Spanish Hallowe'en & when the sheep took over Madrid

Hola!

Since my last post, my main adventure has been spending six days as part of a group of 12 anglophones from various places and 12 Spanish business people, at an isolated conference centre in the province of Soria. As "anglos" we were there to participate in lots of one-on-one chats and group activities to help our Spanish counterparts practice their English. It was an opportunity to meet lots of interesting people, although some days I felt all talked out!  But I got room & board for free for the week, just for talking, so it was a pretty good deal! (See VaughanTown online for more info). The highlight of the week for me was our final night's party, with a Hallowe'en theme! I'm always up for a party, but this was an extra-good surprise, since I thought I'd be missing out on Hallowe'en this year.

This past weekend, I've been exploring Madrid a little bit -- although I hit a bit of a mid-trip slump and was glad to relax at my cozy hostel, rather than going "full on" as a tourist. An unexpected highlight today was encountering a pair of Spanish shepherds who had stayed at the hostel, and then watching another livestock parade (about my fourth this fall!). I was a bit surprised when I saw two gentlemen who looked to be well into their 60s at breakfast this morning (most older travellers in hostels are solo hikers, I've found). In any case, through the Polish hostel employee, I got a translation that the men were shepherds, anxious to get back to a large local park, where their flock of sheep were watched overnight by a police force.  So when I went out to sightsee, I wasn't totally surprised to encounter a parade dedicated to thousands of sheep and cows migrating through the streets. I later learned that a Spanish king had guaranteed safe passage through Madrid for shepherds some hundreds of years ago, and the tradition is maintained. I'm not sure how logical this route is at this point in time, or whether it's more ceremonial.... in any case, it was a major event!

I did feel a bit concerned about the welfare of the animals at a few points in time. I imagine it would be confusing and perhaps frightening for them to be in crowded, busy streets. On a couple occasions, I saw sheep try to run off and it seemed a bit much. When I first encountered the parade, it was reasonably sedate, but I crossed it again an hour later, near the main square of Puerta del Sol and there was a stampede of sheeps at a certain moment. If you look closely at the photo below which has the back of four men in the foreground, you can see, beyond the men, sheep as far as the eye could see. Just a few minutes later, I got ahead of the procession and I had to cross the busy road. All was fine and then suddenly, the sheep started to run, at a panicked rhythm, towards me -- it was likely a scary moment for them, and it certainly was for me!

Beyond these events, I enjoyed walking around the city -- although I had my first realization of the arrival of fall today. In my fleece jacket, scarf and pants, I was just comfortable -- and I saw some people wearing tuques! Up until this past week, I'd been feeling like I was still in the equivalent of September weather by Canadian standards. Still, I had a great moment sitting in the garden near the Royal Palace with the sun beaming and warming my back -- it's not quite winter yet!

Plaza Mayor

Barcelona, baby!

I just spent a few fantastic days in Barcelona. I confess to being totally ignorant about the city before my arrival. I didn't realize what a distinct culture and history it has from the rest of Spain -- or that there are gorgeous beaches just a few minutes from the downtown area!

 But my ignorance did allow me to experience a pleasant series of surprises. The narrow alleys of the Gothic Quarter, where I stayed, were full of cute cafes, shops and the ubiquitous gelato shops. I spent lots of time strolling around the city; walking around, the sunshine and the humidity combined to make me feel like I was back in summer. It was lovely while strolling along the beach, with a nice breeze coming off of the Mediterranean Sea. The humidity was less pleasant when I had sweat literally streaming down my face while waiting in the metro at quarter to seven yesterday morning, carrying my backpack on the way to the bus station. That’s 6:45am – dripping with sweat! Not so nice.

Barcelona's boardwalk

In the Gothic Quarter

The harbour is full of ships of all sizes -- including giant luxury yachts.

 

It was also quite intriguing to learn about the history of Catalonia – that’s Catalunya in their own language. I hadn’t realized how distinct this northeast region of Spain – to the point that was independent at different points in history and is now a semi-autonomous region with various realms of control, particularly over education and social development. There also seems to be an ongoing movement for full independence – at least according to a scattering of posters around the city. The protection of the Catalan language has been a key goal, which seems to have been successful. Many of the signs in the city – particularly at tourist sites -- are trilingual, in Catalan, Spanish and English. Even graffiti is often multilingual: a message in a toilet stall outlined a person’s views on vegetarianism in all three languages.

Plaza de Catalunya

 

Notice the Catalonian flags hanging from balconies -- a common sight.

Inside the Sagrada Familia (Sacred Family) Cathedral

  

The only negative event in my stay in "BCN" didn't affect me directly, but a fellow Canadian I met at the hostel where we were both staying. On his last day in the city, Dan went for a final walk along the beach before heading to the airport. He turned his back for a quick minute and his wallet was taken; this didn't just mean lost money, but also a lost passport, so no flight home! And it means a few days wait, until the embassy can process a replacement passport early next week. It was a wake-up call about how easily something like this can happen, even to a careful person. It's also a reminder of the value of my precious passport!

Anyway, all in all, I would absolutely recommend Barcelona. There were quite a few tourists, even in "off" season -- but for good reason!

More mountain adventures

Tonight is my last evening in the Pyrenees, before I head to Barcelona tomorrow.

I've done some great hikes and sightseeing lately, so I thought I'd add a few photos.

Last Friday, I visited the Castle of Foix. It has three tours, each built in a different century using different building methods. The earliest origins go back to around 1000 CE, with the tour serving as a defensive outpost and the later towers being added as the regional counts expanded their territories and riches.  You can see the castle perched on the hill over the town, along with views from the top of the central (square) tower.

Saturday morning, I hiked up -- and I mean up, as in vertically -- to the Tour de Montorgueil, a relic of a defensive outpost, built in the 12th century or even earlier. See below for the views over the Saurat valley from the top of my hike.

Adventures in the Pyrenees

Hello!

This week brought a highlight -- my first overseas Thanksgiving celebration! I've been abroad once before for what is one of my favourite holidays, but this marked my first overseas celebration, pumpkin pie and all; And I didn't even have to bake the pie! For a bit more than a week now, I've been staying with a very welcoming family in the French Pyrenee mountain range, as part of a helpx exchange -- basically, I help out a few hours a day with gardening or other household tasks, in exchange for lodging and delicious meals. My hosts are both great cooks and Deb, the mom, was the pie baker -- see the lovely family pictured below, with our delicious pies showcased on the table.

Aside from being with the family, I've gone on a walks up the mountain each morning and managed a few other adventures. One day, I was wandering up a hill on the other side of the village of Bedeilhac and noticed a strong goat smell; I was thinking there must be a local farm producing goat cheese. But when I turned the next corner, I came across 8 or 10 giant goats with large curved horns -- one of the local groups of mountain goats.

A view of the village of Bedeilhac; I am staying just at the base of the hill known as Calames

On another day, Deb was driving the two of us to a garden site she maintains just outside of the village, when I was surprised to notice a growing backlog of traffic on the usually quiet road. By the time there were 20 or more vehicles lined up facing us, and a similar number behind our car, I realized that the cause was a pack of cows! The cows hadn't gotten loose, though -- they were being carefully shepherded down the valley as part of the "transhumance", when livestock are moved from their summer feeding ground in the hills down into the valley to the winter pasture. A few animals did make us nervous by coming up on the very edge of the road beside Deb's vehicle, with one bull tapping the outside mirror with its horn. I witnessed the transhumance again in a neighbouring valley a few days later -- quite a spectacle!

Another highlight was my visit to the Grotte de Bedeilhac, a cave which features prehistoric cave paintings and drawings. It was an awe-striking experience. I was disappointed that I couldn't take pictures inside, but photographs likely wouldn't do it justice. Our guide, a passionate historian of perhaps seventy years of age, scrambled easily over the slippery limestone cave floor while regaling us with his strongly held views on archaeological debates. The paintings and drawings were quite striking -- many bison and horses. All of these have been dated going back to between 10,000 and 14,000 years ago. Beyond the prehistoric significance, the geology of the cave was amazing, too -- you can see the size of the cave mouth, but there were inner chambers even broader than this, with huge pillars formed by stalactites and stalagmites. In places, we had to crouch down while making our way by the light from our flashlights, while in other locations, the cave roof soared high above us. This is just one of the many limestone caves in southern France, and far from the most famous, but I was very impressed all the same!

Tomorrow, my travels will take me to the castle in the regional centre of Foix...

 

Cross-cultural mysteries

I've been in France almost a month now, and a few patterns have emerged, of differences & mysteries from my Canadian eyes.

First mystery: how are there so few overweight people in a country where chocolate seems to be a food group, "cheese" is a regular course in a meal and there are bakeries on literally every block? A working hypothesis: for a least quite a few French people, smoking and drinking wine are the activities that fill social time, with food being quality food that is eaten at meal-time. On a number of social occasions, I've looked around and thought, "where are the snacks?" -- not necessarily because I was very hungry -- just because, in a similar situation at home, there would be chips & dip, cookies, etc. laid out.   On the other hand, sometimes I have felt quite hungry -- for example, at 5:30 or 6pm, when I'm used to eating dinner, but dinner is the farthest thing from everyone else's mind! While 7:30 or 8 might be a normal time for the evening meal in France, it's apparently 9pm in Spain, where I'm headed later this month. I think I'll have to plan on an early evening snack routine!

Second mystery: what are the small circular buttons inside of the larger circular buttons on the top of toilet bowls? I had an inkling of the idea, which was confirmed in one "W.C." with a helpful sign -- it's a water conservation method -- small button when just a small flush is neated; big button for a more substantial flush of water. Makes good sense, really! I've noticed quite a few similar energy-efficiency measures in France. On the roads, there are noticeablely smaller cars, on average, while many public spaces have automatic motion-detection lights installed, so the lights automatically turn off as well.

Third mystery: this one is about Canada. How can we have allowed our cities to be built so the automobile has such dominance? I love my car and I love to drive, but really, French people mostly also own cars and yet they haven't let cars shape the way that the cities are built to such a dramatic effect. Or maybe I just haven't spent enough (?) time in French suburban areas. In any case, I've been so impressed by the pedestrian life in various cities I've visited. Sidewalks are always busy with people -- often busier than the adjacent roadways. Quite a few roadways are car-free, at least in tourist areas. Terrasses outside cafes face have rows of tables facing toward the sidewalk and street, so people can observe the passersby. And bikes certainly seem to be more commonly used for transportation -- after spending a couple days in Toulouse recently, I think it was the second-most bicycle-intense city I've ever visited, after Amsterdam!

In any case, despite a few minor mysteries I've been pondering, my travels have continued on smoothly. I had a lovely visit with the brother and sister-in-law of my mother's husband (lost yet?). Jacques and Yvette showed me around their seaside village between Marseille and Toulon, and treated me to a delicious home-cooked, yet gourmet, meal. And I was very impressed by the green spaces and student "vibe" in Toulouse -- a city I would be happy to visit again.

Now, I've settled in for two weeks doing a "help-exchange" (like WOOFing: see helpx.net) with a family in the Pyrenees, after a week or so of whirlwind tourism. It's quiet here.... all you hear is the sheeps' bells on the nearby hillsides, the roosters crowing from the backyard and the church bell ringing next door. I'm staying with a lovely British family; the whole valley seems to have lots of English people around.

More to come soon....

Roman history, history everywhere

Hello, hello...

After just a few days of full-on tourism, since leaving the vineyard in Beaujolais, I've seen a number of interesting sites.... and almost hit my saturation point on history for a while!

The Roman ruins in southern France really do intrigue me, however -- to be honest, while I knew vaguely about the province of Gaul, my last course in ancient Europe history was a long time ago and I can't say that I typically think of Roman history when I think of France -- more so, I think of wine, cheese, bread -- all of which seems quite accurate, too!

In any case, I did some good exploring in both Lyon and the town of Arles. It's very impressive to see the careful restoration and preservation work underway in both cities. In Lyon, I thought it was neat that the relics of the ampitheatre are basically an open park, so you can walk freely. There is a beautiful view down on the city, as the site is situated on a hill. But I was surprised to learn that the audience members in Roman times would not have shared the same view, since there was an elaborate backstage construction that would have taken up the space of my lovely view!

In Lyon

In Arles, the theatre dates to the 1st century before Jesus Christ, with construction of the town starting on the orders of Julius Caeser in 46 BCE and most of the construction taking place under his successor Augustus. The ampitheatre was built a bit later, but still a while ago -- starting in approx. 90 C.E. (AD). It housed gladiator fights with 20,000 spectators and has now been restored -- it houses bullfights now, which I have some concerns about!

The photos below are from Arles -- the first two, of the ampitheatre. You can see, if you look carefully, that there are modern metal bleachers supplementing the seating where reconstruction wasn't fully completed. The last photo is the theatre which is no longer used. Very little of the site was intact and less reconstruction has taken place. The pillars show where the backdrop/stage would have been -- as in Lyon, it was an elaborate construction, so no view from the seating through the backstage area! What intrigues me, too, is that there are layers of history over top of one another, so to speak, at each of these sites. In the "Middle ages" the sites were generally used for other purposes. In Arles, there was a residential area built up inside the ampitheatre, protected by its walls. Towers were added for military purposes. At other sites, church organizations reclaimed the sites. I've often heard conversations in Canada about how history is forgotten in North America while heritage is valorized in Europe -- there may be some truth to that, but there were obviously periods when history was not a major concern!  (Many of the reconstruction and archaeological efforts I've heard about began in the 1800s and certainly now, the tourist industry must be a significant motivating factor.