Southern Spree Day 3 (Córdoba)

After our lovely time in Sevilla, we rented a car and drove to Córdoba for the afternoon to visit the famous Mezquita there, before continuing on to Granada.  Mezquita is the Spanish word for Mosque, and it is another example of a building converted from Moorish to Catholic during the Reconquista of Spain.  It is an absolutely amazing building, and is considered one of the most accomplished examples of Islamic architecture, with its most striking feature being the seemingly endless rows of colored double arches.  A Renaissance cathedral nave was built in the middle of the building and the remainder kept the original Moorish architecture, making for a very interesting juxtaposition of architectural styles. We don't have captions for all of the images, but really they just speak for themselves.

On the way to the Mezquita we saw a small procession
(we were there during la semana santa,
the week leading up to Easter).

More cute kids.

The famous double arches of the Mezquita.

Another view of the arches.

An intricately carved part of the ceiling.
There could be an entire blog with just
pictures of ceilings from our trip...

Intricately carved seats in the choir of the nave.

The organ and ceiling in the nave.

The bell tower.

Outside.

Southern Spree Day 2 (Sevilla)

Once Tabitha finally made it to Sevilla (due to the transit strike she took a 5 hour train ride instead of flying, after flying from the US, to Frankfurt, to Barcelona) and we enjoyed a not so great bocadillo lunch, we went to the Alcázar of Sevilla, a royal Palace which was originally a Moorish fort.  We also had the pleasure of seeing and hearing some traditional Flamenco, which was pretty incredible, but did not allow photos, so you'll just have to trust us on that.  It was interesting to hear how much Moorish influence there was in the music, especially the vocals.  Some food highlights included salmorejo (a thick style of gazpacho that we got at every opportunity), and pisto (sort of like a ratatouille).

Huelga! (aka Strike!)

A replica of one of Christopher Columbus's ships inside the Alcáza.

Evidence of the Moorish architectural influences in the palace.

An incredibly detailed ceiling.

Wisteria in full bloom on an outside porch.

An impressive hallway.

A view from the palace walls, overlooking the gardens.

A view of the palace walls, from the gardens.

A shrubbery!

Don't swim in there...it's the Mercury pool.

Southern Spree Day 1 (Sevilla)

Hello there.  Long time no see.  We have been having a wonderfully busy time in Barcelona.  So wonderfully busy that we have not had time to write about the wonderful vacation we had with the Peck parents in March...but get ready for the blogopalypse, because they will hopefully be coming fast and furious now.

Our trip took us all over Andalucía in southern Spain, Gibraltar, Africa (barely), and finally to Portugal.  Our first stop was Sevilla.  Tabitha was returning from a trip to the US, so the plan was for David and the Peck parents to meet her, both parties arriving on the same day.  However, due to some scheduling...issues...and a general strike in Spain, Tabitha arrived a day late, so she missed out on all the pictures below...

The Catedral de Sevilla.  It is the largest Gothic cathedral
and third-largest church in the world.

The top of the cathedral tower, with Christian
imagery built on top of the older Muslim
tower, representing the defeat of the Moors
at the hands of the Catholics.
There is a lot of this in southern Spain.

Really beautiful ornamentation around the
rose window in the cathedral.

Shopping for some colorful Spanish tile-work.

Sunset on the river.

A Scottish pub!  With Irish beer advertised outside?!?

A massive tree near the palace gardens.

Christmas in Catalunya

It has been a little while since we have posted anything to the blog, and we have been meaning to add a post about the Christmas holiday traditions in Catalunya since, well, Christmas... So what better day to do so than Easter?

First, the bigger gift giving holiday is January 6, El Día de los Reyes (The Day of the Kings), where the three kings (or three wise men) Balthazar, Melchior, and Gaspar sail by ship to Barcelona (they actually do arrive by boat for the big parade...it is pretty cool), ride around the city and towns on camels and elephants, and climb in the windows to deliver presents.

The Three Kings climbing in a window to deliver some presents.

Santa also comes to town.

In addition to the Kings visiting, there is also Tío, a cute wooden log that is covered in a plaid blanket. Each house has their own, but kids can also visit Tío in the plaza by the old cathedral. Tío is a magical log that poops (yes, poops) presents as children beat him with sticks. When Tío is done pooping out presents, he signifies that he is done by pooping out a lump of coal.

Tío surrounded by sticks that the children will use to beat him.

Our personal favorite Catalan tradition is the "caganer" which literally means, "the pooper" (for lack of a better G-rated word). He is a nativity piece that is a figure of a lowly shepherd taking care of business, placed in every nativity scene. He symbolizes that everyone, even him, worships Jesus. He also is a symbol of fertility (as he is fertilizing the ground) and luck for the new year. Make sure to check out the "must see" video below of a caganer that we saw at the Christmas market. If you are interested in your own caganer you can find many variaties, including famous people, here.

A life-sized caganer in a nativity scene in Barcelona.

Mini caganer.

But, then again, the traditions of lawn decorating in the US are also a little "different."

El Día De Acción De Gracias x2 (Thanksgiving)

Although we missed our families back in the US, we once again had an excellent Thanksgiving in Spain. We ordered a Turkey from our favorite stands at the market, made stuffing from scratch, and baked an apple pie. We invited some friends over to join in the festivities and asked everyone to bring something to share. We had a truly international Thanksgiving with traditional dishes like homemade guacamole and gorditas (from the Mexicans), Greek salad (from the Greek), panipuri (crazy Indian street food from the Indian), and chocolate mouse cake (from the Spaniard and Catalan). We spent the day with good friends, ate delicious food, and even watched football! (Too bad Barça didn't win).

The turkey came with a couple feathers still attached.

Max patiently waiting for any food to fall on the floor.

Stuffed and ready to go in the oven.

Done!

Dave carving the turkey.

Traditional Thanksgiving Greek salad.

Mar and Elias are ready to eat.

Sameer explaining panipuri to everyone.

Dave and Max watching the Barça game
and digesting after the big meal.