Tuesday 19 March 2013

a quiet couple of days .....

Hello friends ..... As you can see it has been a week since posting and I am not going to be able to write about all I have seen and done since our time in Andalucia and now we are in a beautifully modern little apartment built into and old farmhouse just outside Cardona, not far from Barcelona. I am having a couple of quiet days hoping to break this bad health cycle before moving on from here .... Steve has gone into Solonses, and I am literally going to write this blog, then read a book! Delicious amidst all the travel.

What a time we have had, despite myself and the weather. I can't even begin to write about the mezquitta in Cordoba or the Alhambra in Granada other than to say they are every bit as wonderful as one imagines. I have just finished reading People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks and am now reading Leo the African by Amin Maalouf. Both books talk about the cross over time between Moor and Catholic times, the expulsion and so forth. wonderful to be reading these books while actually in the towns mentioned.

I am just going to write briefly about the last two days and the will write again from France.

I MET ERSI ........ And I must tell you all that she is just as beautiful in person as one expects from her blog. I can't tell you how exciting it was to find her in the beautiful tucked away medieval village where she lives! The week before they had had a huge amount of snow as we could tell from many flattened trees on our drive there .... Broken branches, evidence of flooding. Apparently the snow was gone in five days and then there was a rain deluge. Having made the decision to go and find Ersi, it was quite an adventure getting there. Steve was marvelously patient! And he could see the joy it gave me - I could not stop grinning for hours. I was lucky enough to see a few of the pieces Ersi is preparing for her exhibition - most of the finished work was with the photographer. The work was beautiful - understated, evocative.

I really didn't want to leave after the few hours I had with Ersi but I am certain I will see her again and spend some creative time together. I will be plotting and planning for sure. Fiona and Helen, I remembered your messages and Ersi was so pleased.

The next day we headed towards the Pyrenees - the plan had been to spend a few days in one of the mountain villages and do some walking. Ha! Everything is still snow covered and oh so cold. Steve put his protective foot down and said no ....... And now we are booked into the cutest little spot,with two bedrooms and a kitchen so we can eat our own food for a couple of days. Quite a treat when travelling for so many weeks with barely any downtime. Down lower in the foothills of the Pyrenees the sun is shining, birds are singing - there are no cars or people to be heard. Cows at the back window!

The first few pics will be of the divine little village we made our base in Andalucia - when we arrived and opened our window a rainbow greeted us. (Actually lost the rainbow photo but found it again so it is the last pic!) Next photo the village was a white out and we had a domestic day. Di and John hosted us in their home and it was a perfect english speaking respite for us in Spain. We are both working out how to get back there for art immersion and mountain bike riding for Steve......

The next photo will be Ersi and me in front of the church in Beceite and then some of the snow yesterday. We are hidden away here today and tomorrow, then off to Barcelona for our last two Spanish days.

Thank you all for wandering along with me and leaving comments. I have enjoyed them. x































8 comments:

  1. Hello Susan, we had 18cms of snow in 24hrs but happily its gone now, looks wonderful but makes getting about very difficult - thank goodness for farmers with ploughs to clear the roads.
    I'm so sorry that you're still not feeling well but the places you've been to must lift you.
    The photographs of the rock formations are great and I can see them being inspiration for some new work.
    How great to meet your artist friend, I looked her up on the internet.
    When do you get to France ?

    Diane.x

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  2. Oh yay! You saw Ersi! I'm thrilled that you found your way to her and that the two of you could catch up - it's very special. I'm loving all the images and the angles and glad to hear you are taking a a bit of down-time. Travel safe.

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  3. S- so good to see the magical journey continues unabated - so many experiences. And what a beautiful thing to catch up with Ersi of the blog community - glad you persisted on the hunt. Travel well and continue to enjoy. B

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  4. oooh, it's great to see this part of Spain covered in snow - a contrast to the usual blue skies and olive greens and browns of the landscape. How exciting to meet Ersi - gotta love the bloggosphere. Hope you get well very soon!!

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  5. I'm enjoying reading your accounts of your travels and seeing your marvellous pics and it's great that you were able to meet Ersi in person. Enjoy the rest of your trip.

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  6. Beautiful - a lovely photographic record. I especially love the ice patterns and the piles of stones.

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  7. Well, I'm here at last! Thank you for the lovely post about our meeting, Susan, and for your kind words about my work. I had such a wonderful time with you both! I hope we'll meet again soon, here or your side of the world. There are still so many things to talk about...

    The shots are lovely, from rainbow to snow to sunlight. It's quite a trip, isn't it?

    Fiona, Barry, Noela and Helen: I'd love to meet you too sometime!

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  8. Susan, this morning I read Ersi's post, saw you there with her, and for the first time I went to your blog. I find this amazing because I have followed your activities with Fiona with great enjoyment and yet , and yet... Anyway I have just spent over an hour reading your blog, loving your work and your photographs and have subscribed to you by email.

    How lovely to have met Ersi and formed another connection. Meeting our blogging community is such a great experience. I do hope you continue to enjoy your trip and I know I will enjoy your beautiful photos of your adventures.

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I appreciate your comments - thank you!