Tag Archives: Spain

20 Sep 2016
Alcudia, Mallorca, Spain:
Poets, Pianists, and Raindrops


By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

There is something very special about this island in the Mediterranean. Something that attracted ancient peoples, the Roman empire, the Moors, Pirates, and Vandals.

In 1838, the great Polish composer Frederick Chopin and his mistress, the writer George Sand, arrived for a respite. While Chopin appears to have fallen in love with the place and wrote one of his better pieces here, Sand very much did not. But working on a delapidated rented piano he worked on his “Raindrop” prelude.

The great architect Antoni Gaudi came to work on some projects here in 1901, but he ran into some disputes with contractors. He left, but his acolytes kept up the work in places like Soller and Palma.

The artist Joan Miro spent his final years on the island.

The English poet Robert Graves spent most of the last half-century of his life living in the little village of Deià, and it was there he died and was buried in 1985.

On this visit, we avoided the hustle and bustle of the principal city of Palma de Mallorca, and instead came in to the charming resort village of Alcudia to the north; it’s also the site of some of the oldest remnants of ancient civilizations on the island. Roman ruins including a theater still stand at Pollentia, just outside of Alcudia. There is also evidence of inhabitants as far back as the Bronze Age.

Today Alcudia sits within its 14th century walls.

I went with guests up an almost impossible switchback road to the 13th century Lluch Sanctuary, a place of respites then and now.

LLUCH SANCTUARY

blog-lluch-20sept2016-corey-sandler-0305

blog-lluch-20sept2016-corey-sandler-0281

blog-lluch-20sept2016-corey-sandler-0288

blog-lluch-20sept2016-corey-sandler-0291

blog-lluch-20sept2016-corey-sandler-0299

AN ALCUDIA ALBUM

BLOG Alcudia 18Apr2016-4569

BLOG Alcudia 18Apr2016-4576

BLOG Alcudia 18Apr2016-4593

BLOG Alcudia 18Apr2016-4583

BLOG Alcudia 18Apr2016-4585

BLOG Alcudia 18Apr2016-4589

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

 

14 Sep 2016
Porto Mahon, Menorca, Spain:
In the Middle

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

All of the islands of the Mediterranean have served pretty much the same role across history: an offshore sanctuary, a supply depot, a marshalling place for navies. Think of them as aircraft carriers.

Cyprus, Crete, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and the Balearics have all fit that description.

Safe harbors, on the ancient trading routes for long-vanished peoples, as well as for wave upon wave of empire builders including the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Vikings, the Spanish, and the English.

And then right along the watery highway for incoming Islamic tribes, and then for outgoing Crusaders.

Today, close enough for invading holiday makers to hop on a ferry or a flight from the mainland to the beach.

September has been unseasonably,  ridiculously hot in the Mediterranean, topping 42C or 108F recently.    Today some of us were quite happy to welcome gray skies and a light sprinkle of rain.  Snow would be even nicer,  but that is not yet on the horizon.

A PORTO MAHON ALBUM

SANDLER BLOG PORTO MAHON MENORCA -4869

SANDLER BLOG PORTO MAHON MENORCA -4858

SANDLER BLOG Porto Mahon -4071

SANDLER BLOG Porto Mahon -4080

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

You can help support this site by making purchases from
AMAZON.COM by clicking on the banner below.

 

13 Sep 2016
Palma de Mallorca, Spain:
The Big One

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Mallorca is Spain’s largest island possession, and its second-most populated island (after Tenerife in the Canary Islands.)

The name Mallorca derives from Latin insula maior, “larger island.”

Larger than what? Why, the smaller neighboring island known as Menorca. And then there is also Ibiza, plus the very small islets of Formentera and Cabrera and another 150 or so uninhabited rocks.

Collectively, the islands are called the Balearics, and they are a very popular holiday destination for neighboring Spaniards and just about anyone who enjoys sun, sea, beaches, fine architecture and art, beautiful hills and valleys, and great food. What’s not to like?

Today I went with guests to the village of Soller, about an hour out of Palma.  We were delivered on the old railway,  originally built to haul fruit.  Today it carries only tourists,  up into the hills and through a long tunnel.

TODAY IN SOLLER

blog-palma-13sept2016-corey-sandler-0196

blog-palma-13sept2016-corey-sandler-0179

blog-palma-13sept2016-corey-sandler-0186

blog-palma-13sept2016-corey-sandler-0190

A PALMA ALBUM

B-PALMA MALLORCA 07April2014 _DSC0340

Mallorca Sandler Palma5

B-PALMA MALLORCA 07April2014 _DSC0348

B-PALMA MALLORCA 07April2014 _DSC0344

B-PALMA MALLORCA 07April2014 _DSC0315

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

12 Sep 2016
Barcelona, Spain:
Ramblin’ Around Your City

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

We come to Barcelona six or eight times a year in this job. Tough work, but someone has to do it.

This is one of most handsome, most uplifting cities in the world. We arrived for a full day’s port call, and we’ll be back in just over a week for two more days. We’re already planning expeditions to parts yet unknown.

The most famous street in Barcelona is Las Ramblas, or the Promenade. It is actually a series of linked streets, each one of them a rambla mostly dedicated to a particular set of markets: flowers, art, pets.

Few cities are more imbued with the artistic vision of one man than is Barcelona. The visions, all of them beautiful and some of them a bit strange, were those of Antoni Gaudi, one of the masters of the Modernist or Art Nouveau style.

His crowning achievement was—or will be—La Sagrada Família, the Holy Family.

Gaudi designed it to have 18 towers: 12 for the apostles, 4 for the evangelists, one for Mary and one for Jesus.

Gaudí died in 1926, and they’re still working on the basilica, with plans to complete in in 2026, the centenary of his death.

Like many of you I have visited hundreds of cathedrals all over the world, many of them many centuries years old. Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia may well be the last monumental cathederal to be built, and it is amazing scene to watch the work underway.

BARCELONA TODAY

blog-barcelona-12sept2016-corey-sandler-0141

blog-barcelona-12sept2016-corey-sandler-0143

blog-barcelona-12sept2016-corey-sandler-0144

blog-barcelona-12sept2016-corey-sandler-0158

blog-barcelona-12sept2016-corey-sandler-0166

GAUDI IN BARCELONA

B-BARCELONA 04April2014 _DSC0221

B-BARCELONA 04April2014 _DSC0235

Barcelona Sandler4

Barcelona Sandler3

The waterfront at the base of the city, near the place where much of Spain’s great fleet of exploration was built and where Columbus returned from his first voyage, has been restored and improved.

Maremagnum, a sprawling shopping, dining, and entertainment complex has pride of place. Literally translated from the Latin it means the “great sea.” But as a Spanish idiom, it means an abundance or an overabundance or a confusion born of excess.

Much like Barcelona itself.

MAREMAGNUM

SANDLER BLOG Barcelona

B-BARCELONA 05April2014 _DSC0252

PALAU GÜELL

SANDLER BLOG BARCELONA PALAU GUELL-4739

SANDLER BLOG BARCELONA PALAU GUELL -4745

MERCAT DE SANT JOSEP DE LA BOUQUERIA

SANDLER BLOG BARCELONA -1100269

SANDLER BLOG BARCELONA -1100275

SANDLER BLOG BARCELONA -1100277

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

11 Sep 2016
València, Spain:
Arts and Sciences and Paella

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

València is Spain’s third largest city, after Madrid and Barcelona, which is pretty impressive company.

But València can stand on its own as a wondrous old city, the former capital of the Old Kingdom of València.

The birthplace of paella.

The deathplace of the fallas.

And the modern resurgence of an ancient settlement around the spectacular Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, the City of Arts and Sciences, completed in 2008 in the old bed of the river Turia.

TODAY’S PHOTOS FROM VALENCIA 

blog-valencia-11sept2016-corey-sandler-0110

blog-valencia-11sept2016-corey-sandler-0116

blog-valencia-11sept2016-corey-sandler-0122

blog-valencia-11sept2016-corey-sandler-0131

Its highlights include structures by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, among them the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia opera house and performing arts center which is topped by a swooping wave which overhangs the structure.

L’Hemisfèric, an IMAX Cinema and planetarium is the centerpiece of the project. Its eyelid is reflected in a water pool, creating the illusion of a giant eye.

El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe is an interactive museum of science that resembles the skeleton of a whale.

L’Umbracle is a landscaped walk with plant species indigenous to Valencia including rockrose, lentisca, rosemary, lavender, honeysuckle, bougainvillea, and palm trees.

L’Oceanogràfic is the largest oceanographic aquarium in Europe. Built in the shape of a water lily, it is the work of another architect, Félix Candela.

CITY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

SANDLER BLOG Valencia -4609

SANDLER BLOG Valencia -4611

SANDLER BLOG Valencia -4665

SANDLER BLOG Valencia -4621

SANDLER BLOG Valencia -4627

SANDLER BLOG Valencia -4634

SANDLER BLOG Valencia -4671

We eat oh so well aboard ship, but that is no excuse not to indulge in local specialties when given the chance. Few places are more worthy than this region of Spain, the birthplace of paella.

The dish is named after the pan used to prepare it. You can, if you wish, think of it as a Spanish version of a wok.

In many ways it brings together the Roman and Arab and indigenous flavors of the region.

In Moorish Spain, farmers improved the old Roman irrigation systems along the Mediterranean coast, leading to greater yields in rice production. And from this came casseroles of rice, meat, fish, and spices.

Paella Valenciana includes meat (usually chicken or rabbit). Paella de Marisco, with fish or seafood, or even Paella Mixta, with meat and fish. Not with sausage, ham, or meat broth; those are for tourists.

Paella is typically eaten at midday, so many restaurants do not serve it at dinner, which in Spain can be deep into the night. In its classical version, paella is cooked over a wood fire. Not gas. And if you see a microwave in the kitchen, run away.

MERCAT CENTRAL

SANDLER BLOG Valencia -4699

SANDLER BLOG Valencia -4704

SANDLER BLOG Valencia -4702

One of the most famous aspects of Valencia is a tradition that dates back several centuries, the Night of the Cremà.

This is the burning of the Fallas, large wooden and papier mache dolls or effigies—sometimes representing politicians or celebrities or allegorical figures.

It is believed the tradition dates back to the carpenter’s guild of Valencia, who would celebrate the Festival of their patron Saint Joseph by gathering in front of their workshops to burn old tools, other wooden utensils, and candleholders they used to give them light during the winter season.

The party takes place in March, which means work is well underway now in workshops around town.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

10 Sep 2016
Cartagena, Spain: From the New World to the Old

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Cartagena is on the Costa Cálida, the Warm Coast of Spain’s Murcia region. Cartagena is one of Spain’s more historically significant places because of its superb and easily defended naval port.

But Cartagena is less-known than many other coastal cities of Spain,

In fact, its distant namesake, Cartagena de Indias, in Colombia, may be much better known.

Cartagena, Colombia grew as one of the principal Spanish fortresses to hold the treasure taken from South America, the Caribbean, and Asia.

Cartagena, Spain has long been a crossroads of civilizations and navies. It has a fine collection of early 20th century Art Nouveau buildings, intermixed with a spectacular Roman Theatre and remains of Phoenician, Byzantine and Moorish structures.

A CARTAGENA ALBUM

SANDLER BLOG Cartagena -9318

SANDLER BLOG Cartagena -9349

SANDLER BLOG Cartagena -9341

SANDLER BLOG Cartagena -9322

SANDLER BLOG Cartagena -9326

SANDLER BLOG Cartagena -9310

SANDLER BLOG Cartagena Spain -9312

About 50 kilometers or 35 miles north of Cartagena in the interior is the town of Murcia, the provincial capital and university town, a much larger city of 440,000.

Murcia has a similar back-story to Cartagena, a mix of Roman, Moorish, and Spanish cultures.

One of the treasures of Murcia is its Cathedral, begun in the 14th century after the reconquest of Spain from the Muslims. Its style is considered Churrigueresque—highly ornate and complex Spanish Baroque. The style gets its name from architect Jose Benito de Churriguera.

The 19th century Murcia Casino, with an exterior inspired by the Alhambra in Granada, is inside more like a British gentleman’s club, a place to socialize and play billiards.

THE CATHEDRAL OF MURCIA

SANDLER BLOG MURCIA _DSC0206

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

You can help support this site by making purchases from
AMAZON.COM by clicking on the banner below.

9 Sep 2016
Malaga, Spain:
The Art of Attraction

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

The rust-colored walls of the Alcazaba, the azure waters of the Mediterranean, the dramatic flair of Spanish and Moorish architecture.

All are conducive, I suppose, to great art, and it was here that Pablo Picasso was born.

For all of these reasons and more, Málaga has wrapped itself in a mantle of art.

This small city has developed a remarkable portfolion of world-class art collections, starting with a Picasso collection and a branch of Madrid’s Carmen Thyssen museum.

More recently, the Centre Pompidou Málaga and a branch of the Russian Museum of Saint Petersburg opened.

On this visit,  I went up into the hills to visit the ancient city of Mijas, the “Balcony of the Costa del Sol.”

It was the morning after the night before, in Feria or fair season.

blog-mijas-09sept2016-corey-sandler-0093

blog-mijas-09sept2016-corey-sandler-0081

blog-mijas-09sept2016-corey-sandler-0086

blog-mijas-09sept2016-corey-sandler-0088

blog-mijas-09sept2016-corey-sandler-0096

blog-mijas-09sept2016-corey-sandler-0092

A MALAGA ALBUM

SANDLER BLOG Malaga DSC_4413

SANDLER BLOG Malaga Catedral DSC_4453

SANDLER BLOG Malaga Catedral IMG_5154

SANDLER BLOG Malaga Roman Amphitheater DSC_6130

SANDLER BLOG Malaga Roman Amphitheater DSC_6129

Granada, one of Spain’s most spectacular and famous cities lies just under two hours to the northeast of Málaga, at the base of Sierra Nevada mountains.

The city has been inhabited for thousands of years.

In the 8th century, the city became the capital of a province of the Caliphate of Cordoba.

The Alhambra, Arabic for “the red one”, or the red fortress, was built in the mid-14th century.

In January 1492, the last Muslim sultan in Iberia surrendered control of Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella, Los Reyes Católicos (“The Catholic Monarchs.”)

By the 16th century, Granada took on a Christian and Castilian character, as immigrants came from other parts of the Iberian Peninsula.

Many of the city’s mosques, some of which had been established on the sites of former Christian churches, were converted to Christian uses.

GRANADA ALBUM

SANDLER BLOG Granada Spain Alhambra DSC_1895

SANDLER BLOG Granada Spain Alhambra DSC_1933

SANDLER BLOG Granada Spain Alhambra DSC_1982

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

 

8 Sep 2016
Cadiz, Spain:
Religion, Wine, and Horses on the Frontier

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Cadiz is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the Iberian Peninsula, and possibly the oldest in all of southwestern Europe.

Think of it as a frontier town, the Wild West of Europe.

Cádiz was part of the Muslim realm of Al-Andalus, now the Spanish region of Andalusia.

Its history and culture are built on a base of Moorish or Muslim cultures, and by earlier forces: the Iberians, the Carthaginians, the Greeks, the Roman Empire, the Vandals, and the Visigoths.

The Phoenicians built an outpost here about three thousand years ago and called it Gadir, which means walled stronghold. And for most of its existence, that was its role: a fortress and an armory.

A CADIZ ALBUM

SANDLER BLOG Cadiz Teatro Romano IMG_5040

Roman Theater of Cadiz

SANDLER BLOG Cadiz Plaza San Antonio DSC_4342

SANDLER BLOG Cadiz DSC_4343

SANDLER BLOG Cadiz IMG_6206

SANDLER BLOG CADIZ NITE DSC_2330

SANDLER BLOG Cadiz Culeta Beach IMG_6186

SANDLER BLOG Cadiz Mercado Cental IMG_4962

blog-cadiz-08sept2016-corey-sandler-0065

blog-cadiz-08sept2016-corey-sandler-0068

blog-cadiz-08sept2016-corey-sandler-0066

SANDLER BLOG Cadiz Ayuntamiento IMG_5077

SANDLER BLOG Cadiz Ayutamiento IMG_5073

SANDLER BLOG Cadiz Ayuntamiento IMG_5106

SANDLER BLOG Cadiz Alameda DSC_4325

Alameda district of Cadiz

The Moors ruled between 711 and 1262, until they were finally ousted by Alphonso X of Castile. During the Age of Exploration, the city was re-energized.

Christopher Columbus sailed from Cádiz on his second and fourth voyages.

By the middle of 16th century, when the Spanish Empire ruled or traded with much of the world, Cádiz was the receiving end of the treasure train from Asia and the New World.

Spanish Galleons would pick up gold, silver, and other treasure from Mexico, South America, Japan, China, the Philippines and other parts and try to get it past the real Pirates of the Caribbean and back to Europe.

ARCOS DE LA FRONTERA ALBUM

SANDLER BLOG ARCOS DE FRONTERA DSC_2300

SANDLER BLOG Cadiz Arcos Frontera Spain DSC_2312

SANDLER BLOG ARCOS P1040140

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

23 April 2016
Porto Mahon, Menorca: Location, Location, Location


By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

As real estate agents love to say, it’s all about location, location, location. The Balearic Islands of Spain are right there in the tides of history of time…in the Mediterranean between Europe and Africa.

They have been occupied since ancient times, and also saw most of the major migrations and tides of war of human history.

BMAHON MENORCA 08April2014 _DSC0353

BMAHON MENORCA 08April2014 _DSC0359

BMAHON MENORCA 08April2014 _DSC0351

Menorca is known for its megalithic stone monuments: navetes, taulas, and talaiots. They were built by what is known as the Talayotic culture between about 1800 and 1000 BC.

A naveta is a chamber tomb unique to Menorca. It has two vertical and two corbelled walls giving it the form of an upturned boat, the source of its name. While some certainly had a defensive purpose, others may have served as lookout or signaling towers.

BLOG PORTO MAHON MENORCA 23Apr2016-4869

Silver Cloud at the dock in Porto Mahon today

And then there are the taulas, which are usually found nearby. The word, which means ‘table’ in Catalan, is a T-shaped stone monument.

Similar but not necessarily related are the “nuraghes” of Sardinia, the “torre” of Corsica, and the “sesi” of Pantelleria, an island off Sicily.

It is, though, believed there was a connection—or at least an influence—on Menorca from other Mediterranean cultures, including the Minoans of ancient Crete.

Some of the same features found at Knossos on Crete are seen on Menorca.

We were here a few weeks ago, on April 2, and you can learn more about Porto Mahon and Menorca in that blog entry.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Hudson Book Cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

21-22 April 2016
Barcelona, Spain: Una vez más

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Once more from Barcelona, which is not by any means an unpleasant journey.

As our cruise from Nice comes to an end,  we wish departing guests safe travels and arrivederci. And we welcome aboard new friends on our next voyage from Barcelona to the port of Rome,  Civitavecchia.

My wife and I are great walkers, and few cities are as walkable and pleasurable as Barcelona. We always manage to find a new place to explore, mixed in and amongst old favorites.

B-BARCELONA 04April2014 _DSC0226

Barcelona Sandler3

B-BARCELONA 05April2014 _DSC0251

Today started out cold and rainy; we began our day with a pilgrimage to the Mercat de la Bouqueria, the great market of Barcelona. Don’t go there on an empty stomach…or do , and plan to eat your way through Catalonia.

Here’s some of what we saw today:

BLOG BARCELONA 21Apr2016-1100269

BLOG BARCELONA 21Apr2016-1100270

BLOG BARCELONA 21Apr2016-1100275

BLOG BARCELONA 21Apr2016-1100281

BLOG BARCELONA 21Apr2016-1100271

BLOG BARCELONA 21Apr2016-1100277

That last fish is called a reloje costa, which translates as a Coast Watch,  as in a timepiece on your wrist. Can’t say that I know what do do with this fish in the kitchen,  other than to keep a close eye on it at all times.

Saturday morning we will call at Porto Mahon on the Spanish island of Menorca, the middle of the three Balearic Islands. From there we head east to Alghero on the Italian island of Sardinia.

And then we return to the mainland of Europe, calling at Cannes in France, then Monte Carlo in the Principality of Monaco. Moving to Italy, we are due to visit Portofino and Livorno (gateway to Florence and Pisa) before concluding this cruise in Civitacecchia, the port of Rome.

v1611c

I hope you’ll join me here.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

20 April 2016
Valencia, Spain: Beauty Ancient and Ultra-Modern

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Valencia is Spain’s third largest city, after Madrid and Barcelona.

That’s pretty impressive company.

But Valencia can stand on its own as a wondrous old city, the former capital of the Old Kingdom of Valencia.

The birthplace of paella. The deathplace of the fallas.

The host city for the America’s Cup in 2007 and 2010.

And home to a massive modern architectural project moved by Santiago Calatrava, the City of Arts and Sciences.

THE CITY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

BLOG Valencia 20Apr2016-4609

BLOG Valencia 20Apr2016-4689

BLOG Valencia 20Apr2016-4665

BLOG Valencia 20Apr2016-4661

Palau de les Arts

BLOG Valencia 20Apr2016-4621

BLOG Valencia 20Apr2016-4627

BLOG Valencia 20Apr2016-4649

The roots of Valencia reach back to a Roman colony founded in 138 BC on an island in the Turia River.

The Moors held this part of Spain from the 8th to the 13th century, with the exception of about five years from 1094 to 1099 when Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar—El Cid—broke their hold in Valencia.

Despite being on the Mediterranean Sea, there is still a local expression that says “Valencia has always lived with its back to the sea”, meaning that the spirit and the core of the city is not necessarily oriented to the water.

THE MERCAT CENTRAL

BLOG Valencia 20Apr2016-4699

BLOG Valencia 20Apr2016-4704

BLOG Valencia 20Apr2016-4706

BLOG Valencia 20Apr2016-4710

One of the most famous aspects of Valencia is a tradition that dates back several centuries, the Night of the Cremà, which takes place in March.

This is the burning of the Fallas, large wooden and papier mache dolls or effigies—sometimes representing politicians or celebrities or allegorical figures.

It is believed the tradition dates back to the carpenter’s guild of Valencia, who would celebrate the Festival of their patron Saint Joseph by gathering in front of their workshops to burn old tools, other wooden utensils, and candleholders they used to give them light during the winter season.

To me, a much more worthy exercise is the acquisition and consumption of Paella, the signature dish of Valencia.

The dish is named after the pan used to prepare it. You can, if you wish, think of it as a Spanish version of a wok.

Paella originated in the mid-nineteenth century near Albufera lagoon in Valencia. In many ways it brings together the Roman and Arab and indigenous flavors of the region.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Hudson Book Cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

19 April 2016
Alcudia, Mallorca: Old Wine, Surrounded by New Bottles

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Mallorca is Spain’s largest island possession, and its second-most populated island (after Tenerife in the Canary Islands.)

On this visit, we are avoiding the hustle and bustle of the principal city of Palma de Mallorca, and instead coming in to the ancient village of Alcudia to the north.

Alcudia has seen human settlements dating back thousands of years, and today a village mostly  of the 13th to 16th centuries is flanked by Roman ruins and modern resorts.

ALCUDIA

BLOG Alcudia 18Apr2016-4563

BLOG Alcudia 18Apr2016-4569

BLOG Alcudia 18Apr2016-4576

BLOG Alcudia 18Apr2016-4585

BLOG Alcudia 18Apr2016-4583

BLOG Alcudia 18Apr2016-4593

BLOG Alcudia 18Apr2016-4589

BLOG Alcudia 18Apr2016-4588

AROUND MALLORCA

There is something very special about the island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean.

Something that attracted ancient peoples, the Roman empire, the Moors, Pirates, and Vandals.

Also the great composed Frederick Chopin, the artist Joan Miro, the poet Robert Graves, and the great architect Antoni Gaudi.

Each came for short visits but left behind significant reminders of their genius.

Mallorca Sandler4

The capital city of Palma, with its broad boulevards and spectacular cathedral, is one of the lesser-known treasures of the Mediterranean.

Mallorca La Seu Sandler2

B-PALMA MALLORCA 07April2014 _DSC0324

Mallorca Sandler Palma5

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

2 April 2016
Porto Mahon, Menorca

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

The Balearic Islands sit offshore of Spain, very attractive in many ways.

Possessed of rich and fertile land safe harbors, they were on the ancient trading routes for long-vanished peoples,

as well as for wave upon wave of empire builders including the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Vikings, the Spanish, and the English.

Porto Mahon 2Apr2016 EDIT BLOG-4071

And right along the watery highway for incoming Islamic tribes, and then for outgoing Crusaders.

Today, close enough for invading holiday makers to hop on a ferry or a flight from the mainland to the beach.

BMAHON MENORCA 08April2014 _DSC0359

BMAHON MENORCA 08April2014 _DSC0365

BMAHON MENORCA 08April2014 _DSC0358

There are four principal islands in the Balearics:

Ibiza, with its port of the same name.

Mallorca, Spain’s largest island possession, and its second-most populated island (after Tenerife in the Canary Islands.)

And then there is Menorca, and the place we are heading: Porto Mahon.

The fourth largest island is Formentera, and there is also the uninhabited island of Cabrera.

Porto Mahon, pronounced MA-own, is believed to be named after the Carthaginian general Mago Barca, brother to Hannibal, who was said to have taken refuge here in 205 BC.

We’ll be back in Porto Mahon on April 23 and I’ll have more commentary then.

BMAHON MENORCA 08April2014 _DSC0360

BMAHON MENORCA 08April2014 _DSC0363

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Hudson Book Cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

23 September 2015
València, Spain: Fallas, Fireworks, and Paella

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Valencia is Spain’s third largest city, after Madrid and Barcelona.

That’s pretty impressive company.

But Valencia can stand on its own as a wondrous old city, the former capital of the Old Kingdom of Valencia.

The birthplace of paella. The deathplace of the fallas.

The host city for the America’s Cup in 2007 and 2010.

And home to a massive modern architectural project by Santiago Calatrava.

The roots of Valencia reach back to a Roman colony founded in 138 BC on an island in the Turia River.

The Moors held this part of Spain from the 8th to the 13th century, with the exception of about five years from 1094 to 1099 when Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar—El Cid—broke their hold in Valencia.

Despite being on the Mediterranean Sea, there is still a local expression that says “Valencia has always lived with its back to the sea”, meaning that the spirit and the core of the city is not necessarily oriented to the water.

One of the most famous aspects of Valencia is a tradition that dates back several centuries, the Night of the Cremà, which takes place in March.

This is the burning of the Fallas, large wooden and papier mache dolls or effigies—sometimes representing politicians or celebrities or allegorical figures.

It is believed the tradition dates back to the carpenter’s guild of Valencia, who would celebrate the Festival of their patron Saint Joseph by gathering in front of their workshops to burn old tools, other wooden utensils, and candleholders they used to give them light during the winter season.

To me, a much more worthy exercise is the acquisition and consumption of Paella, the signature dish of Valencia.

The dish is named after the pan used to prepare it. You can, if you wish, think of it as a Spanish version of a wok.

Paella originated in the mid-nineteenth century near Albufera lagoon in Valencia. In many ways it brings together the Roman and Arab and indigenous flavors of the region.

Copyright 2015 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

 

22 September 2015
Alcúdia, Mallorca, Spain: Pirates, Giants, and Raindrops

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

There is something very special about the island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean.

Something that attracted ancient peoples, the Roman empire, the Moors, Pirates, and Vandals.

Also the great composed Frederick Chopin, the artist Joan Miro, the poet Robert Graves, and the great architect Antoni Gaudi.

Each came for short visits but left behind significant reminders of their genius.

Mallorca is Spain’s largest island possession, and its second-most populated island (after Tenerife in the Canary Islands.)

On this visit, we are avoiding the hustle and bustle of the principal city of Palma de Mallorca, and instead coming in to the charming resort village of Alcudia to the north

Mallorca Sandler4

Mallorca Sandler La Seu1

Mallorca La Seu Sandler2

Mallorca Sandler Palma5

Text and images copyright 2015 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

9 September 2015
La Coruña, Spain: The Crystal City at the End of the Earth, and Santiago de Compostela: The Way of Saint James

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

La Coruña is in the autonomous community of Galicia.

In recent history, La Coruña was the political capital of the Kingdom of Galicia from the 16th to the 19th centuries.

Spain has 17 autonomous communities, a first-level political division that came out of the Constitution of 1978 which was intended to retain the autonomy of the nationalities and regions of the Spanish nation.

On this visit,  we ventured about an hour south to the town of Santiago de Compostela, a place of pilgrimage for Christians for centuries.

We visited the cathedral,  saw the vendors offering walking sticks topped by a carving of a scallop shell–proof to some of the accomplishment of their peregrino or pilgrimage,  and topped it all of with tapas and a music and dance performance by a Galician folk troupe: Celtic bagpipes of northwest Spain.

BLOG Compostella Spain 09Sept2015-2873

BLOG Compostella Spain 09Sept2015-2871

BLOG Compostella Spain 09Sept2015-2863

BLOG Compostella Spain 09Sept2015-2855

BLOG Compostella Spain 09Sept2015-2908

BLOG Compostella Spain 09Sept2015-2904

BLOG Compostella Spain 09Sept2015-2893

La Coruña is sometimes called “The Crystal City.” That nickname is derived from its many galerías, or glazed window balconies.

Naval architects adopted the design of the windowed stern of a warship and applied them as balconies to many places in northern Spain, including Galicia and the Basque region.

The first settlement was believed to have been on the peninsula that extends out from the present city, probably established by the Artabrians, a Celtic tribe.

Then came the Romans in the 2nd century BC.

They were attracted to the strategic position at the edge of Iberia, and they called the region Finis-terrae, the end of the world.

Its name in the Galician language evolved from that to Fisterra.

Under the Romans, the settlement they called Brigantium became important in maritime trade, and even drew the notice of Julius Caesar who visited in 62BC.

Commerce in metal and other materials grew, with connections what is now France, England, and Portugal.

Brigantium reached its peak in the 1st and 2nd centuries, but declined after the 4th century and especially with the incursions of the Normans, which forced the population to flee towards the interior of the Estuary of O Burgo.

It was in the 2nd century that the Farum Brigantium was built.

Farum is the Latin version of the Greek work pharos, meaning lighthouse.

The other name for the farum was the Tower of Hercules.

That tower, restored and elaborated a bit over 1,900 years, still stands on the peninsula about 2.5 kilometers or 1.5 miles from the center of La Coruña.

It has been in more-or-less continuous use since first built, and may well be the oldest lighthouse still in existence.

According to some, it may have been modeled after the great Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Text and images copyright 2015 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

 

8 September 2015
Gijón and Ovieda, Spain: The Waves of History

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Gijón is the largest city in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain, located on the Bay of Biscay.

Cimavilla (in Spanish, Cimadevilla) is the oldest part of Gijón.

It includes ruins of the old Roman settlement as well as interesting residential and touristic areas including a small yacht club.

This is an ancient part of the world, with evidence dating back 250,000 years or so to the first humans including homo erectus and the Neanderthals.

Later the area came under the cultural influence of the Celts, and Celtic influence remains.

The Romans arrived about 29 BC under Augustus.

The major event in the first millennia was the Moorish invasion, beginning in the 8th century.

The Moors swept through most of Spain and Portugal, but the defenses put in place by the Romans and the mountainous topography of Northern Spain proved to be difficult for the invaders.

This region became a refuge for Christian nobles, and the Reconquista,  the Reconquest of Spain rose from here.

We spent the day about 15 miles inland at the regional capital of Oveido. And as luck would have it,  we arrived on the day of the festival of Asturias,  which involved a bit of partying–the local drink is fermented sidra or apple cider, and a parade through town by an Asturian bagpipe and drum band.

Here’s a bit of what we saw:

BLOG Oviedo Spain 08Sept2015-2798

BLOG Oviedo Spain 08Sept2015-2807

BLOG Oviedo Spain 08Sept2015-2806

BLOG Oviedo Spain 08Sept2015-2805

BLOG Oviedo Spain 08Sept2015-2793

BLOG Oviedo Spain 08Sept2015-2824

BLOG Oviedo Spain 08Sept2015-2837

Text and images copyright 2015 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

7 September 2015
Bilbao, Spain: Basque Country

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

When we left Bordeaux, France we headed for Spain.

Spanish customs and immigration officials will officially admit our ship and guests and crew, and you’ll hear a lot of Spanish being spoken on the streets.

But to some—and please, I am not trying to get in the middle of a political dispute—we are actually entering a wholly different place: Basque Country.

BLOG Bilbao Spain 07Sept2015-2725

BLOG Bilbao Spain 07Sept2015-2706

BLOG Bilbao Spain 07Sept2015-2704

The Guggenheim Bilbao Museum

Bilbao, located on the northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula about 19 kilometers or 12 miles from the Bay of Biscay, is also the largest municipality of the autonomous community of the Basque Country.

It is believed that the Basques are the distant descendants of some of the earliest inhabitants of Western Europe.

Genetic studies indicate Basque tribes predated the arrival of planned agriculture in the Iberian Peninsula, about 7,000 years ago.

The Basque Language, still in wide use in this region, is unrelated to Indo-European languages. At the time of the Romans, they spoke a variant of the Aquitanian Language.

Other Basque cities in Spain include Navarre and Pamplona.

In the autonomous region within Spain, the official languages are Basque and Spanish, although the Spanish constitution requires knowledge of Spanish.

By some estimates, about one-third of the residents of the autonomous region use Basque in everyday communication.

But the influence of the Basques spreads much further than that, with a diaspora that spreads around the world, especially in places where ex-pats could put to use their skills in sheepherding, ranching, and fishing.

BLOG Bilbao Spain 07Sept2015-2771

BLOG Bilbao Spain 07Sept2015-2757

According to some, the biggest influence of the Basques are the Jesuits, and the Republic of Chile.

Ignatius Loyola, born in Loyola in the Basque Country of Spain in 1491, is considered the founder of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits.

And an estimated 45 percent of the immigrants to Chile in the 17th and 18th centuries were Basque; today about 2.5 million Basque descendants live there, more than the population of the Basque Country in Spain and nearby France.

Millions of others of Basque lineage live in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, South Africa, and Australia.

Today, Bilbao is most known for its museum centerpiece: the Guggenheim Bilbao.

Designed by architect Frank Gehry, it was opened in 1997.

Built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of Bilbao, it is one of several museums belonging to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.

It features permanent and visiting exhibits of modern art works by Spanish and international artists.

The Guggenheim Bilbao is considered by many to be one of the most important contemporary structures.

BLOG Bilbao Spain 07Sept2015-2723

BLOG Bilbao Spain 07Sept2015-2721

BLOG Bilbao Spain 07Sept2015-2745

The museum came about because of an effort by the autonomous Basque government to have a rebirth of the city’s decrepit port area. In 1981, the government offered to fund a Guggenheim museum, covering the $100 million U.S. cost of construction, a $50 million acquisitions fund, and to subsidize the annual budget.

Not a bad deal if you’re a foundation looking to add a new museum to your collection.

The curves on the exterior of the building were intended to appear random and to catch the light. The museum is clad in glass, titanium, and limestone.

The interior is designed around a large, light-filled atrium with views of Bilbao’s estuary and the surrounding hills of the Basque country.

To some it looks like a ship. To others a fish.

To me it looks like an extraordinary place; I’m not a fan of Frank Gehry, but this structure gets past my strict bar.

Text and images copyright 2015 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

19 November 2014
 Málaga, Spain: In Sweet Repose

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Málaga is the capital of the Costa del Sol, the Sun Coast, its very name brings to mind sweet repose, and sweet wine.

Both are conducive, I suppose, to great art, and it was here that Pablo Picasso was born and it is here that members of his family contributed pieces—some well-known and others quite obscure—to a small but rich museum.

MALAGA AND THE ALCAZABA

Above the bullring in Malaga is the Alcazaba, a Moorish fortification from the 8th to the 11th century. Alcazaba comes from the Arabic al-qasbah, meaning the citadel, and this is the best-preserved example in Spain.

RONDA

About an hour west of Málaga in the inland hills is Ronda. Ronda was first settled by the early Celts, but what you see today is the result of later Roman and Moorish rulers. Catholic Spain took control of the town in 1485, during the Reconquista.

Ronda is in a very mountainous area about 2,500 feet above sea level (750 meters) (2,500 feet). The Guadalevín River bisects the city with the steep El Tajo gorge.

Three bridges cross El Tajo: the Roman, the Old, and the New. All of them are old.The Puente Romano (the Roman Bridge, also known as the Puente San Miguel), dates from Roman times at least one thousand years ago. The Puente Viejo (“Old Bridge”, also known as the Puente Arabe or “Arab Bridge”) is a mere four centuries old, built in 1616.

The Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) was begun in 1751 and took until 1793 to complete. This is the tallest of the bridges, towering 390 feet or 120 meters above the canyon floor. There is a chamber beneath the central arch that was used as a prison. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939, both sides were alleged to have used the chamber to torture prisoners, killing some by throwing them to the rocks below.

Another important site in Ronda is the 1784 Plaza de toros de Ronda, the oldest bullfighting ring still in use in Spain. The partially intact baños árabes (“Arab baths”) below the city date from the 13th and 14th centuries.

Ernest Hemingway spent many summers in Ronda’s old town quarter, La Ciudad. Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls describes the murder of Nationalist sympathizers early in the Spanish Civil War.

Another frequent visitor was actor and director Orson Welles. About Ronda, Welles said, “A man is not from where he is born, but where he chooses to die.” Welles’ ashes were scattered in the Ronda bull-ring in 1985.

A MALAGA and GRANADA ALBUM. Photos by Corey Sandler

MALAGA 01April2014 _DSC0028 MALAGA 01April2014 _DSC0022

Downtown Malaga, fronted by the cruise terminal. Photos by Corey Sandler

Alcazaba1 Malaga2

The Alcazaba of Malaga. Photos by Corey Sandler

Malaga Cathedral1

Inside the Malaga Cathedral. Photos by Corey Sandler

Granada1 Granada3 Granada2 Granada4

Some of the glories of Granada. Photos by Corey Sandler

Ronda4 Ronda5 Ronda3 Ronda1

The bullring, the gorge, and a palacio in Ronda. Photos by Corey Sandler

GRANADA

One of Spain’s most spectacular and famous cities is Granada, just under two hours to the northeast of Malaga. Granada sits at the base of Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers.

The city has been inhabited for thousands of years. The original settlers were perhaps Ibero-Celtics. Then came Phoenicians, Carthagenians, and Greeks. By the 5th century BC, the Greeks had established a colony they called Elybirge.

The heraldic symbol of Granada is the pomegranate: Granada in Spanish. A Jewish community was established outside of the city, called “Gárnata al-yahud” (Granada of the Jews). In 711, the Jewish community worked with Moorish forces to take the city, which became known as Ilbira or Elvira.

The city became the capital of a province of the Caliphate of Cordoba. The city was mostly destroyed in war in 1010. When it was rebuilt the Gárnata was incorporated into the city, and from that we have the modern name of Granada.

In January 1492, the last Muslim sultan in Iberia surrendered control of Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella, Los Reyes Católicos (“The Catholic Monarchs”.)

The Alhambra, Arabic for “the red one”, or the red fortress, was built in the mid-14th century. It originally was the residence of the Muslim rulers of Granada and their court. With the reconquest by the Spaniards, it became a Christian palace.

Within the Alhambra, a new palace was erected in 1527 by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. After falling into disrepair, the Alhambra was “rediscovered” in the 19th century. It is now one of Spain’s major tourist attractions.

It exhibits the country’s most famous Islamic architecture, together with Christian 16th-century and later improvements. Like a house that has been built, rebuilt, and expanded dozens of times over centuries, the Alhambra is a bit of an architectural mess.

That’s actually one of its charms

All photos by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

————————————————————————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

Here’s where to order a copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams cover

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

 

18 November 2014
 Cartagena, Spain

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Cartagena is on the Costa Cálida, the Warm Coast of Spain’s Murcia region.

This is one of Spain’s more historically significant places because of its superb and easily defended naval port. As far back as the 16th century Cartagena was one of Spain’s most important naval ports; it still is one of the homes of the Spanish navy, including a contingent of minesweepers and submarines.

The original settlement was called Mastia. About 227 BC, Hasdrubal the Fair established a town at the great harbor. He called the place Qart Hadasht, “New City”: The same name as where he had come from: Carthage, across the water in what is now Tunisia.

Hasdrubal used the port as launching point for the conquest of Spain.

Roman general Scipio Africanus conquered it in 209 BC and renamed it as Carthago Nova, which—a bit confusingly—means “New, New City.” At least that helped distinguish it from Carthage.

The Romans, from Julius Caesar to Octavian and beyond used Carthago in their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. In 298 Diocletian constituted a new Roman province in Hispania called Carthaginensis and placed the capital in this city, a role it would hold for more than seven centuries until it was destroyed by the Vandals in 435.

When the first wave of Islamic tribes came to Hispania—the Umayyad invasion—the port was one of the landing places they used, along with Gibraltar.

Today Cartagena is a handsome coastal city,  holding within a section of ancient Punic or Phoenician wall, a Roman amphitheater (only rediscovered on 2000), Moorish fortifications,  16th century Christian sites including churches and crypts, and a beautiful downtown lined with Modernist or art nouveau buildings.

Here are some photos from my visit today.

A CARTAGENA ALBUM

BLOG Cartagena Spain 18Nov2014-9334 BLOG Cartagena Spain 18Nov2014-9336

BLOG Cartagena Spain 18Nov2014-9346  BLOG Cartagena Spain 18Nov2014-9326

BLOG Cartagena Spain 18Nov2014-9323

BLOG Cartagena Spain 18Nov2014-9309 BLOG Cartagena Spain 18Nov2014-9311

BLOG Cartagena Spain 18Nov2014-9321  BLOG Cartagena Spain 18Nov2014-9350

MURCIA and FUENSANTE

About 50 kilometers or 35 miles north of Cartagena in the interior is the town of Murcia, the provincial capital and university town, a much larger city of 440,000.

Murcia has a similar back-story to Cartagena, a mix of Roman, Moorish, and Spanish cultures.

Just outside of Murcia is the Monastery of the Virgin of Fuensanta, the patroness of Murcia.

In Murcia itself is the exquisite 19th century Murcia Casino, with an exterior inspired by the Alhambra in Granada; inside it is more like a British gentleman’s club, a place to socialize and play billiards.

A MURCIA ALBUM. Photos by Corey Sandler

MURCIA 03April2014_DSC0155 MURCIA 03April2014_DSC0133 MURCIA 03April2014_DSC0170 MURCIA 03April2014_DSC0172

The Murcia Cathedral. Photos by Corey Sandler

MURCIA 03April2014_DSC0119 MURCIA 03April2014_DSC0135

Monastery of the Virgin of Fuensanta. Photos by Corey Sandler

MURCIA 03April2014 _DSC0181 MURCIA 03April2014_DSC0182 MURCIA 03April2014_DSC0202 MURCIA 03April2014_DSC0187

Within the exquisite Murcia Casino. Photos by Corey Sandler

All photos by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.