Pat

Retired. Have time for the things I love: travel, my cat, reading, good food, travel, genealogy, walking, and of course travel.

España – Gabrielle and Pat Wrapping It Up

Nazarenos with capirotes pointing to Heaven

Nazarenos with capirotes

Beginning 35,000 BC, Celtic, Phoenician, and Romans landed in their turn, by fifth century A.D. Vandals arrived from North Germany, Visigoths from Eastern Europe, and then the Moors out of Northern Africa. A millennium ago local kingdoms arose with El Cid, and by 1469 Isabel and Fernando, the Catholic Kings, ran out the last Moors, reestablish Christianity and established the Inquisition the same year they dispatched Christopher Columbus westward. Isabel’s grandson was the Habsburg Carlos I/Carlos V who became the Holy Roman Emperor in 1519. The Crown passed from the Austrian Habsburgs to the French Bourbons in 1700. Napoleon invaded in 1808. Thus began 167 years of Civil Wars to drive out either the French, the Bourbon monarchy, the Habsburg monarchy, the Carlist, the separatist, the church. In 1936 all Hell broke loose with the Mother of all Civil Wars. Enter the meddling and manipulations of the Falangists, Communists, Nazis, and extreme Nationalist. Enter and exit The Caudillo, Franco.

Today, Franco’s hagiographers are gone, there remain strong separatist feelings, Catholicism is strong, Spain is still struggling to compete economically in the EU world, but its culture is rich. Having travelled two weeks and 1850 miles through provinces of Madrid, Andalusia, Valencian, Catalonia, Aragón, and Castile y León, there is much to love about España.

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By Pat, ago

El Escorial España con Gabrielle

3 April 2016

Our “driver” brought Little Polo around and points us in the right direction to exit Segovia. We almost drove to the hotel but those sharp turns, driving left to get right, one ways, and narrow streets that look like an alley waiting to rip a mirror off, cause the bravest driver to just park the damn car, walk to the hotel and get a driver to maneuver the maze and park the car. Leaving town seems so much more direct. We are off in light rain and drive the short distance into the Sierra de Guadarrama to The Valley of the Fallen.  (more…)

By Pat, ago

Segovia España con Gabrielle

2 April 2016

Plaza Mayor, Segovia

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…)

By Pat, ago

Zaragoza España con Gabrielle

31 March – 1 April 2016

Osborne Bull

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 Pat, ago

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