Tag Archives: Spain

Inside the Nasrid Palace: The Alhambra, Granada, Spain

GranadaDay3_29-7  Carved wood, intricate plaster arches and decorative columns,  outstanding 13th century mosaics, and water, water everywhere define the palaces of the Nasrid kings at the Alhambra, Granada, Spain. The best description I have found is this one from Islamic Arts that offers you a virtual walking tour.

GranadaDay3_29-29

How to Buy Tickets

It is not easy to gain entry. One must buy tickets online a month in advance of your visit. They are not available any earlier. My sister did this by staying up all night the day the tickets went on sale for the dates we wanted. There is a nine hour time difference between Spain and San Francisco.

GranadaDay3_29-20

Tour groups seem to get priority, so within the hour of opening sales, the only tickets remaining were those in the afternoon time slot. That turned out to be a good thing for us since we still hadn’t adjusted to the time difference, we were moving slowly and we were inside the shade of the gardens and palace during the hottest part of the day!

GranadaDay3_29-17

Tips for Visiting the Alhambra

  • Buy tickets for two days. One day is not enough. It takes one day to cover the Alhambra. There are two palaces — The Nasrid Palace and The Generalife, known as the summer palace. The territory is vast. There is a lot of walking and stair climbing.

GranadaDay3_29-22

  • Rent the audio guide. It’s a must and definitely worth the extra euros. There are two stations: one at the entry by the ticket office and another inside by the Charles (Carlos) V Palace. You must return the guide to whichever place you picked it up because you have to leave an ID card as security.

GranadaDay3_29-21

  • Eat lunch or dinner on the patio of the beautiful Parador Granada hotel. The cost is comparable to other venues, the views glorious, the gardens enchanting and the history is deep. It was the Franciscan monastery here where Isabella of Castile was first buried. Her remains were later removed to the Granada Cathedral by grandson Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

GranadaDay3_29-27 GranadaDay3_29-12

  • Take your time in the Nasrid Palace. Once you enter at your appointed time there is no limit to how long you can be there. We had the afternoon time slot that allowed us to enter the grounds at 2 p.m. with an 8 p.m. exit. Our ticket gave us access to the palace at 3 p.m. We lingered and let all the rushing tour groups pass us by. We were inside for over two hours just savoring the experience.

GranadaDay3_29-15

  • Sit wherever you can and listen to the water. Fountains and running water were part of Moslem art and an integral function for living a prayerful life. It is meditative and tranquil.

GranadaDay3_29-9

  • Look up. The ceilings are filled with surprises. Honeycomb domes have been able to withstand centuries of earthquakes with little or no damage.

GranadaDay3_29-2 GranadaDay3_29-14 GranadaDay3_29-11

  • Step into archways and niches. Even the backs of the openings are filled with messages and prayers, inscriptions in Arabic, remains of polychrome frescoes.

GranadaDay3_29-25 GranadaDay3_29-13 GranadaDay3_29-6

It’s hot in Granada in April. Walking shoes, lightweight clothing, sun protection (cream and hat) are musts. The locals say in summer it can get close to a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. So, please plan your packing accordingly. Early mornings and night were chilly for us so we had shawls and jackets along, too.

GranadaDay3_29-3

And, we were constantly thirsty. Water, water everywhere also means slurping down Gatorade to stay hydrated! Of course, the locals prefer to drink beer the beverage of choice beginning as early as 10 a.m.

GranadaDay3_29-26 GranadaDay3_29-28 GranadaDay3_29-24

One afternoon we decided to walk down to the Darro River from the Alhambra to return to our hotel Casa Morisca. It’s a steep slope and in the descent you can understand how the Moors were able to rule the Iberian Peninsula from here for seven hundred years from this strategic mountain top.

GranadaDay3_29

In 1492, at the beginning of the Inquisition, when Spain unified under the Catholic kings, Moors and Jews were required to convert to Catholicism or leave. Those who converted were always suspect of practicing their religion in hiding and were often brought before the Inquisition to test their faith.

GranadaDay3_29-23

 

There were no surviving Jewish communities in Spain after 1492 and mosques are forbidden here. Many conversos moved to New Spain where they practiced Catholicism embedded with ancient Jewish rituals. We are in Girona now, north of Barcelona, where we are visiting the best surviving medieval Jewish neighborhood in Spain under the shadow of the most amazing Cathedral that was started in 1038 A.D. atop a Roman forum.

GranadaDay3_29-16

Quick Look: The Alhambra, Granada, Spain

Rather than playing catch-up, I’m skipping over the Guggenheim museum and our visit with Brigitte Huet and Ivan in Bilbao for now and jumping into the present: Granada, Spain, where we arrived last night. Just in time for some stunning views of the Alhambra.

GranadaDay1-6

We are staying at the Casa Morisca which is in the old Arab quarter, the Albaicin, just beneath the Alhambra. This is what we saw as we emerged from the taxi from the airport.

GranadaDay1-2 GranadaDay1

It’s warm here and will reach over 80 degrees F. today. That’s about 20 degrees hotter than in Bilbao. This is hill country with cobblestone pavements, steep stairways and small curving roads cut into the mountains.

The snow capped Sierra Nevada mountains are within a half hour drive, as is the beach going in the other direction.

For now, we are concentrating on getting better sleep, good food — a la food and views from Mirador Morayma and seeing how my knee holds up!

GranadaDay1-4 GranadaDay1-5 This is what we came for! As night descended and our meal ended, this is our view!

GranadaDay1-7Of course, the Moors in Spain and their expulsion along with the Jews in 1492 begins in Granada. This is the symbol for the unification of Spain and the beginnings of the official Inquisition, which extended to all of Spain’s territories — including Mexico — and lasted until 1834.

 

Wide Angle View: Antoni Gaudi’s Basilica Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Awesome. Inspiring. Surreal. Transformational. Meditative. Astonishing. Captivating. Beyond imagination. Crazy. No words can adequately describe the Basilica Sagrada Familia in Eixample, Barcelona, Spain.

Sagrada FamiliaBest53-10

You can learn more about this architectural wonder by reading works of art historians, cultural pundits and architects than you can from me. So, I won’t say much more than this is Gaudi’s interpretation of God’s majesty and homage to the sacred family of living beings who inhabit his kingdom.

Sagrada FamiliaBest21-3 Sagrada FamiliaBest21-17

Smack dab in the middle of this astonishing sculptural masterpiece is the Christ figure, arms outstretched, body on the cross, suspended under a canopy of lights. Is the architect asking us to suspend all disbelief?  He floats above us, naked, exposed, soaring and protected under an umbrella or cloud of gold. Color dazzles the interior through stained glass windows.

Sagrada FamiliaBest21-10

The supporting columns are like tree trucks with limbs holding up the cavernous ceiling. It is a phantasmagorical dreamscape that can only conjure up what the imagination beholds.

Sagrada FamiliaBest53-38

I arch backward, look up, see the bones of dinosaurs, the hull of a ship, the backbone of man, the spines of sea coral, cut glass, anemones, the eye of god.

Sagrada FamiliaBest21-18 Sagrada FamiliaBest21-16

Gaudi lived and worked during the Art Nouveau-Modernism, Impressionism and Cubism eras. Once a strong supporter of the Anticleric movement in Spain, he embraced his renewed Catholicism with a fervor. The Basilica, unfinished, is his testimony to unwavering belief.

Sidebar: At about the same time that 19th Century anticlericalism gained a more solid footing in Europe, in Mexico, anticlericalism became the rallying cry of Mexican reformists with the confiscation of church property in 1824.Sagrada FamiliaBest21-13

Before we left the USA, I put out a call for advice about which lens (or lenses) to take. I was inclined to take only the lighter weight 50mm prime for my Nikon D7000 camera. I am trying to learn how to travel lighter. Thanks to advice from Lynn Nichols and Steve Zavodny (who is a pro pho), I relented and brought along the Tamron 11-16mm and the 17-55mm. Thankfully!

Sagrada FamiliaBest21-11

Most of the photos on this post were taken with the wide angle Tamron lens so I could capture the magnitude of the space.

Sagrada FamiliaBest21-12 Sagrada FamiliaBest21-4

We bought tickets in advance from the USA in order to avoid lengthy waits in line and chose to visit the Passion Tower, one of two that is open to visitors. After spending about 45 minutes in the sanctuary we rode an elevator to the top of the tower (at our appointed time), then returned to spend another two hours inside for reflection and photographs.

Sagrada FamiliaBest21-2

By the time we left it was after 2 p.m. and time for tapas at La Catalana, just two blocks away.

Two Photo Workshops Coming Up in Southern Mexico!

Sagrada FamiliaBest21-9 Sagrada FamiliaBest21-20  Sagrada FamiliaBest21-21 Sagrada FamiliaBest21

There is a lot of construction going on now. Huge cranes towering above are moving man and machinery as another tower is under construction. Many of the facade mosaic ornaments are covered in protective gauze. Heights are dizzying. Views from the tower top are magnificent. It’s like being in the turret of a medieval castle.

Sagrada FamiliaBest21-19

Compare and contrast with Mexico? The art nouveau movement spawned the European romanticism of Mexico City’s renaissance during the Porfiriata. Catalan architects designed and built here. Examples include stained glass ceilings and construction techniques in the Palacio de Hierro and the Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico. Rivera brought his classical European training back to Mexico and adapted it to begin the Mexican muralism movement along with Siqueiros and Orozco.

Contact me if you are interested in a Mexico City art history tour:

Looking for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo

Sagrada Familia-34

Critics Sidebar: Our taxi driver had an opinion. He said the Sagrada Familia is a commercial tourism venture and not authentic to the original ideals of Gaudi. Since the building was unfinished when Gaudi died at age 74, it’s completion has been left to architectural interpretation of Gaudi’s original drawings which were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War. He recommended we go to Montjuic to see the real Barcelona.

Sagrada Familia-45 Sagrada Familia-33 Sagrada Familia-44

 

 

 

 

 

Barcelona, Spain: Tapas at Midnight

We are still jet-lagged after two full days here in Barcelona and can’t seem to get the rhythm of sleep down. But, we have discovered the tap-tap-tap of tapas with a great orientation to Bilbao Berria tapas bar right down at the corner from where we are staying across from the Barcelona Cathedral.

Man with Tatoos Tapas-2

What’s the procedure, I asked our bar keep Alfre (muy guapo). It’s buffet, he said. Pick up what you like then put the wood stick in the container at your table. That’s how we charge you. I tell my sister, this is like eating dim sum.

Tapas-4 Tapas-3

New dishes keep coming out of the kitchen to tempt you. I’m especially loving the anchovies and grilled cod. Oh, and then there is the aged jamon Iberico. Oh, and the deep friend camembert rolled in chopped pecans.

This is definitely not Mexico and it is too early for me to find any but the most superficial similarities. Compare and contrast. Can we drink the water? I asked the hotel staff. Madame, he replied, you are in Europe now. Well, we might be able to drink it but it doesn’t taste very good. Paper in the commode is okay.

Tapas-8

Here, it is tapas and pintxos, not tacos and tamales. Tipping is optional. Leave a euro (now valued at a little more than a dollar) on a twenty-dollar check, its sufficient.

Tapas Tapas-5

At many of the bars and at the stalls at the Boqueria market, a glass of wine or sangria or a beer on tap is included in the food cost, as is tax.  Try El Quim or Bar Central. Along the periphery are amazing seafood comedors with huge platters of grilled fish and shellfish. More about that to come.

Yesterday, I took over 400 photos at Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. It will take me a while to edit and post these. We ended the day today with gelato equal to any offered in Italy. The city is swollen with tourists who speak languages I cannot name.

Tapas-6

I’m getting used to this Old World version of Spanish, with its tildes, cedillas and x’s that sound like sh. Some of the words are familiar, like digame, tell me, when I start to ask a question. Gracias is pronounced grathias as in Barthelona. Think Mexican Spanish with a lisp.

I’ll say goodnight now. We are nine hours ahead of you if you live in California, USA. It was two-days in the getting here. Food and art are great salves.

Man with Tatoos-2

 

Sunday in Santa Cruz, California. Next, Spain

On Tuesday, my sister and I are leaving for a three-week trip to Spain, postponed from last October because of my knee replacement surgery. The knee is not totally back to normal but I’m bringing my beautiful hand-crafted North Carolina walking stick procured from the Pittsboro Roadhouse to help traverse ancient cobblestones.

Mom_4_16_2013-9

 

Yesterday, I spent the evening with my 99 year-old mother. I’ve photographed her for publication in Minerva Rising,  Mothers issue and on my Facebook page. She still looks great. Though, from moment to moment, she may not remember our relationship, asks Are you Norma? and I reassure her that it’s okay to forget as we hold hands. Santa Cruz is a long way from Oaxaca. I try to get here several times a year.

This morning it’s foggy on the northern California coast. It’s errand and laundry day. Deciding what to pack for someone who always takes too much is daunting. I promised myself to take only one medium size suitcase. Same clothes with several different Oaxaca quechquemitls and rebozos. Layers. Learn to wash out underwear and socks on the road. Travel light. Hard for a collector.

Then, there’s the camera equipment. The internal debate. Should I bring only the prime 50mm lens, lightweight and easy to carry? In the old days before digital and zoom, the greats only used this lens to capture everything.

Or should I haul the 11-17mm wide angle and the 17-55mm pro, very heavy 27 ounces, photojournalism-style lens? Any advice out there? I will not give up my Nikon D7000 camera body, so please don’t suggest a point-and-shoot or my iPhone!

I will blog from Spain. The connection between Spain and Mexico is deep and long. This fascinates me. Mexican syncretism, her identity and her culture is rooted in both New and Old World.

So come along with us — to Barcelona, Bilbao and Granada — over the next few weeks. Who knows what or who will turn up? Maybe even Brigitte Huet and her husband Ivan Campant, Oaxaca’s silversmiths who returned to France last year.

P.S. I’ve started a Facebook Group: Mexico Travel Photography. Join and post your photos. Tell us what camera you use, lens type and settings. Let’s learn together!

P.P.S. Day of the Dead Photography Workshop in Oaxaca coming up in October.