Blarney Castle

On Friday, January 18^th, we took a bus out to the village of Blarney (“An Bhlarna” in Gaelic). Like the thousands of other tourists that visit the town each year, we wanted to see Blarney Castle and kiss the castle’s famous Blarney Stone. In order to do so, you actually have to bend over backwards, while a local suspends you down to the stone. It definitely requires a head for heights, but the view from the top is well worth it.

Legend has it that those who kiss the stone will acquire the “gift of Irish gab.” Since I was going to give my paper the following day at the conference, I simply couldn’t ignore my superstitious side and bypass the castle!

Queen Elizabeth I, fed up with Lord Blarney’s ability to talk endlessly without actually agreeing to her demands, invented the term. Exasperated she stated, “This is all Blarney. What he says he never means.” And a new word was born.

Umbrellas

April's, er... well, January's shower's bring flowers ... sometime.

Rain is yet another thing that is commonly associated with Ireland, and this was certainly true based on our experience. I suppose they need a healthy amount of precipitation to have their beautifully green countryside.

It was funny because even though we brought umbrellas, the wind was so strong at times that it would flip the frame of them inside out. I had to take a picture of Brian after about the tenth time that happened. Eventually, we followed the Irish lead and just gave up. Even though there was always at least a constant drizzle, many people just didn't bother with fighting an umbrella.

I suppose that the life expectancy of an umbrella is not as long in Ireland as it is in other parts of the world. We were always stumbling upon carcasses of umbrellas that had seen better days!

Irish Pubs

Ireland is a land known for its pubs and locally brewed stout beers. We found a pretty cool spot called Siné on our first night. It is Gaelic for "That's it!" in English. We liked that bar so much that we went back a couple of nights later before we had to leave town.

Cork, Ireland

January 17th-20th, Brian and I went to Cork, Ireland so that I could participate in a conference.

The city is in the southwestern part of Ireland and is the second largest in the country. Cork is bisected by the Lee River; in fact the center is an island between two channels of the river.

The city is nicknamed "Rebel Cork" because of its residents' early opposition to the British Crown and 20th century support for Irish independence.

Museo de Bellas Artes

The Museo de Bellas Artes, or the Museum of Fine Arts, is literally a stone's throw away from our apartment here in Seville. On Sunday, January 13th, we finally decided to take the time to walk through it and look at all of the art. According to their brochure, it is the second most important art museum in Spain, behind the Prado in Madrid.

Although it is not quite the same as a visit in person, here is a link to a virtual tour of the museum:
http://www.museosdeandalucia.es/cultura/museos/MBASE/visitavirtual/container.htm

After we had been in each of the museum's rooms, we took the time to walk through the market that always takes place in the plaza every Sunday morning. Each week local artists set up their wares directly in front of the museum in hopes of selling their pieces to someone in the crowd.

Holiday Crowds

Some things are universal, and holiday crowds are apparently one of them. One night we went to see the belén de Bancaja, which is a really famous version of Bethlehem that travels all over Europe from year to year. It is world-renowned, so perhaps we should have expected the long lines.

Reyes 2008

Apparently we had been good this year...

Although it certainly wasn't the same as being home for Christmas, we enjoyed talking to everyone on Skype. We miss you all and hope that you had a good holiday!

Cabalgata de los reyes 2008

Every year on the 5^th of January, there is a parade to celebrate the wise men. Because this is the night before the children get their gifts from the wise men, they are all very excited. Not to mention the fact that there are always huge floats with kids throwing candies to the crowd. As you can see, even at Christmas it is impossible to escape the soccer rivalry of the city. Go Betis!

After each float passed by, the young and old alike scrambled to pick up as much candy as they could, proving to be quite a frenzy. You have to be careful because these children really throw them with a vengeance. In fact they pelted an Australian gentlemen who was standing near us, causing his eye to be red and puffy by the time he left for his hotel room.

Frida Kahlo in Sevilla

After we got back from Melilla, we went to an art exposition at the Ayuntamiento in Seville featuring photographs of Frida Kahlo. Frida’s works were often self portraits, so photography was undoubtedly an important medium of expression for her.

Most of the images were in black and white, but there were a few in color. This photo of Frida Kahlo was among one of my favorites. Even though she suffered from a lot of health issues as a result of an accident that she had when she was younger, she never lost her passion for painting. Here Frida is bedridden, but she used mirrors to be able to use her cast as a canvas.

Rastrillo

Another lovely part about visiting Mari Carmen is that I had my shopping buddy back! We went to the Rastrillo, which is basically a street market, and bought all sorts of things. It is much like what we would call a flea market back at home. The vendors sell anything from kitchen utensils, clothes, jewelry, etc.

While we were there browsing, we got to witness a gypsy fight. Out of nowhere, these two women just started shrieking at one another; in fact, other people had to hold them back from getting physically violent.

Uvas

No Spanish Noche Vieja is complete without the tradition of the "uvas," or the grapes. As part of the final countdown to the new year, people traditionally eat 12 grapes, one right after another, to bring luck in the coming year.

As you can see from this picture, grapes tend to vary in size. Brian’s grapes were the smaller ones on the right, and mine were the monsters on the left. Of course, Brian had no difficulties what so ever with his. I, on the other hand, shoved all of them into my mouth, ended up looking like a rabid chipmunk with grape juice oozing down my face, and nearly killed myself choking on them. So much for good luck in 2008!

Petardos

Noche Vieja is often accompanied by an abundance of sparklers and firecrackers, or “petardos” in Spanish, to celebrate the coming of the new year!

In the top picture, Brian and Mari Carmen's little brother, Luis, are showing off their skills. In the bottom one, Mari Carmen’s dad, older brother Quini, and Luis are getting the next round of petardos ready to take to the streets.

Dinner on Noche Vieja

Noche Vieja, or New Year's Eve, is a holiday that usually entails a large dinner with the family; celebrating the holiday with Mari Carmen was certainly no exception. She and her mother spent days preparing all of the food that was part of the spread we ate that night.

Normally, Spanish flags don't figure into the arrangement, but they decided to use them to designate that this was an international gathering. I can still hear, "¡Americanos… os recibimos con alegría!” Thank you Quini!

La comida de Melilla

Of course, one of the best parts of Melilla was all of the home cooked meals that Mari Carmen's mom made. She is an excellent chef, and I swear that Brian and I both gained a few pounds while we were there!

One of our first meals was paella, a typical rice dish that contains shellfish, chicken, red peppers, peas, and saffron. It was by far the best we have had since we have been in Spain.

We also got to try Mari Carmen's mom's recipe for croquetas made from scratch. They were so good that Brian hasn't been able to look at the ones here in Seville quite the same!

Another typical dish from Melilla is the Moroccan kabobs, or "pinchos morunos." They are seasoned with Moroccan spices and cooked on the grill. I quickly learned that there is a certain way that you are supposed to slide the meat off of the skewer the first day that we were there. We were in a restaurant, and I ordered one. Completely oblivious to the way in which the natives gracefully removed the meat, I bit into mine and began what resembled a game of tug of war, maneuvering the meat as best I could. Of course, I stuck out like a sore thumb, causing Mari Carmen and her family to erupt into laughter.

Belén de Melilla

After spending weeks touring all of the different renditions of Bethlehem in Seville, we went to see Melilla’s version with Mari Carmen and her family. My favorite part of the belén in Melilla was that they incorporated the Arab spice market, one of the many signs of the Islamic influence in the city.

Luces navideñas en Melilla

Since Christmas lasts until January 6th, Melilla was no exception to the holiday decor found throughout Spain. Being that I adore Christmas, I was excited to have the opportunity to see a new array of Christmas lights and holiday trimmings.

Melilla

Melilla is one of the two autonomous cities owned by Spain that are located on the northern coast of Africa. It is technically situated inside of Morocco, but is separated from Moroccan territory by a large fence which runs along the entirety of the city’s border. To get an idea of where Melilla is located with respect to the rest of Europe, the following link has a good map:

http://www.melillaturismo.com/plano_europa.htm

Despite the physical boundary separating the Spanish enclave from the rest of Africa, there is a beautiful mix of Christians, Muslims, Jews, and a small number of Hindus. It is really interesting to see how Melilla’s inhabitants coexist, which results in an interesting cultural exchange.

Brian and I went there to visit a dear friend of mine, Mari Carmen, and her family most graciously opened their doors to share their beautiful city with us. It was an incredible experience that we will most certainly never forget.

Out to sea...

We took an eight-hour ferry ride from Málaga to Melilla. We left around 2 p.m. and arrived in Melilla later that evening. It was a beautiful day to be at sea!

Málaga

In order to take the ferry across the Mediterranean to Melilla, we had to first go to Málaga. We got there early in the morning by bus and then made our way to the city's port.

Archivo de Indias

Just before heading off to Melilla for the New Year, Brian and I stopped by the local Archivo de Indias (Archives of the Indies) to see an exposition that they had featuring the collection of Mexican objects that once belonged to Duke of Montpensier.

Villancicos

Because Christmas is such a big holiday here in Spain, you can imagine how important the Christmas carols are....

One day, Brian and I were walking in the center of the city when we just happened to stumble upon a group of people taking advantage of the prime location to strike up the chorus. Not only did we take advantage of the many performances around Seville, but it has been nice to sing many a tune with our friends. In this picture, Vicente is playing the guitar, and Manolo and Rafa are chiming in along with the rest of us. Of course, I had to multi-task to make sure and take a picture!

Navidad en Mairena

A friend of ours here in Seville, Constanza, invited us to a Christmas concert in Mairena, a small town just outside of the city. There were lots of Christmas carols in addition to the traditional belén.

Wise Kings vs. Santa Clause

In Spain, Santa Clause doesn't bring presents on the night of the 24th like in the States, but rather the children must wait until the night before the wise kings safely returned home from their journey to see baby Jesus. They officially made it back to their hometowns on January 6th, so when the children wake up on that day they are surprised with lots of goodies that the wise kings left them.

Even though traditionally Spain celebrates the arrival of the wise kings, setting up various renditions of the city of Bethlehem to symbolize the holiday, the cultural influence of Santa Clause and the Christmas tree is penetrating more and more into the Spanish Christmas. This has caused a bit of a controversy. Those that are more conventional maintain the traditional Bethlehem whereas younger generations are incorporating more images of Santa Clause and the Christmas tree.

The top picture depicts the typical decoration of the wise kings climbing the terrace to someone's house to drop off the presents. The image below shows the terrace of one of our neighbors with a Santa Clause in place of where the wise kings once were.

Baltazar

In Spain, Santa Clause doesn't bring presents on the night of the 24th like in the States, but rather the children must wait until the night before the wise kings safely returned home from the journey. They officially made it back to their hometowns on January 6th, so when the children wake up on that day they are surprised with lots of goodies that the wise kings left them.

Instead of the children sitting on Santa Clause's lap in the shopping malls, they tell one of the wise kings (Baltazar) what they want.

Feria de Artesanía

Every year in Plaza Nueva, there is a fair for local artisans to sell their goods which lasts from the middle of December until January 5th. That gives anyone interested enough time to buy any last minute gifts before the Día de los reyes (Day of the Wise Kings).
If you look to the right of the photo, there is a man roasting chestnuts. Before coming here to Spain, this was something that only existed for me in Christmas carols. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...

Navidad

To celebrate Christmas Day, we went to Jonathan and Eric's house and prepared a wonderful feast fit for the kings, the three wise kings to be specific. We had partridges (perdices in Spanish), ribs with homemade BBQ sauce (since that sort of thing can't be found in stores here), mashed potatoes, green beans with ham, apple tart, and pumpkin pie (thanks to Madre). We stuffed ourselves and then proceeded to sing a few carols, with the accompaniment of Jonathan's guitar. Those of us that don't have a clue as to how to play the guitar opted for other instruments--cookie tins, beer bottles, etc. Although we missed seeing everyone in North Carolina, we are so fortunate to have had such good friends here in Spain with whom to spend the holidays.