Filling in some gaps in Spain, a Greenland cruise and I'm getting a tattoo!

[RooFlyer]

Some other stuff

Columns blackened by centuries (millenia) or people wrapping their arms around them







So,e of the loot in the Treasury. This is silver and gold plate 1500s







Silver and gold plate 1300s

 

[RooFlyer]

Around the outside and up the bell tower (formerly the minaret) - pay extra to go up - many stairs!!



A large courtyard of citrus - unfortunately neither in flower nor fruit.



Up we go - again, timed entry



A mosque with a cathedral built in it!







Just say'n









Just have to put these in. Some really cool granite pavers everywhere I've been - grey granite with abundant large xenoliths included. These are pieces of wall rock absorbed into the liquid granite as it ascends, partly digested and thoroughly cooked!

 

[Pushka]

So many billions of dollars must be invested in various places of worship. I wonder, like the Pyramids, if in future Millenia the grave robbers may come visiting.

 

[kevrosmith]

So many billions of dollars must be invested in various places of worship. I wonder, like the Pyramids, if in future Millenia the grave robbers may come visiting.

Are you predicting the collapse of society and reversion to centuries of abandoned cities?

 

[tgh]

Are you predicting the collapse of society and reversion to centuries of abandoned cities?

If Pushka is not so predicting, I opine that is is less a prediction than a certainty…..

 

[Pushka]

Are you predicting the collapse of society and reversion to centuries of abandoned cities?

It's kinda happening right now and has been since forever. Humanity just can't help itself.

 

[RooFlyer]

A walk around the old town showed it to be bright with many shops and restaurants.













The small synagogue was completed in 1315, possibly that of a family. After the jews were expelled in 1492, it was used for a variety of purposes and was only restored and opened as a museum in 1985.





The niche which would have held the hekhal (Torah ark)



The wall decoration follows the 'Mudéjar tradition' - a distinctive architectural and artistic style that flourished in the Iberian Peninsula, particularly after the Christian Reconquista, as Muslim artisans and craftsmen continued to work for Christian patrons.

 

[RooFlyer]

The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos (Palace of the Christian monachs) was unfortunately closed for extensive renovations, so just a walk around outside The site had been the centre of power during the Ottoman period, and before. After the Christian Reconquista in 1236, about 1328, , Alfonso XI of Castile began building the present day structure on part of the site for the old fortress. The structure still appears Islamic due to Alfonso's use of the Mudéjar style.

Isabella and Ferdinand used the Alcázar for one of the first permanent tribunals of the Spanish Inquisition and as a headquarters in 1482, targeting a surviving Moorish area of Granada. They converted much of it, including the old hammam, into torture and interrogation chambers. The Inquisition maintained a tribunal here for three centuries. Christopher Columbus had his first audience here with Isabella and Ferdinand to solicit support for his expedition to find a western sea route to Asia.

Torre de los Leones

















The old city wall, and Puerta de la Luna, Gate of the Moon, leading to the Jewish Quarter.



A good way to hide a car park



3pm. Hot as hell. Retired to the hotel.

 

[SYD]

Any decent Vermut bars? 1pm and a Vermut on ice is a nice way to start lunch. Save the Pedro for desert!

 

[Seat0B]

3pm. Hot as hell. Retired to the hotel.

My hatred of hot weather and crowds is why we try to avoid Europe in peak summer. You’re very brave @RooFlyer to tackle these conditions.

 

[VPS]

My hatred of hot weather and crowds is why we try to avoid Europe in peak summer. You’re very brave @RooFlyer to tackle these conditions.

Agree 100%

 

[RooFlyer]

You’re very brave @RooFlyer to tackle these conditions.

Only brought about by the Greenland cruise coming up, anchoring the whole trip. Before this year I'd always been a 'shoulder season' visitor (not so much weather, as costs!)

Scotland has been warm to hot too! 30 degrees at Glenfinnan yesterday.

 

[RooFlyer]

Any decent Vermut bars? 1pm and a Vermut on ice is a nice way to start lunch. Save the Pedro for desert!

Hadn't heard of it/them. Lunches have been almost non-existent on this strip; at least sit-down ones.

 

[RooFlyer]

Speaking of meals - I went back to the same place the next night.

Crazy guy. It was still hot! In fact, at 8pm hotter than when I went to the hotel. No one around!



Gazpacho again, and a little plate of smoked iberico ham.



Cheese preserved in olive oil - with a Pedro



Orange drizzled with olive oil - and another Pedro.



50 euro, incl some water, other wine. The ham was 20 euro.

 

[RooFlyer]

Next morning, the train back to Barcelona. Station pretty much deserted.



A comfort seat again, 1 of the 1-2 layout



The train was a high-speed AVE again, but a more modern coach. Cafeyeria car was pretty efficient and more ham in toast for brekkie. The coffee is good!



Barcelona Sants station. Repeat of the outward journey. Massively long train, and walk up th platform



A roped-off stair to where we want to go



So they can funnel us up the single escalator again - hundreds of pax.



Didn't bother trying for an Uber - so went to the taxi area. Massive scrum in the heat. No one controlling taxi allocation, making it all the slower.

 

[RooFlyer]

Novotel Barcelona City - upgrade to a suite again, top floor. the same as the last one, but facing different direction





Quick dinner in a restaurant in the Westfield centre over the road - avocado and watermelon. I told you my meals etc were unexciting, didn't I?



Had to put this in. Between the hotel and the shopping centre there is a wide island between traffic directions. Has trams either side and cycle ways and pedestrians. The bloody cycle ways run along either side like this. I very nearly got cleaned up twice by cyclists hurtling along the cycleways, as you had to do to get to the curb. These two were very benign.

 

[RooFlyer]

Got my first Uber rip from the hotel to the airport. Still no passport # required @SYD

Checked in OK, but of course gast track security was the far, far end of the terminal . Still, helps the steps. Fast-track security easy and went to the VIP lounge that BA uses Was OK - quite large, actually, but crowded.





The bird's at the gate. I mentioned in another thread this guy, who fronted the gate with a full sized suitcase. Talked to the agent, agent made calls; guy walked away with the case. He later boarded without it, so I don't know what happened.



BA485
Dep BCN 12:55 arr LHR 15:20
A319
4F, Alaska miles redemption

Hauling out over the coast



Lunch was 'lamb dinner'. Quite nice. The NZ Sav Blanc wasn't.

 

[RooFlyer]

Heathrow. Who doesn't loath Heathrow? I have managed to avoid it for at least 10 years, but to get up to Edinburgh, I didn't have a choice.

Arrival passport control was good. Then, out into the concourse and the memories of T5 came flooding back.



Now, I had a vague memory of getting to the First lounge from the concourse below. But to save myself hassle I headed for one of the ordinary lounges, to check. Headed for the nearest on - South. Big mistake. Of course I was at the wrong end. Lounge agent directed me to the other end - as it happens incorrectly to the Concorde Room.

Check out these signs - can anyone see the First Lounge signed?



After i got bounced from the Concorde Lounge entry, got sent down stairs (yeas, that sounds right) - 'its near Louis Vuitton'. Right, how are those signs looking? Clowns.



BA First Lounge is OK, but I wouldn't call it stunning.





Architecture is interesting, though.

 

[RooFlyer]

BA1438
Dep LHR 18:10 arr EDI 19:35
A320 neo
5C Alaska redemption

Standard EuroBusiness





I was surprised - my adjacent neighbour was a paxing BA Captain - who kept his iPad (I think) on his lap during take-off.



I took the light option of various cold cuts



And then arrived in Edinburgh. An inordinately long walk from the gate to .... 2 flights of stairs down to baggage collection??



375m after deplaning, at baggage collection. It starts, and delivers about 6 bags. Stops. Abt 10 min later, starts, delivers ONE bag ... stops.


Abt 10 mins later starts again, and bags start coming out - but they are coming out spaced about 5 metres apart!! God, they make flying frustrating.



Got my bag after 25 mins.

Exited - no signs to Uber or ride-share. Several others looking. Eventually ask and get directed to under car-park Grrrr.

 

[RooFlyer]

I'd been to Edinburgh maybe 4 times previously, and really like the city. There of these trips have been for family history - tracing ancestors in Edinburgh and further north. All low-landers though, so I wanted to visit the highlands.

When I checked hotel prices for a transit night, maybe 8 months out they were beyond astronomical. . Then realised why - the tattoo was on, but also the Edinburgh Festival. So I checked - I could get a decent ticket for the Tattoo, so decided to go and stay for two nights. But OMG. I knew I had to be close to the Castle, as transport after the event would be non-existent. So plumped for one of the cheaper options - Ibis South Bridge for a mere $500/night (I said $400 before - I was dream'n). Yes, WTF but believe me, it was the best option other than a squat.

When the Uber dropped me off, the streets were beyond heaving. Think Times Square crowds, but on footpaths only 1-2m wide. All packed shoulder-to-shoulder.

I hadn't stayed at an Ibis for a long time, but recalled it to be a pretty standard one - down to the modular bathroom. It turned out OK (not considering the price). Mostly middle+ aged folk like myself.





The surprise was the welcome amenity - a velvet boxed box of chokkies! And 2 small bottles of prosecco. Hell, I'm paying $500/night for an Ibis - its the least they could do.



Went out next moring for a walk and the festival was everywhere to be seen.



I was very familiar with the area - a Theatre of Edinburgh Uni used to be both a residence of Charles Darwin where he studied there, and an ancestor of mine some time before that.



My walk took me to Greyfriar's church, and I paid my respects to some ancestors - the prosperous Reid family, silk mercers.



Greyfiars Bobby is better known



I then decided to recce the Tattoo area; Edinburgh on the way hadn't changed my for a century or more



This approaching up the Golden Mile



I was surprised that you could go in and wander round - so I did.



Checked out my seat - 6 rows from the top on the angled section. Only 5 seats away from the central 'premium' section, priced about double what I paid (GBP130)