Another Great Vacation

It has been a long time but I am still alive and kicking.  I recently got back from two weeks in Spain and Portugal that I spent with two friends from Portland.  I had been to coastal Spain in the mid 70's and to Barcelona just after the Olympics in the 90's and I am here to tell you that tourism has increased a bit. There are so many people everywhere, it is a little daunting.  My first reaction when I got there was that everything was so clean.  I was just looking around in awe and my friend said "But Portland looks like this".  I guess I had forgotten what a clean city can look like. Oh well, in a few months I will be able to experience it first hand again -- that and hot showers and baths.

I flew round trip to Barcelona on a Gambia Bird airlines airbus.  It was a very nice flight and a nice airplane. The flight from Madrid to Lisbon was a little different as you can tell from the picture below.  There is no cockpit door.  Shortly after I took this picture the pilot turned around and gave me a thumbs up with a quizzical expression on his face. I gave him a thumbs up and he nodded and turned around and proceeded to move the plane into the taxiway. 

But I get ahead of myself since Lisbon was the last stop. The first stop was Barcelona which was beautiful with lovely weather. We saw many sights on the hop on, hop off tourist buses which make getting around pretty easy.  When I was in Barcelona before (in 1993) my hotel was across from a Gaudi designed apartment building with balconies that look like skulls.  Lit up at night it is quite spooky looking but impressive and just like I remembered.

Another of the sights that we saw was the Barcelona bull ring or should I say that we thought we were going to see it.  When we got inside we discovered that it had been turned into a shopping mall with lots of restaurants. Barcelona is over the whole killing the bull thing.

One thing they are not over is making art from trash.  Here are two examples.  The skull below is made entirely from crushed cans.

This lizard is made entirely of old CDs.  It looks amazing when the sun is setting and it turns to rainbow hews.

The art of bull fighting is still alive and well in Madrid.  We took a tour and found that the shady seats get the premium and that the bulls are taken to butchers who sell the meat.  There are many interesting things in their museum.  I took many nice pictures, but the one I like the best is this out of focus picture of the mother of a bull.  The bull killed the most famous matador of all time. The bull itself was killed in the ring, but they went to to farm and killed the mother of the bull too. Her head is on display in the museum. (I know it is out of focus but the story tickled me)

We were in Spain during holy week.  On Palm Sunday we were in a white village in the hillsides near the ocean.  They had a little church in the village and they were doing it up in big style but on a charming level.  I saw Roman centurions on horseback, a whole slew of saints, Jesus riding a donkey, children dressed in a variety of costumes, people with olive branches and of course people with palm fronds.

We went to the Alhambra which I had seen back in the 70's but we took a guided tour this time rather than going from a guide book..  There was a lot more to see that we missed in my first vista.  On our way back from there we took a side trip to Rondo which is in the low mountains (some of them still had snow).  This was a charming town after the big city atmosphere.  It still had tourists but it had a different feel.  It is built on the top of a chasm and I do mean a chasm. The amazing thing was that you would not realize it was there until you are on the bridge over the chasm.  Tres cool.

After that charming start of Holy Week we were onto Madrid.  Let's just say that they take it to a different level. The Holy Week processions are now a major tourist attraction The penitents walk through the streets in long white robes, carrying candles, sliver googaws or wooden crosses.  They wear hoods reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan but theirs predate the Klan by many, many years.  They have been doing these processions for centuries. Some choose to make the trek barefoot or in stocking feet to show extra penitence. Unfortunately it has lost its power because it also includes children penitents dressed in the same outfits being walked by Madre, Padre or both. I have a feeling that children have not always been part of the penitents. I saw a baby in asleep in a stroller who was dressed in the penitent’s robes.

You'll notice that the men with the crosses wear the points down on their hoods. There were also two richly ornamented floats, on in gold with Jesus and a silver float with Mary.  These were carried by the real penitents (imho).  They carry the floats on their shoulders and backs but the only part you can see of them is from their legs down. They are fairly large and must weigh a good deal.  I did not see any children carrying the floats.  It is quite the spectacle but mobbed with people and tourists (I know, I know, I, myself, was one).  I much preferred the Palm Sunday version in the white village. So, if you are ever in Spain during holy week, check out the smaller towns for a more down home feel.

From there it was onto Lisbon. My Mom and Dad had gone to Portugal in the early 60's and they loved it.  I don't know if they would recognize now, it is filled with tourists, including passengers from cruises who dock for the day. However, It is another beautiful city with good food and wine and sights to see. I think I more than made up for my lack of wine in The Gambia on this trip. My first day in Lisbon I got to do something that I have wanted to do for many years.  When the Segway riders were introduced I saw Diane Sawyer and Charile Gibson on Good Morning America ride them around with the inventor. Since then, I have always been jealous when I have seen one and wanted to try it out.  I hear that they do Segway tours in PDX now but I left before that started.  So I bought a 15 minute jaunt for 11 Euros. Below you see the proof. Woohoo! I don't think PDX has quite the background scenery that my picture has.

I saw street performers in many places and took their pictures, but this guy was my favorite.  He always had a crowd watching him.  If you look, he is about 6 inches off the ground.  I took a movie of him doing his routine but I think the picture is pretty impressive.

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It was a great two weeks.  I certainly saw many more things than this and went to lots of museums (which I like).  I also indulged in hot baths and showers and slept under heavy comforters every night. The food was fabulous and scenery amazing but I wanted to put in sights that you might not see if you go these places (OK maybe you would see a couple of them, but I know you don't want to see the 100's of pictures that I did take).