The Detouring Doctor

The Spanish capitol is a pleasant easy city to navigate. We are staying a little bit out of the centre in Salamanca which is a classy suburb with tree lined boulevards and boutiques. The historical centre is similar and fascinating.

Traditionally the Plaza del Sol has been the meeting point for many protests. It is immortalised in Goya’s painting May 2 1808 when the Catholic Spaniards defeated the French troops of Napoleon Bonaparte. It houses a number of tourist places but today it is a sea of tents and young unwashed radicals protesting. The protests started as a response to the housing crisis here but as is always the case has been hijacked by left wing radicals with socialist banners and Palestine flags, none of which have anything to do with unaffordable housing.

Our final organised tour is through the Royal Palace and just like the Prado it proves to be a revelation. Built in the 18th century it is the largest palace in western Europe. It occupies the site of a former Islamic place (Alcazar) which burned down in 1734. Legend has it that members of the court of King Philip V started the fire to enable the construction of a Versailles style palace. The result is a massive opulent palace which still houses the Spanish Royal family to this day.

We are rushing to get to the meeting point for our tour when a young man steps towards us I move laterally to avoid him and he follows my movement intent on blocking me. “I am sorry you can’t go there they are filming”. “But we have a tour to get to” I blurt out anxiously. He speaks into his ear piece and lets us through. We meet our guide and ask what the filming is about. The answer is “Woody”

At the amazing age of 90 Woody Allen is directing his 50th movie here in Madrid and here I am metres away from the man whose movies I enjoyed as a young adult. Despite the minders forbidding photos I snap a paparazzi shot surruptitiously.

I love the arts but some more than others. Opera and symphonic pieces for me surpass ballet and the classical theatre means more to me than visual art. I will happily seek out the world’s best galleries based on name recognition but not lesser artists. The Prado is one of the top art galleries in the world.  Having said that I was absolutely blown away by the variety of fine art here. If you have absolutely no interest in paintings switch off now and hopefully the next blog is more to your liking.

There is a blanket rule of no photography inside the gallery but one can download anything from their website for free. I have selected out a few of my favourites.

A name to conjure with! Title of songs. It is a name synonymous with the Alhambra touted as the best monument in Andalusian Spain. Once again it is a fusion palace complex initially islamic from the 8th century and then Catholic from the 14th century. Everyone who has been there waxes lyrical about the place> Strangely, and because of the hype I found it a  bit underwhelming. Nevertheless it is somewhat impressive so enjoy the pictures.

Our day begins with a two hour drive off the beaten track. We are off the motorways and on winding mountain roads. This part of Andalusia is the home of the white villages where all the houses are painted white to reflect sunlight as a temperature control measure.

In the Malaga province of Andalusia is a unique town called Ronda. Sitting 800 metres above sea level the city is cut off by a deep gorge (el Tajo) carrying the Guadalevin River. The two halves of the town are connected by the 18th century Ponte Nuevo bridge.

Not Dwayne Johnson, I am talking about Gibraltar! It’s a tiny British Overseas Territory, self governing on the southern tip of Spain, just a stone’s throw from Morocco and controlling the entrance to the Mediterranean.

The British captured Gibraltar in 1704. Spain formally ceded the peninsula in perpetuity to the British Crown in 1713 in return for British support for Charles V of Spain in the War of Spanish Succession. Subsequent centuries have seen Spain trying to renege on the treaty. In particular during the Franco era in Spain Gibraltar repelled attempted invasions and survived years of birder closures amounting to a siege. The result is a quirky old fashioned British outpost somewhat frozen in time.

Dominating it all is “The Rock”, a 426 metre high limestone monolith.

Getting up the rock traditionally was via cable car but this has been demolished and is being rebuilt with a likely 2028 reopening. The result is a boon for local operators with minibus traffic ams up the narrow roads up the rock.

Legend has it that if there are no Barbary macaques on the rock, British rule very Gibraltar will end. During WW2 the population of apes here dropped to 7! British PM Sir Winston Churchill had hundreds flown over from Morocco.

Fun fact: the biggest cathedrals in Europe are, firstly the Vatican, secondly St Pauls in London and number 3 is right here in Seville. Once again the original building was a mosque until Seville was reconquered by Spanish, Catholic kings. The aim was to build the World’s largest cathedral and by the time of its completion in the early 15th century it surpassed the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul as the largest in the world. It is still, to this day the largest Gothic cathedral.

Some of the remains of the explorer Christopher Columbus are interred here and his tomb is spectacular.

The visit is not complete without a climb up the Giralda Tower. Thirty five ramps takes us up 105 metres for a birds eye view of Seville. 

Located out of the city centre in parklands is the Plaza del Espana built in 1928 for the Ibero-American exposition of 1929. The effect is a semicircular buildings in parklands. At ground level are small “pavilions” representing the regions of Spain.

No visit to Spain is complete without a Flamenco show and the vibrant energy of the dancers does not disappoint.

Anyone who is an opera lover will immediately recognise the title of this blog. As a keen opera lover I wanted to do this here. We had pre booked my life partner for a manicure and on the way we passed by this barber shop walking in noone is waiting we are in! “No sir, we are fully booked” Welcome to Europe in the 21st century!

Over many decades travelling back and fro to Europe life has become easier and yet more difficult. Booking on line is de rigueur but the downside is you need to book weeks or months in advance which is fine but it removes any flexibility. Once upon a time you could walk up to an attraction and buy a ticket. Today, increasingly you buy your ticket months in advance and there is no-one there when you scan your QR code in! If you are not booking early you will usually have to find travel companies that seem to have tickets at the last minute at inflated prices. Clearly they buy tranches of these tickets up in advance and onsell at a  premium. We have a name for this practise in Australian footy, it’s scalping!

Seville itself is a beautiful city with multiple sites that need pre booking (apart from the barber). Our first port of call is the Alcazar. It is a beautiful fortress and complex of palaces started by The Moors in the 10th century. After the reconquest by Christian forces in 1248 it was progressively rebuilt and replaced by new palaces and gardens. It is now a unique fusion of Islamic and Christian styles.

Most people I talked to are surprised that with 130 countries visited I have not visited Spain. It is not through lack of interest on the contrary I have an intense interest in this vibrant country with great history, culture and cuisine. It just never fitted into previous itineraries.In many ways starting in northern Europe it is still not a neat fit but the time has come and it certainly does not disappoint.

Landing in Madrid I rent a car and head straight out to Cordoba. It is a 4 hour drive but the roads are good and the traffic benign, driving is easy. My plan is a round trip of Andalusia in the south an area fascinating because it was under Ottoman rule from the 8th century until the 13th century when Catholic kings reconquered the area.

The result is a beautiful “fusion” of Islamic and western Renaissance architecture. Perhaps the most “crazy” is in Cordoba. In 785 Abd-al-Rahman 1 built a massive mosque. In 1236 AD the conquering Catholic Spanish rulers built an enormous Renaissance style Catholic church in the middle of it keeping the Islamic periphery intact. The result is a veritable forest of 856 columns with red and white striped arches alongside a central 16th century Renaissance nave known as Mesquita.

“Oh yes, Google maps does not work in the centre of Utrecht” says our hotel receptionist. Driving in the Netherlands has proved to be easy. Lanes are allocated and turning lights are everywhere, until we get here!

Our hotel is located a stone’s throw from  the centre of town but did promote itself as having parking. We arrive uneventfully but I notice that the over regulated traffic systems are absent. There is no parking at the hotel and we have to find our own way.

The result is a 2 hour driving through a maze of narrow lanes, squares that probably are not meant for traffic, avoiding one way streets and road closures due to maintenance. All the way google maps literally spun its wheels with repeatedly rerouting and offering no help whatsoever. Ultimately the butt clenching ordeal ended with me finding a main road and a car park. It’s a 12 minute walk and an eye watering 45 Euro fee but we are here!

Earlier we had a charming morning somewhat off the beaten track. I had fun driving along backwater winding roads past green fields with sheep grazing. First stop was Gouda, home of the eponymous cheese. From the tourist the highlight here is the church of St John the Baptist built by the Catholics and usurped by the Lutherans after the Reformation it is an anomaly. The Lutherans stripped churches of their ornate iconography as being symbolic of the corruption of the Catholic church. This church is blessed with 500 year old stained glass windows which are beautiful and have been preserved by the Protestants.

The next little town was Oudewater known for its prominence in the European witches trials in the 16th century. There is a weigh house in the main square. As witches ride on broomsticks in the air the theory was that they had to be abnormally light. They would weigh the accused and anyone who was abnormally light for their stature had to be a witch. Apparently and unsurprisingly, no-one failed the test here.

The jewel in the Netherlands touristic crown and the stomping ground of my best friend Fred. We are there early at 9 am on a Sunday and have the place to ourselves. We walk along a canal with reflecting views of the old church tower known as “leaning John”.

Into the main square and my life partner is enraptured with the Royal Delft pottery shop. Our credit card takes a beating there.

Fred has recommended Kek cafe by the main canal and we enjoy great coffee and a ridiculously fluffy and decadent pancake dish. We then spend time wandering around this scenic gem.

The afternoon is a complete contrast. Whereas Delft was spared in WW11, the port city of Rotterdam was not. It is only a 30 minute drive but this place is all about modern buildings and provides an interesting contrast.