Travels With Maria

Spain

Alhambra and Hammam

After failing at seeing Holy Week processions for the previous 5 days, we bumped into a small one on the street Monday evening on our way out to dinner. A statue of risen Jesus followed by a Mary statue, with about 20 attendants with a couple of kids waving incense censers. Yesterday, we got picked up with a small group for the 2 hour drive to Grenada to see the Alhambra. It was pouring rain. The bus left us downtown, on our own for lunch, so we went over to the cathedral to see the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabel before stopping in to a tavern for coffee and a…
More

Málaga

We took the train from Cordoba to Malaga yesterday morning. It was uneventful until we arrived. Malaga was the last stop. We waited until the rush of people subsided, then went to luggage storage at the end of the car, only to find out bags were gone! We took chase, running out of the car and into the station before we realized that we had boarded the train at the other end of the car. We went back, and sure enough, there were our suitcases. We know that no one will ever steal your suitcases from a pile of luggage: they might belong to the person right next to them.…
More

Flamenco in Andalucía

Slept late Saturday, out of the apartment around 11. Walked the 3 blocks to the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos. The Alcazar was built by Christian kings in the 1200s or so on the ruins of the destroyed Moorish castle after the Christians reconquered Córdoba. Castle walls and towers to climb, and acres of orchards and gardens. The Moors planted many citrus trees, oranges and lemons, to counteract the stench of the mideval open sewers. The oranges are very aromatic smelling and sour, different from eating oranges. Their leaves are different. The gardens in the Alcazar were all in bloom, but were planted in a haphazard manner. I guess this…
More

Water and Horses

We woke up with no alarm for the first day in months. We have quickly fallen into Spain schedule. Chiyo pointed out that I did not mention La Mezquita in yesterday's email, only posted on Facebook. So here is that: La Mezquita is the great mosque of Córdoba. Originally a place of worship shared by Muslims and Christians, the Muslim ruler of Spain bought the Christian half in the 8th century and built a mosque, the second largest in the world at the time. When Christian kings regained control, they converted it to a cathedral. It's a real hodgepodge of architectural styles, including columns from Roman times. Hundreds of columns…
More

Córdoba: Semana Santa

Tuesday night, we flew to Lisbon on TAP Air Portugal. The plane was an aging widebody Airbus with hard seats, really good food and nice service. It was short for a transatlantic flight, but we were able to sleep for some short hours. Maria didn't know where we were going until we got into the terminal at Logan, and even then, she didn't know the final destination. The next flight was to Málaga, then an hour train up to Córdoba. Córdoba was founded by the Romans in the second century BC. It was the capital of Moorish Spain from 719 until the 13th century. There is a Roman bridge across…
More

Alhambra and Hammam

After failing at seeing Holy Week processions for the previous 5 days, we bumped into a small one on the street Monday evening on our way out to dinner. A statue of risen Jesus followed by a Mary statue, with about 20 attendants with a couple of kids waving incense censers. Yesterday, we got picked up with a small group for the 2 hour drive to Grenada to see the Alhambra. It was pouring rain. The bus left us downtown, on our own for lunch, so we went over to the cathedral to see the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabel before stopping in to a tavern for coffee and a…
More

Málaga

We took the train from Cordoba to Malaga yesterday morning. It was uneventful until we arrived. Malaga was the last stop. We waited until the rush of people subsided, then went to luggage storage at the end of the car, only to find out bags were gone! We took chase, running out of the car and into the station before we realized that we had boarded the train at the other end of the car. We went back, and sure enough, there were our suitcases. We know that no one will ever steal your suitcases from a pile of luggage: they might belong to the person right next to them.…
More

Flamenco in Andalucía

Slept late Saturday, out of the apartment around 11. Walked the 3 blocks to the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos. The Alcazar was built by Christian kings in the 1200s or so on the ruins of the destroyed Moorish castle after the Christians reconquered Córdoba. Castle walls and towers to climb, and acres of orchards and gardens. The Moors planted many citrus trees, oranges and lemons, to counteract the stench of the mideval open sewers. The oranges are very aromatic smelling and sour, different from eating oranges. Their leaves are different. The gardens in the Alcazar were all in bloom, but were planted in a haphazard manner. I guess this…
More

Water and Horses

We woke up with no alarm for the first day in months. We have quickly fallen into Spain schedule. Chiyo pointed out that I did not mention La Mezquita in yesterday's email, only posted on Facebook. So here is that: La Mezquita is the great mosque of Córdoba. Originally a place of worship shared by Muslims and Christians, the Muslim ruler of Spain bought the Christian half in the 8th century and built a mosque, the second largest in the world at the time. When Christian kings regained control, they converted it to a cathedral. It's a real hodgepodge of architectural styles, including columns from Roman times. Hundreds of columns…
More

Córdoba: Semana Santa

Tuesday night, we flew to Lisbon on TAP Air Portugal. The plane was an aging widebody Airbus with hard seats, really good food and nice service. It was short for a transatlantic flight, but we were able to sleep for some short hours. Maria didn't know where we were going until we got into the terminal at Logan, and even then, she didn't know the final destination. The next flight was to Málaga, then an hour train up to Córdoba. Córdoba was founded by the Romans in the second century BC. It was the capital of Moorish Spain from 719 until the 13th century. There is a Roman bridge across…
More

Alhambra and Hammam

After failing at seeing Holy Week processions for the previous 5 days, we bumped into a small one on the street Monday evening on our way out to dinner. A statue of risen Jesus followed by a Mary statue, with about 20 attendants with a couple of kids waving incense censers. Yesterday, we got picked up with a small group for the 2 hour drive to Grenada to see the Alhambra. It was pouring rain. The bus left us downtown, on our own for lunch, so we went over to the cathedral to see the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabel before stopping in to a tavern for coffee and a…
More

Málaga

We took the train from Cordoba to Malaga yesterday morning. It was uneventful until we arrived. Malaga was the last stop. We waited until the rush of people subsided, then went to luggage storage at the end of the car, only to find out bags were gone! We took chase, running out of the car and into the station before we realized that we had boarded the train at the other end of the car. We went back, and sure enough, there were our suitcases. We know that no one will ever steal your suitcases from a pile of luggage: they might belong to the person right next to them.…
More

Flamenco in Andalucía

Slept late Saturday, out of the apartment around 11. Walked the 3 blocks to the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos. The Alcazar was built by Christian kings in the 1200s or so on the ruins of the destroyed Moorish castle after the Christians reconquered Córdoba. Castle walls and towers to climb, and acres of orchards and gardens. The Moors planted many citrus trees, oranges and lemons, to counteract the stench of the mideval open sewers. The oranges are very aromatic smelling and sour, different from eating oranges. Their leaves are different. The gardens in the Alcazar were all in bloom, but were planted in a haphazard manner. I guess this…
More

Water and Horses

We woke up with no alarm for the first day in months. We have quickly fallen into Spain schedule. Chiyo pointed out that I did not mention La Mezquita in yesterday's email, only posted on Facebook. So here is that: La Mezquita is the great mosque of Córdoba. Originally a place of worship shared by Muslims and Christians, the Muslim ruler of Spain bought the Christian half in the 8th century and built a mosque, the second largest in the world at the time. When Christian kings regained control, they converted it to a cathedral. It's a real hodgepodge of architectural styles, including columns from Roman times. Hundreds of columns…
More

Córdoba: Semana Santa

Tuesday night, we flew to Lisbon on TAP Air Portugal. The plane was an aging widebody Airbus with hard seats, really good food and nice service. It was short for a transatlantic flight, but we were able to sleep for some short hours. Maria didn't know where we were going until we got into the terminal at Logan, and even then, she didn't know the final destination. The next flight was to Málaga, then an hour train up to Córdoba. Córdoba was founded by the Romans in the second century BC. It was the capital of Moorish Spain from 719 until the 13th century. There is a Roman bridge across…
More

Alhambra and Hammam

After failing at seeing Holy Week processions for the previous 5 days, we bumped into a small one on the street Monday evening on our way out to dinner. A statue of risen Jesus followed by a Mary statue, with about 20 attendants with a couple of kids waving incense censers. Yesterday, we got picked up with a small group for the 2 hour drive to Grenada to see the Alhambra. It was pouring rain. The bus left us downtown, on our own for lunch, so we went over to the cathedral to see the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabel before stopping in to a tavern for coffee and a…
More

Málaga

We took the train from Cordoba to Malaga yesterday morning. It was uneventful until we arrived. Malaga was the last stop. We waited until the rush of people subsided, then went to luggage storage at the end of the car, only to find out bags were gone! We took chase, running out of the car and into the station before we realized that we had boarded the train at the other end of the car. We went back, and sure enough, there were our suitcases. We know that no one will ever steal your suitcases from a pile of luggage: they might belong to the person right next to them.…
More

Flamenco in Andalucía

Slept late Saturday, out of the apartment around 11. Walked the 3 blocks to the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos. The Alcazar was built by Christian kings in the 1200s or so on the ruins of the destroyed Moorish castle after the Christians reconquered Córdoba. Castle walls and towers to climb, and acres of orchards and gardens. The Moors planted many citrus trees, oranges and lemons, to counteract the stench of the mideval open sewers. The oranges are very aromatic smelling and sour, different from eating oranges. Their leaves are different. The gardens in the Alcazar were all in bloom, but were planted in a haphazard manner. I guess this…
More

Water and Horses

We woke up with no alarm for the first day in months. We have quickly fallen into Spain schedule. Chiyo pointed out that I did not mention La Mezquita in yesterday's email, only posted on Facebook. So here is that: La Mezquita is the great mosque of Córdoba. Originally a place of worship shared by Muslims and Christians, the Muslim ruler of Spain bought the Christian half in the 8th century and built a mosque, the second largest in the world at the time. When Christian kings regained control, they converted it to a cathedral. It's a real hodgepodge of architectural styles, including columns from Roman times. Hundreds of columns…
More

Córdoba: Semana Santa

Tuesday night, we flew to Lisbon on TAP Air Portugal. The plane was an aging widebody Airbus with hard seats, really good food and nice service. It was short for a transatlantic flight, but we were able to sleep for some short hours. Maria didn't know where we were going until we got into the terminal at Logan, and even then, she didn't know the final destination. The next flight was to Málaga, then an hour train up to Córdoba. Córdoba was founded by the Romans in the second century BC. It was the capital of Moorish Spain from 719 until the 13th century. There is a Roman bridge across…
More

Alhambra and Hammam

After failing at seeing Holy Week processions for the previous 5 days, we bumped into a small one on the street Monday evening on our way out to dinner. A statue of risen Jesus followed by a Mary statue, with about 20 attendants with a couple of kids waving incense censers. Yesterday, we got picked up with a small group for the 2 hour drive to Grenada to see the Alhambra. It was pouring rain. The bus left us downtown, on our own for lunch, so we went over to the cathedral to see the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabel before stopping in to a tavern for coffee and a…
More

Málaga

We took the train from Cordoba to Malaga yesterday morning. It was uneventful until we arrived. Malaga was the last stop. We waited until the rush of people subsided, then went to luggage storage at the end of the car, only to find out bags were gone! We took chase, running out of the car and into the station before we realized that we had boarded the train at the other end of the car. We went back, and sure enough, there were our suitcases. We know that no one will ever steal your suitcases from a pile of luggage: they might belong to the person right next to them.…
More

Flamenco in Andalucía

Slept late Saturday, out of the apartment around 11. Walked the 3 blocks to the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos. The Alcazar was built by Christian kings in the 1200s or so on the ruins of the destroyed Moorish castle after the Christians reconquered Córdoba. Castle walls and towers to climb, and acres of orchards and gardens. The Moors planted many citrus trees, oranges and lemons, to counteract the stench of the mideval open sewers. The oranges are very aromatic smelling and sour, different from eating oranges. Their leaves are different. The gardens in the Alcazar were all in bloom, but were planted in a haphazard manner. I guess this…
More

Water and Horses

We woke up with no alarm for the first day in months. We have quickly fallen into Spain schedule. Chiyo pointed out that I did not mention La Mezquita in yesterday's email, only posted on Facebook. So here is that: La Mezquita is the great mosque of Córdoba. Originally a place of worship shared by Muslims and Christians, the Muslim ruler of Spain bought the Christian half in the 8th century and built a mosque, the second largest in the world at the time. When Christian kings regained control, they converted it to a cathedral. It's a real hodgepodge of architectural styles, including columns from Roman times. Hundreds of columns…
More

Córdoba: Semana Santa

Tuesday night, we flew to Lisbon on TAP Air Portugal. The plane was an aging widebody Airbus with hard seats, really good food and nice service. It was short for a transatlantic flight, but we were able to sleep for some short hours. Maria didn't know where we were going until we got into the terminal at Logan, and even then, she didn't know the final destination. The next flight was to Málaga, then an hour train up to Córdoba. Córdoba was founded by the Romans in the second century BC. It was the capital of Moorish Spain from 719 until the 13th century. There is a Roman bridge across…
More