By Gabrielle Bremer – Through the Lens Photography After two plane rides and a thirty hour Monday, it’s good to be home. This is the first chance I’ve had to sit at my computer and edit photos in over two weeks. Over the next few days, I will be sharing with Read more…
2 April 2016
Plaza Mayor, Segovia
Gusts have decreased from howling to just brisk as we flee Zaragoza. I’m afraid the winds have done their damage as Gabrielle has struck this city from her places to revisit. Sadly, so have I. Though weather is crisp, dry and sunny, winds associated with the term “anticyclone” distract from our enjoyment. We pack up, drive our little Polo up the rat hole, use the Gabrielle Positioning System to exit town, and we are on our way to Segovia.
“Bet that train looks a whole lot better now,” mi sobrina inteligente says to me. After the struggle of exiting the rat hole garage, I agree with her. (more…)
31 March – 1 April 2016
Osborne Bull
We drive west into the Les Guilleries mountain range with the bare rugged peaks of Massis del Montseny on our left, the snowy Pyrenees to our right, elusive Andorra in the distance. Temperatures have dropped several degrees and fierce winds buffet our car as we drop out of the mountain passes onto the flat plains of Aragón.
Once again, we are seeing the impressive silhouette of a 46′ black bull along the highway, usually atop a hill. He looks majestic, but his purpose is rather mundane. Called the Osborne Bulls, they were originally billboard advertisements for brandy. Around since the 50s, in 1994 the EU passed a law prohibiting roadside advertising of alcoholic beverages. Public opinion was on the side of the Bulls so they were painted black and remain an icon of Spain. They point our way to Zaragoza. (more…)
By Gabrielle Bremer – Through the Lens Photography
Girona’s Cases de l’Onyar
As told by Joelle of Girona
Because of Catalonia’s different way of life, the province wants to succeed from Spain. They even have their own flag that separatists fly proudly from their balconies. (more…)
30 March 2016
Gabrielle and the
Mediterranean
Women can not survive on museums, churches, and city architecture alone. Thus, we drive the short distance to the Costa Brava and the small picturesque beach town of Tossa de Mar. It is a beautiful drive through low mountain passes, curving and winding down to an alluvial plain and the Mediterranean.
Tossa de Mar was my destination in the summer of 1972. I remember it’s old fortress ruins above the beach, the small town and cafes and British bars. And I remember the 20 people per square yard on the beach. I remember walking over to a kiosk for something to drink, turning around to return to my beach towel, and being confronted by masses of hairy bodies and no clear path nor idea where my spot was. This was pre-GPS days, not that it would have helped. Somehow I got my directions, after all the azure ocean was in front, the town in back, and by Devine guidance found my towel. (more…)
29-30 March 2016
Wall walk above Girona
Girona is an easy drive north from Barcelona and an “elder person’s” respite from the big city, noise, crowds. For youth, not so much. An ancient city where Romans built a citadel in the 1st century BC, the Visigoths ruled until conquered by the Moors in 715. In 785 Charlemagne conquered the region only to loose it back to the Moors 8 years later. Girona bounced back and forth until the Moors were driven out for a final time in 1015. Wilfred the Hairy hung out in Girona before Alfonso I of Aragón declared it a city in the 11th century. Sounds like a good place to visit for a couple days. (more…)
26-28 March 2016 – Easter Sunday, Easter Monday
Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Família
Huge fortresses and walled towns sit atop promontories over the sparkling azure Mediterranean as we motor between Valencia and Barcelona. I avoid the very expensive Autopista for the A-7 and the drive is pleasant and speedy. Even when I miss a roundabout turn, Google Maps reroutes; coupled with Gabrielle, driving is made easy. The circuitous route takes us onto a cornice road above the sea for fantastic views as we reach Barcelona.
We arrive on Easter weekend and much will be closed for holidays, Sunday less so than Easter Monday. We find The Ramblas and Gothic Quarter crowded as usual and lines for most sites are long. We choose or eliminate things to do. Fortunately, Barcelona is a wonderful, architecturally beautiful city to walk. And to work off those skillets of paella and the chocolate and churros, walking is what we do. (more…)