Roads Less Traveled

I am walking down the Gran Via in Madrid. It is Saturday night, and I’m surrounded by men in various states of undress. Many of them appear to be trained dogs based on the leashes they’re wearing. Many more are sporting no underwear. I know this because they also have no pants, or at least pants with seats. Continue reading →

Holy Toledo! I am writing this from a rooftop terrace with a panoramic view of Toledo’s great cathedral, town hall, and Alcazar, all lit up tonight like the candles on a wedding cake perched on a tall hill, and it’s easy to see why this spiritual city has been the inspiration for such luminaries as El Greco and Cervantes…I enjoyed a nice dinner of artisan cheeses, olives, bread, and strawberries washed down with copious quantities of a good quality Rioja, followed up with the town’s trademark dessert, marzipan, and now I’m reflecting on the day’s events. There’s a cool breeze wafting through the Byzantine twists and turns of these ancient streets, and it carries the day’s radiant heat away like a gift from a latter-day magi.  Continue reading →

I am surveying the triumphant 3-arched facade of the mighty Cathedral of the Incarnation in Granada, Spain, which took nearly 250 years to complete. This Renaissance church was built on top of what was once a mosque. The Reconquista Christians felt so strongly about their one-time rulers that, instead of building the church on favorable footing only 500 yards away, they chose to destroy the muslim house of worship to build on its sandy soil instead. Now, that is carrying a grudge. Continue reading →