Waves

Don't ever stay at Waves in San Sebastian. I arrived to find that nobody was working during my scheduled arrival, 11pm, which on the advertisement, says reception is open 24 hours. It also says that reception accepts credit card, which would be a great help to my fiscal situation, only that was not the case. I awoke the following morning to the owner doing the sheets herself and looking over her shoulder screaming at me that I needed to pay her now in cash, to which I tried arguing with her about the credit card option, but don't even try arguing with a mid 30's basque woman. That soured me quite a bit, considering I was on a strict cash budget and she had just removed a solid half of it on the first morning. I was determined not to let it get me down, nor would I let the weather get the best of me. Now, you've got to remember that San Sebastian is on the Atlantic, so the water can be turbulent, the weather can change quite quickly, despite its two incredible beaches. So for the few days I was there, it was overcast about 70 percent of the time, raining for about 40 percent of the time, and windy of course. But all of that was kept at bay when you entered the old town. La parte vieja is known for its intensely popular bars, food, cideres (which are alcoholic apple ciders) and generally an atmosphere straight out of the early 1800's. It's pretty rogue/piratish, as in every sign looks the same, the bars seem to all work in the same general way, and seems to be one big area for meeting people. And when I mean big, I mean basically the intersection of town. The two beaches form somewhat of a W and that middle peak and if you can imagine it leading down to some mountains, is basically the old town. Their food, oh man...if you haven't tried pixtos, I suggest you try them. They're like tapas, the concept is like a buffet. You grab a plate, grab all the little delicacies you want, ask for any speciality hot items (I had foie gras and I don't care if you are an animal lover, that is a taaaasty dish), and they add it up, so my wild adventure ran me about 12 euro including a nice big sangria. BAM. As far as adventure goes in San Sebastian though, it's not too wild. It's a get away from the cities for everyone, being that it is like a Capitola type area, with a more historic downtown, and less beach bums. Everyone is there to relax, have a good time, and enjoy life. I say that with the thought of all the elderly folks I saw out walking in groups, going to pixtos bars, going to bar bars, and generally being the life of the party. The only problem is not knowing the Basque language, because it is definitely not spanish, and is definitely difficult to understand. It is a culture certainly worth experiencing. I feel somewhat bad for leaving so quickly, but Barcelona was beckoning...

oh and about flickr...

So its confusing me just as much as I've heard its confusing some of you. I guess you have to search for people, and then search for Mikey Z-boy. Also, do you only get 100 mb to use up??

Pomegranate

Granada is spanish for pomegranate. Pomegranate is veg for awesome. The pomegranate was a big part of Al-Andalus, brought up by the moorish influence that dominated the area for such a long time. It came to represent the city of Granada itself, due to its rich flavor, its difficulty to actually be consumed, and its symbolism in sensuality, if you don't see it, I will not be explaining it, but I read that somewhere and I'm sticking with it. The city of Granada can still be evaluated in this way, difficult to open and devour, but once you're in, oh what an amazing experience it is. Upon arriving, I smelt one thing, urine. I decided not to get a map, just explore and see where I find myself, which oddly enough I found myself in some serious bazaar type markets, which lead to the doorstep of my hostel. How could it get better? Well for one, the hostel (Oasis) has a view off the roof, overlooking the city, and part of Alhambra, it's in a great location and great people frequent there, myself included. The sights and sounds and smells start to grow on you more than you would expect, even the urine, you just have to accept it, but oh the food...I could have eaten at one shwarma-kebob place every single day, it was unreal. The tapas were fantastic, and it seemed every place you sat you had a great view of something. You could people watch, look up at an enormous cathedral or palace, lose yourself in the mazes of colors, smells and fabrics that are the markets, even just stare at the ground where most of it is laid with marble, or intricately designed rock patterns in the shapes, names, and coats of arms of past rulers. Until you go up to Alhambra, and feel like you have conquered the city, you don't appreciate how difficult it must have been to let go of if you were Boabdil, (I think he's the last Nasrid king, but thats off the top of my head) or how badly you desired the city if you were Ferdinand and Isabel. Once you are up there, overlooking the city made up of so much history, culture, and ideals of coexistence, you realize the city is much more inviting than it is portrayed.

The history...

I am a nerd. A nerd for Spanish imperialism. I studied a lot of it at Cal Poly, and now that I find myself immersed in it, I've become overwhelmed. I get tired and take cat naps for no apparent reason other than my mind is overanalyzing everything it is taking in. It's pretty awesome. First of all, I took a day trip to Toledo while in Madrid. That is an unbelievable city. It sits atop a hill, completely fortified, like a scene out of a movie. It is surreal. There are guard towers, a moat, insanely planned cobblestone streets, giant libraries, numerous castles within the walls...it's really a lesson out of feudal living. Aside from that, the cathedral there is full of history, corpses, legends, and treasure, including a piece that is said to be made from the very first gold brought back to Spain from the Americas. The artwork was incredible, so incredible in fact, that the people who either commissioned it or created it, are burried with it right there in the church. It was awesome. I also saw one of the most important pieces of artwork I ever learned about, El enterramiento del senor Orgaz, by El Greco. For those of you who don't know el Greco, he was a greek artist living in Toledo who was an insanely devout Catholic. His artwork, like most of that period, circles around portraits of the saints, and his seem to envoke real emotion, especially in the eyes. He utilizes an early form of translucent oil strokes to honestly make it appear as if the eyes are real, or strained, or full of tears. This painting, let's call it THE painting, is full of action, and is one of the prime examples of a "painting within the painting." Or something like that, no seriously, the story behind it though, blew my mind. Studying it I had no idea that Senor Orgaz did exsist and in fact did an incredible amount of good for the church (I think of San Tomas) in Toledo. He was wealthy, but gave all sorts of money, charity, and even decided to tax the people after his death so that the church wouldn't fall, now...that could be bad or good, but they took it as a good thing. That's only half of what he fully accomplished, but as the story goes, when he died it was said two angels came down and placed him in his tomb (I believe the same tomb he still lies in underneath THE painting). They wanted to commemorate him and this miracle, hoping that nobody would forget his efforts, so they asked the young el Greco to paint. THE painting turns out to be this exact scene, of the saints lowering him into his tomb, while everyone looks on, to the audience and the heavens to see what reaction is evoked. It's also, I think, the only self portrait of el Greco at this young age. Anyways, the people, the landscape, the history, the legends, everything about Toledo can be summed up by the idea that behind the legends there are truths. Toledo is that truth behind the fantasy of the middle ages that most of us didn't think existed.