ART dream

MADRID, CORDOBA

From Segovia we journeyed onto Avila, its narrow alleyways and longest continuous stone wall in Europe. Many protruding balconies and no cars.

After a short drive we arrived to a huge city lined with avenues of trees and wide walking paths. And lots of  bustling traffic, mainly one way. After wondering around the Santa Ana Plaza we found our apartment in one of the prettiest surrounded by an buildings array of painted tile work depicting scenes of major Spanish towns.

What a location in the middle of one way streets and plazas. And traffic! At siesta time people are either eating or resting out of the sun. Exciting things happening another protest. This time all the way around the plaza whistles shouting banner

waving. So many food places offering so much.

We did the whole art thing in Madrid. The Prado with the full assault of Masters. Fra Angelico with his vibrant colours illuminated with gold radiated from the composition bought tears to my eyes it was so beautiful. Namely the Annunciation and the Virgin of the Pomegranate. Next fav is Hieronymus Bosch Garden of Earthly Delight repositioned so you can view the triptych more fully.  And the table of the Seven Deadly Sins. Either Bosch was tripping of something most probably Ergot poisoning from infected wheat, which bought on hallucinations to most of the population. Vibrant colours and spectacular detail. Other artists we viewed were Titan, Durer, Velazquez, Goya, Raphael, Memling, Brueghal, El Greco, and Caravaggio to name a few.

Prado is a must see as is the collection of Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza the art ranges from The C13 to C20. An eclectic mass of works.

Walked all over Madrid viewing the Cathedral and parks.  Location in Santa Ana Plaza perfect.

We stayed in Madrid for a few days before moving onto Cordoba. More one way streets and alleys. Cordoba the home of the Mesquita, a perfect example of the marriage or utilization  by various conquering cultures and religions to use buildings and materials from their predecessors, adapting them to their own style. The red and white arches of the Moors, surrounding the central altarpiece of the Catholic church emphasis the contrast in their cultures. Outside in the orange filled courtyard are fountains where the Moors  washed before entering. The Minaret has been added to several times over the centuries. Another enticing aspect of Cordoba was the wafts of caramelizing sugar, almonds and pinenuts.

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Wine and more architecture

Logrono, Soria and the Rioja

After viewing the magnificent architecture of the Guggenheim we set off for Logrono, taking the scenic route off the highway we cruised past towering red and ochre sheer cliffs rising from the heavily wooded forests below. Perfect for abseiling! The terracotta roofs and stone houses stud the landscape creating a perfect Spanish scene. More mountains and the weather is slightly humid, as yet no sign of autumn here. As we drive on solar and wind farms dot the rolling hills and the land becomes flatter, resembling the classic plains in Spain.

Logrono is developing a reputation as a gourmet destination in Calle Laurel.  Everyone stands around small bar tables drinking and eating pintxos and tapas. Each café has its own speciality. Along with 2 stunning cathedrals – St James the Great and Cathedral de Santiago. Inside and out they are elaborate and full of gold and religious paintings. Visiting these churches at night you can see they are the centre of community life with people gathering inside and out after mass even though it is after 8.00pm.

In the Rioja we visit 2 magnificent wineries. The architecture of these buildings is breathtaking. Costing more than 85 million Euros! Marques de Risel was designed by Frank Gehry the Gugg guy. Ribbons of aluminium sweep around the building, reflecting pinks, purples and copper tones shining from the sun, We had a delicious coffee on the balcony. This is a very stylish hotel indeed as well as a winery. The other was Ysios winery with a wave like roofline reflecting the rugged stoney mountains behind it. The building is further reflected in shallow pools of water which run the length of the building. We were too early for a wine tasting.

Onto Soria through more rugged outcrops and wooded forests, jagged scree slope scar the woods. In Soria we were greeted by a festival for the Virgin to celebrate the Autumn harvest, people we out in the thousands, all ages eating and drinking obviously no work today. The evening sees a procession of an illuminated statue of the Virgin carried solemnly through the streets accompanied by a band and people following. I think everyone in Soria was there. Lunch was out in the open under trees with tablecloths and cloth napkins delicious food and rioja wine.

Pictures will come later when I get this G*D damn awful wordpress to work!

Wine and More Wine – OleBilbao OLD and NEW Monday dawned sunny and warm and we headed down to the Guggenheim Museum, even though it is closed we wanted to relish the slick titanium skin, contrasted against the smooth pale limestone blocks. Everything glistened in the bright morning sun, reflections of the curved surfaces bounced off the water surrounding the metal walls and the metallic sculptures in the forecourts around the Guggenheim. Did you know that every surface in the building is curved and there are no straight lines thus emphasising the organic flowing lines of this magnificent Frank Gehry masterpiece Tomorrow we’ll visit this amazing museum along with our Silk Road companions Pat and David who we are travelling with around Spain and Portugal in our trusty MGs. Hop on and off buses have always been a favourite and quick way of acquainting ourselves with a city. We cruised around the narrow streets enjoying the views from the top deck. We were diverted by police a few times into the back streets because of a rally of thousands of people marching along the main thoroughfare of the city. Red, white and Green flags and banners waving, fire crackers exploding, releasing clouds of smoke. How We hopped off a The Mercado de la Ribera one of the largest fresh food markets in Europe and we arrived just in time for some Pintxos which we enjoyed with a beer and Sangria. So many delicious sweet and savoury munchies to choose from – what a treat!

OLD and NEW Bilboa

Bilbao  OLD and NEW

Monday dawned sunny and warm and we headed down to the Guggenheim Museum, even though it is closed we wanted to relish the slick titanium skin, contrasted against the smooth pale limestone blocks. Everything glistened in the bright morning sun, reflections of the curved surfaces bounced off the water surrounding the metal walls and the metallic sculptures in the forecourts around the Guggenheim. Did you know that every surface in the building is curved and there are no straight lines thus emphasising the organic flowing lines of this magnificent Frank Gehry masterpiece

Tomorrow we’ll visit this amazing museum along with our Silk Road companions Pat and David who we are travelling with around Spain and Portugal in our trusty MGs.

Hop on and off buses have always been a favourite and quick way of acquainting ourselves with a city. We cruised around the narrow streets enjoying the views from the top deck. We were diverted by police a few times into the back streets because of a rally of thousands of people marching along the main thoroughfare of the city. Red, white and Green flags and banners waving, fire crackers exploding, releasing clouds of smoke. How

We hopped off a The Mercado de la Ribera one of the largest fresh food markets in Europe and we arrived just in time for some Pintxos which we enjoyed with a beer and Sangria. So many delicious sweet and savoury munchies to choose from – what a treat!

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