Siesta Time in Spain …

… limits the desire for intense excursions.   

Barcelona ...

We gave up the crowds and the opportunity to once again see Antoni Gaudi's most famous work, the Basilica commonly known as the Sagrada Familia. 

Begun in 1883, we captured this photo of the newly consecrated cathedral during our 2012 visit. Even though it is still under construction, we figured it hadn't changed much in 5 years and decided to follow the locals outside the city and take it easy.  

In the countryside near Barcelona, we found the Torres Winery:

 

Torres is a family owned business (five generations, represented by the stone sculptures above).  With vineyards that occupy a mere 3,700 acres and being represented in 150 countries, it's hardly a mom and pop operation.

Environmentally friendly, they contend,  "The more we care for the earth, the better our wine."

For example, a rose bush is placed at both ends of each row of vines.  Rather than using pesticides, it seems roses are similar to grape vines, biologically speaking, but are more sensitive allowing for earlier detection of harmful bacteria, insects, etc.

Also, most electrical requirements are satisfied with banks of solar tracking panels spread thoughout the vineyards.

It's quite an operation.  Then came the marketing coups de gras of all coups de grasses ... the floor lights of a large gathering room gradually dimmed, then went completely black.  Surprisingly, one by one, the many glass-faced cellars  illuminated to show their contents and then went back to black.  Each revealed a different wine being stored at a unique and perfect temperature.  Makes me thirsty to think about it.

Next was wine tasting time.  I don't normally like fruity wines, but Vina Esmeralda was great.  Light, bright, fruity ... to heck with the food pairing, I'm thinking it will go great while sitting in the pool this summer.

Next, A Day at Sea ...

Followed by an anniversary dinner and an addition to our room ...

Followed by a Morning in Gibraltar ...

Surrounded by Spain, Gibraltar is actually part of Great Britain ...

 

and at its lighthouse the most southern point in Europe.

  

A beautiful terrace, British scones, jam, clotted cream, a cup of tea, and a fantastic view of Morocco across the Straight of Gibraltar seems like a pleasant way to spend a Sunday morning.  

Ya know ...  ya got ta do wha' cha got ta do.

We Made It to 50!

Emergency supply of Jack Daniels made necessary by excessive demand.  Supply side economics??? Nah.

French Tolerance Is Not an Oxymoron

About 30 minutes north from the port of Marseilles is the town of Aix en Provence.  Arriving on the outskirts of town our guide explained that the word Aix is pronounced “X” and means water/spa, and there are a number of these throughout France - Aix les Bains, Aix la Chapelle, etc.

About this time we passed the family home of Paul Cézanne who was born, lived (except for a brief period in Paris), and died in Aix. It was a beautiful estate that he inherited from his father in 1886 along with 400,000 francs ending his prior bohemian life style.  Bridging late 19th-century impressionism and early 20th century's cubism, Cézanne is clearly the favorite son of Aix en Provence.  This will become more meaningful, as you read on.

Cours Mirabeau is the heart of Aix. Anchored at one end by the Grand Fountain, it is a beautiful tree-lined avenue, with one side lined with wonderful terrace cafés and bookshops.

Down side streets on the other side, the mansions once owned by the French elite were prevalent. 

We wandered by these glorious late 18th century mansions, noting the grand entry gardens - designed to remove the building from the vulgarity of the city street, grand entrance halls - designed to impress the visitors and rear gardens - designed for living and entertaining. 

We stopped in front of one that has now been converted to a hotel (above).  It was a beautiful, bright but cloudy day, causing our guide to note that Cézanne really didn’t care what his subject was, he’d paint anything.  Rather, she went on, he was more interested in the quality of the changing light and how it affected the subject.

“Excuse me,” one of our herd interrupted, “Sha-zam?”

“Non, madam, Cézanne.  Paul Cézanne.”

“I'm sorry, Sha-zam?” she repeated in her best Gomer Pyle impression.

Then exercising a lot of tolerance and self control our guide said calmly, “Non, madam, Cézanne. His name is pronounced, seɪˈzæn, madam.”  

As she cowered to the back of the pack, I thought I heard Lee Greenwood singing in the background.  Really, you can’t make this stuff up.

The center of Aix is the old town, ringed by a circle of boulevards and squares. The medieval Aix was protected by a wall with 39 towers. It was later torn down to make room for the aforementioned mansions. 

A French sidewalk café and associated washrooms was next on the agenda. 

With my best high school French, I cleared my throat and said to the waiter, “Un chocolat et un café au lait avec sucre.” 

“Yes, sir. One hot chocolate and a coffee with milk and sugar.”

He seemed tolerant as well.  Sha-zam!

 

Holy Moly – That’s a Big Yacht!

We’re in Monaco now, with side trips to Eze and Nice.  After 28 days without rain, we hit one of my favorite places - and it rains.  Of course, that didn’t stop me from exploring.  Bill is still fighting a cough, so he stayed on the ship and I headed out on my own.

We docked at Monte Carlo and the town was setting up for the F1 Grand Prix in a few weeks.  That means the BIG boats are coming in.  One of the most unusual is known as motor yacht “A”.  The owner is a Russian billionaire – Andrey Melnichenko.  It’s quite stunning to see.  It cost him $190 million Euros a while back (about $228 million):

Real estate is costly, too.  The penthouse for this new building is $450 million Euros. 

Everyone knows the story of the Grimaldis and the marriage of Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier, so I won’t bore you with history.  What I found interesting was the density of the population.  There are 38,000 people in 0.75 square miles.  Traffic is crazy.

I also went to the medieval village of Eze.  It was small and charming, with cobblestone streets and small shops.

A final visit in this area was Nice/Cannes.  We rode on the Promenade des Anglais, the site of the 2016 Bastille Day terrorist attack by the driver of a large truck plowing into the pedestrians. Such a tragic event in a joyful place.

This pic is of the Negresco Hotel, owned by Mme Augier – the last private owner of a Riviera palace.  It is over 100 years old (Mme Augier is 94).  The pink dome at the top was allegedly inspired by the breasts of the architect’s mistress (although I’m sure I’ve heard that before about another French building, which says something about either the French or architects).  Singer James Brown spent a night chasing his wife at the hotel in a jealous rage, and guests have included a who’s who of the rich and famous.  Bill Gates wanted to buy the place and Mme Augier told him, “You’re not rich enough!”

I had a charming guide who is a horticulturalist and also kept up on celebrity residences.  We drove by the homes of Elton John, Bono, Tina Turner and David and Victoria Beckham.  The guide’s conversation would go like this:  “See these charming yellow flowers (using the Latin name) – I planted rows of those at the Rothschild gardens – and look up there!  It’s Sir Elton’s home.  I just love Sir Elton.”  Entertaining day.

Roma

My plan was to pull up Pat’s picture sitting on the edge of the Trevi Fountain 25 years ago and claim that it was the Fountain of Youth. 

Didn’t work. 

Apparently, we didn’t have electronic photos 25 years ago so it wasn’t in my computer.  As you view the Trevi, you'll have to use your imagination. 

 Last time in Rome we had a couple of days to explore.  While visiting the Trevi we threw a single coin into the fountain (one coin to return, two coins to find a new love, and three coins if you want to get married) so we made it back to celebrate Pat's birthday.

 On that prior trip, we flew into Athens, embarked on our first cruise ever, and woke up for our first port-of-call sailing into Venice on the morning of our 25^th Anniversary.   

 We sailed around Italy and found our way to Rome after twelve days.  Twenty-five years later, I've discovered that  we’ve changed a little, but Rome, not so much.

This time our excursion of choice was a whirlwind panoramic view of Rome with some free time at the end to enjoy a birthday lunch of pizza margarita, pasta carbanara, and a few glasses of wine at one of Rome's many, hole-in-the-wall restaurants.  Fantastic! 

     Some old pics will remind you of the fabulous city it is …

 The Colosseum

The Arch of Constantine

Trajen's Column

Monument to Vitoria Emmauele II

St. Peter's Basilica,

and its interior. 

Greece – The Peloponnese, From Athens to Sparta Part 2

A stop in the port city of Gythion, Greece was next on the agenda.  We’re now exploring the west side of the Peloponnese overlooking the Ionian Sea.  

Pat told me the last blog was "pretty heavy."  So I’ll make it a point to lighten up with the Roman Legions and Sparta infantry looming large. First stop …

MYSTRAS

This medieval town developed around 1250 AD and overlooked ancient Sparta.  Although Mystras was eventually abandoned, what remains is a spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Located about 30 mile north of Gythion, we made our usual bus trek around mountainous terrain past Sparta to our destination.  Sitting in the back row in the middle gives you a unique perspective through the windshield.  Wish I could have captured it as a movie. That way all of you too could have enjoyed the swaying ... the side to side to side to side to side … motion of the uphill climb, sans the many bumps.

Mystras is a site of ancient fountains, great vaulted halls and fine frescoes which depict various aspects of this Byzantine town.

Across the valley you can see the current town of Sparta.

SPARTA

As far as ancient Sparta goes, I’m going to asked that you engage the imagination you enjoyed as a child.  Only a few remains and a statute of Leonidas mark the spot of the once great and leading power of Greece. 

It seems Sparta’s ruins were not embellished and not worth the cost of much excavation and restoration … they were after all – “spartan.”

As much as the Athenians loved the humanities, the ancient Spartans loved (or at least prepared themselves for) war. Young boys were conscripted into the infantry at age 6 to learn the science of war.  If that isn’t tragic enough, the guide reported that a high rock across the valley was where the children with mental or physical disabilities were cast off.  How ‘bout that for lightened up.

I mentioned in the prior blog that Sparta was victorious in the Peloponnesian Wars against Athens.  It was not so lucky against the invading Romans, however, and lost its political stature and independence during the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC.  This once powerful city state went into decline and with many of its citizens moving to Mystras during the Middle Ages never emerged again.

Tomorrow we're in Rome.  So under advice of counsel I'll talk about La Dolce Vita.

Greece – The Peloponnese, From Athens to Sparta Part 1

ATHENS

To put a locational stake in the ground, our itinerary starts its final leg of the trip in Athens.  You know, the home of the Acropolis …

the Parthenon …

(Madeline, this is Athena's house)

 the Erechtheion with its porch of caryatids …

and friends, Greek sun, beer, wine and food *.

(* Actually I took some artistic liberty here ... aka alternative facts.  This photo is taken from the isle of Patmos, Greece located in and overlooking the Aegean Sea on the way to Athens.  A wedge of spanakopita for the first person to name the book of the New Testament and its credited author who died in prison on this island.)


But our travels this time did not begin in Athens, they began in Mycenae.  But before we go there a word about the southern part of the mainland – the Peloponnese.  I decided to group several days of travels into this one blog to both discuss the entire southern region and get caught up on the blogs.  So bear with me, this will be a bit longer than usual.

The area to the east faces the Aegean Sea; the area to the west faces the Ionian Sea.  In between, the Peloponnesian War took place (431-404 BC) and reshaped the ancient Greek world.  Athens, the strongest city-state in Greece prior to the war's beginning, was reduced to a state of near-complete subjection, while Sparta became established as the leading power of Greece. This changed much later as Sparta was completely defeated.

The Peloponnese and Athens in particular has been subjugated by many conquering nations.  But as our guide said, no matter, Greece exported love not war.  She reminded us that at the center of Greek culture was the human being and the arts.  Greece offers philosophy, drama, and sculptures representing the human form. And as our priest, Becky, reminded us at Easter, love wins.    

MYCENAE 

Mycenaean Greece represents the first advanced civilization on the mainland with its urban organization, works of art and writing system.

For those of you who attended architectural school, you’ll remember the Lion Gate of Mycenae from a 7:30 a.m. ancient civilizations history class. You know, the slide just before you fell asleep in the darkened theater after a design class all-nighter.

The Lion Gate was the main entrance of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae and located on the northwest side of the acropolis.   With the use of the lions (likely a Sphinx with a head of different animal/material), it symbolized the power the Mycenaean kings to both subjects and foreigners.

Just to the right as you enter the fortifications you’ll see Grave Circle A.  This is odd because like Grave Circle B and others, these cemeteries are normally found outside of the fortifications.  Seems that A was for the royal families. 

The Lion Gate was erected during the 13th century BC about the same time as  Pharaoh Akhenaten ruled Egypt … remember him?  I mention this because the gold for the crowns of the Mycenaean kings, found in the Circle A site came from Egypt in exchange for their assistance in the Egyptian Army.

CORINTH

Anchored by the Temple to Apollo …

the ancient Greek City State of Corinth stands about half way between Athens and Sparta.

Ancient Corinth was one of the most important cities of Greece, with a population of 90,000 in 400 BC. Not only did it give us the Corinthian order of Greek Architecture *…

(* Look closely on the ground and you'll see the capitals.)

it also gave us the concept of the agora of Greek urban 
planning and the context for Paul’s letters to the Corinthians.

Imagine if you will the foundations in front (i.e., to the right) supporting the columns to support the porticoes of stores to the left. 

Now imagine all of the merchants shouting out their wares for sale, as the shoppers wandered under the shade of the roofed enclosures.  And all of this activity organized around a large open plaza for public interaction known in Greece as the agora. Which, by the way, was the same urban planning model found on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The Romans demolished Corinth in 146 BC, and built a new city in its place in 44 BC, and later made it the provincial capital of Greece. 

Known as the ancient Las Vegas (alternative fact) Corinth was in fact known for its night life and one reason it was so attractive for St. Paul to visit.  Maybe I should rephrase that, but you know what I mean.  It was pretty amazing to stand on the spot where, after an 18 month stay, Paul was put on trial in the forum (Roman name for the Greek “agora”) by Gallio, the proconsul of Achaia.  If you want to find out what happened go to Acts 18: 12-16.

Tune in to Greece – The Peloponnese, From Athens to Sparta Part 2