Roads Less Traveled

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 →

I am sitting on the bow of the “Mareatta”, a 39 foot catamaran, and we are slicing through the deep blue sea just south of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, at about 5 knots under full sail and an even fuller sun. I have hired out the boat and crew (of 2), and we’ll spend a week aboard this very livable vessel exploring the coves, inlets, and cities of Mallorca, the largest island in the western Mediterranean chain of the Ballearics.  People have been living and trading in these waters since before the time of the Phoenicians, but it wasn’t until after the Christians evicted the (Muslim) Moors in the 13th century that the present gothic city of Palma emerged. Continue reading →