Our bags are packed and we’re ready to go. We’ll be discovering Alaska for a little over two weeks. Flying to Anchorage this afternoon, then taking Alaska Railroad to Denali for two days, back to Anchorage overnight and then we board Le Soléal for a twelve day cruise down to Vancouver. All aboard? Let’s go!
I warned you, today was Gaudi day. Our first stop was Sagrada Família. Then is was on to Park Güell, and then a walk past two residential buildings. Our feet were worn to nubs and our minds full of facts so we ended the day exhausted.
Outside, the Sagrida Familia is a powerhouse of storytelling. With towers that seem to touch clouds.
We entered through the Nativity Facade, an image onslaught of the baby Jesus’ birth.
The exterior is overpowering but upon entry I was in awe. It’s hard for me, the non-believer to say, but I felt welcome as a human being. It is a forest of peace. No Gothic scenes battering down the plebes asking for forgiveness or scenes of battle. It was pure light. Intricate, glorious light.
Windows depict the four seasons in abstract stained glass, winter,
spring,
summer,
and fall.
Combined, they make the interior glow.
Of the three facades, Nativity and Passion are complete, and Glory will be finished by 2030 when the basilica is expected to be totally complete. We exited out of the Passion facade which is cubist to say the least. Totally grim. Extra credit here for identifying the scene and solving the number puzzle.
On to the park, originally conceived for sixty homes in an eden/Gaudi environ the plan never took off and is now a city park with limited tourist access.
The tiles on the bench back are recycled pottery.
Last, and least, in my opinion, the two residential buildings. At this point it all seemed like cotton candy.
Now, it’s off to bed for an early rise for tomorrow it’s off to home. Thanks for taking the ride with us.
Long day yesterday. Traveling involved switching trains in Madrid which was a nightmare! The arrival area is about two city blocks from the departure area and we only had 30 minutes to board our second train. But we made it intact. Then we checked into our Barcelona lodging. A travel agent can make or break a trip with just one booking. We had a king room with a “terrace”. Well, look at our terrace.
Our travel agent (me) took the reins and worked with management to secure a different room. Now look at the view from our front facing balcony on the third floor.
Just through that arch in the picture above is Plaça Reial. A lively place with restaurants and tables around the perimeter. It draws every sort of crowd and the spirit is truly “Barcelona”. As a friend who recently traveled to Spain said, “Madrid is the formal, uptight, proper city and Barcelona, well anything goes.”
In fact, this morning I had a lovely Benedict in the square.
On to the events of the day. Wayne couldn’t contain his excitement to visit the Mies Van der Rohe Barcelona Pavilion. It was originally built as the German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, Spain. It was radical at the time.
“The pavilion was to be bare, with no exhibits, leaving only the structure accompanying a single sculpture and specially-designed furniture (the Barcelona Chair). This lack of accommodation enabled Mies to treat the Pavilion as a continuous space; blurring inside and outside.”
The building was torn down in early 1930, not even a year after it was completed. Between 1983 and 1986, a group of Catalan architects reconstructed the pavilion permanently, based on historical drawings and rediscovered footings on the site. Here is how it presents itself today.
We managed to fit in a trip to the Funicular. You take the funicular to it’s highest point, then transfer at the same spot to a gondola to get to Montjuïc Castle which sits atop Montjuïc hill. The travel agent goofed again and showed the taxi driver a map and pointed to the “hill”. He proceeded to take us to the transfer point of the gondola where we entered the funicular station, purchased tickets and proceeded to the funicular which we quickly realized was going only one direction, down. We considered it our gift to Barcelona public transit. Once realigned, we climbed aboard the gondola and got stellar views of the city.
An image of the castle walls – we didn’t look inside as we are tired of paying more euro to see more armor inside castles.
We endured possibly the worst street performer on earth.
Once back at our lodging I sauntered the Gothic Quarter and took some shots.
Brace yourself, tomorrow is “Gaudí” day.
After taking the fast train from Granada to Cordoba we checked into the most unique boutique hotel clearly made up of several houses strung together. The stairways are like an Escher painting going up, going down, and winding around several courtyards. Our room is near the top floor with walls of windows and a private terrace with incredible views of the city.
As always, click to enlarge photos.
This morning we were treated to ringing bells announcing that today was Sunday. The tower isn’t leaning, just a bad photographer. You’ll hear about the tower later.
This morning, I wandered the streets of Cordoba. The Moorish influence prominent.
Our main stop today was visiting the Mezquita. The Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba. Here’s a quick synopsis of what went on.
According to traditional accounts a Visigothic church, the Catholic Christian Basilica of Vincent of Saragossa, originally stood on the site of the current Mosque-Cathedral, although the historicity of this narrative has been questioned by scholars. The Great Mosque was constructed on the orders of Abd al-Rahman I in 785, when Córdoba was the capital of the Muslim-controlled region of al-Andalus. It was expanded multiple times afterwards under Abd ar-Rahman’s successors up to the late 10th century. The mosque was converted to a cathedral in 1236 when Córdoba was captured by the Christian forces of Castile during the Reconquista. The structure itself underwent only minor modifications until a major building project in the 16th century inserted a new Renaissance cathedral nave and transept into the center of the building. The former minaret, which had been converted to a bell tower, was also significantly remodelled around this time. Starting in the 19th century, modern restorations have in turn led to the recovery and study of some of the building’s Islamic-era elements. Today, the building continues to serve as the city’s cathedral and Mass is celebrated therein daily.
Now let’s take a look. We’ll start with the Muslim side of things. The place is vast.
Now let’s look at what the christians dropped in the middle as well as putting chapels all around the interior perimeter.
They popped in all sorts of Gothic bric-a-brac.
They didn’t forget the altar.
And someone ran out of money. Those windows meant for stained glass are now just thermopane.
Last night I had the best tapas so far, Braised Lamb with a Mint Yogurt Sauce.
The view from the terrace last night.
On to Barcelona tomorrow where we will wind up the trip.
The Nasrid garden was inspired by the Muslim conception of Paradise, a fertile place which provided pleasure to the five senses: color, light and shadow for sight; pertumed flowers and shrubs for smell; sweet fruits for taste, the symphony of water for hearing; and the texture of its materials – wet or dry, smooth or rough – For touch.
This was what the gardens of the past were like, a representation of the Garden of Eden. As they do today, they descended in terraces as far as the towers and crenellated walls and raised paths ran through the crops above the trees and bushes, putting the fruits within reach.
When the Franciscans arrived, the Nasrid gardens became the largest in the Alhambra. There were divided into six terraces and thanks to the abundant water, provided a generous harvest of truits, legumes and vegetables.
Since the monastery has been a Parador, this space has been used as a small botanical museum, with trees and bushes from all over the world. The earth on its reddish paths, the color of the Alhambra, is known as alpañata, a mixture of sand and dirt from Granada which is more intense than the typical soil of western Andalusia. The paths skirt boxwood hedges, different from those decorating the front gardens, which are fragrant myrtle with its pointed leaves. In the window boxes of the enclosed balcony, there is a collection of aromatic plants used to scent the delicacies served in the dining rooms of the Monastery of San Francisco.
The sum total of our day was spent in the gardens, slowly moving around, smelling fragrances, and at one point, while sitting on a bench, listening to The Byrds sing, “Turn! Turn! Turn!
Thyme
Rosemary
Sage
After dinner we had the privilege to walk the grounds after closing and experience the place essentially by ourselves, just as the sun was setting.
After a leisurely train ride from Sevilla we arrived in Granada and checked into our digs at the Parador hotel. Wow! What a place to stay. We are so glad we picked it as our “splurge” lodging of the trip. It is actually an old monastery that sits inside the walls of the Alhambra. Here is the view from our window.
The lily pond is well populated with frogs who can’t stop talking.
The Alhambra has a deep history and I won’t pretend to rattle it off here, instead just a quick synopsis below (thank you Wikipedia) and if you want a deeper dive just click the link.
The complex was begun in 1238 by Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar, the first Nasrid emir and founder of the Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim state of Al-Andalus. It was built on the Sabika hill, an outcrop of the Sierra Nevada which had been the site of earlier fortresses and of the 11th-century palace of Samuel ibn Naghrillah. Later Nasrid rulers continuously modified the site. The most significant construction campaigns, which gave the royal palaces much of their definitive character, took place in the 14th century during the reigns of Yusuf I and Muhammad V. After the conclusion of the Christian Reconquista in 1492, the site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella (where Christopher Columbus received royal endorsement for his expedition), and the palaces were partially altered. In 1526, Charles V commissioned a new Renaissance-style palace in direct juxtaposition with the Nasrid palaces, but it was left uncompleted in the early 17th century. After being allowed to fall into disrepair for centuries, with its buildings occupied by squatters, the Alhambra was rediscovered following the defeat of Napoleon I, whose troops destroyed parts of the site. The rediscoverers were first British intellectuals and then other American and Northern European Romantic travelers. The most influential of them was Washington Irving, whose Tales of the Alhambra (1832) brought international attention to the site. The Alhambra was one of the first Islamic monuments to become the object of modern scientific study and has been the subject of numerous restorations since the 19th century. It is now one of Spain’s major tourist attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I’m going to let pictures do the rest of the talking. We started with Charles the V Palace.
The inscription here means, “Only Allah wins”, and is seen throughout the complex.
There are feral cats living here and this one did catch the fish.
After a brief rest, we headed to the gardens of Generalife, just across a ravine from the Alhambra. This was built as a retreat for the Sultans and later the kings. Since there were no doors or security no one slept overnight in the palace, it was only used during the daytime.
Walls covered in Jasmine.
Yesterday we took a drive out to the White Villages and Ronda. It rained most of the day. Dribbly, wet rain. Not good for sauntering around villages. All told, we drove for about 6 hours, there and back. Actually, we didn’t drive. Driss, our guide, did the driving for us.
Along the ride we past rolling hills covered in wheat, sunflowers, and olive trees. Evidently when Franco came into power he decided this area would be devoted to agriculture and embarked on an ecological nightmare clearing the area of original forest to create suite arable farmland for large scale cultivation.
The first village on the trip was Zahara de la Sierra, nestled in the top of a mountain and one of a series of watch points to protect the valley from invaders.
Listen to the bells chime.
Flowers everywhere
Next it was on to Grazalema
The village was preparing for their own “running of the bulls” festival, hanging flags overhead. As Driss said, “For Sainard’s, anytime there is an excuse for a festival, we party.”
We stopped in a cheese shop and sampled local fair, then on to a restaurant for lunch. We had wild boar stew. Evidently there is a hunter in the next village over who provides the meat from his own kills. The stew was delicious.
Back into the car, we headed for Ronda. As Driss put it, “The place has become overrun with tourist.” There are museums for every taste including one devoted completely to watches, each of them charging the tourist a hefty admission. Of course, there is THEE bridge. The Puente Nuevo is the tallest of the bridges, towering 120 m (390 ft) above the canyon floor.
The old gates to the city.
One last stop for a glass of wine and a view.
Today we take the train to Granada.
The fast train was just that, fast. Here is the top MPH.
We are staying in this lovely apartment. Complete one bedroom with kitchen and it gives us a feeling of living here. The living room still has the original timbers. Plus there is a nice little terrace with a view of the very narrow street. So narrow in fact, that you have to stand in doorways to let cars pass through.
Breakfast on the terrace before we head out.
There is a stunning visual around every corner.
We set out for the cathedral, the largest gothic church, and the Giralda, the bell tower joining the church. The Giralda was the inspiration for the Wrigley Building in Chicago.
The square is a complete Catholic sweep with the Archdiocese offices looking over everything.
We wandered around trying to figure out how to get in. Our travel agent (me) fell down on this and didn’t buy tickets in advance. So we got a Sándwich de Jamón y Queso instead.
There are an abundance of flowers in Sevilla. Including pillars of petunia.
We finally figured out you could buy same day tickets by standing in a line. Which we did thanks to the travel agent’s poor planning. I have to say, I’m kind of over the cathedrals. After two, they all start to look the same.
No matter what you think of the guy, Christopher Columbus has some nice digs for his remains.
Now it was time to climb the tower, aerobic workout. Three hundred and forty two feet to the top. . . no elevator, just brick ramps. Once up, there were great views. You can see the bull fighting ring in the distance, right in the center of the pic.
We went back to our rooms and I did . . . laundry. Hey it was free! I made a big mistake and pushed the “cotton with pre-wash” button on the first load. It took 2 1/2 hours. It was then evening and time for a walk through the tapas bars and an evening meal of charcuterie and gazpacho.
Yesterday was a day off to sleep in, enjoy a great breakfast (avocado toast with pickled salmon), and stroll through the city. We did manage to take in the Palacio Real. I won’t bore you with lots of pictures but let’s just say there was no shortage of gilt.
Sidewalks strewn with rose petals
This morning we are on the fast train to Sevilla.
We arrived at the Madrid–Barajas Airport at the wee hour of 6:00 AM local time. Terminal 4 is one of the world’s largest airport terminals in terms of area, with 760,000 square meters (8,180,572 square feet) in separate landside and airside structures. It consists of a main building, T4 (470,000 m2) and a satellite building, T4S (290,000 m2), which are approximately 2.5 km apart. We landed at the satellite building which meant taking a bundle of escalators and speed walks through great architectural halls which seemed vacant of use. In other words the gates were a long, long way from our exit. Yes, we had to take the stupid tram for 2.5 km just to get to other great architectural halls with no purpose that lead to finally, a dismal run of the mill passport control hall, a box devoid of any decoration or architectural significance (they can build soaring terminal spaces but still struggle when it comes to the dull passport hall). A quick cab ride and we arrived at the Hotel Totem.
As always, click to enlarge any photo
We are located in a charming neighborhood perfect for people watching (upscale Spaniard’s dressed to the nines, all carrying bags branded with their latest purchase). French windows are perfect for observing from above.
The rest of our first day was spent with a quick shop for essentials and multiple siestas.
Feeling pretty well adjusted after needed rest, this morning we set out for our first walk of the city down tree lined streets. I love the European approach to engineering. Make it work for the site instead of tearing it down and building new. Now this door definitely makes a statement.
Our first stop was Parque del Buen Retiro. Here is Saint Geronimo el Real Church, the place that started it all when the Jeronimos moved a monastery 1505 and shortly thereafter the royal family built a retreat next door, including a garden.
The park has quite the history dating from the 16th century with all manner of Spanish kings and queens putting their stamp on the place. It was a joyful place to spend time wandering through the paths and enjoying the sculpted gardens.
And of course, one for the home team.
We hit early afternoon and decided to have lunch at the Mandarin Oriental Ritz. Quite the place, even has a restaurant with two Michelin stars. We didn’t eat there, instead in the Palm Court which definitely is sans stars and skimpy on the wine pour. Really? Is that 18€ worth of wine?
The place is right across the street from the Prado so of course we decided to go in. Turned out it was “free day” so the cost of lunch wine was offset. The place is stacked cheek to jowl with European Masters from the 12th to the 20th centuries. We can only stomach so much blood and gore (most depict gruesome scenes) and pictures of the little baby Jesus, endlessly depicted as a healthy three month old with a halo.
My fave was this Ruben, Act of Devotion by Rudolf I of Habsburg. “This work depicts an episode from the life of Rodolfo I (1218-1291), founder of the Hapsburg Dynasty. While hunting with his page, Regulo de Kyburg, Rodolfo met a priest and a sexton who were taking the eucharist to a dying man but found their way blocked by a swift-flowing river. In order to help them cross the river, and as a demonstration of their respect for the Holy Sacraments, Rodolfo and his page ceded their horses to the two holy men.” As Wayne said, “It’s the first depiction of pay to play. Plus, if you look close in the lower left corner you will see an accurate portrayal of a dog peeing on a tree. Perhaps a sentient artistic comment on the future of organized religion.
After heading back to the hotel for a quick siesta we are eating Jamón Serrano, Manchego, and bread (sliced by this guy at the local market) in bed.
Today we traveled a short distance to Lucerne In Maine, Maine, to have a farewell dinner with friends Dorothea and Charlie from Camden. We are staying at the aptly named Lucerne Inn in Lucerne in Maine, Maine. Before we left St. Andrews we took a short jaunt to Minister’s Island. The tides were in our favor as you can only cross the causeway at low tide. We’ve never driven on the bottom of the ocean floor before today. The island is famous as the summer home of Sir William Van Horn. He learned the railroad trade with the Illinois Central Railroad and rose through the ranks. In 1882 he was appointed general manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway and oversaw construction of the first Canadian Transcontinental Railway. He brought the project in under budget and half the allotted time for which he receive a bonus of $1,000,000 in the 1880’s. He used that money to build Covenhoven, his summer home which after multiple additions has 50 rooms, 11 fireplaces, and 11 bathrooms (all built with flush toilets). The house and the barn are the few remaining structures on the island. He bred cattle and Clydesdale horses, farmed vegetables, made butter, cheese, and milk so the enterprise was self sustaining (no doubt due to the workers who made $93 for an entire season).
We’ve covered over 1,800 miles and had a wonderful vacation. We are very fortunate. But there was one last surprise. When we checked into the Lucerne Inn we were told there was a wedding this evening and our windows looked out onto the tent. Okay, not great but no big deal. Well we didn’t look onto the wedding we looked into the wedding. Literally.
Dinner was wonderful with one last lobster for the road (a two pounder).
We made it back to our room just in time for the electric slide.
Farewell and safe journeys.
Note: It seems I forgot to press a “make public” button on YouTube. In case you missed some of the previous videos, they are now public.
We made a change to the itinerary, chopping our planned long drive to Saint Andrews into two days so yesterday we only had a 2 1/2 hour drive. We’re staying at the Algonquin Hotel, a grand dame of yesteryear.
This morning we awoke to fog that quickly burned off and so we nabbed two bicycles and headed out to explore. I read a little about Kingsbrae Garden but didn’t really know much about it. Little did we know the exquisite experience we were about to enjoy. Here’s a little info from the link above. Kingsbrae Garden was created by John and Lucinda Flemer to preserve and maintain into perpetuity the family’s former estate. With the downturn of industry in the nineties, the Flemers wanted to do something about the rising unemployment and recognized that, by creating Kingsbrae Garden, the job opportunities would keep families in this area. Perhaps what sums this up best is a quote from Lucinda Flemer “Even more important to us, here at Kingsbrae Garden, than growing plants is helping our community and the people of this area grow as well”.
Here’s a slide show of this beautiful place as we experienced it today. Recommend enlarging.
After spending about two hours in total peace, we headed to the cafe for an early lunch. Wow, another surprise. The chef, Alex Haun, chose his home town to open his first restaurant after studying at the Culinary Institute of Canada on Prince Edward Island. He is recognized internationally and seems very at home in this beautiful place. The cafe is only open for lunch and a gourmand, ten course dinner every Friday evening. They are sold out for tomorrow. The setting and the cuisine are both exceptional. We lazed over a charcuterie board with homemade pâtés as well as smoked duck. He is deep into pickling and I immediately noticed pickled spring ramps as well as garlic scapes. The chef came to our table and after serious discussion I have the recipes. Raves from me. We’ll go back tomorrow.
We sat outside but would love to have dinner in the dining room, a sitting room of the former estate. Lucinda Flemer is now ninety one years old and lunches daily in the courtyard. Shortly after I took the picture, Wayne spotted her enjoying lunch with her black poodle.
If that is not enough, a Llama took a walk with a six month old goat.
After vacation naps, we had a sunset dinner of oysters and mussels on the wharf just a short boat ride from Maine.
It rained the whole time we were driving to Louisbourg. But, if you’re going to spend a day driving, it might as well be raining. We woke up the next morning to crisp horizons and a clear blue sky.
Our first order of business in this area was taking in part of the Cabot Trail. It is one of the most scenic highways in Canada. We were warned by a school teacher at the Roosevelt Cottage that she had witnessed several travelers burn out their brakes on the steep grades. To get there we took the Englishtown Ferry. It is a cable ferry that traverses a 410 foot channel and only takes about 3 minutes for the crossing. Friendly doggums were on board enjoying the trip.
At the top of one mountain, there was a picnic turnoff. It was the start of the Smokey Trail which is a difficult trail, about 6 miles long ending in a small town. We noticed there was a jog out to a great spot for a view and hobbled out.
After driving for a few hours we stopped in Sydney on the way back. We were thrilled to learn the restaurant had oysters and lobster. Wayne ordered a dozen and I ordered a whole one (lobster number 3). The waiter came running back with a long face and told us they only had four oysters left and they would be on the house. With only four, the presentation outdid the volume.
We made it back to watch the Full Harvest Moon rise over the bay.
Another beautiful morning. That’s the Louisbourg Fortress in the center of our view. After coffee and breakfast Wayne went rock hunting and came upon a whole gaggle of Piping Plovers. Who knew Monty and Rose had so many relatives.
After checking out of our room we headed to the fortress for the main agenda of the day. For the full history, click on the link above, it’s very interesting but here is a taste – The original settlement was made in 1713, and initially called Havre à l’Anglois. Subsequently, the fishing port grew to become a major commercial port and a strongly defended fortress. The fortifications eventually surrounded the town. The walls were constructed mainly between 1720 and 1740. By the mid-1740s Louisbourg, named for Louis XIV of France, was one of the most extensive (and expensive) European fortifications constructed in North America.
Even the guard bunks had fleurs-de-lis on the mattresses.
Typical embellishments surely ordered by Louis.
Sheep were lazy grazing.
The chapel was quite ornate.
And as Wayne said, “Leave it to Louis to replace God behind the altar.”
The place was housed over 800 soldiers.
The ministry of health finally caught up with us regarding our unreported take home Covid tests that didn’t work (long story).
After the fortress we had a five hour drive leaving Nova Scotia and entering New Brunswick for a stopover before heading to Saint Andrews tomorrow.
This was what we woke up to yesterday.
This is what we did.
I know, living the high life on vacation. Once back to our lodging we could hear very operatic seals on a nearby island. They did a lot of complaining. I took a walk around the property and came upon Franklin and his human swimming in the little beach. Evidently Franklin only goes up to his chest and gets very scared when his paws don’t touch the bottom. He stays in the shallow end. On his trek back up to the house he stopped by to say hi and decided to do a baby Moses in the rushes act.
This morning we set out early for our drive to Cape Breton Island.
On the way we stopped in Baddeck. Beautiful town on Bras d’Or Lake. We had a lovely lunch on the wharf with an incredible view. When there is no whole lobster, a roll will do.
After lunch we toured the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site. Very interesting, but focused mostly on his flying experiments and just gave a nod to the telephone. He fought for eighteen years to be acknowledged as the inventor of the telephone. Perhaps he could have used some help from Ernestine.
In 1885, Bell and his wife were taking a vacation cruise along the eastern shore and due to an accidental grounding they discovered Baddeck and Bras d’Or Lake, fell in love with scenery and Scottish culture and built Beinn Bhreagh as a vacation home and eventually lived there year round until his death in 1922. He and his wife are both buried on the estate. The estate is still in the hands of descendants. We tried driving around to find it but were met with a sign reading, “The Bell estate is not open to the public, and is not visible from Beinn Bhreagh Road”. So much for window peeping. Tomorrow the plan is to drive part of the Cabot Trail. Happy trails to you and yours.
Yesterday we drove up from the Southern Shore district to the Eastern Shore. It was about 5 hours and we hoped to drive the shore route but construction in and around Halifax put a lid on that. We settled for the quicker inland route via the Trans-Canadian Highway. It was cloudy and rainy all day, good for a drive.
Our lodgings sit on a small peninsula perfectly situated so we can see the sunrise over the Atlantic on one side and walk around the building and see the sunset on the other side. Here is last night.
And here is this morning.
Amidst all this natural splendor, the Nova Scotia government has just approved a “Space Port” project in Canso to launch low orbit satellites. I think they should just keep launching from Flordia and jettison the governor.
Perfect morning for breakfast on the deck, especially when we are joined by two of our hosts, Teddy (terrier rescue), and Franklin (Bernese Mountain Dog). When Wayne asked David, one of our human hosts, “Are they named after the Roosevelts?” David replied, “How American of you to think we would name our dogs after your dead presidents.” Franklin is more food motivated than Teddy.
I’m realizing that all I have is pictures of landscape. Well, the fact is, there just aren’t very many people here. Almost every walk on a beach or trail has been devoid of humans. That was true this morning when we took the Black Duck Cove Trail. We are in the county of Guysborough which we think is a much classier name than “Boystown”.
Who knew we would walk right past the Western Union transatlantic cable relay station.
I don’t know if I’ll post tomorrow, wifi here is basically two Dixie cups and a string, evidently the transatlantic cable doesn’t boost the speed. Enjoy your day as we have ours.