First weekend home since February. Feels so good to sit around and do nothing.
Of course I did more cleaning and laundry than nothing. But there was no beer or sangria and only one cigarette, so that's a vast improvement.
I'm not super happy with how most of my Spain photos came out. Thank goodness Miranda took twice as many rolls, and she's a better point and shooter than me.
But even with my blurry pics you can tell how beautiful that country is.
Toledo, Spain
Miranda and I arrived in Toledo on Saturday, March 3. Such an amazing old world city. Complete mix of Spanish and Moorish influences.
Gibraltar
On Monday, March 5, we rented a car and drove from Sevilla to the British colony of Gibraltar. Miranda got her Brit fix and it was nice to speak English for a little while. Plus, driving through completely undeveloped land is something we had never before experienced. Flying down the E-5 in our little European SUV with not a single billboard in sight. Just white towns and toros, nestled into the hills.
The kitten on the canon - Gibraltar
Seville, Spain
We spent the night in Sevilla after our day of driving. We stayed in the Hotel Alcazar - easily the nicest place we stayed the whole trip. It was faaancy. After dinner on Monday night I suggested we open the window to see the view. We had a balcony! So we drank Fanta and smoked cigarettes against the lit cathedral and Real Alcazar in the distance. I took the above from the balcony the next morning.
The third largest Gothic cathedral in the world. Massive. I'm kind of torn about all the cathedrals we saw. While some seemed to be pure expressions of worship, like the one in Toledo, others, like this one? Not so much. Just trying to out-ornate the ornate. But it is breathtaking. The tomb of Christopher Columbus is inside. Well, they think it's his tomb. No one can be sure. But some guy's remains were brought over from Cuba in 1899. It's weird, almost every city in Spain has some tie to old Chris. Like the monument in Barcelona where he's actually pointing towards Libya
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There's a tower next to the cathedral called La Giralda. It was part of the Moorish mosque, and remained mostly untouched by the Catholic "improvements." It's said to be Spain's most perfect Islamic building. Miranda and I climbed the 34 floors - thankfully ramps, not stairs - and took pictures of the city. My favorite of the bunch? The big bell. Typical.
