Michele and Drew's Excellent Spanish Adventure

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

January 20th San Sebastian Day festivities

Performers

On balcony in Plaza de Constitucion

San Sebastian Day
Jan 19th…on the stroke of midnight (Jan 20th)

We have been looking forward to this day all year. It’s San Sebastian Day, and we have been told all about the Tamborrada…24 hours of drumming. Our "Basque family” here in San Sebastian has arranged for us to be part of the celebration with their family.

San Sebastian day is celebrated on the birthday of the patron saint of the city. Despite this, the celebration has no resemblance to a religious festival. It really feels like a festival to celebrate the city of San Sebastian itself. It has a 4th of Julyish patriotic feel. This festival, known as the Tamborrada, is celebrated nowadays by 24 hours of drumming performed by groups of people dressed up like chefs and Napoleonic era soldiers, and some woman in traditional Basque dress of the same era. Historically It apparently started as a way to mock the French who were occupiers, and later driven out by the British(and buddies) towards the end of the Napoleonic wars. Locals would drum on pots/pans barrels using kitchen utensils to mock the French as they went to fetch their water from the public fountains. Ironically the “rescuers” burned and pillaged the city as they kicked out the French occupiers.

This is how we celebrated. We were invited over to our "local family's" house for a huge meal with multiple courses. This was held in Gloria's, the grandmother's "piso." She was the chef and there where 13 of us. It was an explosion of seafood, and of course good quality Iberian jamon (ham).

Midnight on the plaza

densely packed crowd

gap in the crowd (ick)

An hour before midnight, 5 of us walked to the old town to Constitution Square where the crowd gathered. We were so lucky that an aunt, who lives in an apt passed down through the family in this historic square, invited us to participate from her balcony. The square was formerly used for bull fights. We ascended stairs that felt every bit of their 150 years, and entered the apt. We were handed the classic festival accoutrements, wooden drum sticks and a round wooden "drum" that looked like a trivet, and chefs hats. As we stood on the balcony, we had a birds eye view of the immense crowd that had gathered, packed like sardines, no way to move without some part of you touching some part of your neighbor (Claustrophobics stay home). At midnight on the dot the music started. The band played patriotic songs, the crowds sang with jubilation, drumming in perfect sync, and performing the movements required...undulating forward, or backward in movements that made me hold my breath with fear of fights breaking out or a stampede. On the stage dancers danced in traditional costumes, some in 19th century french/english military costumes, some as chefs carrying giant cutouts of knives, forks and spoons, and woman in traditional ceremonial Basque dress. This is an event where young people meet with friends and party hard carrying soda bottles spiked with alcohol into the square and later spilling out onto the streets, yet we saw not one fight break out or anything other than good cheer. Although at one point the the impossible occurred, a 6 foot circle of empty space appeared in the crowd. My friend mimed to me what had happened, clear communication in any language, someone "tossed their cookies"...she smiled wryly. After an hour the ceremony of drumming and singing patriotic songs in the square, it ended. It is traditional (for young people especially) to stay out partying for 24 hours. As we all walked home together we paused to enjoy the drumming performed by the many "sociedades” (gastronomic societies). Each that we saw had about 50 or 100 members participating. This marching and drumming went on in an organized way for 24 hours solid.

On the 20th during the day there was a giant parade. School kids, numbering 5000 in total, wearing their San Sebastian day ”military" uniforms, marched and drummed in rhythm, parading through town. Short grandmothers clawed their way to the front of the crowds that gathered along the parade route in order to get a treasured photo of that adorable grandchild.

This is a great little video by the “Vagabrothers” who do fun travel videos showing more on San Sebastian day. http://www.sansebastianturismo.com/en/thematic/tourism/461-san-sebastian-day-the-tamborrada-drum-parade

music director with giant knives

San Sebastian Day statue

Sociedad playing

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Rome Jan 4-6

fountain in Piazza Pantheon

Rome Jan 4-6

Our time in Rome may have been short, but it was oh so sweet!

Rome has just bumped itself up on my “gotta go there” list of recommended destinations.

My first trip in 1988 did not leave me wanting more (I remember not wanting to throw a coin into the Trevi fountain because it is supposed to ensure a return to Rome).

My second trip in 1999 was better, but dirty air and tons of traffic just took away from the experience…plus everything church and basilica was shrouded in scaffolding getting ready for the millennium.

Now most of the traffic is gloriously rerouted away from the ancient sites. It feels cleaner and safer, and friendlier than I had remembered.

Fori Imperiali

We coordinated our visit to Rome with that of our friend’s from San Diego, an anatomy and physiology professor who was leading a group of students on a fascinating tour of Italy through the lens of anatomy and it’s expression in art.

Drew and Kevin grew up in Philly, worked and rock climbed in Yosemite together, and Drew stood up in Kev’s wedding. It was great sharing a meal family style with Kev and about 5 students. They sharing their backgrounds, hopes and aspirations, as they were setting out on their career path. We also joined their group on a tour of an ossuary shrine called the Capuchin Crypt. In it, thousands of bones are arranged into designs/patterns. Photos are not allowed. It was eerie. We had seen something like this in Paris with stacked bones, but this was much more elaborate than I remembered the other being (worth googling)

The humble pension we stayed in, up 5 flights of steps, was in a great location in a neighborhood nestled between the Coliseum and Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica. The friendly young man at the desk told us to get comfortable, then to come back and he’d give us a map and tips. We use the Trip Advisor City Guides App, and really like it, but I’m also very attached to paper maps that you can circle things on and make notes on.

Piazza Venezia

So I happily took him up on his offer; I told him I wanted him to circle the little secret places that only the local people know about. He adorably said, “Ah, you want to see the HIDDEN GEMS!” beaming a huge smile. So he proceeded to mark a few of them on the map. My little trick is to take a photo of it with my small tablet, and then at night when the light is low or if the street names are very small I can zoom in and see everything very easily.

Rome was still “dressed” for Christmas with decorations and wonderful lights that lit up some of the monuments. Classical music played while a spectrum of morphing, colorful lights shone, on the forum. It was magical.

That weekend evening we arrived, the streets were thick with people, out for a stroll. Sometimes it looked like a “river of black” as people, mostly dressed in black, flowed from the small streets (like tributaries) and merged together onto larger ones. Happily, it wasn’t always the case.

One of many mosaics in St. Praxedes

My favorite place to hang out was the square in front of the Pantheon at night. A cellist and guitarist played for tips in front of its colossal doors, while the crowd gathered to listen. A lit up fountain bubbled in the center of the square, while around the periphery couples enjoyed candlelit meals outdoors at tables covered with red and white checked table clothes.

On a nearby side street, we stumbled upon the absolute best gelato on the planet.

Pantheon

Well, Della Palma (via della Maddelena) with I50 flavors of fattening goodness, is certainly my favorite. It is clearly well known and loved…you pay the cashier first, and give your receipt to the ice cream scooper guy who patiently waits for you to make that near impossible decision. Luckily you can have more than one flavor per scoop. As long as we are talking "favorites"...my favorite souvenir I saw in the shops was the "Hot Priests" black and white calendar. Didn't buy it but couldn't resist taking a photo of it.

My favorite "hidden gem" (I know you have been wondering) is the Basilica of St. Praxedes.

It is covered in glittering mosaics that took my breath away, and literally brought tears to my eyes. I was in the tiny gift shop, trying to hide my tears and buy a postcard; the attendant, a man of about my age, clutched his hands to his heart and said something in Italian that let me know that he was touched by my reaction (obviously I wasn’t hiding my tears well), and handed me a stack of a dozen prayer cards from under the counter. Rarely does manmade beauty impact me like this cathedral. It was so plain and unpretentious on the outside, and so filled with unexpected beauty on the inside.

When you park a Smart car, anything goes

This time I would have definitely thrown a coin into the Trevi fountain to ensure our return visit to Rome, unfortunately IT was covered in scaffolding!

Revolving wax Popes

Santa Maria Maggagori

A mannequin shop

Palazzo Altemps

Holy Relic-"Pillar of Christ's Flagellation"
(unauthenticated)

Hmmm, not sure name of this church

St. Teresa in ecstasy (Bernini sculpture)
Chiesa Santa Maria della Vittoria
Thought to be source of Cupid myth

sunset silhouette

Christmas glitz

street musicians at Pantheon

Cellist

Piazza Pantheon

Kev and Drew

Hot Priest's souvenir calendar! Only in Rome...

Relic- Chains of St. Peter

Jewish district of Rome

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Italy Dec 29-Jan 6

Italy Dec 29-Jan 6

Sorrento port

Sorrento

Home of the famed Limoncello, is a lovely little seaside town on the Mediterranean, largely supported by the tourism. It is set high on cliffs, and affords lovely views of the Mt. Vesuvius and the bay of Naples. It’s the end of the local train line that goes to Naples. Many people use it as a base to explore the Amalfi coast.

another view of coastline from Sorrento

Nothing gives you a better first impression of a town than eating a phenomenal meal within an hour of arriving (see photo seafood delight). We liked our little pension nestled amongst citrus trees, complete with furry miniature horse. In the mornings we sat around a table shared with other guests from Italy and Budapest. The sustenance came more from the great conversation rather than the alimentation.

Sorrento was our base to explore the Roman ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Pompeii had been a thriving port town with its importance being trade, and Herculaneum had been a sort of vacation/resort town (funny to think of people living in the 1^st century taking vacations).

Herculaneum excavation- many meters of lava

mosaic in Archeological Museum of Naples

Herculaneum

They were both destroyed in the Mt. Vesuvius eruption of 79AD, but had very different experiences. Pompeii was already about 500 years old when Vesuvius blew its top, it apparently looked like a pointy pyramid before the eruption. Pompeii was buried under about 3 meters of ash and debris, then was hit by a surge of heated gas, asphyxiating any remaining people, followed by another 4 meters of ash. Herculaneum on the other hand was buried in a lava flow. These buried cities were long forgotten for centuries. Though discovered a century or two earlier, excavations didn’t start till the 1700’s. The king of Naples permitted the excavations with the stipulation that he got the best of the booty. You can imagine all the thievery and destruction of the site that occurred. Excavations stopped and started over many years. They are still in the process of excavating, but now use modern, painstaking preservation techniques. We wandered the sites, impressed by the incredibly colorful murals on the walls, intricate mosaic floors, the architecture of temples, baths, and local houses, the famed Roman roads with visible wear and tear from chariot wheels, the amount of intact jars/vessels, and bakeries with large grinding devices and ovens. I read something interesting online that puts the importance these archeological excavations into perspective for me…the discoveries had a huge influence on the popular culture of 1700 and 1800’s throughout Europe. Artists and architects of the day abandoned the popular Rococo style and came to embrace a new style, which we know today as Neoclassicism.

ancient chariot track and modern cigarette

view from Pompeii

bathhouse

We went into Naples by train specifically to see the Archeological museum, which houses many of the objects found during the excavations. To our dismay, the museum’s once stately building was pretty run down. Half of the exhibits were closed for renovation (not good for us, but I’m sure they needed it). More interesting (in that “glad I saw it, and don’t need to see it again” way) was the walk from the train station to the museum. In theory you can take the subway virtually from the train station to the museum. However, they had closed down many of the metro stations that day for “security reasons” we were told, due to a concert somewhere in town. So, we went on foot…we passed a burned out wrecked car, piles of trash, old pizza black with mold. We watched people drop trash while they walked, without a second thought. Buildings, once probably lovely, now were crumbling everywhere you looked…wires and cables haphazardly strung across them in a “this is good enough” sort of manner. I would have been into it if was “cool” gritty, but to me it was just dirty. Drew said he remembered parts of Philly looking even worse in the 70’s. I was anxious to get back to Sorrento. The train lines would shut down early for New Years Eve, and we were told it would be like “Vietnam during the war” with guns, fireworks, explosions...obviously more exaggeration. We watched the Naples skyline from across the bay in Sorrento, and saw nonstop fireworks for what seemed like hours lighting up the city. In Sorrento we enjoyed the crowds of merrymakers in the street. The next day we had a very interesting talk with a local about our observations. We got quite an interesting education on the various mafia organizations in Italy, their links to the trash business, Columbian drug cartels, how dirty money is “cleaned” via real estate investments (not just in Italy) etc.

Next stop Rome...