Am back...
... from Andalucía, complete with fake tan courtesy of St Tropez and Clarins factor ten billion sunblock. How wonderful it was. I adore Spain, really love it. Celtic colouring aside, I'm not meant for northern latitudes.
The proposed base in Granada fell through, but we ended up on the coast less than an hour away on the other side of the Sierra Nevada. Mountains alternately scare me and make me melancholy, so I didn't venture inland too often. However, the lure of the Alhambra was too much to resist.
The reliefs are actually tiles rather than carvings, and the final picture is a view of Granada from the Alhambra, which sits above it on a hilltop.
The thing that most struck me about the Alhambra, apart from its magnificence (and how crowded it was), was the water running, everywhere. It must have had something to do with its builders coming from the Sahara region. A consequence of that was its beautiful gardens and its greenness, something I don't associate with southern Spain at all. It reminded me so much of Italy in its beauty.
This is a translation of a stunning poem by Borges, inscribed on the wall near the entrance. (With apologies to Spanish speakers, who would no doubt prefer the original.)
Pleasant is the water speaking
To one whom furious sands overwhelmed,
Pleasant to the concave hand
The column's circular marble,
Pleasant the fine labyrinth of water
Amidst the lemon trees,
Pleasant the music of the zéjel,
Pleasant the love and pleasant the prayer
Directed to a God who is alone,
Pleasant the jasmine.
Vain the cutlass
Before the big lances of the many,
Vain to be the best.
Pleasant to feel or have a feeling, doleful king,
That your sweet utterings are goodbyes,
That you shall be denied the key,
That the infidel's cross shall erase the moon,
That the afternoon you see is the last.
Not exactly how I would have translated it; but maybe better. I love the lines Pleasant to the concave hand / The column's circular marble; so sensual you can almost feel it.
For jadis31, cos she's the only other person I know who'd be interested in it:
The Ancient Roman fish factory at Almuñecar, where they produced a popular anchovy paste. There were no interpretive leaflets, so I haven't got a clue what all the little rooms are for. Have you ever come across anything like this, Jo?
This little oddity was framed and up on the wall in the place where we were staying. Any of you who know anything about my political inclinations will know this went down like the proverbial safe down a lift shaft.
Falangist interior decor, anyone?
For anyone who quite justifiably isn't interested in somebody else's holiday snaps being forced on them, here are some pics I took of the Gayest Building Site In The World, Ever, in the town where we were staying.
Just... wow. What's all that about?
And while I was sorry to leave 30º+ temperatures behind, waiting for me when I got home was a series 3 Robin of Sherwood DVD featuring an appearance by a young Valentine Pelka. Having met him last year, I can honestly say he didn't look any older than he does in that episode from 20 years ago. The man has obviously got a portrait stashed away somewhere. Screencaps later when I can find a spare minute. Oh, and he played a Saracen! With a funny accent. Synchronicity for all the Moorish stuff I've been seeing over the past week.
It'll take me ages to catch up on all the stuff, including fics, I've missed. I'm really looking forward to it.
The proposed base in Granada fell through, but we ended up on the coast less than an hour away on the other side of the Sierra Nevada. Mountains alternately scare me and make me melancholy, so I didn't venture inland too often. However, the lure of the Alhambra was too much to resist.
The reliefs are actually tiles rather than carvings, and the final picture is a view of Granada from the Alhambra, which sits above it on a hilltop.
The thing that most struck me about the Alhambra, apart from its magnificence (and how crowded it was), was the water running, everywhere. It must have had something to do with its builders coming from the Sahara region. A consequence of that was its beautiful gardens and its greenness, something I don't associate with southern Spain at all. It reminded me so much of Italy in its beauty.
This is a translation of a stunning poem by Borges, inscribed on the wall near the entrance. (With apologies to Spanish speakers, who would no doubt prefer the original.)
Pleasant is the water speaking
To one whom furious sands overwhelmed,
Pleasant to the concave hand
The column's circular marble,
Pleasant the fine labyrinth of water
Amidst the lemon trees,
Pleasant the music of the zéjel,
Pleasant the love and pleasant the prayer
Directed to a God who is alone,
Pleasant the jasmine.
Vain the cutlass
Before the big lances of the many,
Vain to be the best.
Pleasant to feel or have a feeling, doleful king,
That your sweet utterings are goodbyes,
That you shall be denied the key,
That the infidel's cross shall erase the moon,
That the afternoon you see is the last.
Not exactly how I would have translated it; but maybe better. I love the lines Pleasant to the concave hand / The column's circular marble; so sensual you can almost feel it.
For jadis31, cos she's the only other person I know who'd be interested in it:
The Ancient Roman fish factory at Almuñecar, where they produced a popular anchovy paste. There were no interpretive leaflets, so I haven't got a clue what all the little rooms are for. Have you ever come across anything like this, Jo?
This little oddity was framed and up on the wall in the place where we were staying. Any of you who know anything about my political inclinations will know this went down like the proverbial safe down a lift shaft.
Falangist interior decor, anyone?
For anyone who quite justifiably isn't interested in somebody else's holiday snaps being forced on them, here are some pics I took of the Gayest Building Site In The World, Ever, in the town where we were staying.
Just... wow. What's all that about?
And while I was sorry to leave 30º+ temperatures behind, waiting for me when I got home was a series 3 Robin of Sherwood DVD featuring an appearance by a young Valentine Pelka. Having met him last year, I can honestly say he didn't look any older than he does in that episode from 20 years ago. The man has obviously got a portrait stashed away somewhere. Screencaps later when I can find a spare minute. Oh, and he played a Saracen! With a funny accent. Synchronicity for all the Moorish stuff I've been seeing over the past week.
It'll take me ages to catch up on all the stuff, including fics, I've missed. I'm really looking forward to it.