Gardens in the autumn sun

Back in Madrid. Had a couple of lazy days but today was just too lovely to not take advantage. So after some more family stuff I headed into the gardens in Madrid. I was not alone.

Even the turtles were up for a bask in the light

I started at the Jadines Botanicos

Then off to El Retiro where they had an exhibition on

El Palacio de Crystal looked lovely

And back home via Atocha station

Bye for now.

Villa Del Prado

It has been about a week. I left Madrid early last week, there was nobody at the station

And spent most of that time in a town outside Madrid called Villa Del Prado. It calls itself La Huerta De Madrid, which means Madrid's market garden. It also happens to be where my mother came from and where quite a lot of my family still lives.

I will not bore you with family shots or stories. Suffice to say it was wonderful to catch up with them all again. I will though show you a few shots of their market gardens.

Some silver beet 

Some tomatoes which they can grow as they have two layers of plastic roofing....the first keeps the frost off and allows the tomatoes to grow in the quite cold conditions of a Castillian winter.

Some radishes

And some lettuces 

It was quite interesting to see the level work to produce marketable quantities of veggies, also the level of automation. My cousin switched on the sprinkler on quarter of one of his hothouses when he saw the radishes were getting a bit dry using his mobile phone.

Of  course I also checked out the rest of the town, by the river

And from a nearby hill where I was almost gored by a wild boar, well ....there was one on the path up the hill and it was a scary beast.

I also spent a lot of time wandering the town finding old haunts like my grandmothers old house, and the mile post I sat on as a two year old, though then there were only wheat fields behind it then....

In all I was soon a local and on first name terms with the barman at my cousins favourite bar......just around this corner for a quick drink and a tapa, which here just come with the drink. In fact they heard I liked morcilla so cooked me up a serve one day. Ahhhhhh......the good life.

Country life has its attractions! But family has even more. The final dinner will be hard to forget.

School's Out

Yep school is out for the long weekend, the weather is fine and every Spaniard has decided to enjoy it by being out and about. My first inkling of trouble was when I saw the traffic jam on the freeway out of town whilst hustling along in the train to El Escorial.

We were soon out of town and riding through some pretty countryside. We were heading north through the foothills of the Sierra that arches around Madrid. Snow capped mountains ahead and a mixture of dormitory towns/suburbs and countryside along the train line. Some very nice looking suburbs among them. I enjoyed seeing all of the wild deer along the train track, with some of the stags with full blown antlers.

For those of you who do not know El Escorial, or to give the monument it's correct title El Monasterio De San Lorenzo De El Escorial, it is a Rennaissance period monastery/palace built north of Madrid. It nestles in the foothills of the Sierra de Guaderrama and is a big, impressive, granite building. It is sort of a palace, sort of a school, sort of a monestery. I have been here twice before and been impressed, but another visit seemed in order.

I have to say I was disappointed, perhaps it was the crowds, with every area I visited having at least one tour group. Perhaps it was familiarity, perhaps it was the comparison to the recently visited Mezquita. I suppose it is very much a building of its epoch with the Spanish monarchy fighting off Protestantism across Europe and this was a manisfestation in granite of the power of Spain and the power of Catholocism. As such the building comes across as strict, harsh, cold and very forbidding.

I have no photos of the interior but a few of the exterior might give you a sense of the monumental size of the place. I suspect that the warmer, more intimate, less obviously political nature of the Mezquita was still in my soul when I visited and so I sort of resented the severity of this building. Interesting how a building can affect your emotions.

Enough whinging! The place IS a marvel, and has marvellous things to see. Most obvious and most famous is the Biblioteca (library) which I loved every other time as well. Humanist advisors convinced the king to create a collection of important books. He did and it is considered to be one of the great collections. It is a marvellous room and a testament to what was best in that epoch. 

I do not remember, but really enjoyed the architecture museum. As a bit of a nerd having a look at the plans, models and tools used in the building of El Escorial was truly enjoyable. The painting museum was also enjoyable. How could I not enjoy seeing some more paintings by El Greco, Velazquez, Titian, Tintoretto, Bosch, Van Dyck, Ribera among others.

It is a castle so of course it has tapestries (in joke but it does have tapestries with gold and silver thread). The hall of battles is also quite interesting, it has a 50 metre mural of the decisive battle over Islam for Granada.

After a few hours though, I tired and had to fight the crowds for lunch. I managed to find a corner of a bar to rest my beer and tortilla whilst I ate standing. I was going to do a bit more of the town but there were just too many people around. I know the photos don't show it but it was wall to wall mad Spaniards out to enjoy themselves. Not a pretty sight!

 I decided I needed some peace and, as I had skipped the gardens, decided to head down hill and stroll in the gardens and grounds around the Casita Del Principe. This is an extensive park with a formal garden and small house for the crown prince to have a bit of space whilst the king did his stuff up the hill in the granite pile.

I really enjoyed this. The lovely autum colours, the lack of crowds and the lovely late autumn sun (Spanish seasons start on equinox and solstice, not as in Australia on the first of a month) made for a very enjoyable afternoon of aimless strolling. In spanish un paseo. Even the view of the towers of Madrid in the distance did not disturb the peace.

Back to the train and back to the crowds, back to Madrid?

Adio Cordoba

I have nothing major to recount today and no piccies due to the flat batteries. So the major reason for coming down here was to check on Anna. She appears to be well on the way and so a happy dad leaves Cordoba with fond memories of a couple of peaceful days spent with his daughter.

I actually managed to get another free look at the Mezquita, and though not religious, I stood facing the mihrab, next to a cross and said a silent prayer for Marjan and my parents. It might not be any good but it certainly cannot hurt.

Anna and I met up and we did a little shop for some flamenco villancicos (Christmas Carols). So a flamenco Slient Night will be playing in Melbourne this Christmas. Whilst there, we bought a couple of pieces of mazapan to get us through to lunch.

We did nothing in particular except enjoy another sunny day in Cordoba. We wandered the Juderia looking at the patios in every open doorway. One of them was the local Nurses School. We did find the Casa Arabe, which is a restored moorish era cluster of houses and patios. They have turned them into an Islamic studies centre and a little museum of the life of that era. It was really pleasant, low stress, zero cost and we both enjoyed strolling through the small collection and the three patios.

We also checked out some of the better tourist gift places. Some amazing sliver work, leather work, fans and mantillas. I am talking about the hand crafted stuff rather than the touristy cheap stuff. One particular mantilla would have looked stunning when set off by Marjan, but she would have yelled at me when she saw the €500 price tag, so I passed.

I gave Anna another three course lunch. She tells me she could get used to them. The berenjenas con miel (egg plants and honey) were nice, but Anna did not truly enjoy the rabo de toro stew (oxtail). I enjoy everything and will probably miss being offered a complimentary tapa before, and Pedro Ximenez after almost every meal.

A little more wandering in the Juderia, an extended sit and chat under the oranges trees in a square watching a local use one of the oranges to play catch with his dog and it was time for merienda. We wound our way back to Anna's accommodation where we found a place that sold turron ice cream.

Having left Anna happy and better, I wound my way to the station, changed to an earlier train and am writing this at 270kmh (I just saw the readout on the train information display) on the way to Madrid. Apparently the high speed network is the second largest in the world after China with over 3,000 Km of track. Thought I had better get some facts in at some stage.

Adio Cordoba. (No s coz Cordobeses never finish words with s)

Déjà Vu

So apparently the Mezquita is free if you go before 9:30. A group of hardy souls with coats were therefore huddled in the morning chill, mild by Salamanca standards, at 8:30 waiting for the gates to open. I have to say it was worth delaying breakfast to get there early, rather than fighting groups of school kids and roving packs of organised tour people, we had a relatively quiet time to soak the place up as the size of the space meant we each had room to pause and stare. I had of course been here before and fallen in love with the place. I was dreading having a come down. I was pleased that on second viewing I was just as moved by it as the first time. I was also just as outraged at the desecration of the original by the later cathedral as I was the first time. 

Of course, the desecration is multilayered. The Mezquita was build over the remains of a visigothic church that occupied the site, parts of which are being excavated under the floor of the current building. Previous to that there had been a Roman temple on the site and parts of the Roman temple were used to build the Mezquita. Also it was extended several times and bits added and modified. The church though seems out of place and breaks the beautiful geometry of the columns and arches. It would have been a sight to see around 1100.

Having had my whinge, it is still glorious and I am grateful to have had another opportunity to visit. Excuse the archeological pit on the shot of the mihrab.

I was on a roll, apparently the Alcazar is also free to early starters. I think I was about the last to make the 10am cut-off. The Alcazar De Los Reyes Catolicos to give it it's full tile is an OK building with some awesome gardens. I was not expecting much as they would look their best in spring. However with the  lovely winter sun and the citrus in fruit it was an impressive sight. It was also quiet, except for the gardeners at their work. The mood, of quiet contemplation in the Mezquita was supported by the gentle stroll through the water gardens at the Alcazar. What a morning!

It was now approaching midday and Anna was finally roused, dressed, breakfasted and emailed for the day. So we met and went to......the Mezquita and the Alcazar. Yep twice in one day. At least the first time was free. I loved Anna's reaction to both. The beam hardly left her face and cheered me up immensely. Both because we were sharing the moment of joy that beauty can bring, and because it meant she was on the road to recovery. 

I have no photos to bring from the PM part of the day as my camera battery, and spare, ran out of juice, and I did not bring the charger. Bugger this travelling light.

We of course had lunch in there somewhere(refer to blog title). Today we did it lightly as a take away bocadillo by the fountain in the patio at the Mezquita. The sun was warm, the water was tinkling and we did not mind that it was merely a bread roll.

The rest of the afternoon was really an aimless wander. A lovely patio in the Juderia here, a Roman ruin there, a hot chocolate in the sun whilst watching shoppers wandering by near the centre of town, a beer and tapas in a dilapidated square whilst listening to a violin busker. You know the sort of stuff, it's life when you have time to live it. No list to tick off, just enjoying being there, enjoying the sun on our backs and mostly enjoying each other.

Anna went back to her room for a quick travel plan discussion with her cousin, and I had a quick nap. We followed it with an early dinner at a small place. Nice steak, best I have had coz I don't like the thin steaks they normally do in Spain, but I do yearn for one occasionally, and this was tasty and tender.

For those wondering about the historical context of the two major parts of this entry...do your own research! today I was just in a soul filling rather than a fact finding mood. 

Bye for now. 

Los Cordobeses

Hi! It has been a few days, and those of you who merely read this to follow the exploits of Marjan and her fear of death at my hands will have abandoned me by now. However I understand that there may be one or two others out there who have some interest in an occasional post from a lonely middle aged male. So this is one of those occasions.

By the way you may notice a change of blog title. I thought of Travels with my Aunt, of which there will be one or two later, but Graham Greene owns that one. So I found an appropriate Spanish saying that continues to define my travel philosophy.

After Marjan left me bereft and alone, I have had a couple of quiet days doing the familia thing. Eating, laughing, telling tall stories....true! I have exaggerated one or two myself! In the midst of that I have done one or two things.

I took my second cousin(?.....I get confused with the degree thing) to the Santiago Bernabeu to put some additional dollars into the meager coffers of Real Madrid. It was actually a fun day being with a twelve year old and seeing the world through his eyes. The most fun we had though was being true Madrileños after the RM tour and going for a bocadillo de calamares in the Plaza Mayor. If you have never had calamari in a roll whilst strolling in the winter sun, you should try it. But don't go on a Sunday afternoon when the Plaza Mayor has just been decorated for Christmas. We had to queue for a roll. Having to wait for food is really stressful. It was lovely to watch the street artists and parade of people. I think Alvaro enjoyed himself, I sure did. I was a kid again, laughing at the lame jokes of the street acrobat between tricks, dropping calamares onto my T-shirt, forgetting where I had my train ticket.....remember?

In the midst of all this Spanish family frivolity, Anna had headed off to Cordoba. I had really fond memories of Cordoba. We had last been in May of an almost previous life, and loved the colour of the spring flowers. Anna however did not get a great first impression of Cordoba. She had been a little unwell before heading off, but soldiered on, slightly odd for a Sanchez, but she did. She arrived, checked into her hostel and slept. She then woke sometime in the night feeling terrible and with no one around got a little worried and ended up taking herself to the hospital. Nothing serious, but things get worrying when you are travelling alone in a strange land. I will let her tell those of you she cares to the gory details and the examples of Cordobes hospitality she received. Suffice to say she is OK but needs to take it easy for a bit.  

What an opportunity for Dad! I can catch the AVE down, 2 hours for the four hundreds kilometers even with two intermediate stops, and give her a little TLC. Or at least buy her an apple whilst I enjoy Cordoba. 

So that is what I did today. Got on the 9am train and was in Cordoba shortly before eleven. Tried to walk to my hotel, but fell down whilst looking at google maps on my phone. Those of you who know me well, will know that no holiday is complete unless I fall down. I fell down the steps of the Royal Palace in Madrid last time I had a Spanish holiday, I have fallen and broken a lense on Magnetic Island, I have fallen and broken a camera on Mt Buffalo.....the list is endless. So having completed my holiday tradition, and having hurt nothing more than my miniscule pride, I dusted myself off and got to my hotel. Little place in the Juderia. 

I texted Anna and arranged to meet her in the Patio De Las Naranjas at the Mezquita. Is there a better place to wait for someone? Anna had been there but had not realised it was the cloister of the Cordoba Cathedral/mosque, which is one of the wonders of the world. At least for me. She thought it was just this wonderful place she had found around a corner of the Juderia. And is that not the best way to discover places? I envy her the experience of finding the Mezquita as she wandered, rather than as a thing to tick off the list.

It was great to see her and we sat there chatting, by the fountain, surrounded by the orange trees in full fruit, enjoying the winter sun, basking in the warmth of a father daughter moment. Then reality struck and we decided we needed to eat. So off we went and had a pretty nice meal at a place that had been recommended by one of the familia. I thought the spinach and chick peas were pretty good, and the waiter was a scream with the Andalusian accent. He gave us a run down of the specials that ran for three minutes of rapid fire, beautiful, lilting, but hard to follow andaluz spanish. I could not follow it all, but none the less it was all fine and the spinach and chick peas particularly nice. Another highlight was that they had Christmas carols playing. All flamenco style. I have to try to find Silent Night in flamenco on CD before I go. It rocks.

Anna was feeling in need of some rest, so we went to our respective hotels and napped. Well I had a bit of a water around the Juderia first, and I checked out the Roman Bridge.....yes Cordoba has Roman remains and all as well as the Islamic stuff....did you know Seneca was born here?......and a few other things of interest, but mostly I wandered as I like to do, and then I had a little sleep.

Anna had quite a long nap. Almost a second sleep, so we got together again reasonably late. Had another reasonable meal, the highlight of which was a plate of the good jamon iberico. I mean the good, make your tongue happy, can't normally afford it, but I am in Cordoba so what the heck, jamon. We did this whilst watching a flamenco performance, which was OK. Only Ok because the place was pretty sparsely populated so did not generate the spark that really gets good flamenco going.

Tomorrow we are planning to actually go inside the Mezquita. I think Anna may be even more impressed with what she stumbled upon. No, that is right, she is yet to see the inside. If she is the girl I think she is, she will be speechless......which is a good thing for all concerned. I think she is now enjoying Cordoba, strolling through the Juderia arm in arm is certainly better than rushing off to a hospital. We are feeling like a couple of Cordobeses and that is a thing to enjoy.

So in proper Cordobes spanish ' adio d'la mesquita'