SPAIN, May 31- June 8

So, my clever husband presented a paper at the European Society of Pediatric Otolaryngologists this June; we decided to use the opportunity to backpack through Southern Spain. What BEAUTIFUL countryside, and what amazing colors! The country was so full of visual delights that, for the first time EVER, I filled up my memory card in my camera and had to start deleting before I could take more pictures! Below is just a SMALL sampling of the amazing things we saw:

BARCELONA: See this crazy cathedral? It was designed by a man named Gaudi. The word "gaudy" derives from his designs...


SEVILLE: See the box on the shoulders of the four men? Christopher Columbus is inside of it. The four men represent the four regions of Spain during Columbus' time.


The walls of the Alcazar, a fort and palace built in the Islamic style


The fabulous Seville Cathedral. The tallest tower is called the Giralda, and is the original Alohmed minaret (built in 1184) the Muslims used to call the population to prayer 5 times a day. When the Muslims built it, it was the tallest tower in the world. When the Christians conquered the region in the fifteenth century, they knocked down the mosque--keeping the tower--built their cathedral, and slapped a bell on top of the tower. The cathedral is one of the largest in the world.



The Placa Espana: I strongly suspect this building would have been Sandy's FAVORITE because of all the beautiful blue tile-work.




And just one of the beautiful garden courtyards that fill the streets of Seville:


CORDOBA:
The Moorish Mezquita was built in circa 700AD. After the Christian conquest, a Roman Catholic cathedral was built inside the mosque, wrapping around its beautiful pillars. When King Charles V saw the completed work, he told the workman they had destroyed something "unique" to create something "ordinary". My pictures are of the original Moorish structure. The cathedral--which would be quite pretty anywhere else--pales dramatically in comparison.








And back to SEVILLE...
... to tour the Alcazar, a palace built by Christian kings in the Islamic style, and decorated by Byzantine artists.







And the gardens of the Alcazar were unbelievable:


Then on to GRANADA,


to tour the Alhambra, the palace of the Muslim kings of Granada and their court.





The palace is composed of a fortress (built ontop of the ruins of a Roman fort), the palaces of the Nassarid (Muslim) kings, and palaces built by the later Christian kings (nowhere near as grand. I didn't bother taking pictures; everything you see is Muslim art).





So, really, WHY have not more people HEARD of this place? The pictures don't do justice. I've never seen anything like it...




Even the ceilings were amazing...





...and the gardens! I was mentally exhausted by the sheer size, grandeur, and beauty of the place.



With tummies full of paella and gazpacho, heads full of wonder, and eyes full of awe, we loaded up our packs


walked down to the bus station on very tired feet


to begin the long journey home, across the country that Ernest Hemingway so loved, to the airport(s), and then home for a rest with the poor neglected doggy..

and back to work the next day...