Spain, March, 1975
Jack and I are invited by my grad school friend, Jim Grundy, who is teaching in Barcelona, to visit him and his attorney/professional guide spouse, Lucretia, for a month. After touring Barcelona, we drive along the East and South coasts of Spain and up to Madrid, then back to Barcelona. The Grundys lecture, select hotels and food and give us a simply grand time! Couldn’t have been better…and set a grand standard for other trips. Kristen and Fritz stay with the Doyles in Prior Lake.
After unexplained delays in Madrid, we finally arrive in glorious Barcelona (turns out that Franco punishes this recalcitrant Phoenician outpost!). Jim and Lucretia Grundy welcome us to their flat and for 3 days, Mar 14-17, we tour the City including Gaudi's Guell Park. Boats in harbor viewed from the breath-taking funicular. Paintings:I believe we saw these at a gallery run by a friend of Lucretia's.
We drive south from Barcelona en route a stay in Valencia. Postcards sent from Peniscola and Sagunto. (Postcard notes at end of this album)
We settle into a modest hotel (Mar 17-20) in Valencia where we enjoy the Fallas--an unbelievable extravaganza that absorbs us both day and night. From Wikiopedia: The Fallas is a traditional celebration held annually in commemoration of Saint Joseph in the city of Valencia, Spain. The five main days celebrated are from 15 to 19 March, while the Mascletà, a pyrotechnic spectacle of firecracker detonation, takes place every day from 1 to 19 March.
Photos of the nightly fireworks (hour long!) plus postcards home.
More neighborhood wood/papier mache/ painted statues which are usually sarcastic commentaries (one of the few places such ridicule can thrive in the waning days of Franco).
We leave Valencia on the 20th & stop at Bocairente. spend the night in Lorca and proceed on the 21st to Granada.
We enjoy Granada from 3/21 to 3/23. Cannot overstate the gift of Lucretia's historic knowledge and Jim's perspective. We visited Antequera Dolmens on the 23rd, also in Andalusia. Located at the heart of Andalusia in southern Spain, the site comprises three megalithic monuments: the Menga and Viera dolmens and the Tholos of El Romeral, and two natural monuments: La Peña de los Enamorados and El Torcal mountainous formations, which are landmarks within the property. Built during the Neolithic and Bronze Age out of large stone blocks, these monuments form chambers with lintelled roofs or false cupolas. These three tombs, buried beneath their original earth tumuli, are one of the most remarkable architectural works of European prehistory and one of the most important examples of European Megalithism.
Ronda, Sunday March 23. We are impressed by the number of families out walking their children in prams and strollers. Ronda is a mountaintop city in Spain’s Malaga province that’s set dramatically above a deep gorge. This gorge (El Tajo) separates the city’s circa-15th-century new town from its old town, dating to Moorish rule.
Holy Week in Ronda (lower right). We drive to Jerez for the night, then leave on next day, Mar 24, for Sevilla.
Sevilla, Mar 24 - 25 with a non pareil Holy Week: huge floats parades of statues (born on the shoulders of men) each night. Lucretia has decided to fly home to Barcelona (to our relief) and Jim is bereft... But we continue to take lovely carriage rides around the Plaza d'Espana, imbibing the scent of the marvelous orange blossoms.
![Views from the La Giralda: the bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain.[1] It was built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville. Maria Luisa Park. We drive to Cordoba on the 26th.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62e163b72ac2810ad9183578/557c63ce-9dc5-48c9-8b25-08d6e5acb437/Scan+12.jpeg)
Views from the La Giralda: the bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain.[1] It was built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville. Maria Luisa Park. We drive to Cordoba on the 26th.
Holy Week processions in Sevilla and Cordoba, 3/24-25-26; One evening in Cordoba we got so tired of penitentes that we went and saw 'Singing in the Rain' in Spanish & danced home!
More views of Cordoba, home of many scholars including Maimonides After touring the marvelous Mezquita (converted to a cathedral), we look up Manny Elson's mentally ill former tenant, Evelyn Dickinson. (She is an orphan, retired Navy who settled in Cordoba and cannot be evicted or hospitalized. She is a danger to her fellow condo residents, but without a relative the Spanish cannot evict her.)
On March 27 we drive to Toledo through La Mancha, spending Good Friday in Toledo.
Mar 29: We tour Madrid & environs. On the 30th we head for Avila. Toros de Guisando, "bulls" of granite which are ancient historic sculptures.
Segovia Alcazar. La grana de San Ildefonso: town and municipality in the Province of Segovia, in the Castile and León autonomous region of central Spain. It's Easter so LLH embraces frozen daffodils picked from the hillside.
On the road back to Barcelona. Cuenca: a city set in the mountains of east-central Spain. Founded by Moors, it retains its Historic Walled Town with steep cobbled streets and medieval castle ruins. Perched on a limestone spur high above the Júcar and Huécar rivers, it's most famous for its well-preserved "casas colgadas," or hanging houses. Ciudad Encantada: a geological site near the city of Cuenca, in the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, Spain, in which the erosive forces of weather and the waters of the nearby Júcar river have formed rocks into distinctive and memorable shapes.
Donkey riding in Sitges, the last stop before Barcelona. In Barcelona Lucretia & Jim reconcile for the time. Here we drink champagne & eat chocolate truffles for one last time, buy the organillo (looking for "the man with the little organs" in the Gothic quarter to the hilarity of the prostitutes.)
POSTCARDS HOME
18th K&F, This town is now celebrating the “Fallas” with 258 huge statues (we will bring you pictures) around the neighborhood. You would love the fireworks, bands and parades of children offering fireworks to the Virgin. We go to bed at 3AM after the long fireworks in the castle. You have to be careful lest they land on you. then a band marches by our house at 7:30 and children set off firecrackers. What a wild noisy place! It is better than 10 circuses! Here we eat paella and drink sangria. They also have bull fights but they might be too bloody for me. It is full of big open markets of food and lovely flowers. Gypsy women stop us with their babies begging for money and all kids wear candy pouches around the neck. We’ll bring some.
18th We are having a marvelous time. The way of life here is very civilized and we are slowing down to it., late leisurely meals, siestas, etc. Will skip Portugal at the end, so fear not. Instead up the Costa Brava to France. Jim and Su are great. We got right with the spirit of each city and they know the best places to eat and drink too! This Mediterranean area is lovely with tropical vegetation. Hope all is well.
18th K&F, We saw this house yesterday on the way to a festival. It is part of a lovely island which also has a castle and fort. After a lunch where they spread tomato and olive oil on thick bread then add lemon, we went down to see the fishing boats come in. they had loads of octopus and squid, shrimp and eels. The boxes dripped black ink from the first two. Aunt Janice can tell you about it. Then we went back to the town where women (all dressed in black) were washing their clothes inside the walls. How would you like to do it too? You two would have fun playing in the fort. We promise to take you. I know you are good. Kiss everyone 41 times for us! Save all our cards, OK? Love M&D
20th Dear Kristen and Fritz, We visited this old fort yesterday. It was built first by the Romans and later used by the Crusaders in the Middle Ages. We also toured to the largest lake in Spain, a shallow rice paddy surrounded slough much like White Bear Lake and then had excellent fish served with clams and mussels and shrimp with the shells still on. The dish is called paella and is cooked on a flat shallow pan over a wood fire. You would both like it. Be good kids. Love Mother and Dad.
Food has been very good, squid especially! Dear Mom and Dad, I think you got on the wrong tour of Spain. Barcelona is as sophisticated as Rome and Paris while having a gothic (medieval) quarter, with 10’ wide streets over a 4 square mile area, as interesting as anything in Germany. In Valencia they build these statues in every neighborhood spending a fortune on each. Many reach 4 or 5 stories high, only to burn them all at the end of the 4 day carnival. We are up, as is everyone, until 3AM watching terrific fireworks and then awakened at 7AM by the neighborhood drum and bugle corps. All sleep from 3-8PM. This makes Mardi Gras look pale by comparison. Love Jack and Linda.
21st Laura and John. Hope all is going well. We so appreciate it. Yesterday we left Valencia after having toured the silk forum (the Lonja) and seeing a lovely statue of Dante’s Inferno which Lucretia’s uncle built (actually a fireplace). On the way to Granada we stopped at Bocarunite and toured the Medieval barrio part built flush with the side of the mountain (we have photos). The other hillside is full of cave homes with stairways and windows but the gate was locked to get in. This AM in Lorca we were again awakened by a band, military this time. All the bands here are pitifully bad too. Yuk. Love L&J.
21st K&F, On the 19th it rained all day and night so they had to cancel the fireworks but at 10:30AM it was very exciting as they played music and the crowd “oohed” and “ahed”. Just before, they had burned 249 statues of the stone size. Throughout the rest of the city (each neighborhood has their own) to commemorate the feast of St. Joseph, patron of carpenters. The bands and children marching woke us up every morning at 7:00 when they had only gone to bed at 4. We are a little tired. We love you so. Again please save all our cards; for us it is our only diary of the trip. Mom and dad.
23rd Dear K&F, We had a lovely drive here, saw a marvelous castle the stones of which came from the preceding Moorish fort. It was very cold but had a lovely interior courtyard and many towers and runs for you two to play in. Here in Granada we have eaten baby eels, shrimp and sardines for 2 days. The eels are good once you forget their looks, only 2” long. We will bring you here someday to the Alhambra and Generalife, it is warm and full of flowers. We also drove to the top of the mountains where people were skiing. I can szee why the Moors hated to give it up. People even have flowers growing in their gutters! We love you very much. Have a good Easter. Save these cards. Loads of Gypsies. Love M&D
23rd After leaving Granada we visited these houses built in a hillside where 5,000 years ago, a tribe buried their chiefs and warriors. Then we stopped in Ronda which is split in the middle by a gorge, plus we spent the afternoon hiking on a cement walk along the sideof a huge gorge for mules and miles. The pine needles & flowers smelled good but I was a little afraid of the height. Love M&D.
24th This is what we are seeing in Holy Week through Spain. Every afternoon and evening people like the one in the middle, the Penitents, march through the street to a drum and fife ensemble. Others carry floats but they can only march a few feet before they have to rest. Priests, mayors and police also go. We just got to Seville and it is lovely. Daddy and I took a horse and buggy ride through the streets smelling all the jasmine and orange blossoms. We also found a wonderful donkey cart at the Plaza d’Espana for you 2 to ride in. I will make gazpacho soup for you when we get home. We think of you all the time. Love M&D.
Dear Sweethearts, Doesn’t this look like a carousel? But it is really the biggest mosque in the world. The interesting and ugly part is that the Christians rebuilt the center into a Catholic Church so it seems strange to walk from one to the other. We also saw the Moorish gardens, more churches, and took a horseback ride through the streets (with buggy of course!). You would also have like to see the man making guitars and another carving wood. In the evening we say “Singing in the Rain” in Spanish and we danced home to it!! We also saw Manny’s friend but she was crazy. She threw things at Daddy. You are so sweet. Love M and Daddy
25th Dear Bunny Bowes and Fritzie Reeves, This is the tower that daddy and I climbed to see the city. Pictured in the foreground is a horse and buggy like we took 2x to see the city. I wish you could smell the flowers and play on the swings at the Alcazar, walled Moorish palace. We also spent our time at the Cathedral, the 3rd biggest in the world. Although it had many beautiful things it was also cold and damp. In the morning we drove to Cordoba. The room was a snafu and the fields looked like Minnesota. We also saw sherry made in Jerez! Love M&D
Dear Mom and Dad, The trip is really working out well as we have seen all of the Holy Week processions imaginable, a most interesting on in Toledo in suits of armor. Spent yesterday in Sagovia & Avila and the Granja. Today again in Madrid. We are skipping Portugal as there is not enough time. Love Jack and Linda.
Dear little kiddicats, Yesterday (28th) we drove up to this lovely city (this is the view we got from our lovely hotel window) through La Mancha, the desolate region of Don Quixote (Aunt Janice could tell you about him). Today, Good Friday, we toured churches and lovely museums, many pictures by El Greco (K, you saw his Assumption in Chicago!) We ate a lovely lunch on the patio of a restaurant, trout and roast suckling pig. Tonight we followed in the parade where they carried X’s coffin to weeping Mary and X on the cross accompanied by bands and candles. We mis you so and wish we could bring you along. Love M&D
Dear Kristen and Fritz, We spent the bulk of today at the Prado Museum, one of the finest in the world. Most of our time was spent looking at paintings by Velazquez of the royal family of Spain and the court. The obverse is one of the young princes. We also saw many Goyas and El Grecos – very nice. We are going to a park this afternoon and then back to Toledo tonight. It rained here today but otherwise the country is quite dry. Love, Dad.