Photography – Page 35 – The Bald Heretic – Short, bald dude with a goofy beard

Granada

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We caught the train from Seville to Granada yesterday. About 4 hours all told to get here. It was a wonderful ride, but not on the AVE high speed so we made a few stops on the way.

Granada is a much higher altitude so the temperature is a bit cooler. Around 75 in the day and down in the upper 40Â´s at night.

When we got to the train station in Granada and hailed a taxi we told the driver where we were going and he just looked at us with a blank expression on his face. We knew the hotel was small and out of the way, but were hopeful the address would be all we needed.

Fortunately the hotel told us where a nearby, well known restaurant was located so we told the cab driver about that and he knew where to go.

We drove to the restaurant which was closed and he figured out where the hotel was and he and opinted down a steep hill and said it was a two minute walk…

We looked at each other and with full packs started to walk down the hill. We got half way down, got uncertain and walked back up. The taxi was gone and we asked another person passing by and he had heard of the hotel and sent us back down. We felt more confident this time and in a matter of minutes we found it.

I rang the bell as there was a locked gate to the courtyard. We were buzzed in and a young woman who spoke pretty good English greeted us and we went inside.

This hotel is called The Carmen de la Alcubilla del Caracol and is a house converted into a VERY nice 7 room hotel. All the rooms have names and ours is called The Tower. We got checked in and shown to our room and oh my god itÂ´s the nicest room of the whole trip.

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HereÂ´s a panorama of the view from our terrace

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Those are the Sierra Nevada Mountains you see in the background.

We got settled in and walked down to the city center. ThatÂ´s something you only want to do once. ItÂ´s steep and unpleasant. The trip back up is even worse. Thank god we got our stamina built up in Madrid and Seville. We quickly discovered the little bus system that runs around town and we use that a lot now.

The roads are quite narrow

Everything centers on the Alhambra

We tried to get tickets but they were sold out. We came back to the hotel after deciding to try again the next day.

ThereÂ´s several holidays being celebrated this weekend. Spanish National Day as well as some smaller festival. We were awakened at midnight by a fireworks display practically outside our window.

The music we here coming up from the town is a mix of Spanish and Morroccan. Very strong Moorish influence here.

Sadly, no Wi Fi (wee fee) and I am using the landlords computer with a Spanish keyboard and Spanish spell checker so please forgive the typos.

More on the visit to the Alhambra as time permits. For now, IÂ´m off to bed.

The Giralda

Seville – Last Day

Today is the extra day we picked up in Seville due to cancelling the Granada leg of the tour. This meant we had to check out of the one hotel and into the backup hotel for one day.

We’re going to miss the La Musica Hotel with it’s classical music theme. Violins and cellos adorn the walls as does old sheet music and paintings of musicians. There’s even a soundproof room with a piano in it if you are so inclined.

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The bed was the most comfortable we have experienced in all of our travel. The towels were big and fluffy and the staff was friendly and attentive.

The best feature was the rooftop terrace where we enjoyed our continental breakfast each morning, overlooking the rooftops of this amazing little city.

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The woman who processed our checkout of La Musica was very nice and complimented Cynthia on her Spanish several times. They chatted for awhile and before we left she presented Cynthia with a little souvenir, a small hand fan for which Seville is famous for. It’s hand painted and has the name of the hotel on it and it’s very nice.

Fortunately the backup hotel is only a block away so we got checked in in short order. Having re-arranged our schedule we had no solid plans for the day so we just strolled around the city. It’s a little warmer today. It got up in the mid 80’s and the sun just blazes in the clear blue sky.

We found our way to The Plaza de España and took some pictures…

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Tomorrow it’s a 3 1/2 hour train ride to Granada. This is the part of the vacation where we wind down for a few days and take it easy before jumping into the hustle and bustle of Barcelona.

Giger Tree

There’s this tree in Seville we pass each day as we stroll through the park.
I have come to call it the Giger Tree or the Cthulhu Tree

It appears at times to be the face of Cthulhu and, at other times, I see a person or two being sucked up into it…

Córdoba – Addendum

When I say there’s not much else to see in Córdoba, that’s mostly correct. However, if you are fascinated by ongoing traditions and want a little more sense of history I recommend seeking out the statue of Moses Maimonides, the medieval Jewish philosopher sometimes called the “Jewish St. Thomas Aquinas“.

This statue sits next to the synagogue that was built in Córdoba in 1350.

They say that if you visit the statue and rub Moses Maimonides’ foot it will bring you good luck.

The foot of the statue is very shiny compared to the rest which is quite tarnished from age so it’s getting rubbed alot.

William The Sheep was not ashamed to rub the foot for luck!

Cathedral And Bell Tower

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The Cathedral in Seville is the third largest church in Europe (behind St. Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London) and the largest Gothic building in Europe.

Dimly lit and with flash photography not being allowed, it’s hard to shoot. Even then, it’s hard to capture the sheer immensity of this structure.

The cathedral houses one thing I was glad to be able to capture, the Tomb Of Christopher Columbus

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That thing is magnificent! Even if there’s no actual proof that the remains of Christopher Columbus actually reside in the monument…

Some parts of the cathedral are grim and gloomy

While others are a bit more bright and hopeful

There was one thing Cynthia kept going on and on about and that was climbing the The Giralda which is the bell tower of the cathedral. At 320 feet, it’s daunting to consider for old fogies like ourselves

Fortunately it a series of ramps leading to the top rather than many, many tiny little stone steps as I recall was the case in the York Minster when we climbed that years ago.

The climb is worth it, though. Just for the view

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We’re resting now. Tomorrow there is talk of taking the train to Cordoba

Toro!

Studebaker

Many advertising signs on the walls are done as paintings on tile. I have no idea if this is an original Studebaker ad or a reproduction. Based on the wear and tear it could easily be an original.

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