Malaga, Spain
April 17, 2007
If I were to tell you that on the road from Malaga to Granada to visit the Alhambra I passed over two million olive trees….trees planted in row after row after row on mountainside and dale as far as the eye could see…and if I told you that each and every one of the olives grown on those trees has to be individually picked by hand, you might not believe me! What a memory! I will never eat another olive that I don’t see those trees in my mind! And the same visual memories will materialize as well when I eat asparagus. You see, planted in small gardens in and around the olives are low “mounds” of earth that appear to be barren mounds growing nothing. But on closer inspection there are individual spears of green asparagus popping up in straight rows. Like the olives, each of these spears must be cut by hand…thus you see scores of people bending over, low and heavy carefully cutting each spear. If you look really close you will see bundles of these freshly cut asparagus scattered on the mounds waiting for collection. What hard work! If the smoky blue-grey olive trees, and the brown asparagus mounds are not visual imagery enough, add carefully planted groves of slender tall popular trees with golden leaves blowing in the gentle breezes and you have a good picture of the Spanish country side. These images are as strong as any along the trip!
Some two hours after leaving the coast we arrived in Granada to visit the incredible Muslim-Hispano 14th century complex known as the Alhambra. This breathtaking example of Muslim architecture is surrounded by walls and towers, and inside, places, military buildings, a fortress and administrative offices. Detailed mosaics, prism-style cupolas and stone-cast latticework offer a surprising grace and sophistication. Water features abound. Fragrant blossoms add color and aroma. Cobblestones, worn from countless steps, and meticulously shaped topiary meld together to create a movie-like setting that conjures up images of hundreds of years of sophisticated life.
My day in Malaga and Granada was one that I will never forget including the delicious luncheon of paella and fruit. What a place!
April 17, 2007
If I were to tell you that on the road from Malaga to Granada to visit the Alhambra I passed over two million olive trees….trees planted in row after row after row on mountainside and dale as far as the eye could see…and if I told you that each and every one of the olives grown on those trees has to be individually picked by hand, you might not believe me! What a memory! I will never eat another olive that I don’t see those trees in my mind! And the same visual memories will materialize as well when I eat asparagus. You see, planted in small gardens in and around the olives are low “mounds” of earth that appear to be barren mounds growing nothing. But on closer inspection there are individual spears of green asparagus popping up in straight rows. Like the olives, each of these spears must be cut by hand…thus you see scores of people bending over, low and heavy carefully cutting each spear. If you look really close you will see bundles of these freshly cut asparagus scattered on the mounds waiting for collection. What hard work! If the smoky blue-grey olive trees, and the brown asparagus mounds are not visual imagery enough, add carefully planted groves of slender tall popular trees with golden leaves blowing in the gentle breezes and you have a good picture of the Spanish country side. These images are as strong as any along the trip!
Some two hours after leaving the coast we arrived in Granada to visit the incredible Muslim-Hispano 14th century complex known as the Alhambra. This breathtaking example of Muslim architecture is surrounded by walls and towers, and inside, places, military buildings, a fortress and administrative offices. Detailed mosaics, prism-style cupolas and stone-cast latticework offer a surprising grace and sophistication. Water features abound. Fragrant blossoms add color and aroma. Cobblestones, worn from countless steps, and meticulously shaped topiary meld together to create a movie-like setting that conjures up images of hundreds of years of sophisticated life.
My day in Malaga and Granada was one that I will never forget including the delicious luncheon of paella and fruit. What a place!
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