Home Safely

We are home again from our three weeks in Spain. A day of travel will take it out of a person and we are recovering gently upon re-entry. Our memories are flooding back of a wonderful trip to a vibrant country. We feel that there is, as always, so much more to see in our chosen destination, but here are some of our recollections of the many delights.
Barcelona is full of sunlight, art and architecture. We were excited by the multiplicity of art galleries and particularly were moved by the art of Joan Miro. The Miro gallery is in Montjuic, the hill of the Jews, which overlooks the city. We also visited the National Museum of Catalunya there and watched the amazing synchronized display of music and light at the Magic Fountains, which spread all the way down the hill to the Placa Espanya. We visited the Picasso Museum displaying a retrospective of the artist’s work from his earliest years; and we spent time at the Contemporary Art Museum where the current exhibits were creatively powerful and intense.
Antonio Gaudi’s architecture is a touchstone for the character of the city. It is whimsical, lively, ornate, animated, colorful and inspiring. The Sagrada Familia is a massive monument, a tribute to god and to the city, welcoming visitors in the ancient tradition of making church, once again, the most important, and often largest, building in the city. The Park Guell is a place of fantasy. It provides a serene haven in a bustling city. It is covered in tilework, curving throughout the park’s landscaping mixing the grandeur of high art with a fanciful dream world. We loved people-watching as families spent the day here strolling, playing, and listening to the wonderful musicians dotted throughout the park.
The graffiti added another perspective on the city. Mostly limited to store-front shutters, and unused walls there was a grace and profound intensity to the artwork in many cases.
Culinary delights included the sampling of a variety of tapas in the El Born district and a delightful fresh seafood feast of paella and monkfish in the seaport of Barceloneta.
There was so much to do and the metro system worked simply and impeccably for us to get around. We had to forego some things of course. On our next visit we would like to take the cable car up to the monastery of Montserrat and also visit the nearby Salvador Dali museum.
I enjoyed driving in Southern Spain once we picked up our Peugeot in Malaga and drove up to Cordoba. Cordoba is the quintessential city marking my initial emotional draw to Andalucia. It is a (perhaps somewhat romanticized) Utopian embodiment of a time when the major three religions linked themselves back to their common birthplace through Abraham’s biblical recognition and relationship with god. People of all these paths respected and worked with each other in a flourishing society. What remains is centered around the Mezquita, a wondrous mosque that thrived in its heyday as one of the largest in the world when Cordoba was one of the scientific, philosophical and financial centers of the world. The consequences of the competitive nature of the world’s religions is also brazenly evident here, particularly in the placement of the otherwise inspiring Camino Real, a Christian cathedral built into the middle of the Mezquita itself. The back streets of the Juderia exuded history and I was given a new perspective of the flow of time and power when visiting the somewhat derelict sinagoga. The walls of this one-roomed place of prayer remain as sinister evidence of how one of the great religions was persecuted. The Jews who survived were banished from Spain around the time of the Inquisition in an attempt to crush the significance of their contribution. Christianity overcame all else in Spain and in doing so tolerance and understanding were diminished.
A side trip to the Renaissance Cities of Obeda and Baeza took us through miles of rolling hills polka-dotted by olive trees as far as the eye could see. These two towns each maintain a wonderful medieval feel to their old city centers featuring the works of architect Vandelvira.
We set off for the mountain village of Bubion for the last ten days of our trip. Nestled in the Sierra Nevada mountains between Pampaneira and Capileira the small town shone as part of this triumvirate of white villages. People were slow moving and friendly. They took their time to try to understand what we were asking for despite our lack of Spanish language skills. We felt quite at home in our one bedroom casita overlooking the mountains with stunning views. We were soon able slow ourselves down to mirror the silence and stillness of our surroundings The drive up and down involved multiple switchbacks and required great caution on the well-paved but narrow roads above deep gorges and sudden drop-offs. It was hardest to remember to not admire the tremendous views that changed around every bend, but to keep one’s attention on the road immediately ahead.
We spent a day in Granada at La Alhambra. The complex contained palaces, fortresses, extensive gardens, summer homes, a citadel, a mosque and churches. The Moorish and Christian influences are ever-present and the sense of grandeur prevails. The Alhambra is a towering edifice above Granada and is itself dominated by the snow-capped peaks that protect it to the East.
Returning to our mountain home we settled in again sampling the delights of small towns in the area including the La Taha communities around Pitres, visiting nearby Mecina Fondales where we discovered a tiny delight for our last night in the mountains at L’Atelier Restaurant a vegetarian gourmet haven run by the charming French chef Jean-Claude Guston. In Bubion the Estacion 4 Restaurant was a fabulous find. The Creperie (which we didn’t buy) also served us a brilliant meal in a fantastic setting.
Bubion offers a plethora of hiking trails and is on the G7 long distance European trail. From there you can walk to either of its sister towns each about 2km away. Another bonus was the spring fed water, which was drinkable, clear and pure directly from the several fountain spouts throughout the immediate area.
We loved our journey. We would definitely return and explore more of the area. If anyone would like some specific tips if traveling to Barcelona or Andalucia, we would be happy to let you know further details about our favorite places.