Flamenco

I took Molly and Emily to a Flamenco show just a block or two from Plaza Mayor in Madrid. I had heard that it was a wonderful show and... wow. So passionate, so beautiful. My camera's lens and sensor make shooting pics in a dark cave impossible so these are Emily's fabulous pictures (cropped and color-edited by me, of course). Thanks Em! 

My favorite part was the young man who danced with the women. He was so beautiful! A talented dancer, he impressed me a lot with how focused and masculine and dramatic he was. Then he'd throw in an overjoyed conspiritorial smile to the rest of the group as if to say, "I have the coolest job in the whole world." I was twitterpated until I saw him scarfing fries after the show. Without the dramatic lights of the stage and wearing typical spanish street clothes, he looked about sixteen! C'est la vie. And my life goes on. 

Granada's Street Art

Not street art per se, but I laughed when I saw this sign on a stall in a Christmas Market. My poor brother Mark--Spain hates him!

"Fumar Mata" was tagged all over Granada. It roughly translates to "Smoking kills." The embellishments were added later, I'm sure.

A lovely Spanglish tag. The rough translation would be "One looks for murder."

Part of a very beautiful wall in a nondescript back alley.

The translation is roughly, "A million machines could never make something as beautiful as a flower." While I was taking the picture, Molly overheard two older men as they paused to read the message. Their conversation went something like this:

"A million machines could never make something as beautiful as a flower."

"True. True."

"I think also, a million machines could never make something as beautiful as a woman. No?"

"It's true. Nothing is more beautiful than a woman."

Sigh.... Somedays old Spanish gentlemen are the light of my life.

I love graphitti. Well, good graphitti. Granada has some amazing street art--much of it with a social conciousness that is not usually found in graphitti. The Granada street artists are having a debate about life and politics. Many of the messages are positive and life affirming, often the graphitti is more mural than anything else. Some even mimmic that mujedar style (a combination of northern african muslim design and spanish catholic motifs) like in the picture above. Unfortunately, some of the beautiful murals are scarred by lame graphitti and there are way too many unimaginative spray paint atrocities, but it was refreshing to find such creative messages and beautiful designs shining amidst the teenage angst.

Granada-New Year's Eve Backwards

Isabel Catolica monument with transvestites in the background. 

The cutest girls in the mosh-pit of the Spanish.

Em swigs like the pro she is. 

Molly swigs with grape bag in tow. 

Mmm... champagne.... We all are not the biggest fans of champagne but no one would take our bottle off our hands. Apparently we're really sketchy looking. Three fourths of the bottle went to waste. We had a moment of solemn appreciation and mourning before dropping it into a trash can. 

As the clock strikes twelve, the Spanish eat one grape for every chime. Emily and I attempted... but sadly failed. 

Our best Schwarma faces ever. There were stray dogs circling us like sharks the entire time. Schwarma is like a Doner Kebap (think Pita Pit without so many add-ons) with a different sauce. Cheap yummy food! The meat for Doners and Schwarmas is highly disgusting--a log of processed chicken or lamb that rotates slowly upright next to a space heater looking thing. The vender shaves off the meat with a barber's buzzer or a knife and folds it into your pita with some pickled veggies and creamy sauce. Yum! 

Plaza Nuevo on New Year's Eve. 

Most of the pedestrian streets and sidewalks in Granada look a lot like this. Sigh.... 

The cutest, oldest, yummiest, restaurant in the whole world. It also has the best waiter in the whole world. I am in love! Molly was sick with some horrible stomach thing and Emily got full really fast so I ate for three! I have never been so happy or so full in my life. If food tasted like this every day I'd be 300 pounds and HAPPY. 

Toledo: A fairly thorough tour.

Toledo was once a walled city atop a hill. Now it spreads out beyond the wall for several miles--the interior city still very similar to the 1400s. The walls are impressive, the hill a work-out, and the views incredible. Toledo was at one time the capitol of Spain... much like just about every other major city in Spain. 

The Cathedral made entirely out of marzipan. It made me think of Aunt Carol and her many gingerbread masterpieces. Remember 321? Amazing. This sculpture was about three feet tall. 

The Cathedral. It's crammed in among other buildings with a tiny little plaza at the front doors. I chose to only photograph details of it instead of trying to get the whole frontal facade. Think what you will of that. 

The Cathedral. 

One of many sword shops in Toledo. One of the Cathedral towers is reflected in the glass. 

Toledo boasts a small but impressive Safardic museum in an old converted Synogogue. It was beautiful, many of the original hebrew plaster embellishments and tapestries still decorate the walls. The women's gallery was very beautiful and they had gathered jewish artifacts from all around Spain to commemorate the lost culture of Safardic Jews and explain their way of life before the Reconquista. This is a photograph of how the roof was built (it had to be restored and was very beautifully done). 

Toledo is known for a style of metal working that includes black ceramics inlaid with gold filagree. Very beautiful and very expensive, but Emily stopped at this shop and the charming owner entertained us for a while. He makes a good deal of the merchandise and even danced a few steps with Molly. Emily picked up a medium sized plate and he shook his head and suggested she try something a little smaller, it was over 100 euros! It was wonderful to meet such a friendly local craftsman and I'll be back soon. 

Swords are big in Toledo. You can buy them in all different sizes, shapes, and historical contexts. This is a miniature Round Table. You must remember that knights were hugely influential in these parts as the crusaded through on holy quests and such. To me, it seems ridiculous to equate the knights of my childhood with Spain, but Emily assures me that Spain was just as knighty as all the other bits of Europe. 

Yes, that's right. This is creamy goop sandwiched between wafers of some sort. Unfortunately the sense of scale is lost in the photo... but the pile is about six inches tall. It takes my breath away.

I love the windows of bakeries in Spain. Especially when they involve queso, belen, y marzipan.

 

The classic Toledo cookie being attacked by Molly. I believe it's called something like "toldeoean" or something logical like that. It has these rocky pieces of sugar on the outside that are slightly sketchy, according to my teeth. 

Toledo is such an old city that the streets are often so narrow you can reach your arms across and touch both sides. These buildings are very close together. Emily took the pic of me demonstrating how narrow the streets were. Toledo is also very hilly and often there are steps in the streets. This was a difficult concept for Emily and so Molly and I used our very helpful non-verbal cues to keep her safe. We are so thoughtful. 

The municipal library is located in the old castle of Toledo. Sneaking up to its cafe was one of my best ideas ever. The view was fantastic! Unfortunately there was no access that we could see to anything cool and castle-y from the library so we moved on after snapping some pretty sweet landscapes.  Toledo was once the capital of Castille-Leon, the royal seat of Spain. 

Taken from the library window. The cathedral is in the foreground and you can see the old mosque in the background.

The Christmas Spirit

Molls and I went to an awesome party for my friend's brother. This is us having way too much fun: proof that I get out once in a while.  

This is the place where you get things. Well, one of the many places you get things. You know, like the indispensible Christmas Mohawk or Three Kings that climb your terrace. 

These children can be yours for just six euros each. They come complete with uniforms. 

In the Rastro (which Molly and I now pronounce with bad imitation of the Jetsons' dog) there is a little deli that serves amazing open-faced sandwiches. I recommend the tuna, unless you're a fan of octopus or pickled squid tenacles. They also have the classic bocadillo flavors like tortilla, jamon, codfish, and lomo. The Rastro is probably the world's largest flea market. The place you go for jewelry, scarves, antiques, pickpocketing, and yummy sandwiches. 

Segovia

Mmmmmm... Aquaduct....

The Alacazar is a very cool castle that was refurbished and turned into a museum of munitions and castle artifacts. The roof burned a while back but was replicated with beautiful artistry. 

I swear. People were smaller back then. 

Molly sizing up the competition.

Me with my best Greta pose. 

Segovia is a city about an hour bus ride away from Madrid. Of its many attractions, the most famous are the Roman Aquaduct and the old castle that inspired Disney's Sleeping Beauty's castle in DisneyLand (according to the little old man that stopped us outside the castle and proceeded to babble on to us simply because we were Americans that understood his Spanish). The Aquaduct is pretty amazing, constructed entirely without mortar. It stretches across the city with such perfection that it's hard to believe it's been around since antiquity.