Last week.....

The last week of school starts now....updates to come!

Gibraltar!

Thursday morning, I woke up really early to catch a bus with Christine’s school. They were taking a field trip to Gibraltar and graciously allowed me to join them. When I arranged all of this, I thought they would be going straight to Gibraltar, or at least Algeciras which is 30 minutes away. In reality, they were first going to see Roman ruins and a beach an hour west of Algeciras in a remote location where no buses go. For me, that would have meant not getting to La Linea, the Spanish border town where I was staying, until late Thursday evening.

Along the drive, we went through Malaga, Marbella and Estepona. The highway was practically in the water and all the buildings were summerhouses and apartments. This part of Spain is known for being home to many British and German expats. All along the highway, signs were in English. There were also tons of Asian restaurants (Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Indian) and the radio was even in English. It was actually kind of ugly and un-Spanish.

We stopped in a town because a student had to use the bathroom. I realized that there were bus stops all along the way and figured one bus had to go to Algeciras. I got off our bus and went into the gas station café and asked people if there were any buses to Algeciras. They said no, but there were buses to La Linea. I was shocked! I hadn’t realized exactly how close we were to Gibraltar. I had to wait about an hour, but I was able to catch a bus (for only 3 euro) which took me straight to where I needed to go! During my wait, I poked my head into an English bookstore. It took a lot of will to not buy the entire place, but I reminded myself that I already had a book to read and purchasing another one would mean having to carry it.

I arrived in La Linea at 1:30, a pleasant surprise considering I hadn’t planned on getting there until at least 8 pm. I immediately crossed the border to Gibraltar and joined a tour group going up the rock. They were an American family from Pennsylvania. Groups are generally seven people and they were six (Mom, Dad, 2 daughters in their mid and late 20s, a 22 year-old son and his girlfriend). We took a taxi/van up the rock, stopping first to enjoy the views of Africa from Jew’s Gate. Then we continued up to St. Michael’s Cave, which was amazing. It’s an underground complex of rocks and incredible formations. It was actually carved by water, so it’s more of a grotto than a cave. There is a theater inside, where concerts are sometimes held. Next we stopped to see some of the apes (Barbary Macaques) who live on Gibraltar. They’re used to tourists taking their photos. One ape had a baby it was feeding. The little ape was really cute and didn’t have all of its hair yet. Our final stop was to visit the Great Siege Tunnels, a British defense system used in the 1779-83 siege.

The Brits have controlled Gibraltar since 1704, Spain attacked in 1779 because it wanted (and still wants) the land. Gibraltar is in an interesting place because it’s connected to Spain, has views of Morocco (it’s about 14 miles across the strait), and is located near the spot where the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean meet. Its location is important for military purposes and trade. Now, Gibraltar is a tax-free zone. There are only 25,000 people living on the rock, but there are tons of businesses there. These range from financial firms to online gambling companies (there are 200 in Gibraltar). Gas, cigarettes, perfume and alcohol are all cheaper, and many people cross from Spain to purchase these items. It’s like a big duty-free store.

While up on the rock, I saw Baleigh, a conversation assistant from Ronda who is friends with Christina (the girl from Tufts – see Ronda entry). She was there with her students. I saw them again as they were leaving Gibraltar. After touring the rock, I wandered around the shopping area, going first to Mark’s and Spencer. I knew it was there, and I was planning on seeking it out. Mark’s and Spencer is a British department store with an amazing grocery store full of high-end prepared foods and sauces. I knew I couldn’t buy much because I’m leaving Spain soon. Luckily the food section was small. I did buy some marshmallows though. I wandered Gibraltar town looking for some of the five synagogues. Most were small – all I could see was a door.

I ended up at Casemates Square, another shopping and café area. I went to the Gibraltar Crystal Glass Factory (the only product made on Gibraltar), but they were about to close for the day so there were no glass demonstrations. After that, I walked back to Spain and settled in for the evening. At night I took a walk down the eastern coast of La Linea to see the rock.

Friday morning in went to Morison’s, an American-style (it used to be owned by Safeway) grocery store in the western part of Gibraltar town. I was very overwhelmed. It was a lot like Super Stop and Shop in Harwich. Inside I found tons of stuff you can’t get in Spain like crasins and fresh salsa, as well as an entire section devoted to allergen-free foods. I bought some more marshmallows and some ginger-coconut cookies and lemon cookies.

I walked around Gibraltar town some more. I had to go to the bank to change some pounds my dad had given me. Gibraltar has its own pounds, but they accept English ones also. My dad had given me some English pounds from the 70s or 80s. They were still usable, but many shopkeepers didn’t recognize them and wouldn’t accept them. (Morison’s did.) The bank changed them into newer English pounds.

From Gibraltar town, I headed south toward Europa Point – the tip of the Rock. Along the way I stopped at Trafalgar Cemetery where there are graves of sailors who died during the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar. I also visited the Alameda Botanical Gardens. I usually don’t like botanical gardens too much – they can be pretty, but to me, it’s just a bunch of plants. These were really peaceful and there was a small wedding party celebrating in a clearing.

Europa Point is three miles south of the border with Spain. It was really hot out and I was pretty tired when I go there. I went to the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe, a church which houses a 15^th century statue of a virgin. It was originally a mosque, but in 1492 the Spaniards converted it into a chapel. In 1997, the Muslim community on Gibraltar built a new mosque at Europa Point; it’s called Ibrahim Al-Ibrahim Mosque. The other structure at the end of Gibraltar is a red and white striped light house. While I was there, I asked a British guy to take my picture. His kids (who were probably five or six) asked me if everyone wanted to take my picture. I tried to explain that I wasn’t traveling with my mommy and daddy, so I needed other mommies and daddies to take my picture for me.

From Europa point I took a bus to town. I walked around a bit more, stopping at a Kosher grocery store where I bought candy corn!! It was imported from Brooklyn and cost a fortune, but I couldn’t not buy it.

I took another bus to the eastern part of the rock to go to a beach. It wasn’t that nice of a beach and was only about 15-20 feet wide (between the water and a hotel). That part of Gibraltar is being reclaimed by the water. While I was sitting in the sun, the water came in suddenly. I managed to get my camera, backpack and shoes into the air, but my pants (I was laying on them) and magazines got soaked. I moved to a different spot (behind a rock) and sat there until my pants dried.

On the bus back to the border area, some tweens sat behind me. There were four girls, who were speaking Spanglish. People on Gibraltar speak English (with a British accent) and Spanish (with an accent from Cadiz, Andalucia). More often, they speak a mixture of the two: they’ll say one clause in English, then “porque” (because) then another clause in English. Shopkeepers would speak Spanish to each other, then English to me. I would answer in Spanish and they would speak English to me again. There was never a pattern. I found that some of the bus drivers seemed to prefer Spanish, but one almost didn’t speak any Spanish. The Jewish community seemed to do most of its business in English (in the grocery stores and at the synagogue), but there were people speaking Spanish also.

Speaking of the synagogue, I went to Nefusot Yehudah Synagogue for Friday night services. The building was from the 18^th century and ornately decorated inside. There is a large Jewish community on Gibraltar because it was one of the places where Jews were granted asylum during expulsion from Spain. During the day, I had asked people where I could go to services. I had seen many families walking around and there were several Kosher grocery stores. They told me to go to this particular synagogue. I hadn’t remembered that services would most likely be conservative. I had to sit in the women’s gallery and try to follow along in a book that was written in Hebrew and Spanish. They spoke really fast and it was quite difficult. Luckily a woman helped me. At first I was up there with an 8-year-old and we were both completely lost. Then, as this woman came, and helped us follow along. I thanked her afterwards and we chatted about teaching; she tough many years at a Jewish school in England.

Walking back from the synagogue, I was worried that it would start raining. I didn’t have my raincoat and felt a few drops. When I was half-way between the border and the synagogue, I looked up and saw a full rainbow over the rock. It was incredible. The sky behind me was red and the rock was glowing in the blue-purple sky. The colors were really spectacular. I made my way toward the border, but an airplane was arriving. The Gibraltar airport runway crosses the only street into the rock. When a plane is arriving or taking off, airport officials close the gates on either side and pedestrians and cars are forced to wait until the road is cleared again. When there is no air traffic, people walk across the runway to get into and out of Gibraltar. I had already crossed the airport five times without having to wait for a plane. I really wanted to see on land or take off and was really glad to have arrived at this time. The sky was also red, which made for a great photo. As I was taking the photo, a young guy started to talk to me. I knew he had been at the synagogue because I could see him from the women’s gallery. I also picked up on his accent right away: Israeli. He lives in La Linea and works at an internet gambling company in Gibraltar. He said there are about 60 Israelis working at the various companies on the rock. We chatted as we walked across the border.

Saturday morning I woke up and took a 7 am bus to Granada. We had to get off and change buses in Marbella because of a mechanical problem. Then we stopped on the highway because the new bus also had a mechanical issue – some part of the engine wasn’t hooked up properly or something. So, we had to wait for our third bus to arrive. Amazingly we were only 20 minutes late arriving at Granada.

Once there, I had Indian food with a friend for lunch and we walked around the city. He showed me some plazas I had not seen and we got tea before returning to Priego.

Saturday evening, David, his girlfriend and the Americans came over and we hung out. I spent Sunday packing, cleaning, cooking and hanging around the apartment. Our internet hasn’t been working and we’re not really sure what’s going on…we need to cancel it soon (Cecilia called), but we don’t know if the company canceled it on us or if they’re just having technical issues.

Northern Spain pictures....

.....can be found on facebook. I didn't have the patience to fight with blogger.

The end of my Northern Journey

My final stop up north was to visit Burgos, a city in Castilla-Leon. I went there to see the cathedral, which is massive and awe-inspiring. Inside, the chapels were ornately decorated. The window above the nave looked like a snowflake. The chapel of the Constable, behind the altar, was three-stories in hight and was equally ornate. I think I strained my neck looking at all the decorative details. Below the cloisters (it was two levels) I encountered an "interpretation center" which showed the different phases of construction and their artistic characteristics. One of the rooms housed a digital representation of the town and building throughout its construction. The Spanish are obsessed with these digital representations of how their towns used to be. Everywhere I go there is a digital exhibition or digital interpretation center where you can watch a Sims-like world and imagine you are there. I'm getting really sick of it....

After the cathedral, I took some pictures of its facade before climbing uphill to see the city from above. Then I went to the Museo de Burgos, another combination archeology-art museum housed in an old palace, or actually three, connected palaces. The rocks were boring. The art was mostly religious. At the end there were some modern pieces, but they weren't that great either. The walls of the palace had been plastered-over and I couldn't really see the structure well. Also, the guards followed me around because they really didn't have anything else to do.

Next I walked back across the river to the older part of the city to wander the pedestrianized streets. On the way, I passed some signs directing tourists to hotels in Burgos (these are common in Spain). Two hotels were listed and then the sign said "otros hoteles" (other hotels) with an arrow. I was somewhat puzzled because the sign was not specific. Are all other hotels located in one area? Are these all other hotels in Burgos? Castilla-Leon? Spain? Europe? The World?

In the old section, I walked by a statue of El Cid, an 11th century military leader from Burgos who fought against the Moorish troops and is a Spanish national hero. Behind the statue was the start of the shopping area, in which I could see Claire's....yes, the same store I shopped at when I was a tween. Disgusting.

After wandering for a bit I went to the Centro de Arte Caja de Burgos, a modern art museum. A German artist, Martin Assig, had an exhibition of paintings and sculpture which I didn't really like. There was also an exhibition by a Swiss artist named Ingo Giezendanner. He does black and white ("it's enough for me") drawings of cityscapes, some of which are large, mural-sized, while others could easily fit in a small sketchbook. He came to Burgos to do some sketching before creating a large-scale piece about the city. He likes to incorporate the local atmosphere into his work.

After the museum, I made a grocery store run for some dinner and fruit to last me through the weekend. On my way back into the old part of the city I saw a man digging through the garbage. I thought, great!, I can give him the rest of the deli turkey I'm not going to eat (there were six slices, too much for me for one dinner). However, when I finished eating, I couldn't find him. I went on an hour-long quest to find someone who was either homeless or hungry, but had no luck. Earlier in the day, women were begging for money, but at 8:30, even though it was bright out and crowds of people were walking the streets, no one was begging. I even followed two men, but one went into a candy store and the other entered a bar for a beer. It's actually quite difficult to find a homeless/hungry/poor man in a crowded Spanish town because many of the older Spanish men look so disheveled that I couldn't tell if they were poor or just unfashionable. I certainly didn't want to offend anyone. I couldn't even find a stray dog to feed.

At 9 pm the main plaza began to fill with people. I had seen signs all over town for a demonstration called, "Tomorrow they could kill you." I didn't understand what it was about, but figured I would go anyway. (Hey, I like a crowd!) A woman explained to me that the demonstration was more of a memorial. A 20-something bar bouncer was killed (I think he was beaten) by two drunk guys who wanted to get into the bar. The bouncer would not let them in because of their drunken state. As she was telling me this story, she made sure to note "and they were all Spanish, too." As if this somehow made the story sadder or more ironic. It was as if she was surprised about the lack of immigrants involved. It was shocking to her that Spanish could do this to another Spanish person. People gathered in the plaza to light candles and then marched with the candles to the spot where the guy was killed. We were supposed to march behind a banner and organizers did a good job of keeping people in place. I quickly discovered that my camera meant I could do whatever I wanted. I jumped right in, alongside the newsmen: a guy with a hand-held, but professional video camera, and a photojournalist. Because of my "professional" camera I was allowed to be in the thick of things and the organizers never told me to step aside or anything. They never asked me where I was from either. Clearly not the brightest lights: what self-respecting photojournalist would wear army-green, parachute, snapped up capri pants and carry a Longchamp? Really?

On the way back to the bus, I bought 11 cents worth of dark chocolate and called it a night. It was a great trip. Northern Spain is quite a bit different from its southern half. I noticed things like grocery store prices were higher the further north I went. I attribute this, the higher cost of living, to the fact that Northern Spain has a better economy than Southern Spain: Andalucía's unemployment numbers are about 1.5 times the Spanish average. At least that means my rent is so cheap I could easily afford this trip! I didn't think I would make it to the north before leaving and I'm really glad I did. It was worth spending three nights on buses to experience and see all I did. I know it was a quick trip, but I got enough of a feel for each place and have no regrets.

Vitoria: Basque Capital

My final stop in Basque Country was an inland city called Vitoria. The old part of this city is shaped like, and called, an almond. I started outside the almond, walking through the Plaza de España and Plaza de la Virgen Blanca. The first one was a typical, Spanish, colonnaded plaza, similar to other ones in Madrid, Córdoba and Salamanca. The latter was an open plaza. In it, I found a demonstration - people wanting to be paid more.

I went to the tourist office where I found out that I had to call the cathedral (Catedral de Santa Maria) to arrange a visit there. I called and was told that the only open space was on a tour leaving right away. This meant I had to rush from one end of the almond to the other. I arrived five minutes late (I missed some of the digital reproduction video), but was able to join the group as they entered the cathedral. This was a really interesting cathedral because it's under restoration. Since 1994, the cathedral, which was built in the 12th Century, has been closed. The construction team began restoring the cathedral in 2000 when they built a series of metal walkways and staircases through the structure. This allows tourists to visit the space and watch the men at work (I was there on a Friday). It was cool to see the process and hear about the difficulties. They try to use authentic materials, but in some cases have had to rely on more modern technologies. For instance, it take too long for lime and sand to set, so they had to use concrete instead.

After touring the cathedral, I wandered around the old part of the city, stopping into a culture center. I saw a small exhibit of university-level student work, which was unimpressive.

I left the almond and passed the Basque Parliament House while on the way to a park. The park led me to a wide street where the center was pedestrianized. It was both tree- and mansion-lined. The old houses were unlike most I had seen in Spain. These were clearly more European in style than the large houses in Cordoba and Granada.

While walking back toward the center, I stumbled upon a health-food store which stocked the gluten-free pretzels I like. These were easy to find in the Balkans, but have been nearly impossible to find here in Spain where pretzels are not a typical snack food. I was really excited to come across them. Then I stopped at a grocery store for some dinner.

Saturday morning I set off to walk around the almond, but wound up going to an Archeology Museum instead. I don't usually like archeology museums, but this one was intriguing because the building was opened in March. The structure was made of glass and steel. The three galleries were connected by a glass staircase. The galleries had dark-paneled walls and dark floors. They were lit primarily by five white fabric rectangular prisms containing vertical florescent bulbs. These prisms, which were mostly trapezoidal, went from floor to ceiling, except on the first floor where three hung suspended above the floor. To light cases and specific pieces, sensors turned on small, recessed lights. I wasn't too interested in the exhibition in this part of the museum.

I realized that the museum actually had two parts. The other was housed in an old palace across the courtyard from this new building. It contained an exhibit on the history of playing cards. Apparently Spanish cards are made in a factory near Vitoria. The exhibit showed how cards used to be made (the actual presses used), as well as old cards from Spain and the rest of the world. The Japanese and Indian cards were among the most interesting. As were some British cards with proverbs on them (you had to match the words from the proverbs to form groups of cards). Additionally, there was a room on tarot cards which included some Kabalah cards from Barcelona. These combined Hebrew and Spanish, for example, la rueda de la fortuna (the wheel of fortune) was the letter resh; el diablo (the devil) was nun; la luz (the light) was bet; and la fuerza (the force) was kaf. [I know my brother and grandmother would have loved this exhibit.]

San Sebastian: the beach

After Bilbao, I took the bus to San Sebastian, a beach resort in Basque Country. I walked from the bus station into town, passing the cathedral and a lot of ritzy shopping streets. Because San Sebastian is close to the French border, it has had a lot of tourism for a long time. It's got beaches, but they're mostly concrete beaches - they have sand and tons of hotels lining the promenade. The first thing I did was walk that promenade to the other end of the cove. I took a funicular up to the top of a hill to see the view of the city from above. Luckily it didn't rain while I was walking over there and on top of the hill. From up there, I could see the entire city, which isn't that large, and the green mountains off in the distance.

Back at the hostel, I made some rice for dinner and ate an asparagus omelet with it. I chatted with the other guests before showering and getting some sleep.

Friday morning I woke up to sunshine. I gathered my stuff and ate breakfast. By the time I was ready to leave, it was raining again. I walked around the old part of the city trying to find a museum, which was closed (the building was under construction). I walked by the water and would have kept walking except the rain was coming down harder than I had expected. So, I headed to the underground market. This market was quite interesting because it was under a glass structure and at the entrance to a supermarket. I wandered around taking pictures of seafood (more goose barnacles!) and stopping at a health-food store to stock up on soy milk.

When I went back upstairs, the sun had come out. I crossed the river and walked to a beach where I dipped my hand into the Bay of Biscay. The water wasn't too cold, but I was not about to go for a swim (it was windy and damp).

For lunch I went to a bar and had some pintxos. These are the Basque version of tapas. They're smaller and come on a piece of toasted bread (which I did not eat). I chose a place recommended by the New York Times. I had crab salad (basically crab, mayo and paprika) and a large sardine with blue-berry jam. The blueberry one was surprisingly good. I had not thought combining fish with fruit jam could taste good together, but they do. Then, I went to the market again and got some veggies and fruit for a snack.

Walking from the hostel to the bus station, I passed at least three or four health-food stores, which is a lot for such a small city. I guess it's the tourist and surfer/hippy influence, but I certainly appreciated their presence.

Guggenheim and Basque Country

I woke up Thursday morning in Bilbao. I got a map at the bus station and set off toward the old part of the city. Somehow I wound up walking through the immigrant neighborhood, which was refreshing. In Andalucía there are some immigrants, but they try to blend in or keep to themselves because they aren't really accepted (especially not in Priego). In this neighborhood in Bilbao, restaurants with Jamaican flags painted on their facades were next to African hair stylists who were next to Chinese grocers. It was great to see such diversity in a small, Spanish city. It made me realize how much I miss New York and Boston (okay Somerville/Cambridge) for this reason. It was also refreshing to see a "gritty" neighborhood. Spanish seem so obsessed with old, charming architecture, which I do like, but after a while, it gets somewhat boring. Bilbao has plenty of that, but it also has modern buildings and working-class areas. Even middle-class areas of Granada look like they're trying to be something more. This wasn't fake.

In the old section of the city, I saw the San Antón church and bridge. I also went to a market, which wasn't anything special, and walked around the seven original streets of Bilbao. Then, it started to rain. In the drizzle, I climbed some steps to see the old part from above. I couldn't get a great feel for what it would have been like to live there when this was the only part of the city because now it's full of designer boutiques. Leaving the old part of the city, I crossed the river and came face-to-face with a protest....my first in Spain!! People had gathered to promote May 21st as a day off from work (they want their employers to pay them more because of the economic crisis). It was a peaceful protest, a few people, a bullhorn, lots of flyers.

I walked past an art nouveu train station and crossed the river again to see the ayuntamiento (town hall) which is housed in an old palace. In the dampness, I crossed the river again, this time using Santiago Calatrava's Zubizuri pedestrian bridge. He constructed a glass and steel bridge which looks like it's twisting as you cross. I sought out this bridge because I like another one he did: the Women's Bridge in Buenos Aires's Puerto Madero neighborhood....yes, I am that big of a nerd. (I also saw his Puente de Lusitania in Mérida in April.)

Finally, back on the main side of the city, I went to the Guggenheim. This was my main impetus for coming to Bilbao in the first place. It was definitely worth it. Frank Gerry is amazing. The building is huge and was built on an awkward piece of land: it actually has a (car) bridge going through/above it. Also, it's along the river which is somewhat lower than the rest of the city. When I entered the museum I was in a three-story high gallery which had glass windows in front and behind me. This space was used as a gallery: eight, white sedans were suspended from the ceiling with flashing red tube lights through them. Off to the side, Jenny Holzer had another light installation. This one was a series of panels (the little red dot lights used in advertising) with words about life and love. She had the words in English and Spanish on one side of the exhibit and in Basque on the other. You could see these lights from upstairs and they reflect off the metal walls of this gallery. The other large exhibit on the first floor was Richard Serra's The Matter of Time. Serra is a genius...mathematically at least. I had seen his work at the DIA: Beacon in NY. He takes ovals and stretches them, then puts them into spirals and other forms. He then turns them into large-scale (10-foot-high) metal sculptures which you can walk through. You loose sense of space and direction inside them. It's bizarre. If he's got an exhibit near you, go.

I ate a salad for lunch at the museum's cafe. Upstairs, I encountered two more exhibits. The first was Murakami's "From Private to Public," a retrospective of the Japanese artist's freaky/colorful/cartoonish art. It combined sculpture, paintings, wallpaper, carpets, video, and Louis Vuitton bags. He has certain characters that he has created. He repeats these images throughout various media. The final exhibit I saw was by Chinese Cai Guo-Qiang. It was called "I Want to Believe." Cai designed the fireworks at the 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. Videos of his fireworks displays were on view in one part of the exhibit. For the Olympics, he created a series of footsteps across the sky. He also had sculptures and paintings on display. One of the sculptures was called "The Age of Not Believing in God." It was a series of wooden religious statues, suspended from the ceiling with arrows in them.

At the end of a video exhibition, I encountered a room with books on installation art. I didn't stop to read them because I had already read most of them in doing my research for my communications project last year. It was strange to see them in the museum. It made me think of last semester at Tufts and hunting these books down at the BPL.

Jeff Koons had two pieces at the museum. In the back, he had a bright series of tulips. This was similar to the works he did on the Met's roof last year. In the front, he had a puppy made of flowers. It was like a large, colorful topiary terrier; a nice contrast to the metalic facade of the museum.

Bilbao has a bad reputation for being an ugly city with not much to see. I think this might be true of the old Bilbao, but everywhere I went, I found streets and buildings under construction. The museum has given life to the city. Tourists are there and the people are working to make their city nice. It's doing well: they've got some parks, the river looked decently clean, there's a bike path, there's a metro system...I could live there.