaponry (but also musketeer guns galore).

You could practically outfit a Tolkien army with all the broadswords, foils, knives, shields, helmets and full body armour throughout. Among the more traditional looking European items you could see the influence of The Lord of the Rings - locals obviously inspired to produce the them for modern fantasy fans :)

The main reason for my visit here was of course, the Toledo Cathedral, a building which has such amazingly detailed inlaid carving in marble, jasper and wood that I could just imagine these creations coming alive at night, they are seriously that perfect.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a no photography rule in Toledo (there was also a notice up at the Sinagoga de Santa Maria de Blanca which despite it´s humble exterior held stunning white and painted gold Mudejar frames) so despite sneaking some early no flash shots, I ended up feeling guilty enough to refrain for the rest of my visit. The fascinating and slightly grotesque choir section is amazing and the heavenly skylight which dapples the sun upon a beatific marble inlay of Mary with baby Jesus will not be accompanied by my own photos :( So here´s some links from Flickr!

The cathedral even has works by Caravaggio, Goya, Van Dyck and Titian as well as numerous paintings by El Greco, a Greek born artist who lived and worked extensively in Spain specialising in religious imagery.

The almost ostentatious Monstrance in a separate section is a 16th Century treasure which is still carried out in the streets of Toledo during the Corpus Cristi celebrations (May/June).

On a personal note, waving a map around gives a Spanish guy ideas on showing you around his home town... Muchas gracias pero lo siento (Many thanks, but I´m sorry, no :) Still, it´s always nice to be asked!

Cordoba

As if to make up for the somewhat sucky time in Malaga, Cordoba turned on the charm.

I had had a relatively short 90 minute train ride to my final Andalucian city, and the Cordoba Estacion de Tren was about five minutes away from the Hotel Maimonides, part of the relatively new formed Eurostar Hotel franchise and keen to impress.

I was right on the doorstep of the Mezquita and the hotel itself was Arabic inspired but with all the mod cons enclosed within. Such a relief to be in an about turn from the last place!
I was still in a single room, but it was compact three star luxury and I went on my usual explore happy that I´d have a decent home base for the next couple of nights.

Very close to the hotel I noticed a large display for a flamenco show - a must see I hadn´t yet indulged in. The genial host walked me through the interior grove and small plaza of the building and asked me to decide between two seats, one close to the stage, the other a step or so back, but still with a good view and under a lemon tree.
I chose the seat under the fruit tree, at which point the host cheekily dubbed me Ms Limontree and warned me avuncularly about Spanish men when he discovered I was holidaying independently :)

I then proceeded to get well and truly lost wandering around Cordoba, and three hours of good walking later I admitted defeat and caught a cab back to my hotel - I only had 45 minutes before I needed to take my seat for the night´s show.

Inspired to wear my yellow dress, I chatted to a young mother named Melissa from Nebraska who was travelling with her wriggly primary aged son. She had told me how she had seen a flamenco show in Seville and had cried with the intensity of the passion and feeling that the performers had put into their art - there was nothing like this in Nebraska!

One of the singers (cantaores) had been canvassing the audience before the show and thought I might be an easy pick for the night, but though I didn´t mind having a conversation with him, as you will see from the video, he wasn´t exactly my type...
Melissa said one of the flamenco guitarists was pretty much staring at me all night too, which is very sweet, but while she said he was an improvement on the last guy (I´ll admit that was true) again, I wasn´t that fussed and besides, with the number of sexy flamenco bailaoras (female dancers) in the company, I´m sure my citrus limon dress would be forgotten come mañana.

The dancing was fantastic and I was most impressed by an intense yet playful blonde who not only performed well but looked like she truly loved being up there dancing for us. The one male dancer (bailaor) was also very good and the speed of their footwork had me holding my breath.
Having recently had an insight into just how complicated some of the rhythms can be, I can only compare it to very focused and controlled tap dancing, but with less slide points and a definite amping up of the facial frowning :)

I´ve got some video footage of various snippets from the show, but with the unstable Internet upload options in most of the net cafes here, they may have to wait until I get back to Oz before I can set them up.

My photos may have to wait too, and I´ll probably need my tech savvy brother to run an antivirus program on my home PC to make sure I haven´t picked up any data viral nasties since I´ve been here.

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It was the Mesquita this morning and the temps were already in the high 3os celsius when I stepped out after desayuno (breakfast). A large digital clock (they seem to be everywhere on most streets) last night had announced at 8.30pm that it was 42C in Cordoba and with the heatwave sparking forest fires in parts of Mediterranean Europe including Spain, I am fully expecting it to get much hotter when I head onto my two interior stops of Toledo and Madrid.

The Mezquita was in contrast quiet and shadowed, its high ceilings drawing away the heat and its marble floors and columns blessedly cool.

I wandered for ages taking interesting pictures of its Arabic mudejar interiors, remodelled Catholic central cathedral, and the verdant grove in the courtyard it enclosed.

A further short walk took me to the Alcazar de los Reyes Christianos (Fortress of the Kings), the home of the conquering Christian monarchs of Andalucia.
It had a beautiful garden despite living up to it´s military title - the battlements looked fierce and ready to accommodate archers and there were tower rooms with very small windows to contend against attacks.

It´s onto Toledo via Madrid tomorrow as I head into the heart of Spain!

Tuesday, (Martes) 28 Julio - pronounced Mal-a-gar...

Disappointingly, Malaga is not as pretty as her sisters to the North - this port city is pocked with major construction amidst the Romanesque buildings, and the twisting warren of streets offers no surprises if you´ve already wandered through similar calles in Seville and Granada.

Catching the coach from Granada to Malaga was a very cost effective 9.85 euros and offered a smooth 90 minutes trip on the clear roadway; but I got totally spiked on the taxi cost from the Estacion de Autobus Malaga to my hotel - 20 euros!! Practically double the price! :(
My suspicions were aroused when I got into the cab and the driver didn´t bother putting on the meter...when I queried this, he said that it was standard that all fares from the bus station to any location in Malaga were 20 euros. What the...?! (don´t forget, that´s close to AU$40)

I pretty much said, stop the car, I want to get out now! The driver chattered in rapid Spanish and quickly pulled the taxi over and while I was voicing my protest, pulled out a sheet of printed distance prices. Pointing to a line, I read that the cost from the Malaga bus station to Torremolinos was 18 euros.
I scowled, but said, "vale" (meaning okay and pronounced "bah-lay") and as the drive went on I realised just how far that bloody bus station was. Not to mention that though my hotel is supposed to be in Torremolinos, Malaga; that´s like saying Fremantle is part of the city of Perth, kinda true, but not exactly within walking distance!

The driver must have felt guilty about saying 20 euros initially as when I gave him the money, he set his mouth and handed me back 2 euros, sticking to the recommended cost.
So far, the cabbies here in Spain have been pretty good and rarely round up your fare, they make a point of giving you back your small change.

As I entered the Hotel Natali, everyone in the lobby looked to be heading to the beach and there were heaps of kids running around. I noticed posters for ´family fun play areas´, advertised programs for buses heading down to the beach, on to theme parks and animal exhibitions... I started to realise that I was in a mid range family resort and worried about what my room was going to end up like...

My instincts were on the money, as when I clicked into my room I surveyed such basic accommodation, I don´t know how it had the nerve to call itself a 3 star location.

• No remote on the very small TV (and it was missing it´s buttons so you couldn´t even change the channels manually). Cost to get a remote? 20 euros, refunded to you on check out.
• No minibar (I rarely buy anything from them, but I like the fridge option as I usually clear a space to chill some water or fruit).

It was a seriously simple room with a basic en suite and a double bed, but little else to recommend it. Motels in America have more amenities!

I guess this close to the beach they figure you wouldn´t want to spend too much time in your room anyway...

On my usual afternoon tromp I found the beach, loads of European tourists and thankfully, the Terremolinos train stop. I caught it this morning to the centre of Malaga proper, a good 30 minutes of travelling time which stops at the city´s airport about halfway through the journey.

The train itself is rather high off the platform, and with at least two steps up, is a bit of a struggle for anyone with luggage (a good three quarters of all the passengers on my ride in). So I´m bearing this in mind for my own trip tomorrow as I escape Malaga and hop onto an afternoon train to Cordoba.

I did get to visit the elegant Museo de Picasso in Calle San Augustin today though, right next to a spectacular Romanesque cathedral.

The museum was filled with lithographs, sketches, 3D metalwork, paper cuttings, smaller paintings and a wide variety of the artist´s experimental etchings.

Picasso certainly had a sense of humour...! Or is it just me thinking that as I grin at various pieces which look inverted, are warply strange and in some cases display the original definition of cute (ugly but interesting) which are later revealed in their titles to be muses, friends or in one particularly smudge-like smear, a cat :)

The museum also houses an extra treat: entry into the lower levels beneath the main halls where a small but important archaeological juncture showcases a slice of early ´Malaka´; when the city was home to the Phoenicians (over 2000+ years ago) and was a rich commercial centre specializing in silver and copper. This area was later taken over by Carthagian and then Roman rulers, before a long period of Moorish influence and then present Christian sovereignty.

The small exhibit highlighted Phoenician pottery shards (a few wonderfully painted), simple rooms and various work areas; a fascinating reminder that with each new culture overlayed on Spain they have scored a compelling chapter in her rich history.

Oh, shout-out to the cute (modern definition, natch) curly haired, helpful and very attentive museum usher who was definitely looking when I headed over to my next exhibition level. All I could give him was a flirtly smile... :)

Sunday (Domingo) 26 Julio - Granada

Granada´s city central (centro) is very tidy. After grabbing a taxi with a chatty cabbie (we managed to have a pretty decent conversation with my limited Spanish - yay, for all that studying!) to the three star Hotel Jean Miguel on Acera de Darro (Puerta Real), I settled into my modest room and went out for my usual survey of the city.

Hotel Jean Miguel was within pretty easy walking distance to most of the shopping and restaurants in Granada central and I was grateful to discover that my three star accommodation affords me a standing shower and en suite - aaah, much as I loved Senora Gordillo´s colourful home, I really enjoy being able to take a hot shower at the end of the day of tourist traipsing :)
(She had a lovely large bathroom, but no shower fixture.)

Back to Granada; the blooms dressing the elegant lampposts here are a rather French touch, and the facades of most of the buildings with their decorated iron balconies and narrow shutters definitely reflect a francophile accent. Walk a little further out from the centre though (as I did later and as usual got lost) and large tracts of the city seemed to be earmarked for upgrading as half streets were plowed up and netting skirted all of the work to protect the relatively oblivious pedestrians - maybe the civil engineers are putting in a light rail or metro?

Anyway, after about two+ hours of walking, I did eventually circle back to my hotel - since dusk only settles in Spain at about 10pm, I pretty much tell myself that if I don´t know where the heck I am by nightfall, I´ll catch a cab.
However, there were loads of families and the senior set walking around (with friends or family or pets - or all three in some instances) so I didn´t feel too exposed as a lost tourist (key, look like you know where you´re going, even if you don´t!) and I managed to find an internet cafe (they seem to double as public multi scale phone booths over here.)

I decided to do some solid research and booked the rest of my Spanish hotel stays (I didn´t want to chance getting into a location with nowhere to rest my weary head) and set up my rooms for Malaga, Cordoba, Toledo, Madrid, Bilboa and Barcelona online with Zuji travel. They had been pretty helpful when I had been looking for my two week stay in Beijing last year, and had found me something central, available and cost-effective during the Games - quite an impressive search engine feat.

I think I´m going to have to take to the roads as well for a few of my travels intercity. While I´ll use rail when I can, coaches have been recommended as being just as good and comparable in time to trains here, and are usually cheaper. (I´ll save the extra dosh for my accommodation.)

My one worry was the stretch from Bilboa to Barcelona. It will be a 7 hour bus ride (6.5 by train) and an minuscule 1 hour by air...but Iberia Airlines seems to be the main airline flying out of the northern Basque city, and after they dropped the ball and delayed my luggage for FOUR days in Seville, you´ll understand if I don´t want to take the chance of the same thing happening on the final leg of my Spanish trip.

So, I´ve just finished breakfast and now it´s off to the Alhambra!

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Wow, am I glad I didn´t try to walk up to this location! I had been pounding the pavement last night trying to get my bearings and see if my hotel was within walking distance to Granada´s famed monument, but since I couldn´t find it (despite seeing signposts on a few of streets pointing vaguely left), I decided to catch a cab instead to save on the sweat and frustration.

I never would have found it on my own.
It´s up a hilly incline and through narrow streets barely open enough to take two cars; but 5 euros later I was in the very well organised ticket entrance to this Moorish legacy with an all encompassing ticket that seems designed to track you wherever you went throughout the estate. (You have to show your ticket to be scanned before entry just about everywhere).

Almost like Disneyland (!) you were given a time stamp as to when you could enter the main Palicio de Nasrid as they only allow about 300 or so people in at any one time to wander through, I guess to not overburden the building and maybe to also allow for decent personal pics not starring a mass of anonymous tourists.

The Alhambra is still undergoing some restoration as it has suffered decades of pillage and decay and an attempt by Napoleon´s troops to blow it up (hah! I knew the French were here at some point); but the exquisite craftsmanship is evident, and the delicate cravings of floral motifs and Arabic script still survive in their bleached beauty, though here and there you can see evidence of painted sections which hint at what this wonder would have looked like under the ruling caliphs of antigua (antique) Spain.

It is an incredibly hot day here today, about 37C; and while I enjoyed wandering through the Yannat al Arif or Generalife, the palace gardens located on the Alhambra´s northern side; I tried to keep in the shade as much as possible and kept dipping my hands in the cool rushing water of the numerous fountains circling through these once upon a time orchards and pastures.
The location is currently set up for Granada´s annual music and dance festival (oh, to see a flamenco show here!) and I can imagine that it would be a fantastical backdrop to showcase some of Spain´s performing artists.

Off to the playa (beach) tomorrow! :) (Not really)

I´m on the bus to Malaga, the port city of Southern Spain.