11/22/08 The Mesquita, la Caballo Rojo, the Jardin de Los Reyes Catolicas, the Roman Bridge, and the square of Cordoba

La es una dia estupenda! Una problema para me es las personas. Yo una mala chica con muchas personas y los grupos grandes.

This was one incredible day.

We ate in the hotel, got dressed, and headed down the windy-one way street (jumping into doorsteps when a car or van would squeeze through) to the Mesquita. On the way there we peeked into incredible courtyards that made me drool, and shop windows which were selling jewelry and other goods (like touristy stuff). Once in the main square we walked around the Mesquita, searching for the restaurant: El Caballo Rojo, in English this is The Red Horse. This restaurant is the oldest restaurant in Cordoba and happens to be one of the best. Even though Ahmee and Poppy had been there before, we could not find it the first time we went around the square. Instead of walking around the square a second time we decided we'd better go into the Mesquita.

Before we even went into the courtyard Ahmee told me what she knew about the Mesquita. The last time she and Poppy were there they were with a tour group and the head of the group, a man by the name of David Hershburg, had been Jewish and had often opted to take the group to see more Jewish Synagogue's than the Christian Cathedrals. In Cordoba he was for the oppressed people, the Muslims. An influential man had the Mosque built (Mesquita was originally a Mosque) to display the Muslim's power in the community.



This eventually became the largest Mosque in the Western World. Later after King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella pushed out all religions except for Catholicism they also ordered for Muslims (and other faiths) to either convert to Christianity or leave/be killed. Later King Henry X (I think) took it upon himself to Christianize buildings, despite the public outcry. He put into the Mesquita an alter and many chapels (this was what the book said and what I knew-the book turned out to be understating the "work" Henry X had done). Ahmee told me that David had thought the Mesquita had been ruined by these Christian modifications. I couldn't wait to go in to see what all they'd done (and to finally be in the picture that I love so much).

The courtyard was the "entryway" for the Mesquita. It was composed of fountains (the Moors-being desert people, loved the sound of trickling water), pebbles, Orange trees, Palm trees, and people. While Ahmee and Poppy grabbed the tickets and the audioguides I grabbed the camera and took pictures of the space. One of my favorite pictures was of the water system they had going. The orange trees were all lined up perfectly. Between each tree was a ditch (concrete/pebbled sides), and around each tree was a circle of dirt and then concrete. The water was directed down one of these ditches and the circles around the trees would fill up with water. It looked like a fountain when this happened and it reminded me of the bird bath I wanted Ahmee and Poppy to have.

I didn't have much time to take pictures before we were getting in line to go into the arch-filled space. It was amazing. The first step in was just like stepping into a picture (you know, of the one with all the columns and their red and white double arches and with the light filtering through). Once we stepped in though we came to see things that aren't normally put into the guide books as must-sees. The doors were decorated with Geometric patterns, their were arches in the distance that weren't the same, and the ceiling's varied from place to place (some places they'd be stone, while others would be painted wood).



Something that was surprising was just how Christianized the building had become. There was a section that was blocked off that I realized when I looked at the map was the nave of the Cathedral. The ceilings that were of stone and contained Christian symbols and icons. Some of the arches had been filled in to create chapels (although the audio guide did say that they'd gotten rid of some of these to display the Mosque's original Architecture). It was as if there was a competition amongst religions under one roof. The favorite of the competition was easy to see.

While the people of Cordoba have recently striven to make the Mosque look less Christianized, the guides and the tour groups did not. I saw more people taking pictures of the chapels than I did of the arches and the columns. I saw more guides going on and on about the stone ceiling that was just in front of the Cathedral, than guides who were explaining why there was a change in Moorish decoration around one doorway. I refuse to do that to you all. There was an area where a man would sit and read aloud the prayers, this room also showed the direction of Mecca. This room was what all the Muslims faced when they spread their mats out on the floor and commenced into prayer.

I was not enthusiastic about the Christian symbols, I was more interested in the Moorish influence and the Muslim religious importance. I'd seen enough chapels and gory paintings of martyred Saints. I'd seen enough of treasury rooms (which by the way were right next to the sacred area of the Muslims). I was slowly becoming very annoyed with those groups that simply passed by the deteriorating Muslim symbols. Their "alter" had beautiful paintings around it and wonderful sculptures above and killer decoration in the arches, but did the tourist groups hog the fence? Nope. They were more interested in the chapels, in the christian paintings, in what I call religious plunder (the treasury), and in the modifications the Christian Church gave to the building. It sickened me to see how the guides weren't giving this originally Muslim piece of architecture it's full history, or that the people simply did not care and went ahead and did their cross symbols anyway. I also thought that the Moorish form of architecture was ten times better than the Christian add ins. To be fair I realized that this was indeed a building that's now dominated by the Christian faith. Even though I was completely content to only look at the Moorish architecture and hear the history of the building, I knew I needed to at least check out something of the Christian faith. The audioguide's map went over a chapel that supposedly had stunning paintings on the walls, I went to check them out. The guard said something to me in mumbled Spanish and then said abruptly, "Closed." I grumpily walked out of the chapel to head over to the Cathedral, or the alter.

I went from filtered light and homey-ness to tons of light and spaciousness. I wasn't surprised when I saw all the frill and fluff and pomp. The only part I liked about the cathedral was the supportive purpose it served: to take some of the stress off of the courtyard (due to the columns and the 11 aisles the wall on the courtyard was getting a lot of pressure). This I learned from the audioguide.

When we walked back out into the courtyard I'd decided that I completely agreed with David. Ahmee and I also decided that in this instance it was almost like the Christians were trying to say, "We're better than you. Our faith is the higher one, look at all the splendor our beliefs have brought us while your faith has only brought you to exile. Look at our "superior" architecture. Look at how wealthy we are. Look at all our gilded symbols of faith." Ha! That makes a religious crusade sound downright childish, but I have to say that it irked me to see so much of that present in that building. Before we went on to find the Caballo Rojo I had to run back into the Mesquita to take pictures of my favorite things, and my least favorite things. I also made sure to take pictures of the courtyard, which managed to pull me out of a considerably bitchy mood (can love the building but have people put you in a foul mood), at least for a bit.

We left the Mesquita entrance, took a right to walk around the square again and voila! I spotted the Caballo Rojo tucked back in an alleyway. The alleyway was decorated with a sign, with tons of potted plants, and with the thin but lovely building at the back.

We were driven by food and moved fairly quickly in and up the stairs to our seats (following the waiter of course). From those seats we ordered Gazpacho (cold Spanish soup), and other wonderful goodies. Of course, I say other wonderful goodies because I no longer remember what Ahmee and Poppy got. I just remember what I ordered. I ordered rabbit in a wine sauce and then later a chocolate cake (more like a really really rich brownie). This was the first time I'd ever had rabbit and it was absolutely delicious. I didn't know if it was so much the meat or the sauce (probably the sauce because the sauce can make or break a meal, but then again nasty things can't be eaten-even with a good sauce) that made the rabbit killer, and I didn't really care. I was too busy peeling the meat off the bones to care.

While I devoured the rabbit legs I did think to myself, "You realize you're eating a fuzzy bunny and that someone would be appalled for you eating a pet?" I'd look at the meat and try to picture a rabbit, and I'd think about whether or not I could ever really give up meat (because this was just as good as a steak) for the sake of an animal. Half a second later I'd be back and forking more meat into my mouth. I think within 2 seconds I firmly asserted I'm not a vegetarian and that I've got a very slim chance of ever becoming one.

After eating our amazing almuerzo (oh oh! a Moorish influence: words that begin with 'al' are said to have come from the Moors) and paying quite a price for it we went back out into the sunshine to walk towards the Jardin de los Reyes Catolicas before it closed. We had one hour to look around this garden and we made sure to walk faster over to it. We got quite an incredible welcome into the Garden. Before we passed through the garden gates to view the beauty beyond we got absorbed into a family. Outside the gate was a crowd of well dressed people who were all waiting for someone to pass through the gate.

As I looked around I realized that it was a wedding. When the bride and groom came out of the tunnel, the groom cautious and anxiously looking at his relatives as he guarded the bride, the family threw rice at them as hard as they could, causing the groom to gather the bride in close as they got closer to their family. It was such a scene! The bride and groom laughed and shouted in amazement as the rice just kept coming while their family members laughed as the kids enjoyed their throwing abilities. There was a crowd of smiling faces around the newly wedded couple and it showed just how great a close family can be. At that moment everyone was happy for the couple, and the entire family was enjoying a moment of pure amusement (after the serious business of the wedding it's nice to have that).

We forgot about the garden for a few minutes as we became one with the family, laughing along with everyone else and being right in the seat of the action. Of course, after most of the rice was thrown we decided it was time we left the family alone and we scooted through the crowd (with some surprised faces seeing complete strangers coming from the center of the mass) to reach the wall and pass quickly and quietly through into the sunlight garden.

When we first entered we couldn't see the fountains that the garden is famous for (most photographs are of these), we could instead see a shaded garden that was similar to the one at Hostel Cardinal in Toledo. Lemon trees gave the shade while a few flowers were still catching the rays of light that were coming through. After the commotion of the wedding party it was soothing to be alone with a different form of beauty and we enjoyed walking around this a great deal. When we came into sight of the fountains however I soon found that there were several large groups there, many of them school groups. They didn't bother me then (note the diplomatic phrasing).

I was given free range with the camera and I adored it. Yet again the light was perfect and I found sooo many things in that garden gorgeous. The arrangements were well done, the beds well taken care of, and I found it fairly easy to find picturesque items to photograph. Something I thought would be really really cool to get was the way the light shone through the rivulets of water that were flying through the air to make a tunnel. In order to get this picture I wanted to get down right at the end of the rectangular pool, squat down in the center and take a picture where the water from the fountains would make an arbor over the sitting water in the pool and all the plants within.

I think I must've been just overly testy this day because I started to get annoyed with people when I stood there waiting to grab my picture for 10 minutes. Those groups of people had spread out and some people were posing in front of these pools for a picture, I'd wait for one group to go and I'd take several fast steps forward only to have another group jump in front of me. They were standing right where I wanted to squat and it wasn't like I could get it without shoving someone out of the way or tip toeing on the edge of the water. Eventually I got my picture and when I did I was significantly cheered up because it was just what I'd expected it to be. Not to mention I'd gotten what I wanted quickly and had gotten out of someone else's way (I didn't want to annoy someone else like those groups had annoyed me).



As I walked to catch up with Ahmee and Poppy, who were getting towards the back of the garden, I spotted a smaller planting that had many different colors in it. I thought it looked very lovely, and I wanted to try and get a picture of it, so I walked around to the other side to be in the shade, and moved about the garden to try and find a spot. When I heard someone catcalling I turned slightly and caught the sight of three high-school guys walking along the outer path, all three of them looking at me and shouting and whistling. I took a picture of the section that had all the color and I walked away and out of the middle of the garden and towards my grandparents.

I was very glad that the guys didn't follow or do anything beyond shouting, but I was also distinctly reminded of a few guys who I'd seen last year call out of a school window, "Yuv gotta purty mouth...." It's stupid, it's not attracting, and it does not make me feel pretty whatsoever. Some people would adore commanding the attention of strangers through their looks. I do not. It annoyed the snot out of me when those boys whistled, and what annoyed me even more is that I felt like I'd been rushed off to my grandparents before I could get the picture I wanted. Their shouting made me want to get away from the area (partially the self-preservation type-just in case, and partially due to the fact that I wasn't going to stand there and take it) and I moved away from the picture.

As I stood away with Ahmee, I grumbled and growled about the guys and about the "people" (say this with a sharp snap at the end and that's what you had with me). Later it was commented on that I'd gotten pretty bitchy. It's true, I was on the verge of anger, if not there. After that I was just about ready to take back what I'd said at Villandry about holding parties in a garden. All of a sudden I was angry with others, particularly large clusters of people. Ahmee knew I was talking about the other people in the garden though. She and Poppy are fun to walk through a garden with, shoot we can walk almost anywhere and have a good time (just so long as we aren't walking too much and we aren't dodging things). Now that I've calmed down I'll simply say I would have a party in a garden with only the people I respect and admire (therefore those boys wouldn't be invited).


Luckily the gardeners had a good sense of time and got the large groups out first (it was closing time), so we got to roam a bit more with less people (was great), and I got to get pictures without getting further annoyed. When we passed back out of the gate I was cooled off from the garden. We then walked back to the Mesquita Square to look at the horse-drawn carriages for a short moment and to then turn and walk to the Roman Bridge.

Ahmee disliked the bridge on sight. Later she said that it had been restored to the point where it took out all the mystery of it and all of the romantics. The bridge looked almost like a modern-day bridge. I say almost simply because I knew that it wasn't and therefore my previous knowledge stained the possibilities of me thinking it looked like a downright modern bridge (was kinda chunky to be a modern bridge anyway).

The great thing about this bridge was I got to get away from the people more. Ahmee, Poppy, and I did this by walking along one side and looking down at the ducks moving on the water and the current. We talked about which river we'd found the most polluted (one right next to Rome was by far), which ones we'd found the smallest, which ones we found were the largest, and then we talked about other things. As we walked I looked west at the old mills and saw that they were definitely not as well "preserved" as the bridge.

One in particular had been left to the pigeons. There was a coating of white (pigeons in Cordoba are white) on the top and along the walls which moved constantly and white reflected the light. The sun, the river, and the wings made it difficult to be certain however and I pointed it out to Ahmee and kept going.





On the way back I gave the musicians a 50 cent and leaned against the wall and pointed out with enthusiasm the pigeons that were taking flight, and the two blue heron's who were busy waiting for fish (or other food) to come through with the current. Both of these ended up moving as we got closer to the end and when we left the bridge they were gone.

After the bridge the streets had mostly cleared of both tourists and locals due to the hour. It was siesta time AND many of the sights had closed their doors. We walked back to the hotel and set up camp in the room. I wrote blogs and emails and Ahmee and Poppy wrote emails (Poppy also wrote in his journal) until dinner time. We then walked to the square and to the same restaurant we'd eaten at the night before. This time I grabbed something small, only Gazpacho for me. I've had bad luck with my belly recently and I wanted to ensure I didn't get too much-the good thing about too little is you can always get more whereas with too much it's hard to get rid of and when you're traveling it's a shame to waste money like that.

While I sipped on my soup I had the wonderful view of the square again. Since it was Friday night there were a lot of people dressing up to go out to the theater. They'd come and parade through the square (some of them were just plain lost) with their fur coats and fancy dresses and tuxedos. They looked really nice and it was interesting watching the reactions of the people closest to them. Since we were inside and watching through the glass it really felt as if we were watching from the outside and that this party (which we'd seen the night before) wasn't really happening.

It was like the busy lifestyle of the city had met up with the neighbor-loving friendliness (or rather clustering of friends) of the small town. The square had become the center of the town, and had become the center of the social life there. It was great to watch but I'm not entirely sure I'd want to go out and do that every night. It seemed like the mall or like the hallways at school in between class periods or just before school starts. Everyone is talking to other people and are busy walking around or doing something and everyone can see everyone else.

I'm not a big fan of it. Before school I've always either gone straight to my first period class to sit and get out of the commotion or I go somewhere else. The past year a few friends of mine have come with me to sit in the library where we kick back, we sit, we talk, and we relax without all of the people. Then again, I did watch the clusters of high-school people who took root on the benches. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad taking root in a cafe with your friends. It's not like everyone really knows everyone else and are into everyone else's business, they're just hanging out with the people they do know.

We walked back through the crowded streets to go back to the hotel where I pulled on my pj's and went to bed. That night I had some very very very strange dreams about Ahmee, Poppy, and I traveling through the Rocky Mountains till it got dark out and the only place around was a log cabin. We went up to the log cabin and knocked on the door to see if we could stay the night and four people came out. Dad picked up an electric chainsaw and started chasing Poppy with it while the Mom cheered him on (had hyper hillbilly accents by the way). Ahmee unplugged the cord, causing the Mom and the Dad to get really angry-as if Ahmee had forever wrecked their chainsaw. Then the two young boys spoke up (the part in between has become blurred so I have to apologize for the confusion). The oldest one brought out a bat and a ball and hit it and then he proudly said that he and his brother were experts at hitting baseballs and roasting softballs and that the softballs were gooooooood. When I told Ahmee and Poppy about that one they both laughed, I can't say I blame them.

11/21/08 We leave Toledo, we go to Consuegra to see Don Quijote de la Mancha's Windmills, we stop at El Patio for lunch, and we head into Cordoba

Don Quijote de la Mancha es una libro famoso en Espana y el Globo. En mi clase de espanol mi professora Senorita Stuart hable en el libro y el clase miremos el video. Es un favorito video para mi ahora porque yo viajo los "windmills" en Espana.

Before we left Toledo, Ahmee needed to check in on her Mosque so she could see what the interior looked like. It turned out to be a running church and we walked in on a very important mass (the speech seemed to be of utmost importance because the man commanded the attention of everyone in the church).

Ahmee became absorbed in the sermon while I looked around at the building. It was a barren church. Very little decoration, and very little sunlight. There were no windows. There were tons of candles. The brick was a lovely orangey-red color, the pillars were all aligned, and there was an arch to the ceiling (sadly I didn't get to look at the ceiling too much because I kept being distracted by the people). When we left Toledo I turned around in the backseat to take another look at the town. I liked being there, it was sad watching it go. I also didn't really want to look at the computer again. I didn't want to write. I wanted to look out the window. I didn't want to do anything but relax and enjoy the view. While on the road I wrote one blog and then we got to get out and walk around.


We went through Consuegra where I put the computer away and watched as we made our way up to the castle and to Don Quijote's windmills. For those of you who haven't watched the silly film or read the book, Don Quixote De La Mancha was an elderly gentleman who was in love with knights in shining armor and stories thereof. He convinced himself of several things: that he was a knight and thus needed to embark on a quest, that he needed to conquer evil and save the good, and that magicians and giants existed and were his enemies to battle. For those who didn't see the things he did he claimed that an evil wizard had cast a spell on them. Some things that Don Quijote saw were: an inn was a castle, windmills were giants swinging sticks, and the chain-gang was a group of unfortunate peasants being driven by a terrible lord. Obviously, he caused quite a stir. Well at the top of the hill there sat many windmills and a castle. These were the windmills that Don Quijote fought (I think that that story is fiction). These were his giants.

Of course after we parked Ahmee grabbed the one and only stick she could find (tiny weed-twig that was thinner than my pinkie finger) to use as a sword so we could all battle the "Giants" like Don Quijote did. I went first and I went all out (except for the sound effects). I raced up the rocks, and ran at the windmill (which isn't working by the way so there was no danger of me doing the same thing as Don Quijote and getting lifted up by a corner). Once I reached the windmill I had a really good time swinging at the panel. I never touched the stick to it though, it would've broken. Poppy had some issues taking pictures of this (he said I needed to hold still). I was just having a good time battling the windmill, tehe.

Next it was Ahmee's turn to battle the windmill. Ahmee held still for Poppy and simply stuck the stick through the panel and posed (she was holding her sword like some wizards in Harry Potter hold their wands).

Then Poppy got his picture taken with the windmill. He however didn't battle it at all or stab it. He stuck his head through the gap (to Ahmee's horror).

After this we walked from one windmill to the next, wondering who owned them and wondering how many horses we'd need if we wanted to changed the windmill. Our goal was to go check out the castle (which they were busy renovating). For a bit I walked from rock to rock, trying to imagine being a mountain climber and picking my way along a rough path. I quickly stopped after I twisted my right ankle again (remember in Amboise I twisted it). I went down and walked with Ahmee and Poppy shortly after that.

Inside the castle we got to roam practically where ever we wanted. Many rooms had been remodeled and looked very nice, while other sections didn't have their roof or their steps stopped halfway up. We explored the remodeled section and climbed up the tower and crossed over to walk around on the top patio. The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking. We could see the mountains, the valley with the tiny sliver of a rio running through it, the "desert", and the town. We also could see the pidgeons. As I watched I could've sworn I saw a male pidgeon (awfully showy and pushed another pidgeon around) drive another male pidgeon away from his pick of a mate. In animal science class Mr. Schneider talked about how birds mate: "It's just a mass of fluttering wings. Ya can't really see much of anything." Shortly after the male pidgeon was driven off he and his mate got into this mass of wings. I never pointed the scene out to Ahmee and Poppy, I just chuckled when the birds just about toppled off the wall.

We went down stairs and realized from the many pictures that the castle was used for it's fiesta, or it's community celebration. Men of all ages get dressed up as knights and reinact life as it would've been in the medieval ages. Well, I don't know about that. If men shot arrows off the top of castles without reason to (all shooting up too I might add), and clanged really really dull swords together just for the fun of it, then yep it's just like it. I didn't see any women in those pictures. Shame there weren't any women who could participate in the shooting match. I know I would've enjoyed it (just so long as I can pull back the arrow). I also know that I would've enjoyed sword-fighting. I know I would've lost though. Why? Well there were swords and spears on display as we were heading out. The swords were really heavy. I could lift it and pose with it, but I don't think I would've had much control over it if I wanted to sword-fight. I just don't have the arm power for it.

We walked down the ramp (me running when I saw a ton of bird-poop) and went out the main gate and then left Consuegra.

To my slight disappointment it didn't take us long to get back on the highway. I looked out the window for a short period (10 minutes) and then I opened the laptop and typed a bit more. It wasn't long before I had to put the laptop up because we soon found a place to eat. It was a hotel called El Patio, and it was a classic example of the phrase "Never judge a book by it's cover". I mean this in a very very good way. The outside was nice enough, it was white and clean but it looked very small to hold a restaurant, a hotel, and a bar. I thought that the restaurant would be very small. I was wrong. The restaurant filled up 2 rooms AND the courtyard. It also had incredible food (just don't ask me what I got).

After filling ourselves up we got back on the road where I looked at the computer, it looked at me, and my eyes said, "Nope not going to do that just now!" Shortly after that I was asleep.

Later I woke up from moving a lot and having my stomach grumble. I opened my eyes and looked out the window to see a green slope. We were going through a windy mountain pass where there were plenty of pine trees and other green plants. I adored looking at these as we got closer and closer to Cordoba. Of course, shortly after we left the mountain pass we arrived at Cordoba where Ahmee and Poppy both exclaimed, "Whoa it's gotten so much bigger in 23 years!" Something they greatly appreciated was the well-paved roads. After driving around on these for 20 minutes chasing after one sign and then the next we all slowly came to dread the large streets. We ended up getting lost when we pulled off into a smaller one-way street.

I know the reason why we ended up lost. My notion was that the hotel we were looking for was in the central square (just across from the main entrance), the Hotel Mesquita. Apparently the hotel we were looking for was not in the center of town, it was in the square that was along the Mesquita. It would seem like that would just make sense to have that hotel right next to the Mesquita, but I didn't know the name of the hotel I just thought that it was in the center square. So, when we were driving around looking for signs I'd point out centro signs, while Ahmee would point out the Mesquita signs (to the confusion of both Poppy and me).

We didn't end up in an awful situation though. Yet again we had a stroke of luck. As we drove through the thin, winding, one-way street we all started to get incredible nervous. We breathed a sigh of relief when we saw the Hotel Selu, a three star hotel that had a parking garage in the basement. This hotel had a room for us, had internet (had to pay but that's ok), AND was situated in just the right place. It wasn't right next to the main streets, meaning we weren't going to hear horns or loud music in the middle of the night (problem for Ahmee and Poppy, not for me), AND this hotel was within walking distance of everything we wanted to see and more. The main things we wanted to see in Cordoba were: the Mesquita, the Roman Bridge, and la Jardin de Los Reyes Catolicas. Our plan was to go up and see a lovely section of town, called the Plaza de Capuchinos. The lady at the desk said it was absolutely gorgeous and that we needed to see it. Well we walked up there and we walked around. We did not see the absolutely gorgeous section, but we did have a wonderful walk and we did like the apartments and the sneek peeks we'd get of Cordobas courtyards which contained ceramic tiles, Orange trees, flowers in pots, and/or pebbles arranged in concrete.

On the way back we stopped in Plaza Tendillas to grab a bite to eat and to sit out and watch the people. The restaurant we chose was expensive (and the food wasn't that great). I got something small, a tomato and lettuce salad while Ahmee and Poppy grabbed Guspacho and something else. The food wasn't the best, I was slightly nervous about schoolwork (and kicking myself for not doing much in the car), and towards the end of the meal the breeze was getting to me. The thing that made this meal amazing was the square. EVERYONE was out and talking to each other and hanging out. We saw Momma's pushing strollers and herding their young ones around (as they played with other kids). We saw elderly women with canes walking together arm in arm. We saw high schoolers laughing and lounging on the benches. We saw wanna-be gangsters driving by in their coches with the music turned up full blast. Everyone was out walking around, shopping, hanging out with friends, or just relaxing. It was the place to be at 6 o' clock at night. We loved it.

I did walk fast back to the hotel though, because I had good reason to. I was cold and I'd finally acquired the drive to do work.

Once back I completed a study guide, wrote a bit, and then went to sleep.

11/20/08 I finish the work, we walk around Toledo, and we eat in the restaurant again

Para cinco dias yo trabajo para mi escuela. Ahora yo quiero mirar la ciudad y caminar en la ciudad. La ciudad es no tranquil, pero yo es tranquil en la ciudad de Toledo muchas tiempos.

The next morning I did exactly what I'd planned on doing, I worked. I got my schoolwork done before noon and in to Mr. Owens before 7:30 his time. After this I was ready to breath a sigh of relief and actually wind down, but then I realized that I hadn't written a blog in a long time. The computer and I started a staring contest, I defeated it by saying it was brunch time and leaving the room.

We went and ate a late breakfast in the restaurant and then we headed out to Toledo where Ahmee and I had conversations in Spanish all along the way. Our objective was to see the shops, to see a cathedral (Santo Tome) where El Greco had another famous painting, and to see a museum of more famous Greco paintings (Museo de Santa Cruz). On the way to the cathedral we stopped in a postoffice to send work to my teachers, and then we stopped in a restaurant for almuerzo (lunch).

During lunch Ahmee and I spoke mostly spanish, and Ahmee got a compliment from Gabriela, our waitress who'd been living in Spain for 3 years and had been living in Toledo for 2 months (and who was from Argentina). Gabriela was incredibly nice and she and Ahmee enjoyed talking to each other each time she came up (I was quite and listened and actually understood a fair bit of what she was saying). Once we were done with lunch Gabriela gave me her email address on the back of the receipt saying to write as soon as possible (I wrote that night in an email that was half English and half Spanish).

We then went on, following the signs to Santo Tome only to run into a dead end (not really, there were two streets to pick from and these were back alleys and neither one of these had a sign pointing to Santo Tome). We finally asked where the cathedral was and worked our way to it within a short period of time. We got there when all of the tour groups were flooding through the doors. It took a bit before we could even get our tickets.














Once we'd acquired these we turned to our right to see a huge painting done by El Greco that was of a heaven and Earth scene. The clouds were stunning, the people were pale but you could definitely tell the difference between the living and the dead in the painting, and there was so much grey and blue. We went up to the railing and stared at it for a short bit. Funnily enough as we stood there and English tour group came up behind us. The tour guide was just within earshot so we got to listen in and get a freebee explanation of the painting. It was great!

After the group went in we followed, only to find that the group was only going to be left to wander. We looked around at this mostly modest church. The decoration was kept to a minimum (at the alter), the walls were painted a lovely shade of yellow, and the statues were incredibly lifelike and well done. We didn't stay long in the cathedral, even though this was probably one of the nicer cathedrals we'd been in.










We walked back through the streets to the Capilla Mayor where we then turned back on the main road to walk amongst the shops. We readmired the armor shops (which were everywhere), the christmas shops (where Ahmee seriously thought about getting a tiny decoration for her Christmas tree that cost oodles), and the shops that sold the metalic plates that had the Moorish designs on them (intricate, geometric shapes that I haven't seen anywhere else). Once back to the main square we went across the street, down through an arch, and to the Museo where we didn't have to pay a thing to go see paintings of christian symbols and Saints.

There was a room dedicated to El Greco and in this room the guard spoke enough English to tell us why El Greco would blur certain things and why the Saints each had something with them. For St. Peter there were keys (he guards the gates of heaven), for another Saint there was a wooden staff to show he was a pilgram and to show how he died (beating), and for another Saint there was a book. He told us that El Greco only focused on details for the important things, like the face and the objects, everything else wasn't done with the same precision.

We thanked the guard and walked back through the rooms of paintings of the martyrdom of saints (we've seen so many of these gory paintings already that we weren't interested). We then went upstairs to see the tiles and ceramicas. It was fun to look at these because Ahmee and I like them. I had a really good time finding the animals that the artist had obviously never seen before in his life (deer and squirrels were really strange while for some reason the camels, the lions, and the elephants looked pretty close).

The most beautiful parts of the museum were the courtyard and the staircase leading to the upstairs. The courtyard had orange trees in it and had a few scant flowers, but in the sunset light it looked spectacular, while the staircase was the showcase of Moorish art (I like the geometrical shapes).

We walked back up to the main road and headed down to the hotel using a different route so we could check and see if an old church (don't know the name) was open. Sadly enough it wasn't and we had to go back to the room empty handed. Once in the room I looked at the computer which whispered, "You have blogs to write...." Then I looked at my sketchbook and my bed and they said, "You've been working like a mad person for 5 days straight, why don't you take a rest and draw what you've been dying to draw for ages?" I think everyone knows which one I went with.

I grabbed my sketchbook and my pencil and plopped down on my bed. When asked if I needed to blog I said, "Yep, but we're traveling tomorrow and I'm ready for a break from work." I then proceeded to draw plans for Ahmee and Poppy's garden, something that I'd been dying to do ever since I'd left Villandry. I separated their garden into two sections, the section closer to the house was the "American Garden" that had curves and lush plants-all of which were shady plants, and then I put (on the other side of a hedge and "creepy Italian trees") the "European Garden" of straight lines and geometric patterns. What was difficult was the European Garden. Not only does that section have most of the sun, but it also has straight lines. Those are two things that I'm not used to working with.

Most of my gardens have been shade gardens and have had all curves. Another difficulty I had was in making the garden to scale. In order to plan out a garden I normally spend hours surveying the land and memorizing what's where so I can get a good, practical idea of what can be done. I haven't done this with Ahmee and Poppy's garden, ever, but their garden seemed to be a place that's just built for a European Garden. Our garden would be difficult to arrange into boxes since we've already created a sea of curve in our yard and the only way to divide it would be to plant a hedge, something that I think wouldn't work as well in our square yard.

Ahmee and Poppy have a long, thin rectangle for a yard. It's perfect for it. I tried to finish the garden up as much as I could before dinner because I wanted to share it with Ahmee and Poppy (drawing is what comes before the garden, Momma and I always share our dreams and schemes before we do any digging because we both have good ideas). I didn't get done and I didn't get permission to take my sketchpad with me to dinner. I had to wait to share the garden with Ahmee and Poppy until later.

Dinner was much smaller for me this time, the night before I'd ordered too much for me to eat (I couldn't eat it all). Towards the beginning of the meal I could hardly contain myself from sharing details about Ahmee and Poppy's garden. I did tell them that they could keep their plants, just move them around. What I couldn't wait to tell them about was the change in birdbath, the change in size and the change in structure of the back area. Slowly I was able to get out of that though when we started talking.

I believe it was at some point during that meal that Ahmee shared with me the feeling that she felt I didn't like to be touched at all, that Em was a more of a cuddle-bug and that I flinched away when people put their arm around me or touched me. I didn't have anything to say to this, because I had to think about it. I have to say that it's true. I stopped cuddling with my Momma at an early age. As I sat there thinking about Ahmee's comment I realized that there were only a few people I really was ok with touching me, and I mean A VERY VERY FEW people. It took me a short bit to get used to Iain's arm around me, but I came to like it very quickly. I can take touch only from a few people and everyone else I really do shy away from and go to great lengths to keep away from. When someone taps me on the shoulder I jump and it's not because I didn't know they were there, it's cuz they touched me. To this day I don't know why that is.

After having dinner I told Ahmee and Poppy all about their garden and they asked questions. I told them that the divide of the curvy, shady section would be a large hedge with "creepy Italian trees" (Cyprus trees), the plant arrangements that I knew worked very well for shade gardens, the changes I'd have with regards to the boxwoods (remember this is just a sketch), and Ahmee and Poppy's new and improved bird bath (which I'll tell more about because they took a great deal of interest in my wanting a different birdbath). Beyond the hedge and the cyprus trees I'd have the straight-laced European garden. This I didn't get to draw much of (because that's a new territory) but I did my best to explain what I wanted. I wanted to put in the geometrical patterns and I wanted to keep the flowers that Ahmee and Poppy already had (several different types of lillies and many roses). I had two box gardens next to the "entryway" and around their vegetable garden I planned three different box gardens. I still have to figure out what I'm going to use as the hedge, and what I'm going to put in to fill up my geometrical figures (interlaced arches are simple and pretty). I never did finish the very back of the yard, which I know will be difficult because it's shady and I still want to continue the classical European garden (many of which aren't shady).

Now I'll tell about why I want a different bird bath for Ahmee and Poppy. Ahmee and Poppy have a tall, thin, small birdbath (it's the classic type of birdbath). When I told Ahmee and Poppy that I wanted to give them a bigger one (not deeper, just a greater radius) they asked what was wrong with their bird bath, and why it needed to by moved. I told them that while they could see the birds splashing and rinsing themselves off, they didn't get the benefit of the reflection that appears in the water and they also didn't get to see the birds too clearly. Now that I think about it the birdbath was too close to the house (tis alright because it's just a sketch). I told them they needed one that's larger, and lower to the ground so that when they're sitting in their chairs on their backporch they could have the reflection of the water (our birdbath is a large circle that rests directly on the ground and I love what it does with the tree leaves and the sunlight). I drew them a picture of the birdbath. It needs to be a large circle with rocks holding it up. When I say rocks I mean zen rocks, and large zen rocks at that.

Oh man, now that I've written about the garden I want to go plan some more. Dang it.

After I shared my drawings (to a very enthusiastic Ahmee and Poppy who told me to not get rid of my sketch) I got my pj's on and climbed into bed. It took me a while to fall asleep since I kept planning.

11/19/08 Toledo, I make a mad dash to complete my assignments, and we visit a cathedral (to see El Greco paintings) and walk around town

Me gusta mucho la ciudad de Toledo. Es bonita y pequeno y es facil para touristos caminar en la ciudad porque menos coches es en los calles. Mi abuelo dice en espanol con mi practicar nosotros espanol.

The next morning we ate a small breakfast downstairs, got ready, and then got back on the highway to head towards Toledo. Toledo is one of those hill towns. This one is famous for it's Moorish background (the Moors were used to living in the deserts so this area was normal), for it's exquisite carvings, for it's El Greco paintings, for it's sword-making (best swords were said to be from Toledo), and for it's windy streets. We had a good time maneuvering our way to a hotel.

The hotel we were originally looking for was a lost cause. We ended up going around the city to it's other side where we found the Hostel Cardinal , a 3 star place that was within the old city walls and that had parking just along the main road. When we walked in we were in awe with the garden (had lots of shrubbery and fountains and orange trees), in love with the outside (a person could walk along the old city wall from the hotel-this wall was serving as the hotel's outer edge for it's courtyard garden), and the interior. The man behind the desk spoke with us mostly in Spanish until I asked him if they had wireless internet (in spanish) and he gave me an answer that was too fast and too foreign for me to understand to which I nervously said, "What? Que?" At that point he realized we weren't spanish, we were English. He told me it was a prepaid card and that we could put it on the room. He also showed us the room.

The walls were an orange color, the doors were thick and had a "plaid" overcoat (wooden beams going vertical and horizontal), the light was just right (cozy but bright enough to read from), the beds had good covers on them, the bathroom had pretty tiles and a big, wide bathtub, and it had a desk where I could set up camp (which is what I did). After we checked in and moved our things in I asked Ahmee what she'd planned on doing. She started talking about things to see and I said, "Nope. I have two study guides and two tests to take, I'm going to be busy working." I then got to go get the internet card.

I spazzed out when I got my email up and saw that I didn't have the study guides or the tests yet. I was angry and stressed beyond comparison and Ahmee and Poppy knew it in the way I sat and the way I typed (Ahmee fusses at me for pounding on the keyboard-particularly the delete button). I wrote two emails to Mr. Owens asking for the work, and I wrote an email to my Momma. It wasn't until after I'd sat there waiting for 15 minutes that I realized that they weren't even at work yet and wouldn't get the emails for a bit. I sighed and released all of my tension by talking to Ahmee and Poppy. Then we went and ate lunch in the restaurant next door.

Here we ate an incredible lunch and Ahmee and I spent 80% of the meal talking in Spanish. It felt great knowing that I could talk to Ahmee in Spanish and we could actually hold a conversation (and one that we were thoroughly enjoying-we kept laughing at different things). Poor Poppy had no idea what we were saying, he just knew we were having a really good time talking to each other. After he voiced the opinion that he was afraid we were making fun and that people within the restaurant were taking offense we toned down the conversation. We weren't as loud, we didn't break into Spanish as often, we ate our food (me with some difficulty because my stomach was going haywire again), and we talked to Poppy more (partly arguing how we weren't poking fun at all, in fact we probably sounded like three year olds).

After lunch we went back to the room where I hopped on the internet, grabbed my study guides, and "hit the ground running". I stayed in that room until about 5 o' clock that afternoon, working on my study guide.

At five we went into Toledo. We walked through the main gate, down the street (which had several interesting shops), up the hill where we had a wonderful view of the valley, through more gates that had arches that had an obvious middle-eastern influence, around the main square up and around and through backroads, all the way to the cathedral where we walked all the way around looking for the entrance. The exterior of the cathedral was... in poor condition. Those entrances that were barred off had wonderful carvings and stonework, but the ground was normally covered in pidgeon poop. To try and keep the birds away they set up nets on some of the more fragile entrances. It was sickening seeing dead pigeons trapped in the net. I stopped looking at these and relied on Ahmee and Poppy to tell me when we'd found the way in.

The one entrance we could pass into was partially hidden down an alley, but we found it (Ahmee and Poppy did). After paying to get in we walked down the ramp and into the section that was well done.

The walls around the alter were painted with white and the stones had a "liner" of gold trim and black. The piece behind the alter was a flurry of gold and color and lace trimming. The alter itself was blocked by a gate that I'm sure is meant to symbolize the gates of heaven. This gate was all done up in gold and was just... well, looked like that gate that you see in the movie All Dogs Go To Heaven (never did watch that movie much, it made me sad). Really everything in that cathedral was just well preserved. This cathedral had tons of magnificant paintings, had many side-chapels, had a super-ornate choir, and had multiple side-rooms of things. One side room to the back contained the churches "necessary" riches such as: golden crowns that seemed more ornate than Queen Elizabeth's (these were for the statues of Mary), pope staffs (at least 8-10 in one case), playground sets of a terrace (how this is associated with the church I have no idea), and other finery. In another side room there were the more famous paintings of saints.

The most impressive were done by El Greco. This man lived back in the day when fine detail was the key to a "good" painting. He used more gray and blues that other painters and his style of painting was more like the impressionists than other painters I've seen from that era. The people in the paintings were so pale that they seemed ill to me but other than that I thought that they were very well done. I was surprised that his paintings had been liked back in the day, it was different from what other people were painting. Obviously they liked them though, otherwise they wouldn't have passed the test of time.

Yet another room was a chapel where King Ferdinand and a woman (we don't think it's Queen Isabella, it didn't have her sign) were kneeling and praying to God (these were in opposite walls). While in this cathedral I slowly realized that for the past couple cathedrals I was really getting tired of how the church exploited their money by dolling up their buildings "in Gods name and in honor of God". If it's a virtue to be pious and is encouraged by these people to not be weighed down by worldly goods (because the gate into heaven is small and you can only take your faith) then why do they surround themselves with worldly riches and plunder? Not only that, add into it the fact that these churches took the money from other people, or in other words "Killed an Inca or a Mayan to snatch their gold" (this'd be Ahmee).

I've said before that I like the architecture of the space, but I find it utterly disturbing to find the gild and the over-abundance of wealth because it shows a system that I disagree with (snatch the money from conquered lands, snatch it from the people, surround ourselves with it, and then preach to the people how to be good and how to live). Make sense to you?

As we walked around the cathedral I noticed a huge group of people. When we got closer I realized it was a huge school group of guys. When we were looking around at the painting of El Greco, I asked Ahmee if it was common all over Europe to have segregated schools (separation of sexes in this instance). She said that that happened everywhere. In the U.S. it might not happen very often, but for a looooong time universities were made solely for men, women weren't allowed in (this I already knew) and that's why schools like Agnes Scott popped up, to educate the women. Ahmee said that the benefit of having separate schools for the sexes was that it kept people from being distracted (guys act stupid around girls and show off and girls don't do the whole submissiveness crap or fake stupidity to get attention).

When we got outside I wanted to continue the conversation. I told Ahmee that I thought that segregated schools weren't going to solve the problem, in fact it created one. Even if those kids who're in separate schools meet up at dances and social events or after school, it's not going to prepare them properly. If they're kept separated all of their academic lives so as to "help them focus" on their work, what are they going to do when they get into work? It's not like work places are segregated, you have to learn how to talk and work with the opposite sex and work around societies silly pretexts (like how girls need to be submissive or stupid-NOT). Ahmee said that that was definitely true, that they wouldn't be separate in the work place. She and I then talked about that pretext that society has about how guys need to be macho and strong while girls need to be, well, submissive.

It might sound like a feminist conversation, but really it just displayed one of my flaws in getting a guy (Iain and I talked about this too), that I'm intimidating. With regards to questions, I don't hesitate to ask them when in the classroom, and I'm not afraid to give my answers (even when going over something like poetry). Why? Well in the classes where I do know the work well I enjoy explaining how I came to a certain conclusion (do this in math and science and I really like it when I can help someone else "get it") while other times I do it to check and see if I'm right or if I'm on the right track. I know that sometimes people are just shy and don't want to put themselves out there, but then I also know that there are some really intelligent girls in school who don't speak up or ask questions and who actually have deliberately taken on an uneducated look.

Some people might not answer questions because they don't care about school, because they're nervous about speaking up, OR because they don't want to be too smart. During the conversation Ahmee talked about how guys get intimidated by girls who answer questions, by girls who're too smart, because they feel like they've got to be on top. Guys need to be taller than the girl, guys need to be smarter than the girl, and guys need to be stronger than the girl is basically what I got out of it. Guys and girls have the same mental capacity except for in one area (I'm not sure about this one area-mathematic equations I think is what it was). Biologically, guys do tend to be stronger, and the whole taller thing is something that movies and hollywood pushes out. It's the masculine thing, something that I've never been very good at understanding.

While talking to Ahmee I realized one of my flaws with society. I'm smart. People either feel inferior or they feel like it's competition, two things that normally don't lead to relationships. Unfortunately when I'm in school I tune in on the work. When I'm not working I'll talk to a few people that I feel comfortable being goofy with, but beyond that I don't really share too much. So pretty much my classmates see a frigid brainiac who is an oddball. No wonder people were surprised when they saw me perform for showchoir. In the classroom I'm not much of a spotlight person.

We walked through the streets of Toledo (me with the map and leading because Ahmee and Poppy were arguing tons about which direction to go and I asked if I could lead). All we had to do was follow the main road that was directly in front of the church. It was easy enough to tell which way to go without the map. All the shops were open this way, and all the people were walking here. It was the well-paved road that tourists were supposed to follow. We followed it (never turning) and gazed into the shop windows as we worked our way back to the main square where we went back down the way we came to the main gate and back to the hotel.

Once in the room I got back to work and completed my study guide. The study guide was finished, but I looked pretty disreputable for dinner. I had 30 minutes to get ready so I put on my black pants (which I was surprised to find had gotten tighter) my shiny, blue shirt, earrings (which weren't gold and I knew my ears were going to kill me for it, but they were so pretty), and I put on a bit of mascara and lip gloss. Ahmee put on her white shirt, her black pants, her red lipstick, her eyeliner (I offered to do it for her since she was almost doing it blind but she didn't need it), her mascara, and something else but I can't remember it. She and I walked arm-in-arm down to the restaurant (me trying to look like I walked in heels all the time, I don't know if I succeeded or not) to wait for Poppy who was doing his finishing touches. When he came down he was wearing his blue sweater and his lapeled shirt with his khakis.

We all looked pretty spiffy sitting there, talking in Spanish and English, and sipping our drinks (me water). Course Ahmee laughed when I showed her the tiny belly I'd acquired (which was being accentuated due to my tight pants pushing a bit of the fat up) and how I was quite proud of it. I've got a pretty strong metabolism, and when I'm in school I'm dancing in show choir 2-3 times a week (varying hours). I've been eating more than normal and I haven't been dancing (which really is an incredible thing to do), so I shouldn't have been surprised to gain a bit of weight. Made me delighted though, which is a surprising effect for anyone.

Moving beyond my stomach, we had an excellent meal and talked plenty in the restaurant. It was a nice break from the work I'd been doing for hours.

Once back to the room I jumped on the computer and finished a test. I realized that if I got up early in the morning then I'd be able to complete the study guide and the test for the next chapter and get those in before Mr. Owens got to school. I decided I'd do that instead of staying up till the awful hours of the night (and completely ruining my grade by working in a daze).

I washed my face, changed into my loose pj's (over-sized tee-shirts and pj bottoms rock), and then went and typed to people before going to bed.

11/18/08 We move away from Barcelona, I read two chapters and admire the countryside, and we struggle to find a hotel, and we visit La Capilla Mayor

La idioma espanol es una idioma normalmente hablen en la area. Es buena para mi porque yo practico mi espanol, pero no buena para los personas compreder que yo digo. La idioma de la area es una differente espanol y muchas personas no compreden que yo digo.

This morning was a somewhat sad morning. We were moving away from Barcelona. I didn't want to move away from Barcelona. I'd spent so much time getting work done that I'd missed out on a city that I knew I really really really really liked, if not downright loved, but we did want to go to Toledo and to other places before we went to our reserved hotel (on 22nd), so I was able to pack my things up fairly quickly and get ready fast enough. Before we left we went in search of a post office, a newspaper, for some black thread for Ahmee, and for a bit of lunch. We found the newspaper and got lunch, but nothing past that. Then we got on the road and headed towards Toledo.

I knew that getting out of Barcelona was going to be difficult, I'd seen the spaghetti from the double-decker. Maybe it's just that I really really really didn't want to leave and felt like I had to tear myself away. Maybe I was looking for an excuse to stay. Any way you look at it, I made sure to spend my last moments in Barcelona, looking around at Barcelona. Even when we got out of the city and were on the highway I looked at the monster factories (pipes everywhere!), at the mountains, and at the smudged sky over Barcelona (smog dot). As I sat there looking out the window I thought about all the things I'd seen and how I really didn't even feel like writing anything. I only felt like doing two things: reading AP US History, and looking out the window. I did the later for most of the day while I spent maybe two hours on the former. I knew there were two chapters that I needed to complete the study guide and the tests over for AP US History (these needed to be turned in by Wed.) so I did what I could and read the chapters.


When I looked out the window I watched as the view turned from one of mountains with a few trees, to hills with no trees and a few bushes, to hills with olive trees, to land covered by farm acreage that'd been plowed, and finally to plains of a few olive tree farms but mostly dry, tilled dirt. The color of the soil changed too. It went from rocky and gray-white (mountains) to being bright orange (plowed fields). When I saw these fields of dirt I again wondered if the farmers knew what happened when the wind blew, if they knew what happened to create the dust bowl in the Western United States, or if they knew anything about the dust bowl at all. These fields made me nervous because they were filled with finely plowed dirt that could've easily been lifted off by the wind, if one had decided to start blowing through. Until the wind comes in though I don't think the farmers have anything to worry about (other than the sun baking their soil). Once the sun started to hit it's slide down the sky mode we started to search for a hotel.

It was nerve wracking to pull off the highway twice, following signs of hotels, to come up empty handed and to have the locals tell you there is no hotel in the area. By the time we reached our third exit we were more than a bit nervous about where we were going to sleep. We were more than happy when we saw that these signs were true to their word. There was indeed a hotel, and there was an AutoGrill, beyond that there was nothing else.


We were happy to find a place to sleep, but I was still nervous about finding WiFi because I was almost certain that this hotel wouldn't have it. I turned out to be right. The hotel didn't have it (it didn't work for my computer even though the guy behind the desk tried several things to get it to work), and the AutoGrill didn't have it. I got to sweat about how the next day I was going to have to complete two study guides and two tests within one afternoon in order to get things turned in to Mr. Owens before Wed. morning (so he can get the grade in and turn in my grades).

We did enjoy the truck stop hotel though. We got to eat dinner in the restaurant, I got to work on blogging, and during dinner and afterwards Ahmee and I had a good time watching Spanish tv where all we could understand was one word for every 5-10-15 words. I found it more fun really to watch the truckers watch tv when we were busy eating dinner. All of the men had grabbed their own table, all of them had gotten the seat facing the tv, and all of them were incredibly amusing to watch. There were some who were able to actually eat and watch at the same time. These were the ones who were forking in their plate fairly fast. Then there were others who could not.

They'd cut up their meat during the commercial and when the show came back on the fork was posed halfway to the mouth with the mouth ajar as if it was waiting for it. I laughed while understanding that I do about the same thing (and not just with tv's). I get to talking and my food doesn't get eaten until it's warm/cold. I've been fussed at a few times for this and this time I got told to eat (had to say it louder because the tv was on and I was absorbed into a show where I didn't even know what they were saying).

When we went upstairs we tried to find BBC World News or CNN (these are our two favorite channels). They didn't have either one of these. So we watched a Spanish soap opera until we all were about to fall asleep, then the tv got clicked off and we all crawled under our covers. I slept soundly in this bed, where the mattress was as hard as a rock and my pillow was perfect (in Barcelona my bed was squishy).

11/17/08 My pick turns out to be incredible

Yo no se que escribir para la dia. El edificio nosotros viajamos para la dia es una edificio grande y es similar las edificios de Senor Gaudi. Un otro cosa para la dia: muchas personas en Barcelona hablemos ingles. Es mala para mi porque necesito practicar mi espanol.

After breakfast and cleaning ourselves up properly we went to the Palau de la Musica Catalana (A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was built in 1908 by Domènech i Montaner), the thing that I'd picked as a place to visit while in the car on the way to Barcelona. Before I tell you what the guidebook says about this place I have to write the trip over to the Palau. Basically we walked down the street that's parallel to Las Ramblas, and walked through more streets that contained shops that made me drool.



When we reached the Palau though I have to say I didn't immediately see the beauty of the place. We walked up to a brick building with a large glass encasement on one side, went into the corner-room to purchase tickets for a guided tour in English, and then we walked back out to walk around to the front. Before we did this Ahmee pointed out the building WITHIN the glass encasement. The outside had tons of color without being the circus, tons of curves without being a Gaudi, and tons of lace without belonging in a church. We walked around to the front, past a brick wall that contained another really cool "sculpture" in it (some bricks were moved out so that a picture was shown to those who looked closer), and went across the street to gawk at the facade of the building. Sooo many different things were used! The pillars on the second level each had a mosaic and each mosaic was different, there was a statue of a gorgeous woman with several men and children behind her (this was on the corner of the building), the balusters were made of green glass, and there was just sooo much color and curvature on the outside that I just immediately loved it. As we were standing there gawking with our mouths open a woman walked up to us and asked almost timidly, "Excuse me.... Do you know where to get in?" I failed at directions and let Ahmee tell her where to go. We saw her again when we went inside to the cafe.


Now I've come to the daunting task of describing the interior of this building. There is no way I could adequately describe the interior. I adored too much of it. It wasn't too ornate, it wasn't dark, it had lots of color, and it had architectural elements that I enjoy (like the vaulted ceiling, or like the fantastic light fixtures, or like the layout of the cafe, etc.).

We waited in the cafe, drinking water as we waited for our guide to show up. As we waited we looked around at the room and at our fellow tourists. In the middle of the room was the four-sided bar, this was where people went up to grab a bite to eat and a bit to drink. Behind me was the wall of windows, and to my left was the waiting area of most of the group. On the wall above the people were these blue pipes that stuck out like a sore thumb. Ahmee and I had a good time guessing what they were for, both of us thinking that it might be the AC (Ahmee suggested they had fans that blew over ice way back when, I disagreed because this sounded costly), and both of us coming up with other ideas (such as it was an organ that you could play and it would go throughout the entire building with it's blasts).

We stopped talking after a bit to people watch and watch for our tour guide. I spotted her standing with another man. She looked at the people on the opposite wall (she'd just come in through the main entrance) and talked to the man for a bit before heading their way saying, "Guided tour in English this way please!" She got out tickets and started very swiftly.

Some of the main things I learned while on that tour include: that the Palau de la Musica Catalana was started by a singing group of men and (for the first time) women in the 18th-19th century, that this group started out singing on the streets and they eventually managed to raise enough money to purchase a plot of land next to a church and hire an architect to build them a grand auditorium. this group still owns the Palau, they still hold concerts (have one basically for every day of the year-and each one is different, can have rock, pop, country, classical, any kind of music there), that when the founder of the group was alive (the director) he lived in an apartment above the auditorium so he could hear when someone was singing off pitch and he could hear when an instrument was out of tune and get things... fixed, that during WWII the Palau had to be closed numerous times due to the fact that the Palau and the music played there displayed the patriotism of the people to Catalana and to Spain, that the auditorium could seat 2,428-or so- people, that the Palau had gone through slight modifications (some of the things were taken away because it was "too much", and one corner got added in after the Palau bought the church next door and had it demolished), that the AC had been installed later and within the Auditorium it came from under the seats of the top row, that the stage size could be altered, and the significance of the things we were seeing.

The most impressive room of all was (of course) the Auditorium which had multiple levels and was built (of course) to carry sound all throughout the room. The ceiling is a feature that I've known for a long time requires particular needs in order to carry sound. I've known for a long time that a slant is required so sound can move (but not echo). The ceiling in here however had multiple vaults that ran down the length (these were splendidly painted) which also helped carry the sound. Something that they'd recently put in (as in maybe 10 years ago) were the chairs which had a plastic backing that helped to absorb the sound rather than reflect it (like the old wooden chairs did). Something else the wooden chairs did was they made a terrible squeaking noise every time someone moved, so I guess it was a relief to have those switched out.




Something insanely beautiful was in the middle of the ceiling, and this was the stained glass window of a sun that was three dimensional (I think) in how the middle of the sun went down as if it were a chandelier (this window weighs a ton, literally). Something insanely beautiful to the front was the decoration of the stage. The walls surrounding it had women musicians where their upper bodies were done in sculpture while everything else was done in mosaic, resulting in women who appear to be coming off the walls to aid in music making. The two pillars to the ceiling (don't know what to call them-they aren't exactly pillars) that were on each side of the stage were carved to display the two most loved styles of music at the time of the buildings erection: one was for Classical and the other was for Catalan music.


Even though I was told that most of the concerts were held in the modern auditorium, I couldn't help but imagine singing in there and what an honor it would be. Imagining the people coming out all dressed up to sit in this glitzy room and listen to me sing would be incredible. Thing is, I know I'd get nervous beyond belief because you've got so much to compete with there. In order for the people to enjoy the actual music it had better be good or else they'll be busy looking around the room the whole time.

When we left the Palau we got to take another look at the singing muse with the director in the background and the children's choir singing over her shoulder (this was the woman we saw on the square) and then we went and got postcards and walked back to the room where I worked some more. That afternoon I finished up the work due for that weekend and sent it in before we went off to dinner at the Cafeteria.

Once back I sent emails, packed a few of my things, and fell asleep (again didn't sleep too well).