Hola from Granada

Remember me? Only about two weeks till I return to Melbourne, reality, exams etc. But I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone - how are we all holding up?

I've managed somehow to not post during my entire stay in the south of France, partially because I'm lazy and Dad and Stella have needed more use of the laptop than I anticipated (*suppresses resentment*), but also because it was completely awesome.

After a brief stop in Genova - our last Italian location - it was off to Nice to visit our great uncle Karl, his wife Jenny and son Liam.

I actually enjoyed Genova's oddly Melbournian weather (rain was a novelty back then), and less touristy vibes than Florence or Rome. Plus the university there was having an open day:


The inside courtyard.

No I know it's no Menzies building - but still pretty impressive, right? Seriously, how cool would it be to study here?

And did my bit to support an Italian socialist revolution, by purchasing this from a member of a non-represented party:



Nice was lovely - full of the "other half" as mum said (and in Nice, they really do constitute approximately half). The boulevard near the shore is dotted with casinos, and very tanned retirees dressed in white stroll along walking little dogs.

Our uncle lives in Antibe (just out of Nice), where the concentration of wealthy folk is even higher. They are renting while they finish building a villa, which looks absolutely stunning in progress (and it's huge). They took us out to lunch to their favourite hotel (also favoured by J.F.K, oh, and Jamie Packer got married there. Oh My God). Needless to say, the food was fantastic. We had a lovely visit, and I can safely say that is the first and last time I will hear anyone complain about unpleasant "nouveau riche" Russians. (There is a lot of Russian money in Nice, apparently.)

Arles was our next big stop, and a hot contender for favourite location. The locals where absurdly friendly (none of that French snobbishness you hear about, but we haven't been to Paris yet so I'll hold my breath).

Arles is where Christian Lacroix had his humble beginnings. They just so happened to be holding an exhibition of his wears and the work of other artists, modern and old, who have inspired his designs. It was pretty inspiring, and some fantastic black and white photography has left me itching to pick up a camera when I get home.

We also visited the famous Camargue, saw its flamingos and other wildlife, were feasted upon by its legendary mosquitoes. But Stella and I know that the visit was actually planned to give mum and dad the chance to stop and identify (by common and botanical name) every single plant and tree in the god-forsaken wetland. *Sighs* - That's what you get for being born of two horticulturists.

Arles is also the location of Pablo Picasso's famous ear-cutting episode. He painted this garden whilst in hospital:

Arles began our very dodgy tradition of cooking and eating meals in our hotel room (after Arle, we even purchased a camper oven). We needed a break from the hassle of eating out, and serious lack of veggie-rich restaurant dishes.

Dad even smuggled hard boiled eggs from the hotel's buffet breakfast up to our room in napkins. Good grief.

Next was a pit stop in a roadside hotel (where we listened on-line to the crushing defeat of the Saints in the prelim), then on to Carcassone, where we stayed within the bounds of a medieval castle, restored and thoroughly packed with souvenir shops

The castle boasts excellent defences, 2500 of history, and a very distinctive smelling beggar.

In the Middle Ages, the Cathar religion (an alternative interpretation of Christianity) became especially influential in the south of France, so naturally the Pope opened up a can of whoopass, slaughtered some folk, and Carcassone duly surrendered. So it goes.

Stella and I next to a big lion thingy in Barcelona.

Barcelona, Spain, brings with it a new cuisine, a new European language to fail at, and the best architecture so far. The city is known for its Mordernisma style buildings, constructed during the end of the 19^th century/ beginning of the 20^th. It's the Spanish equivalent of art nouveau, and primarily represented in Barcelona by the architecture of Antonio Gaudi.

A weird and wonderful Gaudi window.

This house, designed for a wealthy family, was really something else. Beautiful, genius, and incredibly practical. Even the servants quarters are divine. The rational behind the design is “we need a banister, so lets carve a beautiful banister in keeping with the theme of the house, perfectly contoured to fit the hand” not “we need a banister, lets build it with the most expensive material we can find, paint it gold and embellish it with completely arbitrary flower motifs” as with so much old European design.

I visited the (still in construction) Sagrada Familia alone, got stuck in the rain (I swear, the shit weather has followed us from home), and lost, twice. It was nevertheless stunning, huge, and so full of life. Gaudi draws inspiration for his shapes and structures from the natural world, making the Sagrada is so different from other churches I've seen in Europe. It seems to celebrate life and humanity rather than express how grim and scary the world is, how powerful the church is, and to “do what we say or you won't go to heaven”.

This gargoyle from the medieval church in Carcassone, case in point.

The roof of the Sangrada

Another cultural highlight in Barcelona was seeing a Flamenco performance, that included opera in between and sometimes during the dancing. It was phenomenal. The female dancer was especially good; so aggressive and with calves like small tree trunks. The male was good too, but lost the plot a bit during what seemed like the Flamenco equivalent of a ten hour drum solo. And the opera - my god - was more moving than anything I've seen in Melbourne.

All the culture vultures out for a night at the opera/ flamenco.

We ate fantastic tapas and paella at an organic eatery, and had a lovely meal at a Japanese restaurant where the owner watched over us grinning to make sure we used the right sauces/ knew how to handle chopsticks. (He gave Stella a pair of sprung, tong-like sticks, obviously kept for people who fail at chopsticks – feel the shame, Stella!).

Christopher Columbus is all like "Omg, I can totally see my house from here!!!!"

Phew. Ok, take a breather. One last location to bore you with: the current, Grenada. The poor weather continues, but it stayed moderately fine for our visit to the Alahmbra and the Generalife (Jen-eh-ral-ee-feh), the center of what was the last Muslim stronghold in Spain. (The Catholics kicked them out. So it goes etc.) The palace and gardens are stunningly beautiful, so I'll let the pictures to the talking:

A rare sighting of a woman outside of Mohamed the 5th 's harem

Some other pictures that just about speak for themselves:

The reason why I won't be coming back from Europe with a tan...


...and the reason why I'll be coming back from Europe substantially wider in girth.

Oh well, hope you survived that. Not long now, after Spain is Paris, then.... TOKYO!!!!!
(Start putting in requests for special presents now, and recommendations for things I simply must do in my 4 short days, because I'm having lots of trouble narrowing my itinerary. And don't say “try fugu”, it's too expensive.).

I'll see y'all after the 14^th. Adios amigos.

PS. sorry this is prob riddled with errors etc, but i'm running out of internets...