Spain, May 3 - 12
We had traveled throughout Spain in 2006, but
this time we wanted to concentrate on a single area—the country’s center—along
with our first visit to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. We also looked forward to
introducing Spain to our good friends Micki and Dan Chapin from Sun
Valley. Needing a central
location for day trips, we booked rooms for the Chapins and ourselves in a
converted 16th century palace within the city walls of Āvila.
After picking up Dan and Micki at the Madrid
airport on Sunday, we spent the next week visiting—in addition to Ávila itself—Segovia,
Madrid, Salamanca, El Escorial, Toledo, and Valladolid. All destinations were within a two-hour
drive of Ávila in Jacques, our Renault.
The only complication was the incongruence between Jacques’ interior
space and Dan’s muscular frame, which approaches 6’ 4” (193 cm) in height. While Dan bore it all with his
customary good humor, we doubt the Chapins’ next car will be a Renault Clio
Estate.
Picking highlights in Spain is a difficult
business, for there are so many extraordinary sights. We will mention some of our favorites, however.
In Segovia, which we had not previously
visited, we were most impressed with the Roman aqueduct, an extraordinary piece
of 1st century engineering, which was still in use during the 19th
century. The city’s Alcázar,
the stereotype of a castle in Spain, was also a treat, despite the fact that
some “improvements” were made during its restoration in the 1800’s. One guidebook unkindly referred
to its “Disneyization,” but we recall that similar liberties were taken in
Germany’s Wartburg castle during the same period.
Segovia aqueduct
Segovia cathedral
Alcázar from the river
In Madrid the Chapins took a
sightseeing tour while we visited the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, whose
collection rivals that of the neighboring Prado. The paintings run from Italian primitives to living
European and American artists with outstanding examples in all categories. The four hours we allocated to
our visit was simply inadequate.
Salamanca is one of our
favorite cities. The city’s Plateresque
stone carving, notably at the cathedral and the university, is extraordinary,
and the 18th century Plaza Mayor may be the best place in Spain to
have lunch. Our walk through the
city concluded with a stroll on the 1st century Roman bridge, which
affords a great view of the cathedral.
The glory of Toledo is its cathedral with the Transparente moving light from a beautiful skylight to a fantastic piece of Baroque sculpture at the rear of the high altar and on to the altar itself. Also stunning is the sacristy with a room full of El Grecos, a great Caravaggio, and the bejeweled monstrance, which is carried through the city streets at the festival of Corpus Christi. However, we were also impressed by the Mudéjar ceilings, done by Moorish-influenced artists, in the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, which was founded by Ferdinand and Isabella. Finally, we visited the Alcázar, whose exterior and courtyard have been restored to the time when it served as the Spanish seat of Emperor Charles V in the 16th century.
Plateresque carvings above Toledo cathedral door
Salamanca's Plaza Mayor at lunchtime
Stork atop the Plaza Mayor
Salamanca cathedral from Roman bridge
The glory of Toledo is its cathedral with the Transparente moving light from a beautiful skylight to a fantastic piece of Baroque sculpture at the rear of the high altar and on to the altar itself. Also stunning is the sacristy with a room full of El Grecos, a great Caravaggio, and the bejeweled monstrance, which is carried through the city streets at the festival of Corpus Christi. However, we were also impressed by the Mudéjar ceilings, done by Moorish-influenced artists, in the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, which was founded by Ferdinand and Isabella. Finally, we visited the Alcázar, whose exterior and courtyard have been restored to the time when it served as the Spanish seat of Emperor Charles V in the 16th century.
Rear of Toledo high altar illuminated from Transparente skylight
Caravaggio's "St. John the Baptist" in Toledo cathedral sacristy
Monstrance in Toledo cathedral sacristy
Mudéjar ceiling in Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes
Inner court of Toledo Alcázar with statue of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
King Philip II, Charles’ son, built the massive El Escorial above Madrid to serve simultaneously as a palace, royal mausoleum, monastery, and boarding school. With its forbidding grey exterior, it reminds Todd uncomfortably of California’s San Quentin prison. Spanish monarchs and many relatives are interred there in impressive vaults, but the building also houses a fine art collection featuring paintings favored by Philip to drive home the tenets of the Counter Reformation. The fairly modest royal suite stands in contrast to the huge basilica, where the apse features life-size golden statues of Charles and Philip, resplendent in their imperial and royal robes, praying with their wives. We were also impressed by the yards of murals and the frescoed library, which reminded us of similarly huge rooms in the Vatican.
Wall of El Escorial
Dome of El Escorial basilica
Ávila, our home base, is famed for its wall,
which completely surrounds the city.
We dined at a number of its restaurants at the early (for Spain) hour of
8:00 and enjoyed the walk home at dusk along the floodlit wall.
Georgia and Todd above Ávila
Chapins and Stewarts at dinner in Ávila
Ávila's wall at night with statue of Sta. Teresa, the city's favorite daughter
Dan and Micki departed Ávila for Italy on
Sunday, and we drove north to Bilbao as we had long wanted to visit the
Guggenheim Museum there. We were
not disappointed. Frank Gehry’s
architecture is even more spectacular than advertised, and the art inside the
building was arresting, especially sculptures by Richard Serra and Ernesto
Neto. We were particularly intrigued
by “The Clock” by Christian Marclay, a work of film art that is indeed a clock,
for it marks the passing minutes over a 24-hour period with very short clips
from Hollywood and other movies showing pictures of clocks and watches
reflecting the current time. Check
it out on YouTube.
Guggenheim from bridge over Bilbao River
Guggenheim from top of Bilbao funicular railway
Alert for consumer trends, we noticed a number
of electronic cigarette shops in both France and Spain. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
has only started to address the regulation of these devices, but the city
fathers of Bilbao are already on the case as evidenced by a sign in the car of
the city’s funicular railway.
Unidentified Spaniard with e-ciggy outside vendor's shop
Warning sign in Bilbao funicular railway
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home