San Sperate, Sardinia

 Sometimes when you travel you run across something which just blows your sox off.  Some things which spring to my mind are:  Volcano Park, Hilo, Hawaii; Icebergs floating by, Twillingate, Newfoundland; Miniature famous buildings, Nova Scotia; Colosseum, Rome, Italy.  There are bunches of others, some of which are small such as the old Aquarena Springs in Texas, to the buried Cadillacs in West Texas, to the Cabinetry Museum in New Braunfels.  It's totally delightful when one pops up unexpectedly.

For some reason, I got up at dawn the day of this excursion, and that early rising resulted in what I think is one of my best photos of the trip.  Here is sunrise coming into the port on the island of Sardinia

We took the excursion to San Sperate, Sardinia to see the frescos painted on the village walls.  The village, which has become the home of various artists because of this fresco project, wanted life depicted in the village from 1890 to 2022.  The spearhead artist developed a new artistry using the native rocks.

Fresco on the wall of the village of Sciola and his daughter

His full name is Punuccio Sciola, and he discovered when you cut open different types of rocks, you can make them sing.  I managed to record his daughter who now runs the "Open Air Museum" making a rock sing.  Here's a picture of some of the museum contents

Different varieties of rocks have different tones.  The way they are cut will open up different tones.  To find the tone, you take a hand held rock and drag it across the rock face with the cuts.  Some rocks are cut completely through leaving bands of rock.

These two pictures are of the same rock - you can see daylight through it.  I don't know if the algae affects the tonal quality of the rock.

As we left the museum - no gift shop which I thought was the height of stupidity -, we gathered at a local cafe for a luncheon snack.  Coincidentally (sure), there was a fresco artist who claimed to have painted most of the 'important frescos' in the village.  His wife was also there rolling her eyes, and snorting at him.  

Fresco Artist

I thought he was pretty interesting to talk to.  His age made him a contemporary of Sciola, and the fresco outside the cafe was one he painted.

His wife, Marcella 

 

  

Fresco painted by the artist we met in the cafe

The most prominent fresco upon entering the village is the one which tells the village history.  Here it is:

Village Life

The upper part of the fresco shows current village life.  The bottom of the fresco, particularly the bottom right shows the village is built upon its antiquities emphasizing its longevity in this very spot.  

I loved San Sperate, but San Sperate did not love me.  I managed to get tourista (ecoli infection in your gut) which took me out of commission for two days.  I was so mad after I finally started feeling better.  Got acquainted with the ship's doctor.  He saw me twice, and I finally got everything back under control after 36 hours and some medication.  I kicked myself because I thought about getting anti-diarrhea meds from my doctor before I left, but  I let it slip through the cracks.  Never again!  

I did get some great pictures of this town, the frescos and the singing stones.  Here are the pix

San Sperate, Sardinia

Finally, people think there are great sunsets at sea.  That happens rarely.  Usually, the sun just drops below the horizon and it's like turning out a light.  However, upon leaving Saradinia, there was the rare sunset picture.  Here it is:

Mallorca Island

 

Coming into Mallorca, Balearic Islands 

I got off on the wrong foot with Mallorca from the get go.  We were over an hour late into port.  I couldn't see the ONE place I wanted to see - the magnificent gothic cathedral which was constructed between 1230 and 1601. It dominates everything else.  I was furious to discover the Catholics closed this landmark at 3:15 in the afternoon.  The Ponant boat arrived at 2:30.  (Later, I found out that one of the uber wealthy couples onboard got a 'private' tour of the cathedral.  I was green with jealousy.)

Mallorca is another one of those places which has been inhabited since pre-historic times.  There are even cave paintings similar to the ones found in France.  The Romans arrived in 123 BCE.  In the 5th century, the Vandals kicked out the Romans.  In the 6th century it became part of the Byzantine Empire.  In the 8th century it fell to the Arabs (Moors).  The Moors were driven out in 1229 by James I of Aragon.  At his death, The Balearic Islands briefly became  independent, but were quickly gobbled up by Spain.  In 1983 the Balearic Islands became an autonomous province of Spain.

Today you can see all the various architectures as you drive around town including some of the narrowest streets dating back to the Medieval era. 

Narrow Medieval Street in Mallorca, Spain 

Since we were only in Mallorca for the afternoon, standing around pissed off wasn't getting us anywhere.  We strolled over to a horse drawn carriage and decided to let someone else do the walking (the horse).  It turned out to be a genius decision.  We saw lots of the 'old town' and enjoyed the relaxing overview such as the  narrow street above.  The horse even managed to go down one this street!

Turning into this street in the horse drawn carriage

Our overall impression of Palma (the port city) is that it's where very wealthy people dock their expensive yachts and live in their expensive houses or apartments for a few weeks a year.  The town was also filled with multiple streets of high end shopping, and trendy restaurants.  We got the feeling the 'caretaker' business was probably a thriving industry.

The vegetation of this island was semi tropical since the climate is described as 'benign'.  There were beautiful trees, flowers and shrubs everywhere.  Plus, there was a central canal with park land on each side which ran for blocks and blocks in the center of town.  The center of town was liberally sprinkled with pieces of sculpture.  

Crossing one of the many bridges over the 'canal'.

This struck me as a tourist destination for people who own boats.  There wasn't just one marina, there were several.  There were more gigantic yachts parked here than I've ever seen in one clump.  Not surprising since the harbor is 10 miles long.  The only real industry here is agriculture.  Once you leave Palma, life is pretty rural.  Tourism is the other major industry and tourism has spawned a thriving artistic community.  The cathedral hovers over everything.

Mallorca has fewer pictures than I usually take, but here they are.  Click on the blue writing to see the pictures.

Mallorca, Spain

  

Cartagena, Spain (500 Namesakes Around the World)

Cartagena was prized for its harbor.  It is one of the best in the Mediterranean Sea, and has been utilized as a military installation and a trade port through the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Moors, and the Spaniards.  In the past 25 years, the port has been revitalized and is attracting the tourist trade these days including cruise ships much bigger than the Ponant boat we arrived on.  

There's plenty to see and do.  There's an amazing Roman Amphitheater which has been excavated as an archeological site which can not only be visited and seen, but climbed all over.  It was interesting to see how the seats show what class of Romans sat where.  I read someplace the other day that the 'pecking order' we all deal with in human herds started over 10,000 years ago.  Social order and social climbing is way older than we'd like to believe.  

The gray tower is the elevator getting us to the top of the hill

At the top of the hill was a beautiful park.  It was on one of the hills that surround the harbor.  We were able to look down on the amphitheater as well as peek in on the gladiator area uncovered underneath the city's bull ring.  It's still being excavated.  

Stage to the right, seats to the left

This was a performance theater in Roman times.  In the picture above, it's easy to see how it functioned.  There was also a 'cover' over the stage held up by Ionic columns of marble.  The cover is long gone, but some of the columns remain.  There are plenty of pictures in the link below.

We hiked around the park for awhile, heading to the top which gave a 360 degree view of the city below including the Roman amphitheater we just toured.

Cartagena is also the home of the Spanish Navy.  There's a Memorial to the bravery of the Spanish who died in the Spanish/American war in the late 1890s.  Spain lost all its remaining territories in the 'new world' as well as the Pilipino Islands in that war.  Today, there's still debate as to how it actually started.  "Remember the Maine" was the initial rallying cry for war in the United States although the sinking of the battleship Maine has never been conclusively proven to originate with the Spanish.      

There are bronze statues honoring the soldier and sailors who fought in the war
around the sides of the monument

Cartagena is built around a series of plazas like you find in the Americas wherever the Spanish first conquered.  It's an attractive city which has fairly successfully redirected its graffiti artists to be adjunct decorations fresco style to the great Roman ruins of the city.  This one is across from the Roman Amphitheater.

 

When you're in a port for a day, you barely smell the icing.  At least I got a T-shirt!

The best part are the pictures.  Hopefully, you'll enjoy a set pix w/o formal paintings.

Cartagena, Spain

Welcome to Malaga, Spain

Centro Malaga, Spain

The bullet train from Madrid to Malaga was delightful.  I would always take a train when offered.  Time to get rail service with 200 mile per hour trains in the USA.  Can you imagine 2 hours between Dallas/Houston without the hassle of an airport?  

Malaga is a beach town.  San Diego crossed with Acapulco.  This coastal town has a laid back feeling you only find in Mexico.  It had delicious seafood, interesting buildings and a gorgeous Basilica.  The place to stay is in the Centro area.  This is the tourist area of restaurants, shops, the cathedral, and the Picasso Museum.  We stayed at Emily Suites which I highly recommend. Rudolfo and Emily are the owners of this delightful place which opens right onto the main plaza.  At the same time, the bedrooms are quiet, cool, with nice bathrooms and a nice common area with kitchen.  Plus, there's an elevator!   

Interior Courtyard of Picasso Museum

Malaga is also the birth place of Pablo Picasso.  This is a delightful museum of his personal pictures and sculptures.  It's run by members of his family.  The museum is also extremely popular.  It's easy to buy tickets, but you will have to line up to get in since they restrict the number of people inside the museum.  It was still pretty crowded.  I suggest you arrive well before noon.  You will still stand in line, but at least it won't be in the direct sun which was already hot in March.   And, yes, I took pictures.  Everyone is shocked, I know!  The museum covers Picasso's work from the beginning to the end of his career.  This artist was so prolific.  He worked from boyhood until the day he died.

The other major attraction in Malaga is their cathedral.  Building it was started in 1528 and completed in 1782.  There are several artistic styles beginning with gothic, continuing with the Renaissance, the Baroque and the Neo Classical.  It was utterly magnificent.  This is one of the two remaining Baroque Organs.  Everything with the exception of the bellows is original.  As with many Catholic Churches, it was extensively decorated with paintings, sculpture, carved wood, marble, and lots of stained glass.  It closely resembled other cathedrals I've seen in Europe, particularly the ones who took more than 150 years to build.  

Malaga is a beach town.  We didn't see the beach since we were only there for a day and a half.  This is where we got on the Ponant cruise ship.

As always, pix, pix, pix.

Malaga, Spain - Picasso Museum

Malaga - Basilica

Museums of Madrid

 The Prado Museum is the jewel of the art museums in Madrid. I was somewhat disappointed in this museum because while there were some fabulous paintings, it was all about Spanish artists.  I really expected something closer to the Met or the Louvre which are more broad spectrum of world art.    

That said…..  The presentation of the El Greco painting, and the Reubens paintings were unforgettable.  El Greco’s painting of "The Crucifixion" was haunting.  I also liked "The Annunciation".  [Since I took that Renaissance to Present Art History class, I've become obsessed with paintings of the annunciation which is when the angel reveals to the Virgin Mary that she is pregnant.]     Ruebens Three Graces was my fav of the chubby.  They also had a Caravaggio.  Usually, the pictures would tell it all.  However, The Prado Museum doesn't allow pictures, so you'll just have to take my word.  

"Guernica" by Pablo Picasso

Moving on to the Reina Sofia, the modern art museum, I truly enjoyed it more than The Prado.  First, and foremost, it holds "Guernica".  This is Picasso’s acknowledged masterpiece about the Spanish Civil War in the 1930’s.  Franco, a Fascist, seized power in Spain precipitating the Spanish Civil War in the mid 1930's.  Franco tested out Hitler’s new weapons and war strategies, taking three years to destroy the legitimate government.  Franco stayed in power as a dictator for decades.  

Picasso bequeathed Guernica to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC with the provision that when an elected democratic government was restored in Spain, "Guernica" would return to Spain.  It was obvious by the crowds of school children how this painting is regarded as a Spanish treasure.  Happily, Dali and Kandinsky were also represented. As an adjunct to Guernica there were photographs from the Spanish Civil War.  Flamenco was also celebrated here.  As always, the pix tell it all. 

Barron Thyssen

My favorite Madrid art museum was The Thyssen.  Think Frick or Morgan or Bass (Ft Worth).  This was a magnificent private collection with art from Medieval times to Modern/Contemporary paintings.  Surprisingly, artists from all over the world are represented. There were quite a few American painters including Western artists - Russell, Remington, and Bierstadt.  As a happy happenstance, there was a special exhibition from the art museum in Venice which displayed some real treasures. 

Madrid also has a Royal Palace.  It had all the gorgeous frescos, furniture, paintings and knickknacks along with a gilded chapel.  The King of Spain actually lives there.  The priceless items were a chamber set of Stradivarius instruments - two violins, one viola, and a cello.  It was the most  impressive palace I’ve ever seen.  [There's a separate blog entry for the Palace.]

The historical center of Madrid is filled with gardens, fountains, and beautiful  buildings.  We only spent a small amount of time in this city.  It deserves a return visit. 

Pictures galore with this blog entry. 

Reina Sofia Museum 

Thyssen Collection

Hello the Ship

The Ponant Ship docked at Cartagena, Spain

The Ponant company did not make a good early impression.  Their processes and procedures were lacking.  No one official was collecting the luggage at the dock to transfer to the ship!  Since most of their customers were collected at the airport in Malaga, we were the small minority boarding the ship on our own.  Then, when they finally located the luggage on the dock, someone misplaced the key to the luggage scanning machine.  It was like a keystone cop adventure to get our luggage.

They also insisted I hadn’t filled out all the ‘forms’.  When I showed my paperwork completed on their website, they shrugged and shoved a form in my face. Well….  we all know I don’t suffer fools gladly, and just because they were French didn’t deter me.  I was cutting and not shy about using some of my best (non profane) words.  The poor crew guy had obviously never experienced such a blast of displeasure about the vaunted Ponant cruise line.  

I realized the next day I had taken out my displeasure and anxiety on the poor guy, so I apologized sincerely to him.  I’ve tried to be super nice to all the crew since showing my ass on the embarkation because I know how hard they work and how long they are away from home.  Some of the crew, especially those on the bottom rungs of service, are away from home (usually the Philippines) for months at a time.  At least on THIS ship, I didn't feel they were overworked like they seemed to be on ships with more people aboard.

The boat is beautiful.  Windows are sparkling clean.  Elevators arrive instantly.  You never have to wait for anything.  Our balcony cabin is huge.  The food is magnificent.  At the last luncheon, they had a whole roast suckling pig!  I couldn't eat any although it looked delicious, because I felt sorry for the pig.  I can only eat meat when I can't see the face.)   The 'complimentary' alcohol is extremely drinkable.  You never wait to get on and off the boat.  That’s what you get when there are only 180 people competing for the services.  

This ship is small enough to get into some smaller ports.  That became very apparent when we were able to cruise the Corinth Canal.  (More about that later.)  The Captain and all his officers are around all the time.  Sometimes, I wanted to ask, "Who's driving the boat?"  Unfortunately, I became acquainted with the ship's doctor in the middle of the night.  I got tourista (that's usually an ecoli infection).  It took me about 36 hours to stop throwing up and having diarrhea sometimes simultaneously!  I finally got well.  At that point, several members of the crew were inquiring about me, and the bartender sent me (unsolicited) a special tea he concocted using ginger and lemon.  I did miss a couple of excursions - one of which I was really upset about - the trip to Olympia.  We will have to use Drake's pictures instead of mine.  

Of course, I took a million, zillion pictures during the entire trip.  Here's an overview of the trip:  Fredericksburg to NYC; weekend in NYC; fly to Madrid for three days; bullet train to Malaga (Spanish seacoast town); got on the Ponant ship; 11 days cruising the Mediterranean; Athens for three days; fly to London; six days in London; fly back to NYC; train back to Fredericksburg.

The Spanish Royal Palace

Spanish Royal Cathedral - across the courtyard from the Palace (above)

Spanish Royal Palace 
(to the right)

Crest of Spain

The Spanish Royal Family

I’ve seen many royal palaces, stately homes, and castles, but none can hold a candle to the Spanish Royal Palace which is still the home of the royal family. This place is a collection of art, objects, phenomenal decorations, and a chandelier collection second to none. We joked today that keeping them all clean would’ve been like painting the Golden Gate Bridge; once you finished, you get to start all over again.  The Royal Palace directly faces the Royal Cathedral.  It’s a face off between the earthly secular king  and the spiritual leader of Spain. This is a wildly popular tourist attraction.  It was crowded with tours but still enjoyable.  

We are discovering the ‘senior rates are a drastic savings in the admission prices.  However,  you must present documentation that you’re OLD to get the reduced ticket.  

As with all these types of attractions, the pictures say it all.  Be prepared for splendor.  Especially notice the Stradivarius collection.  It's the only complete collection of two violins, a viola, and a cello.  These are considered priceless.

Spanish Royal Palace