Spain

Tossa de Mar España con Gabrielle

30 March 2016

Gabrielle and the Mediterranean

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…)

By Pat, ago

Girona España con Gabrielle

29-30 March 2016

Wall walk above Girona

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…)

By Pat, ago

Barcelona España con Gabrielle

26-28 March 2016 – Easter Sunday, Easter Monday

Sagrada Família

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…)

By Pat, ago

Valencia España con Gabrielle

24-25 March 2016  –  Maundy Thursday and Good Friday

Our drive from Málaga along the Mediterranean Coast Highway is clear and smooth as we zip our little Volkswagen Polo around and through the Sierra Nevadas. This is Spain as I imagine: brown, open and arid land, hills and mountain ranges in the distance. These provinces of Andalucia contain the highest point of continental Spain, 11,411 ft above sea level. And the sparkling, azure Mediterranean is along our right. There are multitudes of olive trees, oranges, and low hot houses as far as we can see.

Our modern Ibis Valencia Hotel concierge told us everyone has left town for the weekend, encouraging us to just drive the few miles into the city. That most locals have left seems obvious as we maneuver deserted streets and easily park the car around the Plaza de Toros. Totally different experience from our last few days. (more…)

By Pat, ago

España’s Semana Santa

By Gabrielle Bremer – Through the Lens Photography

A young Nazareno during Semana Santa

A young Nazareno during Semana Santa

Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is celebrated by Spanish Catholics. It is a breath-taking celebration that takes place from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday (March 20th-27th this year). This is a week of annual commemoration of the Passion of Jesus Christ; it is filled with music, costumes, and processions. Along with that comes the celebration of life, people, and the sacrifice from their Saviour. (more…)

By Gabrielle, ago

Gibraltar con Gabrielle

23 March 2016

Barbary macaque

Barbary macaque

“God Bless America,” the British Immigration Officer says to me at the border. If it were not for him, the generous bus driver who drove us down The Rock without a ticket, or the monkeys, I might have developed a dislike for Gibraltar. The maze of streets in this densely populated city; lack of signage and closed unmarked trails; grabby monkeys; narrow winding roads; and a real lack of people to ask directions once in the nature reserve really tried my patience. Well, there were lots of monkeys, but they weren’t talking. (more…)

By Pat, ago

Málaga España con Gabrielle 

22-23 March 2016

Nazarenos and Penitentes

Plans for museums and historical landmarks fly out the window after five minutes of bearing witness to a Semana Santa procession. Skip the Picasso Museum, another church, the park, the Alcazaba Palace. Save our energy. This time of year is all about the spectacle of the cofradias. Having the stamina for Holy Week in Andalusia is our sole focus. The next two nights we will celebrate Semana Santa in its birthplace – Málaga.   (more…)

By Pat, ago