Barcelona, Spain

Friday, May 20 we arrived in Barcelona. The area where we docked is called the World Trade Center. Barcelona is the second busiest port for cruise ships, after Miami. To the left is the view from the ship. You can see a large old military headquarters building straight ahead. Behind it is a modern skyscraper. To the right is a statue of Columbus, supposedly pointing to the Americas, but in reality pointing in the wrong direction. Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain, after Madrid. The area has two official languages: Spanish and Catalan (similar to French). Entering the city from the ship meant going through airport-like security. We started the day with a bus tour of the city. Our guide pointed out the zoo. Next to it was the Parliament building. "The people like it. All the animals are in one place."


The first stop was the Sagrada Família Roman Catholic Church (shown in the picture at the top of this blog entry) designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926). Some people consider Gaudí a genius; some crazy. Church construction started in 1883. Eight of the planned 18 towers have been built. The church will have three entrances. Inside the church it is remarkably bright. The openings in the towers let in a lot of sunlight. The view at the right is above the main altar. Decorations inside included images of religious scenes, fish, heads of local politicians, and so forth. Outside, more of the same. Even a 4 x 4 magic square where the rows, columns, and diagonals all add up to 33, the age of Jesus when he died. Gaudí was living in the unfinished church. In 1926 he was struck by a tram and due to his disheveled appearance and lack of identification was assumed to be a beggar. Because of lack of prompt medical treatment he died of his injuries.


We passed these bicycles. For €35 a year you can purchase a license that permits you to use one of these bicycles. You just have to pick it up and drop it off at one of the collection locations. Back in Seville there was a similar arrangement. There the guide told us the license was €10 per year for 30 minutes of free use. After 30 minutes it was €1 per hour, or you could just change bicycles.


Then we went on a walking tour along the narrow stone streets in the Roman part of the city. Members of our group are entering a palace located on the left. On the right is the chapel where it is believed that Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand gave Christopher Columbus the go-ahead for his explorations.


On the left is a view inside the palace.


We went to La Seu Cathedral. The cathedral (in the picture at the right) had numerous private chapels, a 16th century organ, and 13 live white geese in the cloister. The 13 live white geese are for a 13 year old girl, Santa Eulalia, martyred for her religion, but they also work well as "watchdogs."


We passed a building for lawyers. In the outside wall was this mailbox. Our guide said it indicated that: the law, like the mail, should be fast like the bird, but sometimes it is slow.

We were about to return to our ship for lunch. But our bus, manufactured by Volvo Avant Grup, could not move. There was a demonstration march by firemen in the street. Economic times are difficult; Barcelona's unemployment rate is 20%; and there were upcoming elections.

We had to keep track of our passenger identification card. When disembarking we took our yellow card with us. It was our identification in port. Our passports were held on the ship. The yellow card was sometimes checked by port security as we approached the ship to board. When embarking we returned the card to its location in the rack below, organized by cabin number. There was a crew member at the board making sure that we followed the procedures. To the left are the crew identification cards.



After lunch we went by bus to the site of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition.
The Exposition was built on a mountaintop area that already had five palaces. The Spanish pavillion, shown at the left, has been converted into a museum, the Museu National d'Art de Catalyuna.


The museum contains a wide variety of art, from Roman frescoes, to these chairs by Antoni Gaudí, to early Pablo Picasso paintings. Gaudí designed many things besides the Sagrada Família Church. Here are chairs he designed, with arms for men, without arms for women, because at the time they wore wide skirts. Later Picasso paintings are in the Picasso Museum downtown.


After our visit we took a scenic drive with a panoramic view of Barcelona. We passed a cable car stop near the mountaintop. The other end of the cable car ride is down in the harbor area. We could see the cable car from our ship.

We returned to the Corinthian II to be welcomed with refreshment, this time apple juice with iced tea. At dinner one birthday and one anniversary were celebrated.

Day at Sea 1

Thursday, May 19 was a day at sea. The M/V Corinthian II sailed at 13.5 knots (15.5 miles per hour) toward our next destination, Barcelona.

The main activities for the day were three lectures by our Guest Lecturers.

In the morning I watched four people play bridge (the card game). I've been trying to learn to play bridge and playing online on Yahoo! The four people were much more congenial toward each other than some of the anonymous people I've played bridge with online.

Bruce Loeffler, representing the American Museum of Natural History, gave the first lecture of the day, titled "Gods, Warriors and Athletes: Polytheism and the Classical World." This lecture covered a lot of ground, from Greek gods to polytheism to monotheism to Islam to Christianity.


Hmmm. The trip brochure didn't mention that we might see white caps on the Mediterranean Sea.

Every day, in the ship's Library there were several copies of TimesDigest. It is a four page (eight sides), 8½" x 11", digest of articles appearing in The New York Times. There were also copies of The New York Times daily crossword puzzle. Yes, some people did the puzzle in ink. There were televisions in our cabins. Our choices were: Fox News, Al Jazeera, EuroNews (in German), or BBC World.

The second lecture of the day was given by Jeff Greenfield, titled "The Influence of Domestic Politics on US Foreign Policy." He started out by saying that we are a nation of immigrants; we are not an homogeneous population. Ethnic groups do have major influences on foreign policy.

I visited the ship's bridge. Near the center of the photograph at the top of this blog entry you can see the ship's main radar, the Sperry Marine BridgeMaster. The ship's position is at the center of the screen. Other ships and low clouds also show up. It uses GPS information. The autopilot programmed course and the actual course were shown as lines on the screen. One of the ships on the screen had a triangle around it, indicating that it was using the Automatic Identification System. The Chief Officer moved the cursor over to the triangle and pressed enter. Several items of information were displayed, including: the ship's name, type (passenger), and distance of closest approach.

The third lecture of the day was Bruce Loeffler's "The Triumph of Monotheism: Early Christianity and the Late Classical Period."

For dinner, all the AMNH participants ate together. I brought the bottle of champagne that was in my cabin, with a note "Thanks for traveling with us again." It was a two sparkler dinner! One couple was celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary; another couple their 60th!

On the final day of the expedition, as we disembarked in Venice, our passports were returned to us and we were handed a CD with the daily programs, a database with names and addresses of our fellow travelers, and the truly excellent pictures our Tour Managers had taken of the people on the tour and the sights we had seen. This is one of their pictures. Here we are sailing into the sunset on our way to Barcelona.

Motril and Granada, Spain

Wednesday, May 18. For those of us having breakfast on the Sun Deck at the stern we were treated to a pod of dolphins off the port side. The day began overcast and we were warned that there could be some "liquid sunshine".


Buses met the ship docked in Motril. These were typical of the tour buses we rode in in Europe. Notice the two mirrors that extend from the top front of the bus--like insect antennae. You can also see the additional right side door towards the middle of the bus.

We had a narrated bus ride to the Alhambra (the red fort), originally built as a palace and fortress on a hilltop by Mohammed I in the 14th century. For Mohammed I it contained a spa. We learned is was from salutem per acqua--health by water--that we get the word spa. The baths were used by men in the morning; women in the afternoon. There were three: hot, warm, and cold.

The Alhambra became a collection of summer palaces and gardens in a royal city. The plantings included cypress trees, bitter orange trees, myrtle hedges, pomegranates, and eggplants. A garden inside one palace is shown here. Another is shown in the picture at the top of this blog entry. [While we were there the water streams appeared continuous. Notice that the picture, taken at 1/400 of a second, shows the stream as individual drops of water.]


We visited the Palace of King Charles V (right). He stayed there only one night. Inside were statues of King Solomon's 12 lions, representing the 12 tribes. [No photographs permitted.]


We walked around the fortification wall. The name of American author Washington Irving (1783-1859) came up several times and we saw a plaque with his name. Over the years the palaces and gardens had been abandoned and were decaying. Irving spent some time living among the squatters in the area. He collected the stories they told and published them as Tales of the Alhambra. That ignited interest in the palaces and fortress and prompted their restoration.


We left through this gate and walked to the Carmen de San Miguel Restaurant for a local lunch. At our table we asked for seconds of the fried eggplant with honey; it was so good. There was a lot of food.

After lunch, we left Spain's Sierra Nevada (snowy range in Spanish) for the bus ride back to the Corinthian II.

Seville, Spain

The morning of Tuesday, May 17 started with a tour of Seville. We would see remains of a Roman aqueduct, buildings reflecting 500 years of Moorish domination, and then Catholic influences. Our bus tour took us past buildings constructed for the Seville 1929 Exposition. Many now used as consulates or museums. The Argentinian building is now a dance school.


We visited Alcázar, a palace used by Moorish governors and Spanish Kings. Added to and modified over the centuries it is a mixture of architectural styles. The upper levels are still used by the Spanish royal family when they are in Seville. It is the oldest royal residence still in use. Here is a view of the upper levels of the room where the king would receive visitors.

Here is the Courtyard of the Maidens. The lower level built at one time; the upper level added later.


We continued our walking tour through the Jewish Quarter. We passed remains of a Roman aqueduct (left), obviously cut to make way for a road.


Here is a detail of the pipes in the aqueduct (right). [One pipe for hot and one for cold, I guess.]

Then we went to the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See (Seville Cathedral) (pictured at the top of this blog entry), the third largest church in the world (after Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in Brazil). Originally it was built as a mosque, but later it was converted to a church. The main reconstruction took place from 1402 to 1506. In the picture you can see what was originally built as a Muslim minaret with a Christian bell tower added on top. The Cathedral has 44 chapels. The royal chapel has more than one ton of gold in its decoration. Many of the chapels are owned and maintained by trade groups (for example, the shoemakers guild). The 18th century organ is powered by 117 seats in the choir with pump pedals. [I hope my notes on my yellow pieces of paper are correct on this one.]


Inside the Seville Cathedral is one of the three tombs of Christopher Columbus (1451-1506). The other tombs being in the Dominican Republic (where he was first buried) and Cuba (to which his remains were initially moved). DNA testing has confirmed that Columbus' remains are now in Seville. The tomb is a casket carried by kings of Castile (front left), Leon (front right), Aragon, and Navarre (both in the rear).


Then we boarded the bus and returned to our ship. During the day we had seen many bougainvillea plants and jacaranda trees with purple flowers.


Using its bow thrusters the M/V Corinthian II turned around in the Rio Guadalquivir and she headed South for the about 50 miles to the Atlantic Ocean. We passed under this modern cable-stay bridge.


We went into a lock under construction. You can see two drawbridges in the open position; one for vehicles and pedestrians and one for railroad traffic.


In the photo on the right two small boats have entered the lock behind us; the lock is closed; the water level is lower; and the vehicular traffic bridge is down.

We had our mandatory safety drill. Seven bells means take your life jacket from your cabin and go to your assigned muster station in the Lounge. Once instructed, put on your life jacket and go to your assigned life boat position.

We started some of our on-board routine. Afternoon tea in the Club. A briefing on plans for the next day's activities in the Lounge. Then a lecture presentation by one of the Guest Lecturers.

The first lecture was given by Charles Ingrao, representing Smithsonian Journeys, and titled "Spain's Golden Ages". We heard about three pivotal years in Spain's history. 1492, Spain becomes a nation state through the marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. 1493, Spain turns overseas and becomes a world power. 1494, Spain becomes entangled in European wars through alliances.

Captain Georg Thomsen held a welcome cocktail reception. We learned that the Captain was in the German Navy for 34 years, then on a tall ship for 5 or 6 years. The heads of the deck, technical, engine, and hotel departments were introduced. This was followed by the Captain's Dinner in the Dining Room. [It's been a long day. But it's not over yet.]

We reached the Atlantic Ocean and headed East to pass through the Straits of Gibraltar. The thing is, the Rock of Gibraltar is not lit up at night. But we could see Morocco (Africa) on the starboard side and Spain (Europe) on the port side. At one point we passed lights on Africa which I think were Tangier; then just blackness on Africa; then a bright lighthouse on the continent of Europe; and then more lights on Africa which I think were Ceuta. So, I think that the three of us who stayed up until 1:10 am experienced passing by the Rock of Gibraltar and through the Straits of Gibraltar.

Embarkation

Monday, May 16 was for flying from Madrid to Seville, meeting up with fellow travelers, and boarding the ship.

After auto-check-in for Iberia 106 I determined my gate. The estimated seven minute walking time turned out to be about right. I put on my AMNH name tag and met two other AMNH travelers on the same flight. The plane was an Airbus A321. All the rows of seats were arranged 3-3. The first six rows were Business Class; the same size seats as in Economy. They just don't sell the middle seats.

Upon arrival in Seville our group had grown. Outside baggage claim we were met by a representative of Travel Dynamics International. We boarded a bus for the 20 minute ride to the dock. We passed many Moorish style buildings. Some old and authentic; some built in that style for the Seville 1929 Exposition.


After locating my luggage and cabin I went out for a walk.

The picture above is of the Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold) built around 1220. It is part of the early defenses of the city. A chain could be run from the tower to the other side of the river to prevent pirate ships from going up river. Seville was an early capital of trade with the Americas. The top of the tower was originally gold colored. It is now the Museo Naval (Naval Museum).


Here's a taxi in front of the Palacio de San Telmo, originally the University of Sailors, currently used by the governor of the Andalusian Autonomous Government. The taxis in each Spanish city have a different color stripe on the front or rear door.


In the evening we had our first briefing. There is one small difference between this cruise and my previous one. On the earlier cruise we were supplied with bottled water on the buses each day. Now the cruise is more environmentally friendly. There was an aluminum bottle for each person in the cabins to be filled and brought with us each day. The briefing was followed by entertainment, flamenco dancers.

Going

For me, the trip began on Saturday, May 14 at 10:00 am when I took a taxi to the Princeton Junction train station and caught the 10:44 New Jersey Transit express to Penn Station in New York City. Once there, I bought a Long Island Rail Road CityTicket, which is only valid off-peak and on the date of purchase. From Penn Station I took a LIRR train to Jamaica. It was easy; you can take any LIRR train as long as it doesn't go to Port Washington. At Jamaica I followed signs to the AirTrain which takes about 10 minutes to get to Kennedy Airport.


The AirTrain fare is $5.00 charged on a regular New York City subway and bus MetroCard. The turnstiles were really, really wide accommodating travelers with baggage. I arrived at Kennedy Airport at 12:45 pm; just two hours after boarding the first train. In the picture I (unintentionally) caught two AirTrains about to pass each other.

At the airport I used my passport to self-check-in, went through the full-body scanner (feet and hands at the indicated locations), and sent my carry-on through the X-ray scanner. There was also a tray of sandwiches being X-rayed. Were the sandwiches being scanned or heated? I passed some fancy new baggage scanning machines that were not being used at the time, the Reveal CT-80. Nearby was a TSA employee. Our conversation went like this.

"If I took a picture of this machine would I be in violation of Federal law?"
"Yes, you would."
"Then I won't."

However, the manufacturer's website has a picture of the dual-energy computer tomography X-ray scanner.

My flight to Madrid was Delta 126; it was also Air France 3669. The plane was a Boeing 767-400ER with 42 Business Elite seats in a 2-2-2 arrangement and, where I was sitting, 200 Economy seats in a 2-3-2 arrangement. The seat back in front of me had a touch screen display with a plethora of viewing options: Movies, HBO, TV, Music, Games, My Flight, and Info. My Flight displayed information that included: a moving map with the current plane's position indicated by an airplane symbol, local time at the origin, local time at the destination, distance traveled, time to destination, altitude (32917 feet), ground speed (559 mph), tail wind (35 mph), and outside air temperature (-52 °F). [Good. The degree symbol. I've included my first special character. I'm waiting for an opportunity to include a €.] For dinner we had a choice of chicken or pasta. After I informed a flight attendant that my chicken was beef, she responded, "I was just going by the printed menu. Sometimes they change it. I though the chicken looked a little dark."


Sunday, May 15 was an extra travel day intended to give my internal body clock additional time to adjust to losing six hours. The day was spent figuring out where I had to go the next day at the Madrid Airport for my flight to Seville, changing some dollars to euros, and sitting out in the bright sunlight.

The Madrid Airport is so huge that the signs indicating the directions to walk toward gates give estimated walking times. The longest one that I saw was for gates beginning with the letter U, 23 minutes.

I stayed at a hotel near the airport.

From the Gardens of Seville ...

A new adventure begins: Historic Cities of the Sea, From the Gardens of Seville to the Canals of Venice. The map above is from the trip brochure. This is a cruise aboard the M/V Corinthian II. Recognize the name Corinthian II? My June 2009 cruise, Landmark Sites of the Western Mediterranean, was aboard the same wonderful ship.


The ship has a capacity of 114 passengers and a crew of 70. The ship was not full. The 86 passengers were from various organizations, listed here ordered by the number of participants (largest first): Smithsonian Journeys, Travel Dynamics International, World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, Columbia Alumni Travel Study Program, National Trust for Historic Preservation, American Museum of Natural History, and three others. The picture is of the Corinthian II docked in the Rio Guadalquivir in Seville (where we boarded) and our home for two weeks. In the background you can see towers of buildings erected for the 1929 Exposition held in Seville.

All pictures in this blog are ones that I've taken unless stated otherwise. Any picture may be expanded by clicking it.