Two weeks in Spain - Barcelona and Andalucia (Sevilla, Cordoba and Ronda)

Sevilla Cathedral and Giralda tower at night

It's 9:30 pm and we are getting on a cab to leave the Barcelona airport and head to our Air BNB in the Born district. New country, its dark outside, cab driver has already mentioned 'No Ingles', and countless precautionary tales about Barcelona crime rates racing through my head. Needless to say, I am nervous. I get in the cab, and slam the door shut, like I am used to doing in the US. The cab driver looks at me, gently raises his hands, smiles and says 'Despacito, despacito'! And that, right there, sets the mood for me. Learn to take things slow in Spain :)Savoring life is an art, and I think Spaniards have mastered that. Waiting for breakfast in the small cafes, we would see the owners take their time brewing the coffee to perfection, watering the streets  in front of their cafe, and in between browsing through the newspaper freshly delivered. This whole sequence of events  reminded me so much of Kolkata and the 'পাড়ার চা এর দোকান '!

Dinner in the Santa Maria Del Cathedral Plaza, Barcelona 

In the restaurants, if we didn't order a drink to start off dinner, the expressions of the server ranged from amusement to shock. 
The time between requesting the bill after dinner and the time the server actually showed up with it ranged anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes on an average, and by the end of the second week, we were actually getting used to that. 

The whole concept of dining in an open air plaza, under a beautifully lit up cathedral, with people in other tables chattering animatedly while smoking away to glory (with kids in the same table!) is so different from the US. But it's different in a good way, in a life embracing way.

Our Air BNB in Barcelona was in an alley in the heart of downtown, and it lived up to its description of 'lively' . Boy, was it lively :) I used to wake up numerous times in the night by all the singing, loud music, and very loud conversations of the neighbors on the street outside, noisiest between 1 and 2 am! My suburban lifestyle mindset was shocked by this, and I felt unsafe even though there was really no reason for that. 




In Sevilla however, the atmosphere was completely different. People were out on the streets late into the night, shopping in the Christmas markets, drinking sangria or dancing bachata in the city center plazas. 

Rambling through all those scenes on cobblestone streets back to our Air BNB building which was steeped in Moorish influence with an open courtyard full of plants and Arabesque designs on the tiles, was the most peaceful feeling.

Barcelona Cathedral, a splendid 13th century
Gothic style church

This whole trip was like taking a course in art history. While Barcelona introduced us to the extraordinary gothic style churches and the works of visionary modernist architect Anton Gaudi, Andalucia was all about the splendid Moor style of architecture and the influence of 'Reconquista' on the 10th century mosques converted to cathedrals in the 15th century. 

Mirhab (Prayer area) in Mezquite,Cordoba built in the 9th century after the conquest of Andalucia by Moors

Some of the highlights that have most likely left a lifetime impression on me :

Mudejar - Royal Alcazar, Seville

 - The extremely detailed Mudejar style of decoration in Seville's Alcazar Palace is stunning, but what makes it unforgettable is the expression used to describe this form of art - 'horror vacui' (the fear of emptiness). That explains why every square inch of the walls are filled with the intricate designs.
  

- The painting in the Picasso museum titled 'Disinherited' - of a mother and child with the most desolate eyes that will haunt me for a long time. 
The Picasso museum is rich with the works from Picasso's formative years which he spent in Barcelona. Sketches on torn pieces of paper that show him beginning to experiment with cubism were an display.



- The unbelievable play of light and the tenderness in a 13th century painting in the Catalan Art museum titled 'Sagrada Familia' (The sacred family). 
Interestingly, this museum houses some of the most important Romanesque works in the world, and was an incredible visual journey.


- The symbolism of the Passion and Nativity Facades in Gaudi's unfinished dream - 'Basilica of Sagrada Familia', considered the jewel of Barcelona :

Grazalema

Soccer!

After about ten days of being immersed in art and history, the Seattleite in me started missing mountains. And the day trip to the Pueblo Blancas (White Villages) of Spain through the Sierra de Grazalema mountain range fit the bill perfectly. 


The drive to the white villages was spectacular, through high mountain passes, and castles unexpectedly popping up in the middle of fields of olive trees. 
Grazelema and Zahara, with the spotless whitewashed houses neatly tucked under the mountain, children playing soccer on the plazas, and olive mills that produce 70% of the total olive oil in the world, are just delightful!  
Ronda, perched precariously on a dramatic gorge, is not technically a white village but was a sight to behold. Although the walk down a million stairs to see the gorge up close and back up, just about saw the end of my old knees. Our tour guide told us Hemingway was a lifelong lover of Ronda - and he famously said -  "The entire town and as far as you can see in any
direction is romantic background….”

Ronda

How can I wrap up a travelogue without writing about food? And such amazing food at that. The seafood Paella dinner meets a Bengali's basic need for 'মাছ ভাত ', the hearty potato omelette makes a perfect brunch, while iberian ham or fish croquettes are just right for a mid day snack.












But the meal that made a place in the memory book was the perfectly cooked arroz con pollo accompanied with the medium well done lamb chops we were treated to in Grazelema under perfectly blue skies, surrounded by the Sierra de Grazalema mountain range and white alleys.

Flamenco at Park Guell, Barelona

Flavors of Coffee

Spain is really an extravaganza of senses, and a flamboyant country with warm people who are generally relaxed and friendly. I am sure there are downsides and living in Spain is not as rosy as visiting it for a couple of weeks, but I really don't want to dwell on that and want to retain it as a memory of a few days in a land steeped in history, with grandiose architecture, mysterious alleyways built as a defense strategy, and vibrant flamenco.

Street of Flowers, Cordoba