26 Friday Jul 2013
A panoramic view of the Palace of Minos at Knossos. Click to enlarge (all photos)
If you’re a hiker, a beach bunny, or an armchair archaeologist there are many must-sees on Crete: trails, sandy beaches, and excavations everywhere. For the rest of us dabblers, one of the must-sees is the Palace of Minos at Knossos (“Knossos” for short), a hilltop ruin near Heraklion that was first inhabited in 7000 B.C.
19 Friday Jul 2013
Treasure Island (Elafonissi) was once used by pirates, but the pirates have all moved to Somalia, and Elafonisi (modern spelling) really isn’t an island any more – it’s an outcropping of the mainland connected by a strip of sand that occasionally submerges. That sand, however, is stunning.
15 Monday Jul 2013
Above, old Chania (HAN-ya) harbor. (Click to enlarge.) Below, a gallery of photos from around town, taken during our first three days here. (Requires Java; mouse over for controls.)
21 Friday Jun 2013
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At the turn of the century (1900), Bare Mountain (Muntanya Pelada) overlooking Barcelona seemed like an ideal place for a housing development. It was high enough to offer air clear of the soot from Barcelona’s industry, it sported a panoramic view of the city, and its height almost guaranteed exclusivity for the Spanish elite. Count Eusebi Güell – an industrial entrepreneur who profited greatly from the industry from which Bare Mountain offered a respite – platted sixty huge triangular lots, hired the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, built a model home, and sat back, waiting for orders. None came.
05 Wednesday Jun 2013
The New Orleans Big Head float at the Tournament of Roses Parade, 2008. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
There are more places than you would think that are into big heads. The Tournament of Roses Parade (above) comes to mind. Portland’s Rose Festival (my home town) comes to mind too. New Orleans, Ann Arbor, Vancouver – they all have parades with big heads. It’s a Big Head epidemic.
03 Monday Jun 2013
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Tossa de Mar as it appeared in the 1940s or 1950s.
Tossa de Mar has been home for somebody since the Neolithic days, continuously populated through the early Iberians to the Romans … and now we’re only up to 100 BC.
So Vila Vella enceinte, the ancient walled city located within Tossa de Mar and the only fortified medieval town still standing on the coast of Catalonia, is a journey back in time – way back (Vila Vella was built in 1200 BC). On the first summery day of the season, we climbed up the hill with our friends Vicens and Jeannette to wander within and on top of the ancient walls.
30 Thursday May 2013
Panorama of Girona taken from the wall’s north tower. Click to enlarge (all photos).
During recorded history, Girona has undergone twenty-five sieges and has been captured seven times. Defending against the bad guys has been the name of the game since the First Century BC, when the Romans began construction of a wall around the city. Over the years the wall was fortified: slots were added to accommodate bows with arrows; towers were built to house heavier artillery; the wall kept getting higher.
24 Friday May 2013
Forgive my tawdry attempt to attract your attention with that headline. The “slime” I refer to is a subdural hematoma, which we’ve discussed on these pages before. (If you share a vulgar interest in items corporeal with, say, twelve-year-old boys, you can search for the YouTube video of the removal of a subdural hematoma yourself. You have been warned.)
The “scene” is L’Escala, Spain, the captivating seaside town we visited in April where my personal subdural hematoma experience began. We returned to L’Escala yesterday for an overnight visit. The place is far too charming to condemn just because I encountered a medical event there; and besides, our last visit was, well, sorta cut short.
17 Friday May 2013
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They say that Anthony Weiner is likely to announce his candidacy for Mayor of New York City next week. Could anything be more bizarre? Yes, of course: they could elect him.
14 Tuesday May 2013
My guilty pleasure is: street markets. I absolutely haunt the one in the park next door: La Devesa.
This market shows up every Tuesday and Saturday morning, and for some reason I always see things I haven’t seen before.
The Expat Almanac 