We’re back from Spain, finally, with the suntans to prove it. I can’t (or at least won’t) give a complete run down of the trip, other than to say that driving a mini-van full of my in-laws on Spanish city street no wider than an arms-span in width in 35-degree heat was not nearly so bad as I suspected it would be (or at least it wasn’t until my run-in with a metal pomegranate in Granada).
The trip had initially been conceived and planned by Amynah’s Mom who, with her extensive knowledge of Islamic history and art, was supposed to show us around the wonders of Nazarid Andalusia. Sadly, just before her flight was supposed to leave, she had to be rushed to the hospital for (minor) surgery, which forced her to cancel her entire trip. She’s still recovering, and we’re all very worried about her, so please send good thoughts her way.
Amynah, her Dad, and her two Aunts did make it, on Amynah’s Mom’s insistance. We started in Seville, then drove to the port city of Algaciris, caught a day-ferry to Tangiers in Morroco, then hit Gibraltar, on to the mountain city of Ronda, then Granada, Cordoba and finally Seville once more.
There’s an awful lot to write about – watching bullfights, appalled, with my father-in-law in our hotel, explaining Catholic iconography to my relatives (all of whom are convinced that we Papists are idol-worshippers now), trying to convince Amynah’s conspiracy-minded Aunt that Spain’s nuns were trying to convert her… good times. It is possible that I’ll write more in detail later, but for the time being it’s all one big blur of Arabic calligraphy and fetishized Catholic death art.
I’m putting a selection of photos here. More may come, but I make no promises.
1 comment:
Welcome back.
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