Travel with JoY

Sevilla Spain, sunny sub-tropical Flamenco dancing, singing, guitar, the Alcazar Students, gardens, the Guadaliver Flamenco dancer in Sevilla, Spain We've been putting in many miles more by foot, getting lost in the old Santa Cruz barrio, where the streets are so narrow, no car or even motorscooter is able.  Parking is in little basement garages since space is at such a premium. The cathedrals and government architecture dominate. This was and still is the home and palace of the King and Queen of Spain. It was the city from which Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand sent Columbus on his excursions.  It is the city in which the riches of the new world returned, silver and gold and more. And it's warm!  Although a taxi driver told us it'd get colder again tomorrow. Last night we had a great dinner at the Altamira Restaurant in the old Santa Cruz Barrio: roast leg of lamb with vegetables and a good tempranillo.  The waiter scrunched up his nose when we didn't wa...

“…there is nothing worse in this world than being blind in Granada”, so the saying goes. Today we spent the afternoon, a very cold afternoon, at Granada Spain’s Alahambra. We wondered what all the fuss was about.  We were not disappointed.  The craftsmanship, architecture, Arab design elements were so impressive and it is only part of what it once was.  Most of the polychrome finishes have faded but the carved stucco walls and ceilings were fabulous.  The large formal gardens, Generalife, were some of the most ambitious gardens we’ve ever seen.  Pansy, ranunculus, decorative kale, carved myrtle shrubs and sculpted rows of arbor vitae. We put in another eight miles today up and down stairs and along cloistered colonnades. Arbor Vitae esplanade Yesterday was a long drive from Altea on the east coast to Granada.  It was a high altitude drive, reminiscent of the Colorado Rockies.  We saw a bit of snow, pink almond trees in bloom against a deep g...

The Orchestra Hall at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, designed by Calatrava and Canela We ( I should admit, I) decided to rent a car in Barcelona for the remainder of the trip, although Yata is driving.  Oh boy, those round-abouts take some getting used to as well as the lack of signage when in the town centers.  Yikes.  We could not find our apartment and had to park and have our landlord come and find us.  Turns out this is not uncommon.  Our apartment was in the old city and thus the streets are way too narrow for parking much less two way traffic and all the streets run at angles and curves so it is a true maze.  But we got there. The next morning we ventured out to find the Fine Art Museum where the painting of Joaquim Sorolla Bastide are hanging in a new salon dedicated to his work.  This is specifically why we went to Valencia.  We found the exhibit but were disappointed by the fact that it was mostly his portrait work w...

We’ve been in Barcelona (BCN) for two days now.   Since we live near the top attraction here, the Sagrada Familia, we visited that on the 26 th .   Sagrada Familia is the most spectacular cathedral we’ve ever seen; designed by the architect Antonio Gaudi, famous for his modernistic style in which he used many of the themes of nature in his design. For example, the main columns in the cathedral are essentially tree trunks in structure with a single pillar that branches out as it approaches the ceiling.   He’s also incorporated the design of palm leaves, seedpods, honeycomb, coral, and more in his designs. The cathedral is in its third century of construction   (begun in the late 1800’s) and continues with completely private and anonymous funds (mostly entry fees).   There was much construction in evidence.   We searched after that for a restaurant that we thought we had the address for, but to no avail.   We eventually settled for Bacab a tr...

We are in our apartment in Barcelona, the wifi works, yeah! We're starving so we are going to explore the offering in the neighborhood. Tibetan sounds interesting, although I have no idea what that consists of. We made really good connections getting here.  The Lufthansa flight from Newark to Frankfurt was nice.  They treated us in economy with some of the first class amenities.  Since the plane was half empty we had four seats to stretch out and lay down in.  Slept a bit. So we made seven transfers not counting the airport terminal shuttles from the time we left our home until this apartment. It's interesting to see the contrast between the German 'sensibility' vs the Spanish 'sentimiento'.  Spanish definitely more layed back but things are not as clean and well run either.  For example. Trying to buy a train pass at the airport for the city, the automatic machine wouldn't take a debit card, then it wouldn't take the credit card, then it wouldn...

Today's the day, can you tell we're excited?  Looking at the beautiful snowy landscape this morning, it looks so cozy and calming.  Browsing the internet for lodging in Valencia this morning, it also beautiful, bustling, ancient and stimulating.  Valencia is the city that Joaquim Sorrolla was from and their museum has opened a new Salon of his work.  If you need to reach us while in Spain, please email us at jaccola9@gmail.com.

We've been reading lots of blogs on Chowhound.com about all the great food, especially in Barcelona. Now it's about time to start packing.  I  am actually  planning on checking a bag so I won't have to pack as light as we usually do, a little carryon with a small backpack (for the tenor uke) or a duffelbag.  I'm going to a have real roller bag!! We went out and spent over $50 on Randy yesterday.  Must be pet owner guilt?  No actually we just know how much he likes warmth and since we'll keep the house cooler and he won't be sleeping with us, we got him a bed warmer.  His very own.