2024 Spain

Barcelona, Alicante, Granada and on to the Costa del Sol

We visited the famous Casa Battlo designed by the one and only Antoni Gaudi, in Barcelona on our first day. It certainly exceeded expectations!

We stayed in Barcelona for three nights and needed at least a full week. Often one’s experience is colored by one’s lodgings and in this case we could not have been luckier.

I booked an apartment on VRBO, knowing that I wanted to be in the most walkable part of the city so that I could do my own sightseeing on foot. Our little home away from home turned out to be on the most perfect corner, not more than 10 to 20  minutes from many of the best sights, shopping and restaurants. The most amazing thing of course was that  Sagrada de Familia, the most extraordinary cathedral in the world,  was clearly visible from all three large windows so that we could actually lie in bed and see it!

The great architectural genius, Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, began working on the project in 1883. From 1914 he worked on this exclusively  until his death in 1928. It remains incomplete although work continues. There are many different elements in the entire concept and the last elements that have been completed since 2020 are the central towers. Currently, work on the final and central tower is scheduled for completion in 2026. We stood and watched as two workers moved on impossibly high scaffolding with ropes, lifting the letter M into place. They looked like ants from where we stood, and it is simply mindboggling to imagine the entire project completed in two years at this pace, but our guide assured us that it is expected to happen.

The Sagrida Familia: Perhaps you can see two workers on the third tower from the left, tiny specks in red. 

We were so fortunate on this visit to have a charming, highly educated young man as our guide. He kept the tour simple and accessible but also conveyed his passion for the project. Of course, the little personal details always make the big picture come to life, and we learned that Gaudi never married, having been rejected by his one true love who became a nun! His entire life was devoted to this building which reflects his faith, his passion, his genius and his sheer force of will. He was  accidently run over right outside the main entrance, and died in hospital within three days before his identity was discovered. His remains are buried in the crypt below the main floor, a small, very spartan space that is not open to the public except by invitation.  Since his death many architects have been hired  and we actually saw  the current architect, a small Japanese man in a big black hat, emerge from the workshops under the church.

There is so much to describe and discuss about the cathedral, but all the information is out there to read. I think that no matter what your religion may or may not be, one cannot help but be deeply moved by the  love and faith expressed in this holy place.  If you visit, be sure to take a guided tour of the interior, and do not opt for an audio guide.

      From the left: the view from our apartment; extraordinary, mystical, bizarre designs filled with symbolism, the interior which is like being in a rain forest with light coming through the jungle canopy.

There are several other must-see architectural masterpieces by Gaudi in Barcelona, but we only visited two, the Casa Battlo, the one with the colorful exterior and mask like structures on the balconies, and the La Pedrera- Casa Mila nearby, which has an undulating exterior embellished by extremely complex and fanciful wrought iron sculpture adorning the balconies . I went on a tour of the interior of Casa Battlo and would not recommend it. The audioguide is very poorly done, and I found the interior claustrophobic and a letdown after the magnificence of the exterior.

  A view of the side of the Casa Pedrera. The throngs of tourists were not as intense here as at Casa Batlo where it is pandemonium on the sidewalk outside the building.

While Larry worked on some research, I went on a “Picasso walking tour” on our last day, which was fun and informative. Picasso was born in Malaga (where we are staying today) into a middle-class family named Ruiz and he took  his mother’s maiden name, Picasso, which was Italian, possibly to give himself more flair!  His father was an art teacher, and the family encouraged the young prodigy. They moved to Northern Spain when he was nine, but as a young man he returned to Barcelona where he lived the bohemian life with other young experimental artists. We saw the “Four Cats” bar on a corner where they would hang out and where Picasso drew a menu  to pay  for his bar tab.  The design is still used today and reminded me strongly of the style of Toulouse Lautrec. It was in this time that Picasso entered his Blue Period, 1904-1906, possibly brought on by the suicide of his close friend. Of course, no tour would miss out on the story of the iconic painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, (1907) the title of which does not refer to the city of Avignon but to the narrow cobbled street, Carrer  de Avinyo, where he frequented the local ladies of the night. See below!

Here is a reproduction, much smaller than the original, outside a popular art gallery in the old city of Barcelona. Picasso was given his first professional exhibition at the Sala Pares gallery here, and the elegant gallery continues in business today, having opened in 1877.

This iconic painting by Picasso, Le demademoiselles d'Avignon, was painted in 1907 and first exhibited in 1916. It was extremely controversial at the time, although I think we are so familiar with it nowadays that we barely look at it  twice.  Certainly Picasso angered and confounded both his friends and critics alike with the work, which nevertheless led to the Cubist movement in art which continues to inform art today.  

The city of Barcelona has created an impressive museum devoted to his work, built on the remains of a Renaissance palace, and the architects have done a wonderful job of preserving some of the ruins, including elegant courtyards and archways,  which  give a lovely atmosphere. The museum comprises three buildings, very overwhelming and more than I could possibly manage. Since I was already tired from the tour of the old city and Picasso’s haunts, I just walked through and stopped to look at the several paintings of the French Riviera which are very similar in feeling to Matisse, and also looked at the several interpretations he made of his countryman Diego Velasquez’ s masterpiece,  “Las Meninas, ” 1656. “Las Meninas” has been a favorite of mine since  childhood. As a painter now, seeing his interpretations close up in real time was inspiring.  As we all know, Picasso was nothing if not prolific and the museum in Barcelona has more than 5,000 pieces in the permanent collection…. Phew! We are currently here in Malaga, his birthplace, for three days and the city of Malaga has also created a museum to honor their native son, filled with work donated by his granddaughter and grandson. I doubt if I will visit. Clearly his legacy is complex and controversial and at this point I confess that I realized that I personally do not want to see more of it!  

A small shop window that reflects the love of saturated colors and playful style of Barcelona.

We only saw and experienced the tiniest bit of Barcelona, but the city left a wonderful impression. Friendly, laid back people, exquisite 19^th and early 20^th century architecture wherever one looks in the city, trees, plazas and outdoor cafes. Surprisingly inexpensive food, ridiculously inexpensive wine, and clean streets. I saw many pretty young ladies in municipal fluorescent green uniforms sweeping and cleaning in the mornings. Almost no homeless or drug addled street people to be seen at all.

 I highly recommend visiting this ancient yet very stylish and vibrant city, but as always try to avoid the high season which is already in full swing even before June has commenced!

 I could take pictures all day of the colorful old buildings and lush bouganvillea, jacaranda and tumbling pot plants in the Old City of Alicante!

From Barcelona we drove to Alicante, a town on the coast, about five hours away and a little beyond Valencia which we decided to miss. I had imagined Alicante as a picturesque fishing village, I don’t know why, but of course it is a large modern city of  over 300, 000 people, a well -developed tourist industry, a university, and port and yacht basin. I picked yet another off the beaten track BnB in the old city and once again (will I ever learn?) there was no parking, steep cobbled streets, tangled lanes,  but loads of atmosphere ! The tiny boutique  hotel was very stylish, just a few rooms carved out of an ancient building, with incredible mosaic floors, ancient ceiling beams, and very modern colorful art and décor. We enjoyed a restorative  couple of glasses of local wine and a beautifully styled  dessert, at a tiny bistro in a quiet alley by  our hotel. We finally went to bed at about 11, but for the locals the evening was getting started! I woke in the early hours to the sounds of drunken students  carousing outside but I closed our window under the eaves, and returned to my comfortable bed.

                                                                       And one more!

As in any Spanish town, there are more ancient ruins, monuments and museums to see than anyone would ever have time for, but our itinerary called for moving on to Granada.

From top to bottom, the view of the Alhambra, the top image is of the view from the left, and the bottom image is the view continued to the right. 

“Granada, you have me under your spell….” Larry and I both remember listening to Frankie Lane singing that song. I must confess that we really did not give Granada a chance, as it turned out to be a stopover on our way to the condo that a friend offered us in the Malaga area. Yet again, I managed to book the most difficult apartment to get to in the entire city! In the old town, on a hill overlooking the sweep of the valley and the distant snow capped Sierra Nevada mountains, tiny cobbled streets lead to a famous lookout point where international tourists, hippies, backpackers and gypsies alike crowd all day and especially in the evening to see the view. Much guitar playing, soulful singing and little kids roaring around, and of course the ubiquitous North African migrants selling trinkets on the pavement. And in the distance, the  breathtaking Alhambra. Regulations forbid cars and parking in that area, so we had to drive down the most harrowing alleys and hairpin bends up and down mountains to reach a parking lot, a drive of at least a half hour! It truly was a nightmare, and certainly not explained by the hotel management!! From the parking lot we were able to get an Uber back to the apartment. I took only my toothbrush and Larry took his bags and so we only had to drag a couple of bags around a corner, up a flight of stairs, and then: THE VIEW! Unimpeded, perfectly framed and under a full moon. I don’t know if we will ever go back to experience a tour of this place which is the most famous monument of Islamic architecture as well as notable Spanish Renaissance architecture. One has to book months ahead for a tour we were told.

Adios Granada, and on to the coast of Andalucia, the Costa del Sol, where seaside towns are home to thousands of British expats who have fled the grey drizzle for the sundrenched, inexpensive life here in Southern Spain.

More next time!

2024 France, Beaumont de Pertuis, part deux

April 28^th

^{Scenes from the ancient town of Orange.}

We have been here for two weeks, having arrived on Sunday, April 14^th. Our first impressions were colored by the gloriously mild, sunny weather but the last week has been very cold with intermittent  rain and  strong winds. Apparently unusual for this time of the year, but we have heating in the apartment and in the atelier plus wonderful views of the changing landscape, so we are comfortable.

Yesterday we set off on a sightseeing expedition to the town of Orange, named for William Prince of Orange of the Netherlands, in the 12^th century. That is a long and very complicated story of European royalty and the Holy Roman Empire, but originally in Roman times, the town was named Aurosio. At that time, it was strategically situated on the Via Agrippa which linked the Roman cities of Lyon and Arles.

 It’s about an hour and a half drive through beautiful countryside, vineyards stretching in all directions and glimpses of the Montaigne Saint-Victoire mountain range, a limestone ridge of mountains extending north to south for over 11 miles. The highest point is 3,317 ft. Paul Cezanne famously painted the mountain, which he could see from his house,  many times. Aix-en-Provence, a large University town only 45 minutes away from us,  is where one can follow the “Cezanne Trail,” where Cezanne set up his easel.  We are planning a day trip there  soon (when the rain and howling winds let up ) to visit the local museums. Interestingly very few of Cezanne’s works reside in Aix but there are many other Impressionist works to see.

The town of Orange, which we had not previously heard of, turns out to be the site of an extraordinarily well preserved ancient Roman amphitheater, the best in existence and  famous for having the only standing back wall (acoustic wall) found in all of the Greek and Roman amphitheaters. Built in the first century AD, It is a Unesco World Heritage site. Inside the arena, one can easily imagine the spectacles that were staged there. The seating could accommodate 10,000 people, and they would not have had to look for parking! Once cannot imagine 10,000 smelly citizens of the Roman empire, from aristocracy, local officials and dignitaries, to the middle classes of merchants and craftsmen to the lower classes of beggars, prostitutes and general rabble who would be relegated to the “nosebleed” seats at the very top. How did they make their way to the entertainment, and then find refreshments and lodgings and wend their ways home? No public transport, no Holiday Inn and Burger King, no streetlights, it’s all a mystery but one thing is clear, people of all classes and walks of life craved the entertainment cleverly laid on by the local government of the Empire. The expression, Bread and Circuses, comes to mind. The Empire kept the masses appeased by providing compelling theater which grew from 65 days of games a year, to about 180 days of entertainment each year, by the time Rome fell. By the fourth century, under the Christian Emperor Constantine, many theaters closed (lewd and immoral behavior) and this one was abandoned and forgotten, literally covered up with sand, until excavation and restoration of the almost perfectly preserved complex began in 1869 and continues to this day.  

The place has hosted great rock performances by legendary bands like Deep Purple, Dire Straights, The Police, Elton John and many more. Since 1971 it has hosted  a month long  annual international Opera Festival in August . It must be an unforgettable experience, but be warned, no ADA (no handrails or guardrails or elevators)  and if your balance and head for heights is not great, do not attempt to climb the stairs. I didn’t think I would make it down, but fortunately discovered that manageable exits with stairs and handrails have been cut into the walls of the auditorium to allow egress for senior tourists.

We visited on a Saturday, and found that strangely, most small businesses and boutiques near the Amphitheater were all closed. There were a few cafes open, but it seems that until May or June, locals do  not  cater to tourists. Most smaller towns in this area close down completely on Sundays with not even a convenience store open anywhere, but we didn’t realize that Saturday is also a no shopping day, along with Monday afternoon, Thursdays, and daily between 12 and 4 pm. I guess capitalism isn’t popular around here! Not mention the strikes and public holidays….even roadside gas stations and shuttered and closed with nary a cold  Coke for the weary traveler.

      The charming village of Chateauneuf du Pape.

View of the Mont Saint-Victoire mountains from Chateauneuf du Pape

After diligently touring the Roman amphitheater, we drove to Chateaneuf du Pape, a small town whose name is synonymous with regional winemaking. It is a gorgeous spot, set on a hilltop with remnants of ancient walls and gates, steep and narrow winding cobblestone streets, wild poppies, daises and wisteria  blooming in the stone work and views of Mont Saint-Victoire in the distance.   We bought some wine (Chateauneuf du Pape of course) from one of the many small “caves” that line the streets. Last evening we gathered for a potluck at one of our neighbors in the building and shared one of our bottles with our group of eight.  It was a rollicking evening.

    City gates of Manosque

We have visited several more villages nearby, including Mirabeaux, where the movies Manon of the Spring and Jean de Florette were filmed in the ‘80’s. 70s. Also, a short drive away is Monesque, a largish town of 16, 000 which has a bit of industry and construction companies and is also the home of L’Occitane, the famous cosmetics and skincare company. Monesque, while quite working class, has some beautiful ancient city gates in the “old town.” I was really excited to find great Masonite at a local hardware store there, which I had cut to size so that I can tape my unstretched canvas to it, and also to paint on. This was a godsend as working on the heavily stuccoed wall of our atelier was very difficult. The salesman spoke no English at all, but we got on very well and thanks to Google translate all was resolved. Although there are many large supermarkets for buying produce and groceries,  there seem to be no department stores and shopping centers as we would have either in or on the outskirts of our smaller towns. To shop one must go to Aix en Provence or Marseilles.

  A castle on a hill in the village of La Tour d' Aigues

So far, two weeks in, I have four large paintings sufficiently complete that I can tweak them when I get home.  Two are 36 by 36 inches and two are about 18x24. I have adjusted to having an extremely limited palette, no mixed media, and a little tabletop of about 2 by 2 feet to set materials and mix colors. I also have many reference photos of the villages which  I look forward to playing with when I return to my home studio.

France Spring 2024

La Maison deBeaumont,  April 14-May 19

We arrived at the residency in Provence on Sunday April 14.  We drove from Paris to Lyon where we spent a night. We didn’t see much of Lyon, just a few hours at sunset in the Old City. Lyon is the third largest city in France and boasts some amazing medieval architecture as well as striking (if strange) modern architecture.  We did go for drinks at a  popular riverfront cafe which was thronged with hundreds of young people. It was quite a mob scene, with waiters tearing through the melee to deliver drinks and a maitre d who was funneling customers waiting in long queues, to tables. I noticed that almost all the youngsters, probably ages 17-25, were beatuifully groomed and fashionalby attired. No grunge, no goth, no alternative colored hair or pierceing, although most were tattooed. A lot of young men, who looked to be of Middle Eastern origin, gathered in groups, their hair and beards freshly styled. Very few women accompanied them.  In general in France, people appeared  well dressed and stylish and trim. Despite the wonderful bread and the French fries served with most meals, people are trim and fit, perhaps becuase one has to walk everywhere. Traffic makes driving a car in the city impossible.

The drive was pretty with endless vistas of rolling meadows, granite outcrops of mountain ridges, bright yellow fields of rapeseed, flocks of  sheep and goats. Here and there an ancient ruin, a hilltop fort or church clinging to the rock. Approaching Beaumont de Pertuis, we began to drive through very beautiful avenues of plane trees, reminiscent of so many Impressionist paintings.  The trees with white mottled trunks and new green leaves, form a vaulted cathedral overhead.

(These plane trees are a hybrid of Asian and American sycamore trees imported into Southern France in the 19^th century and planted extensively.)

The village of Beaumont de Pertuis is very small, only 1100 people  and so named because it is nearer the larger town of Pertuis. It is in the Luberon Valley  in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur region. The area is famous for lavender fields, vineyards, honey and many picturesque hilltop villages.

 View from our terrace.

The hillsides are lushly forested with a variety of trees and shrubs including the iconic cypresses.

One can drive a car into the village, but with great difficulty,  so we deposited our luggage and returned to park the car nearby. The roads are narrow cobbled lanes which twist and turn up the hills with hairpin bends. They are lined with cottages whose doors open directly  on the street. Many of the shutters and doors are painted blue, and the orange ceramic roof  tiles create a vibrant contrast of colors. Since it is Spring, each doorway is bedecked with trailing wisteria  and tulips, irises, geraniums and daisies in pots. There are several little piazzas with very old water fountains. The " main street" thought the town  has a very small grocery store and a couple of bars. There is a post office, a town hall and oddly, a “biblioteque.”

Our art studio is a couple of minutes’ walk away, and although very small it is pleasant and has a tiny bathroom. The light is fine for me but too bright for one of my painting colleagues. There are currently three of us painting, one retired illustrator who works in casein (a milk emulsion, not often seen) and his work is exquisite. The other young man is a beginner painter experimenting with oil sticks and mixed media.

We soon met the other residents, six in all, who welcomed  us warmly and even helped bring our luggage upstairs. Our “penthouse” is on the third floor, which in the US is the fourth floor, so three flights of very steep, angled stairs which spiral up from the ground floor. I hang onto the banisters for dear life. Climbing up and down is a challenge and one tries to avoid unnecessary trips!

Our advantage is that we have two balconies, one facing the sunrise and one facing the sunset, which are completely private and have  vistas of the countryside. We are adjacent to  the church bell tower which rings both on  the hour and the half hour, but it stops at 10 pm. I enjoy the sound of the bells and so far, I have not been woken by them, even though I have fallen asleep very  early since we’ve been here.

The apartment is ingeniously designed, having been carved out of an 18^th century house, so there are many walls at angles, many stairs up and down into rooms, exposed ancient beams and an odd layout with the bathroom off the kitchen. It’s plenty of room for us, and the light is gorgeous, but I am a little disappointed in the kitchen which has four plates, four sets of cutlery and a large dishwasher? But no oven and no freezer section in the little fridge. So no casseroles or sheet pan dinners, and no ice-cream!

Another quirk is that the hot water heater doesn’t appear to have a thermostat to set the temperature for heat, so one can very easily be scalded if the faucet is a fraction to the left of center. We are so incredibly spoiled in the US with all our creature comforts but that is what travel is about, learning how other people live! 

I thought I was very clever and efficient in packing my art supplies, for which I had purchased the 44 inch long nylon bag, which we checked and which actually arrived! However, when I finally opened the bag today, I appear to have left a whole lot my stuff behind! All my drawing tools, rulers, T-squares, squeegees and more somehow eluded me when packing. I do have the primed, unstretched canvas but …..I found out that I have to tape  it down to the wall, all the way around, as it hangs loosely on bulldog clips (which was my plan) and my “straight” lines are all wonky.

Fortunately, we are only 45 minutes drive from Aix en Provence where there are two nice art stores so I may have to make another trip there. I bought my paints  on Monday and was pleasantly surprised by the price of the basic Liquitex, Pebeo and Amsterdam acrylics. The glazing and matte medium were  outrageously expensive though. Jerry’s Artarama it ain’t!

There is a writer, a chef and a singer songwriter currently in residence . We had a lovely sing song on Monday night, with jazz piano and vocalist, and we all joined in. Tonight the chef is presenting a full dinner in the music room. Note: the dinner was divine with elaborate appetisers with wine and pastis (phew, liquorice flavored alcohol) Main course was leg of lamb which fell of the fork, accompanied by beautiful local carrots and the freshest asparagus I have ever tasted. After that a huge tiramasu arrived, which I have to admit was a lot more elaborate and delicious than my quickie version. ( I asked for the recipe which included so many steps that I soon gave up considering that) Our table was set with lovely Provencal design cloth and napkins and Villery and Bosch tableware, most elegant. The dinner was  our chef, Pauline’s,  final project as it were. She spent a week here in residence.

I have made an ambitious start on two smallish pieces, which I feel are warmups for working in a looser, more abstract way as I get acclimated. The rooftops, doorways and windows create wonderful compositions of juxtaposed shapes. The weather turned bitterly cold and windy (although sunny) so I have not been able to do my intended sketching outdoors but taking photos is a joy. 

Sunrise from out terrace on two different mornings.

The bell tower adjoining our apartement. Doves flutter in and out and swifts soar back and forth all day.

Tiptoe through the Tulips!

        Our first glimpse of the flower fields

Today we decided to get out of town and drive to see the world-famous tulip fields of Holland. Holland produces 70% of the world’s commercial flower output, and driving through some of the fields one cannot imagine the logistics, labor and sheer genius of operating an industry of this size and complexity!

One has to really see the fields to believe the stunning colors, arrayed in strips often stretching as far as the eye can see. Sometimes fields are planted with shades of one color, sometimes brilliant yellow next to piercing violet, pure red next to whites and creams….the variations of plantings are wonderful and surprising to see at each turn in the road.

The famous garden for tourists is called Keukenhof, but one needs to book tickets and parking tickets (or tours) weeks in advance, so we took our own car which was a bit challenging as the roads were packed with cars, bicycles (many people drive to the area, and then ride their bikes along the paths)  motorbikes and tour buses. It seemed like  the whole of Holland was out enjoying the rare day of sunshine after a week of solid rain! Very enjoyable however, and I highly recommend booking a tour if you are going to Holland. It’s less than an hour’s drive out of town and can be seen successfully in a couple of hours.

Our lovely houseboat home in Amsterdam. From top: full kitchen, front door showing the boat moored, living room and laundry (big treat) and view from the deck out front.

We enjoyed a comfortable overnight flight from JFK on JetBlue, our first transatlantic flight with this airline which has not had the best reputation in the past. We were pleasantly surprised by the comfort of the business class cabin and the friendly and helpful staff. (I have found both Delta and American cabin staff to be less than pleasant in recent years.)

I booked a houseboat on the canal for this stay, and it has been a delightful experience on every level. If you have traveled to Holland in recent years you will know that hotel rooms in Amsterdam are extremely expensive, so we were thrilled to have a full "condo" with large bright open plan living room and full kitchen, right on the water, and a generous bedroom and bathroom upstairs. Beautifully designed and decorated, with every comfort inlcuding a washing machine and dishwasher. Our hosts who live next door, have been wonderful. It's on a quiet, treelined street, a short walk to resturaunts and shops. We have enjoyed watching the waterfowl sailing past our door, including ducks with their fluffy chicks sailing behind them, moorhens, seagulls and a swan. I think that our room in Paris is going to be a sad comedown from this lovely lifestyle!

The reason for our trip to Amsterdam was to visit an old friend here, who has not been well. We did not have plans to sightsee and we have spent most of the time sitting with my friend and talking about the good old days. We were lucky to also meet up with other friends from our early years in Cape Town and that is a real treat. Friendships going back to childhood and college days are precious, especially as one ages!!

Larry connected with friends from the Tesla community and we have a rental Tesla but parking in the city is challenging and some of the old streets barely have space for one car, so catching an Uber or jumping on a bus is a better way to get around.I have always enjoyed Amsterdam which is a small city, easy to navigate and very relaxed and safe, except for learning to avoid instant death from the phalanxes of very fast bicycles whizzing by at alarming speeds everywhere in the city.. Many streets have dedicated bicycle lanes but one has to train oneself to be mindful at all times.

On Sunday we drive to Paris where we will join Lenore and Joel Raphael, friends from Cary, for a jazz concert at the Swedish Club. Then it's off to Provence and the art residency. The weather in the South of France will be a lovely respite from Amsterdam's grey wet days, but we expected the weather and are grateful to have this time to reconnect.

Below: Larry enjoying fresh oysters and a large gin at the food hall nearby, De Hallen, a convered old tram depot.