wanderlust

I arrived in South Africa two days ago - currently staying in Capetown until the 21st, then headed to Zambia and Botswana for 2 weeks. Because of its position south of the equator it is winter here. Bit warmer today - about 60 degrees -but yesterday was COLD, down to 35 at night. Nevertheless, the skies are a marvelous blue, the mountains unobscured by fog or clouds and beautiful sunshine as far as the horizon permits one to see.

Capetown is often compared to San Francisco and now I know why. The neighborhoods, hilly streets, great restaurants and of course the weather make the two cities very like-minded. Even more, they are both located the same distance from major wine regions.

Monday I am mountain biking down through Cape of Good Hope with a small group; will maybe see whales, but definitely will see a penguin habitat, sea lions and significant awe-inspiring beauty.

I call this photo "The Thinker." I like several things about the composition, but mostly I am fond of the man and what is obviously a missing travel companion.

This was taken in La Alhambra, just under the study in which Washington Irving lived briefly and wrote the book ('Tales of La Alhambra') that changed the course of the palace and launched a massive restoration project.

Today was Alhambra day, one that I've been looking forward to for weeks. It lived up to expectations and hype; indeed, is probably the most ornate and beautiful structure I have seen yet, or in the top 2 at a minimum. The level of detail in the carvings, the tilework - all on a canvas of Andalucian hillsides and the town of Granada.

Herewith are some images of the day.

I could not resist these lovely Andalucian women, enjoying a long afternoon in each other's company, made possible by the large bottle of wine they were drinking.

They argued, they laughed, the scowled at one another, and when they heard me take this picture, the woman in orange - the misses in charge - turned to me with a look that I will never forget. I walked swiftly away from the scene to avoid a certain confrontation.

This is your typical feel-good panorama of La Alhambra. I did not go inside the palace today - am planning to do that tomorrow. Instead I walked the perimiter looking for interesting vistas and found this.

Like all of my images, this original has not been retouched aside from a reduction in size. The green is as pure as it seems in the picture. This provides some sense of scale for the interior detail images I will shoot later on.

This was taken on my last day in Madrid - yesterday, June 10 - during a self-guided walking tour of the city. I had not taken my camera out yet when I looked up at this lamp post. I like the way the cloud has parted to the sides around the central post.

I rushed to get my camera out and all of its parts and pieces assembled in time to get this photo before the clouds moved on.

I took this photo during a tour to Toledo. As you can see, it was very cloudy and later thunderstorms pelted the group with raindrops and were waiting to greet us again in Madrid.

But, it actually inspired me. The combination of history, dark buildings and storm clouds was somewhat poetic. I took this picture because there was a break in the clouds enough that some texture appeared in the sky. Otherwise, I took very few photos in Toledo, preferring to absorb the atmosphere.

I did manage to sneak into an outer area of La Alhambra today, and learned they are hosting a small exhibition of Le Corbusier.

Most people are probably most familiar with Le Corbusier as an architect responsible for seemingly half of Design Within Reach's furniture collection. Few probably know that he is also an accomplished poet, something I learned while in a college literature course. I was thrilled to see an exhibition based on his works.

One of his poems really caught my attention:

"Mistaking too many mediate causes
mistaking our lives
and the others are there
and everwhere we hear "No!"

And always fewer for
than against
Thus do not condemn those
who wish to take their share of
risks in life. Tolerate

the fusion of metals
the alchemies in
any case commit you
to nothing

It is through the doors of
open eyes that looks
exchanged have lead to
the flash of communion

"The blossoming great
silences..."

The sea has gone out the
tide at low ebb will
rise again in time
A new time has begun
a phase a limit a transition
And thus we shall not
have mistaken our lives."

I arrived early this morning in Granada, after two weeks in Barcelona, Porto, Lisbon and Madrid. Each of those cities is in possession of something unique - monuments, people, food, architecture - and exploring the sidestreets became a habit.

Of the four, I must admit that I fell the most for Madrid. I believe this is in part because I can communicate easier there than in Portugal - but also, Madrid is both home and nearby to many of the iconic Spanish institutions I studied in high school and college. Toledo, El Escorial, El Prado, leading us to where I am now - Granada, home to La Alhambra.

I have not actually been INSIDE La Alhambra yet; I explored its outer walls today, the city of Granada, and caught up on my sleep after a very early flight. However, I have four more days here and plan to do a full exploration of the palace, and hope to escape into the countryside too to capture some images of the beautiful Andalucian landscape.

Tonight, I had the most lovely dinner in a small square on the backside of the large central Cathedral in Granada. It is not the food that made the moment remarkable; it was the small string trio playing on the church steps; the light breeze blowing through small streets, cooling the city after a day of 95 degree heat; and the flicker of candlelight as the sun began to set against a Cathedral backdrop, seemingly lighting it ablaze in hues of rose and persimmon.

With that, here are some images - along with their stories - to whet the appetite.