I apologize for the wait; it has been a couple of weeks since my last posting; however I assure you that this time has not been wasted, and to prove it you only need to read on. I might have written earlier, but my most recent visitors wouldn’t let me near an internet café during our travels, which was of course the right thing. Too much to see, always too little time.
My parents arrived in
Barcelona on Monday, October 2nd, during the day while I was at work. They moved into the apartment which would become the Wilson residence for the next week, and proceeded to sleep off their jetlag. Over the week I continued to work during the day while they toured the city, and then we would meet up at night to go for some runs (mum & I), and then go out for dinner or make it at our flat with fresh produce from the markets. I slept over at the apartment with them, which was a nice treat as it was much cleaner, brighter, and more comfortably furnished than my own. It had a fanastic location in the neighbourhood of El Borne and their main balcony over looked the beautiful gothic church called Santa Maria del Mar.
Thursday night I had reserved tickets for an opera at Liceu Opera House. I had never been to a show of this type, and really had no idea what to expect. Thanks to the translation that was provided on little screens on the seats infront of you, we could follow along with the plot and enjoy the music of La Clemenza de Tito. After a fire destroyed this historic opera house a couple of years ago it has been renovated and I think it deserves a couple of pictures.
Friday night my parents finally had the chance to meet the large group of Catalan’s that I’ve been raving to them about ever since I arrived. Yes, my colleagues from work had happened to organize a casual dinner at a Persian restaurant downtown for anyone at work who wanted to go. The food and wine was great (and very different); after dinner there was entertainment by a Persian belly-dancer, and of course my father was able to bring the topic of conversation around to Catalan politics :) We ended the night early by Spanish standards as we had much packing to do before jumping on a plane the next morning to take us to our first of two Southern cities in the region of Andalusia: Sevilla.
Every spanish stereotype that you’ve ever heard of comes true in the South of Spain. A 1.5 hour flight from Barcelona to Sevilla, with the very affordable Vueling airlines, landed us in another world. The temperature was higher, the streets even narrower, and the landscape much more arid. The city almost feels like it hasn’t changed since it’s medieval days. During our time here we stayed in a lovely hotel called Alcoba del Rey de Seville, that is completely decorated in very typical andalusian furniture and pieces of art. Our first night we just wandered the city streets, desperately trying to not get lost, and eventually found a fanastic local restaurant that a lady at our hotel had recommended: Rinconcillo.
Sunday morning we woke up, rented some bikes, and after a breakfast at the hotel we went for a ride along the main river which runs through the city, until we reached the Real Alcazar. This palace is made up of Moorish (Arabic) architecture that has been combined with gothic, renaissance and baroque elements and is the official residence of the current royal family. We toured around and took in the atmosphere. This was our first real exposure to the Arabic influence in the south, but it definitely wasn’t to be our last.
After the palace we had lunch in the old jewish quarter called Barrio Santa Cruz, and rode our bikes around Plaza Espanya, through the beautiful Maria Louisa Park, and finally back along the river to our hotel.
A quick siesta and then we were off to see a Flamenco show that we had booked the day before. This specific showing was again recommended by a lady working at our hotel, as it’s held at a cultural center and only seats about 100 people (which is very small for this city, but therefore a more intimate setting). You have to book the tickets ahead as they’re in high demand. It was an unbelievable performance. The passion of the dancers literally took my breath away. There were 4 performers in total: one guitarist, one singer, and two dancers (one man and one woman). This art is a mixture of gipsy, arabic, and andalusian culture, and it is supposed to describe the persecution of Andalusian Moors and gipsies during the reign of the Catholic Kings.
On Monday we went and saw Sevilla’s main attraction. This city is the home to the largest Gothic temple, and the third largest catholic cathedral in the world. This building was built on the original 12th century site of the principal mosque of the city. It houses the remains of the patron saint of Sevilla (Fernando III) and the mausoleum which (as legend says) contains the remains of Christopher Columbus. This building is enormous.
We then climbed the Giralda, which is the universally acknowledged symbol of the city, and was initially the tower of Sevilla’s mosque. This tower stands 97metres high, and therefore offered the ultimate in panoramic views of the city and the cathedral.
My parents really enjoyed the flamenco performance we'd seen the previous night, and so in our wanderings of the Santa Cruz neighbourhood we came across the perfect souvenier,... they just couldn't resist,... here is a preview of what you may find in the upcoming edition of the Wilson christmas letter.
Needless to say, I thought I was going to die laughing. While during this whole trip I was wishing that Katharine was there with us, on this particular moment I was glad she wasn't, as then they were going to make us both dress up with them for a very special family portrait. How embarrassing,...
Our last night we snuck into a very nice restaurant for dinner that we definitely weren’t dressed appropriately for,… but what else is new with us? It was some of the best andalusian food we had the entire trip (unfortunately I can’t remember the name of it, but I remember that it was on a street called ‘Guadalquivir’ in case you ever go looking).
Tuesday morning we got up, had breakfast and took a taxi to the
train station. There we boarded a train that would take us over the plains of Southern Spain (field after field of olive and orange trees) to the city of
Granada. (fyi: in espanyol Granada means pomegranate). Then we jumped into another taxi which would take us to our hotel in Granada called Casa Morisca. Even from the doorstep of
our hotel we had a fantastic view of the cities icon, the monument around which it seems the city was built: L’Alhambra. Here is a picture of the l'Alhambra all lit up at night, taken from the amazing restaurant that we went to our first night there.
The next morning we were off to see the L'Alhambra, for which I'd reserved us tickets a couple of months ago. I'd heard that no one should ever visit this city without touring this arabic complex, and so right they were. This place is absolutely amazing (especially the Nasrid Palace), and for me it was the highlight of the trip. The L'Alhambra (which literally means "the Red Castle" in arabic) was home to the moorish monarchs who ruled over Granada and the surrounding area, and this city was the last Arabic stronghold to fall to the Catholic kings (Ferdinand and Isabella) at the end of the 15th century. Today it's an UNESCO worldheritage site as it's an example of incredible Islamic architecture. The sultan lived there with his court, his guard, his many wives, and his hundreds of concubines.... (yes, apparently he needed at least a couple hundred).
Finally, here are some pictures of the cathedral in Granada. It was different from any other one that I'd seen so far as the inside was painted totally white where it wasn't already covered in gold.
Annnnd that's a wrap. I may have just set the record for the longest blog posting ever,... thank-you and congradulations to everyone who got this far (I realize you all don't have the same amount of free time as my father and I have,... j/k dad, I know you're secretly very busy).
Love always, your faithful adventurers,
The Sultan, The Tag-Along, and The Tourguide
