Sevilla, Spain

In 2006, my friends in Spain took me on a surprise trip to Andalusia.

We arrived in Sevilla during the Feria which was an unforgettable experience.

I took the above photos back in '06, long before I was blogging.

I was back in Sevilla this spring. Without the Feria, there was a chance to see other offerings of the city.

Back in the 10th century, the Moors built a fortress and a mosque in Sevilla.

Then, when the Spaniards recaptured the city in the 1400s, they converted it to a cathedral and a palace.

Still, much of the Moorish architecture remains intact.


On the ship, I made friends with a vibrant artist with astonishing necklaces and hats.

Her name is:


When I forgot my camera one day, Lis promised to sketch our adventures and send them to me.

"Don't worry about the camera, Ginger. You have me!"


Anyhoooo, Liz loves Moorish architecture and she gives it a vibrant twist in her paintings:

Pretty fantastical interpretation, don't you think?

The Real Stuff isn't always so kaleidoscopic,

but the patterns can be equally dizzying.

The Spanish King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia use the castle as a 2nd residence.


If I were the Queen, I'd come when the wisteria is blooming.

The fragrance is absolutely DIVINE.

There are some gnarly ole trees in the garden.

Now that's CHARACTER!

The cathedral is magnificent - the largest in the world., if you ignore St. Peters.

Despite it's greatness, the poor apostles have to suffer endless indignities with the local bird life.

These sacrilegious pigeons know no bounds!

I mean, seriously, would you like to be stuck there,
unable to do anything about birds landing on your head and using it for a toilet?

The solemnity of the apostles in stone has now been transformed into a comical scene.

There are some poor stone carvers rolling over their graves.

The Plaza de Espana is lined with lots of tiled alcoves representing the provinces of Spain.

I chose to photograph mural of Avila because I looooove that part of Spain

Here's a shot taken in Avila in 2010 with dear Quique Cantos:

I've known Quique since he was a mischievous little kid and his mom was tearing out her hair because of him.

Nevertheless, he grew up to be a really nice guy and has a jewel of a wife and two fine sons.

Did I ever mention, Spain is my second home?

Taken in 1973.

With the same friend in 2010.

A piece of my heart was planted in Spain a long time ago and there it remains.

Interlude

You'll be getting more cool stuff about my travels before the week is out.

Meanwhile, here's a mini-peek of a recent activity with my Lovely Lassies who I mentor in my church 'calling'.

Tug of War was a hit.

We borrowed an old boat rope for the activity,
and it transformed into a jump rope . . .
after about twelve fiercely fought rounds of tugging and squealing and slipping and falling on behinds.

And then there were the foot races.

Take note of the concentration manifested on the face of the girl in the foreground.
She's got that forward-tilting movement on her side. But, surprisingly, the little gal won that round.

Notice the "Ready, Set, Go" boss-woman, holding her water pistol high in the air - BELOW.

Oh what POWER!

My goddaughter Victoria was bunking at my place and strolled over for the fun, as did Chica the dog.

This sweet park is owned by our neighborhood, not the city, and we maintain it.

My grown kids fondly remember playing night games there during their childhoods.

From my front porch, I can sometimes hear yet another generation of kids out there during the evening hours.

The old games still get passed on.

It's heartwarming, for certain.

My Kids, the Brits

That's my son walking down the street.
He's a student once again.
Give ya three guesses where he's studying. . . .

and living with along with . . .

. . . his faithful companion, Jill and their daughter Grace . . .

. . . and their other two sweet munchkins, Kenneth & Audrey.

It was definitely a good reason to go there
and a good reason to blog about it RIGHT NOW,
because my two weeks in Oxford constituted a highlight of my time abroad.

Truth is, I went to a basket-full of other countries before I left the ship.
You'll have to hear reports on those places later.

At the moment, MY KIDS come first.

Incidentally, Arian and Jill put ME first while I stayed with them.
They spoiled me rotten.
Oxford is a fabulous place, made all the better when your kids live there.

If you don't recognize the room above, you haven't seen the Harry Potter movies.

Yes. I took this shot, but unfortunately I was NOT invited to stay for dinner.

However, Arian had a V.I.P. pass to soooo many special places in Oxford

. . . and when he didn't have one,

somehow or other, he found a way to get in!

I had royal tours of many EXCLUSIVE places in Oxford, that's for certain.

But I also had an intimate experience of staying with residents.

Arian's family live in the historical part of Oxford and they do indeed live like the natives.

Just about everyone gets around on bikes . . .


. . . including my son who bikes little Sir Kenneth and Madam Audrey to and from school on a regular basis.



Jill also does her share of kid shuttling, while pushing little Grace in the stroller.

The plastic covering is necessary because it DRIZZLES in England. A lot.


Since most people don't have cars, taxis are everywhere. THIS is an British taxi:

THIS is a British Taxi on Steroids:

Arian's neighborhood, 'Jericho', is chock-full of history,

like this ole pub which stands just a block from their home.

Truth is, their home actually WAS a historic pub, before it went through major renovations.

It's three stories high and the two 'big kids' sleep on the top floor with a dazzling view across town.

The famous Oxford Canal runs right through their neighborhood. It's 78 miles long.

People actually LIVE in these narrow canal boats.

(Notice the bike on the roof of the closest boat on the right.)

There's a quaint shopping area just three blocks from their home where Jill does her errands.

Oxford is full of surprises. Things I'd never see in the U.S.A.

For example, one day we were strolling along and there were these fellows sitting on these bike rickshaws.

"A wedding." declared my son, quite casually. And so it was.

Quite novel and full of Oxford class.

You'll be seeing more of Oxford, I promise.

(Don't say I didn't warn you.)


But before signing off today,

you've got to hear my five-year-old grandson with his little British accent:

Is that cute . . . or am I just a typical grandma?

Lost at Sea? Nope!

Perhaps a few of you wondered if I'd died in a ship wreck???

Naaaah.

Just did a pile of traveling and it sucked my energy . . .


. . . and then there was something else.

After returning home, I had a household of company,
including my 87-year-old my ship cabin mate who became gravely ill .

Alberta with Chica the dog-
right after returning to Utah after the Grand Voyage,
before her near-death illness.

With my insistence, one of goddaughter's boyfriend lifted her off the bed and carried her up a flight of stairs and right through the front door of my house. He placed her in my Subaru and we raced to the hospital.

Alberta's time seemed close at hand, but - ALAS - the hospital care gradually restored her and she's almost ready to return home to Canada. BTW, I wasn't alone with the situation - her daughter and husband were also staying at my place and taking an active role.

I'm just super grateful we weren't in some exotic port at the time.



One by one - no, I should say two by two, the extended Harris family departed,
and now I find myself regrounding after my voyage which included 18 countries.




Time to digress.



Although it wasn't my next destination, I'm posting about my stay in Athens, Greece.

It was truly a highlight, because my niece, Jennifer, is residing there and she completely doted on me.

Jennifer with Greek food including LOTS of feta cheese.

This special niece is a mother, wife, devoted sister to her eight siblings, talented musician, gourmet cook, leader in her local church, connoisseur of the fine arts, an avid cruiser, volunteer museum guide for the U.S. embassy, . . YOU NAME IT!

The thing I admire most:
Jennifer maximizes her experience of living abroad.

Jennifer and I in front of one of the fabulous museums in Athens.

Back in 2010, I visited Jennifer in Greece after my adventures in Ethiopia.

Caleb the son, Jennifer and Joe the husband - and a good man -
on one of their many trips on the Mediterranean Sea.

Due to her raves about ship travel,

I sailed around the Caribbean with my eldest daughter Leah in 2011.

That positive experience inspired this 2012 mega-voyage.

Sooooooo, I owe A LOT to dear Jennifer

Well, truth is, she keeps me constantly indebted.

Caleb in their living room
after Jennifer's home-cooked dinner. Yum.

This sweet gal devoted two solid days to be my personal tour guide in Athens. . . .

and did so with PLEASURE!

Kelty - this museum piece reminded me of you
riding dear old Buttercup.

Along with seeing all the marvels of ancient Greece,
we hit the marketplace.
I did extricated myself from buying a bedspread at this place of commerce
BELOW,
located in the bowels of a very, very old building.

Crawling down STEEP steps
to peruse 10,247 bedspreads & pillow covers.

I was, HOWEVER, like a kid in a candy store when we happened upon this bead store.

Ugly store. Cool beads.

A few euros escaped into the indebted sovereignty
so that I might create some snazzy Christmas ornaments from BEADS.


One of the strangest sights presented itself in a lovely park:

Yes. That IS a PIGEON standing on top of a TURTLE.


Finally, I'll share a shot of a BOUZOUKI - the showcase instrument of Greek music.

I discovered Greek music as a teenager and it's among my favorites.

When we stopped to listen to the bouzouki being played by a local street musician, I was smitten.


Okay. More coming.


I'll be rolling out the posts!