Limerence Update #57

March 2004

Winter – Barcelona Spain

It’s nearly the end of March in Barcelona, and Port Vell Marina is a buzz of activity as everyone anticipates spring. The short winter was mild and sunny with the coldest weather around the end of February. We actually had fifteen minutes of sleety snow combined with rain! It was particularly shocking because a few hours earlier we’d eaten lunch at an outdoor café, followed by a bike ride to the spectacular Sagrada Familia. These days, our thoughts are on what must be accomplished before we leave in May to begin our Mediterranean sailing adventure.

The hundred or so cruisers living in Port Vell marina became a community over the winter as everyone got to know each other. The majority of people are British and American with a few Germans and French mixed in for variety. We organized social events including bicycle rides, outings to museums, movies, morning coffee chats, wine tasting parties, and swap meets on the dock over cocktails. There were Spanish lessons, dance lessons, watercolor painting, and book exchanges. Doug and I made the decision to buy bicycles. We are thrilled with them and have explored on the many bike paths running through Barcelona and along the shores of the Mediterranean.

Barceloneta -Port Vell Marina	Doug and Judy Decker	Poultry Market

Our neighborhood, Barceloneta, is a little borough along side Port Vell. It is a maze of narrow alleys and cobblestone streets, laundry flapping from the windows, and familiar faces of shopkeepers whose services we enjoy. In true European style, there are bakeries, butcher shops, poultry tiendas, pharmacies, produce markets, and the church . . . all within steps of our boat. You can even take an empty water jug to the local wine merchant who fills it with “special vintage” vino tinto at a cost of two dollars or so. We shop side by side with the families of Barceloneta and enjoy eavesdropping on Catalan conversations. The Catalan language sounds like a mixture of Spanish-French and is maddening to understand. The nicest thing about this place is that it seems many miles from the touristy parts of Barcelona. It’s the real thing if you know what I mean.

We already described to you in a previous update, our two-week trip to France for the Christmas holidays. Our next trip was in late January to ski in a tiny country on the border of France and Spain called Andorra. Frankly we hadn’t heard of it before coming here to Barcelona! Andorra has a bit of a complex trying to figure out whether it is Spanish, French, or just upscale duty-free shopping -   but it does offer good skiing. So, we drove with five other couples to the nearby Pyrenees Mountains, stayed a week in Andorra, and Doug got his ski fix for the winter. We lucked out with sunny weather, good snow and great company!

Andorra Cable Car to the Top	Andorra Village

We rented a car for ten days in February, and explored part of Spain stopping at Valencia, Granada, Toledo, and several small pueblos in between. We like to stay in hotels called Paradores. The Spanish government sponsors hotels that are located in scenic places, are renovated monasteries or ancient buildings, or a combination of both. Paradore hotels are sought after because they are not only beautiful, but also reasonably priced with excellent services. We stayed in a Paradore outside of Valencia, and another one overlooking the walled city of Toledo. You have to book weeks in advance because they are so popular.

The roads in Spain are modern and well marked, so driving was fairly easy. We drove along the Mediterranean highway to Valencia, which won the competition to host the next America’s Cup sailboat race. The city is a great blend of picturesque old quarter, countered by a striking complex of museums and science buildings nestled on the dry riverbed of the re-routed Rio Turia. The Ciudad de las Artes y de las Ciencias, designed by Santiago Calatrava, rises like huge white bird wings in contrast to the blue sky and Mediterranean. We were especially interested in the aesthetically dramatic structures because Calatrava designed the distinctive new Milwaukee Art Museum, which has changed the lakefront of our hometown. As we drove out of Valencia we felt stunned by the beauty of the city. A bit farther south, we stayed in the quiet beach town of Javea at the Paradore Hotel.

Next stop was Granada that boasts the “Alhambra” fortress, which was the last stronghold of the Moorish kingdom in Spain. Below the fortress is the maze of streets of Albaicin, which is the old Moorish quarter. It was there in an outdoor café, that we had our first ornate glass of steaming Turkish mint tea served from a silver teapot.

Courtyard of the Lions	The Alhambra in Granada	Jardines Del Partal

Now, the Alhambra! As Europe trudged through the dark ages, the Moors flourished building magnificent stucco decorated structures with scalloped windows, water fountains, gardens, and mosaic color galore. The Alhambra fortress is something right out of the Tales of Arabian Nights. However, it was the end of the road for the Moors in Spain. The Christian Reconquista moved through Spain over several hundred years taking city after city until finally reaching Granada in 1492. They surrounded the fortress and waited ten months for the inhabitants to give up from starvation.

When the cross and flags of Aragon and Castille were raised on the tower of the Alhambra, the fleeing Moorish King Boabdil looked back and wept. His mother made the famous statement “Don’t weep like a woman for what you couldn’t defend like a man”. (Gosh Mom, that wasn’t very sensitive) The conquering Christian King Charles V destroyed part of the Alhambra and built his own Renaissance palace in its place. The few remaining Moors established a community in the Albaicin in the valley beneath the fortress. We spent two days wandering, reading our history lessons in the guidebooks, and marveling at the sumptuous reconstruction of the Alhambra.

The following morning, we drove several hours north toward Madrid to the city of Toledo, which has been declared a national monument. When you first see the ancient walled city perched on a hill, surrounded by the Tejo River, you have to GASP! Toledo was Spain’s capital until 1561 and has a tangled history of rulers – Roman, Visigothic, Moorish, and Christian. Because the River encircles the city, the governmental capital was moved to Madrid for more breathing room. The city is so well preserved and cared for that you won’t see a television antenna or satellite dish anywhere. It has a stunning cathedral (even when you’ve seen a few), museums, art galleries, and great medieval atmosphere. The famous Greek artist Domenikos Theotocopoulos - “El Greco” - made Toledo his home. Now you know his REAL name!

The last day in Toledo was cloudy and we tired of trudging up and down the twisted alleyways, so we headed to the countryside in the car to explore. We found a pueblo that had a “former” royal summer palace with a small museum, and another village with an authentic plaza in the center of town where bullfights are staged every summer.

Our drive home on Saturday, took us close to the sprawling city of Madrid, through snowy mountains in central Spain, and back to sunny Barcelona. Sadly, within two weeks, the people of Spain suffered the terrorist attack on the trains leading into Madrid. The country was in deep mourning for days as we tried to make sense of it all.

Our friend from Milwaukee, Anne Nimke, came to visit us recently. Besides showing her around Barcelona, we drove to France to see the famous walled city of Carcassonne. We feasted on French Cassoulet for dinner, and naturally - fois gras. A slight detour in Spain led us to Figueres, to see the infamous Salvador Dali museum. Dali was bizarre, weird, but a fascinating personality! It was wonderful to have a reunion with Anne and play tour guide and shopping partner. Anne discovered a preference for Spanish shoes!

Carcassonne France	Anne Nimke and Judy Decker	The Salvador Dali Museum

 We are having Limerence hauled out at the end of March to have her bottom painted and some general maintenance work done. We are updating all our navigational software now, gathering paper charts, reading guidebooks, and planning our route for cruising the Mediterranean this summer. We have decided to spend the next winter in Marmaris Turkey. So, we expect to cruise the Spanish and French coast, and then travel down to Corsica and Sardinia, across the north side of Sicily through the Messina Straits, around the toe of Italy, across the Adriatic Sea to Greece, through the islands to Turkey. That’s the plan for now. Unless of course, we change our minds!

Fair winds friends, 

Doug and Judy

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