Here’s to Iberian Cathedrals and the things within

Although not a religious person, I consider myself quite spiritual, and I have always had a soft spot for a good church. In a recent wander through Spain and Portugal, I fell in love again. I also found that practicality of a cathedral.

Toledo, Sevilla, Lisbon and countless cities and towns in between have fabulous cathedrals and intriguing churches. Attributes of creative architecture can be seen as a passage of time over the land. Moorish, gothic and baroque influences can be found as the development of the country was shaped by the reigning power of the era. As powers fluctuated and beliefs changed, the cathedrals and churches taking decades to build, were molded to the design and purse-string of the time. This leads to a single church having the possibility of niches in one style or another and carvings in this method and that.

A church becomes a fascinating "book" to read the history and attributes of the town. Trade, devotion, inspiration, changing of the power-brokers, death of the architect, all these things played a factor in what can be viewed within the cool confines of a cathedral. Paintings, often by significant artists commissioned in the day, add prestige and authority to the church. Carvings on display in likely and unlikely places is some of the best of any era, full of character and skill. Wooden adornments and marble and stone ornamental structural supports add to the spectacular aesthetics of history and faith.

If you like three dimensional artwork be sure to check out the choirs of these magnificent buildings. There you can find skillful and fanciful work of saints, dignitaries, animals, dragons, grapevines and flora, and other medieval creatures. Some of these choir areas were developed to keep the participants involved and comfortable. They are sometimes closed to close public view but are worthy of peering through the enclosures.

It is no secret that Spain and Portugal can be hot places in the summer. The arid lands and dry winds can hinder the most gallant tourist. As seasoned wanderers, we had decided not to maximize this latest particular trip and so felt free to stop and smell the roses. In doing so we found the perfect time to visit the cooling vast spaces of good and grand cathedrals. After lunch, in the heat of the day, when much of the Mediterranean may be taking a siesta or lingering of table talk, a cathedral that arches fifty feet above your head (or higher) offers the perfect gallery, history lesson or moment of contemplation in a busy tourist day. It is hard to be a tourist, as well as enjoyable, but these houses of God afford an excellent respite and understanding of the community.

Wandering into a cathedral or church from a bright hot day, it sometimes takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the soaring ceilings and many separate areas of these architectural spaces. Take a moment to adjust and find a convenient spot to settle and take a look around before you wander into the corners.

On a recent visit in Toledo, a world heritage city, a religious holiday had just finished . The town is a vibrant place, not the historic preservation- don't touch -atmosphere you might expect. Wash hangs high overhead on the narrow shady streets. Bread stores do brisk business in the morning and business men come and go from glassed offices tucked into medieval towers. At the cathedral carvings outside the great doors are especially intriguing and full of life, leaning towards each other to talk, sleeping, and passing stern judgement on those who pass by.

On our visit post holy day decorations still remained decked from the balconies. In the churches were the floats that had been carried through the city. New flashy additions were added to keep the faith relevant- tinsel, modern textures and mechanics to help in the transport but the centerpieces, the historical saints, were placed back in their chapels and niches until the next festivity.

In Sevilla, the church was a particularly welcome respite from the heat and proved a historical treasure. This is

no accident as it was built as a tribute to the reclaiming of southern Spain from the Moors who had been there hundreds of years

(and left some pretty fabulous achievements of their own). At over 125 feet high the scale is tremendously impressive.

The carvings are sumptuous and there is a curious addition of a painted crocodile hanging high overhead

commemorating a gift of an ancient sultan. Although there is debate about the authenticity, Columbus is also found

here, in an artfully wrought tomb enclosing his remains from Havana, Cuba.

The Cathedral of St. Mary in Cordoba is a really interesting space as so much of the Moorish mosque remains as a visible and structural frame for the later christian additions. The exquisiteness of the 856 columns, aesthetically and precisely aligned to the cathedral are not to be missed The old minaret, was adapted to house a baroque belfry and offers a grand view over the city.

The strangest church we went to was in the Portuguese town of Evora, about an hour away from the touristy Portuguese coast of Algarve. The town is charming and we found the people to be friendly and helpful. The Chapel of Bones (1485+/-) is on the side of the Church of St. Francis. To make room in the cemetery the monks created a chapel of stacked human bones, chiefly visible were skull, arm and leg bones. They are placed in the wall straight in so that the thickness of the bone-ness is considerable. Skulls are artfully put along the edges of the vaulted ceilings as well as throughout the walls. It doesn’t feel as creepy as your mind can make it, perhaps because of the sheer quantity of the remains (estimated at 5000 people).

For this trip, perhaps my favorite for craftsmanship and contemplation was the Monastery of Saint Mary in

Lisbon’s Belem area. A hundred years in the making it is a cream puff of a place. Warm ochre colored stone and evidence of dedicated artists make this a courtyard for passing a good part of a hot afternoon. The gargoyles are particularly eye catching, ornamental ones alternating with functional carved drain spouts- pigs, dragons, grasshoppers and other domestic and imaginary creatures ring the central courtyard which is embellished with carved arches and ice cream cone pinnacles that allow for seriously fun study. Faces, both noble and furious, line the top level of the compound and there is something to study in every portico. It is a fine example of Manueline style, after the severity of some Gothic churches, the stone becomes a riotous celebration of the dedication to God.

In the Cathedral is a fine carving of Vasco de Gama in repose on his tomb supported by some fine lions. Around some interior doors of the cathedral you can find almost druidic carvings of expressive faces.

Take a contemplation break. Get off the tourist bus, spend some time in the lofty cathedrals of art and faith. Enjoy the coolness, the skill and perhaps you will find a little secret something that will make your day.

Oh, and if you are in Croatia, don’t miss the carving at the cathedral in Sibenik. Stunning.

Medieval moseying in Evora

We are finishing up our time in Evora, Portugal. This is an ancient walled city with wind-y streets (I guess they sort of all hav wind-y streets but one never tires of wandering when you cannot see what cute little courtyard or window box or old woman doing some old woman thing is around the next bend. We went to market yesterday which I always feel compelled to do, yet it was not particularly interesting except for the peacock which was on the roof adjacent to the market making loud comments as we strolled about. I have no idea what it was doing there.That was followed by a visit to the Chapel of Bones which is a unique spot from my travels. The whole of the walls was stacked with human bones, thighs, legs arms. The skulls were cemented in for structural support I would guess. A rather bizarre place. Ghoulish, but not, they were so old the connection of them being human was gone although what a great movie scene to have them all reassemble.....

I has been so hot the past two days it really put a cramp in our style, over 100 degrees. Yesterday the car thermometer said 38.5 that would be centigrade I will let you figure it out.

We took a drive though pottery country (of course I stopped) and then had a brief lunch at a really impressive castle town called Monmaraz, Moorish in tradition shared by the Visigoths and then taken over by the Christians. Most of these towns still retain their character as many are inhabited on a year round basis but I cannot imagine how the daily life must be changed to accomodate walls and such that are 700 years old- and then some.
We will see the Stonehenge-like megalithic monuments on our way to Lisbon today and perhaps go up above Lisbon to Sintra while we still have the car. It has been quite a nice way to see the country and we are happy with it's performance, although I must say on some of these teeny streets and in the parking garages I wish it was significantly smaller. No accidents yet. (Knock on wood)
I tried to upload pictures but they will have to wait. It is too hard to decifer the computer in portuguese and I am unsure if it even has a pictures program. Patience., It will be worth waiting for. I have taken over 700 pix so there must be some worth keeping in all that.
The food has been quite good here in Evora, authentic and fairly cheap. I had hare in rice last night for dinner and we continue to be adventurous in what we try. There is a black pig that the area is famous for and we have had a number of tasty dishes from those guys.
It has been great for bird watching. Lots of hawks and unusual (for me) birds and wondrous storks seem to abound in the area. Again Pix to come.
Need to go pull my stuff together.
Love from the road-

From Spain to Portugal

We really enjoyed Granada. The people were friendly, the town very relaxed. We came across a neighborhood gathering one night, a stage full of women in flamenco dresses singing , the audience singing and chattering. Good stuff. We had a hot day at the the Alhambra, the Moorish palace, but it is so beautiful and the Moors worked so much water into it that it was frequently cool, if not cooling.
After dropping the kids off for their European adventure in Sevilla (not exactly on our route but what are you going to do) we headed to the mountain region south of Sevilla towards the water but high in the dry mountains. We stayed at a tiny little place in Cartajima which was very lovely and peaceful-run by an English couple who were very pleasant and good cooks. There is a lot of trekking in the area and Will went out the morning of the second day. I am still plagued with my bummer ankle so I am considerably slowed down. I sat reading instead after poking around the town for a while. Cute place, very hot though when we were there. Our good weather holds but it has suddenly fallen into the summer blast for the next couple days. We topped our mountaqin soujoun with a stop and lunch in Ronda, another ancient town built literally on a ledge of rocks. Pleasant but touristy, and I suppose rightly so in light of the spectacular gorge they are on.
Driving into Sevilla-again- we saw remarkable storks on equally remarkable nests on many towers and I think I remember having read something about African storks that summer in Spain. I will attempt to post pictures. Sevilla was a stop, nothing more. A non descript convention hotel, dinner and heading out the next morning.
We drove a lesser taken road into Portugal where we saw more of those great storks, bulls, majestic castles on hilltop towns and scores of acres of olive trees, some featuring ground neighbors of black pigs, a specialty of the region. We drove to Evora, a medieval walled town where Will found a cute little hotel by the walls with very helpful staff who turned us on to a lovely spot for dinner. The problem was that we did not realize there is a one hour time difference between Spain and Portugal. Silly us. We showed up for dinner with no one in the restaurant but they were very nice. We went and wandered around for a while, found an amenable wine bar, not quite knowing why there was no one there either. When we found out later, we felt dumb. I had not done much reading about Portugal but will pick up the pace a bit.
There are ancient Stonehenge-like monoliths in the area, lots of wineries and of course lots of history. I think we will be making a day of it. I am off to the market and the cathedral. Hasta la vista. (or whatever the Portuguese equivalent)

Granda, castles and olives

We spent the night in a castle last night. You could see it on the approach to Jaen high above the city -just as I hoped. The walls were thick and ochre and there were your customary suits of armor and vaulted ceilings. All quite grand. Following a sumptuouse dinner the kids crashed in their large and quiet rooms, a nice change, while I popped out for a look at the night lighting of the castle walls and the full moon. Quite a sight. The mountains and valleys around the area are filled with olive trees. I read a bit just now that 10 % of the world´s olive oil comes from this town and area. I can believe it. It is very dramatic close to the mountains here in this area of Andalusia Dry craggy mountains and chalky soil. We saw a short toed eagle driving yesterday and a herdof horses- another Andalusian characteristic. Broom and wildflowers line the roads and thr villages are clustered off the highways with their tiled roofs and whitewashed walls. It is all so very spanish- how nice.
We had a nice time in Sevilla but also had some of the worst food I ever ate. A hard thing to do I am sure. One night we got some huge good shrimp but another we went to a recommended spot and it was laughably bad. Hard to convey so I will let that drop. Sevilla is quite charming however and it was fun to walk the streets that ambled all ways but where you thought you would go. I think you need an animal sense of direction and a sense of humor.It has been hard being on a budget with so many temptations. I want to eat all day, or shop. There are many cute stores but having a small suitcase keeps me from being too bad.
Now we are in Granada which features a Moorish castle and gardens as a tourist attraction as well as many other delightful spots. We will head out tomorrow and wander. I have been seeing many fantastic cathedrals and lots of historical sites as well as my castle. I will try to post some pictures in the very near future. The hostel we are currently in is a real step back from the sumptuousness of the castle last night but it is well located and clean and Mark is very happy to be around young people. I suspect he and Emily will go out tonight. Heck, maybe us old fogeys will too!

Madrid, Spain

We are in beautiful Spain. We arrived late to go to the Plaza Mayor and eat wonderful tapas. Of course there was music and good wine and we all thought life couldn´t get much better than this. The next day we wandered to my old neighborhood by way of the Paseo de Castellano which is a tree lined street with cafes and such in the shade. Of course we had to stop for a coffee and a pastry. We found the old apartment looking pretty much the same and had a chat with the doorman who was charmed and charming. I spoke with the woman in the still there fish store next door and then walked the family to the market where my mother and I used to go on Saturdays. Different but also the same. Over the years they have put refrigeration in but the stalls looked much the same and it was a nostalgic moment. Emily and I went to the old Hilton Hotel where I used to fancy myself all grown up and then had a lovely lunch at a sidewalk cafe near the embassy, which now looks like a fortress. It has been a time of surprise and reflection. There are many changes as of course there would be in a forty year period. We went out with an old family friend last night to a flamenco place where the music was hot and the dancing hotter. A good time was had by all.
Today was a bit more low key as we couldn´t get on the train to Toledo for our day tri`p. We will go tomorrow. We went instead to the museum of Modern art and saw Guernica by Picasso and a great exhibit by Juan Munoz. Definately look him up. We are beginning to gather for a bit of tapas and of course a bit of music and delight.
There is someone waiting for the computer so more later.....
Hasta luego.

Dublin Ireland

We have finished two days of our trip in Dublin. It was surprisingly beautiful as the weather was crystal clear and springlike. We were told that it hasn't been like this in 3 years. We are hopeful that the good weather will follow ius to Madrid. We stayed down in an area called Temple BAr which was a lot like Bourbon street at night but quite quaint during the day. The pubs for the most part were classic Irish pubs, lots of drinking, music and revelry, did I mention drinking? It was okay for a bit but gets old. We stayed at a hostel which was fine. Will and I were the oldest ones there which no one seemed to mind. It was your basic hostel, clean, stairs to walk up. The biggest bite was when we arrived at 6:30 in the morning they said we couldn't get into our room until at least noon, contradicting what I had been told on the phone. It was a long morning but we walked around and waited for a restaurant to open up so we could get a cuppa. Will and Mark crashed in the common room for a bit. Turned out that we couldn't get into the rooms until 2:30. We all slept until 6:30 and went out for a bit of night life. Did I mention the drinking?
The days were filled with walking. Down to the cathedrals, the Guinness storehouse, Trinity College. I really enjoyed seeing the book of Kells and the Long Room (library). I wanted to see more pages of the Book but it is a book after all. Very cool though.
Today I took a historical walking tour and that was interesting. A lot of facts fell into place about how things worked. It is interesting how many countries are manipulated by such a few power seekers to alter the lives of so many people.
It is not a large city but its a good walking city so I would recommend it for a couple days of an Irish junket. We did not have very good foor but we are somewhat on a budget so it all worked out all right.
Mark and I walked down to the City Quay yesterday and saw tall ships (there were 5 in town) and a festival which was fun. There were street vendors and face painters. Lots of standard stuff but it was fun. Pictures will be forthcoming.
So we are off to Spain, hoping the weather will hold out. Hoping the food will be better. We shall see.
Hasta luego.