Thursday 3 October 2013

Visiting Annie part 1: Pasea, descubre y cuentalo.

 
 
( This is the nearest we could manage to a joint blog......Annie's comments are in blue, mine in black, and be warned....part 2 is currently in preparation )
This trip has been long awaited. (And eagerly anticipated.) Annie and I, having known each other for about 20 years, have become close since I started to follow her blog about moving from England to Spain. (After we’d bumped into each other in Kingsgate Car Park one day ...and suddenly discovered how easy it was to talk to each other. I could have stayed chatting there until we were asked to leave!) Then, she persuaded me to start blogging nearly 2 years ago, and our friendship has developed.  As her life in Spain progressed, moving from place to place until she and her family finally found their chosen spot, near Alcala la Real, I have ended up living partly in England and partly in France.  
So…..this long awaited excursion south, from my French home in the Minervois, has finally happened. At one stage we talked about getting together in Barcelona, or having a girls’ weekend somewhere we could both get to easily. However, with me being ill for best part of the last year, those plans were put on hold. (I think ‘best part’ is perhaps not quite the right term, Janice! The worst part of the year would be more appropriate… and thank goodness it’s over. ) (As you mention Barcelona  isn’t it  - or wouldn’t it be - still a wonderful venue for a meet up one day - maybe with a few other blogging friends..?)
My husband Mark, said he would be happy to take me to see Annie, so we started to plan a short visit for this autumn. (Mark really is part saint!)
We combined it with visiting another friend and her family, who live just north of Castellon in Benicassim. ( My blog about this part of the trip has already been published).
What can I say ? We drove 2,500 kms ( well, I drove about 60kms…..Mark drove the rest), and had an amazing time.
Sam and Dave's guest house is at the top of the road going up, just left of centre in the photo....the house with the long shuttered window at the top. That was our bedroom. The photo does not do justice to the steepness of that road....it was practically vertical.....appropriate only for extreme sledging.....if. of course, there was ever snow here.
 
Tour guide Annie refused to let us find the guest house on our own. Her view was that even with the SAT-NAV, we would fail to find it. I am so glad she met us in town, in order to take us up to Sam and Dave’s guest house. It was at the top of impossibly steep and narrow roads, at the other end of town to the incredible fortress which dominates Alcala la Real. How people walk up to their homes, I have no idea. Annie said that there are often people with broken bones to be seen wandering the Alcala streets in the winter when things get a little slippery. I can believe it. (Actually Janice, it was a thinly disguised ruse to make sure I could meet you as soon as possible - and to share in that view you describe in the next paragraph…)
Annie, emerging from our precariously parked car, after she had directed us through Alcala's narrow steep streets.
 
However, the view from Sam and Dave’s terrace was amazing. After a pretty long and tiring drive from Benicassim, we were ready just to sit, chat, have a glass of wine and watch the light fade over La Mota. It was an excellent start to our visit to see Annie.
Annie, with us, on Sam and Dave's terrace

La Mota, as the light fell, from our terrace
The next day, Annie met us and began her personalised tour of Alcala la Real. I know she had struggled to find the perfect house in which to finally settle……but I did not realise quite how many Alcala homes she had viewed in her quest. Dozens of houses were pointed out, as having been potentials at various stages. Some were no hopers because there was no garage/parking space/light/outside space, or there were not enough rooms, or as in one case, the children were so horrified by the steepness of the street that it had to be abandoned as having any potential at all.
Mark, with our very special tour guide
We explored one of Alcala’s churches….the posh one, apparently. Behind the altar was the most spectacular golden shrine I have ever seen. Along each wall were various life size madonnas and other saints. Some of them are taken out of the church for various processions during the year. We came across our first weeping virgin, our lady of sorrows, and watched the local women who must spend hours in the church each day, cleaning, polishing, arranging flowers and of course, praying.
 

 

Forteza de la Mota, dominating all views of Alcala la Real
 
Then Annie took us to La Mota. The words on the tourist information leaflet about the fortress are
“pasea, descubre y cuentalo”, meaning stroll, discover and tell.
La Mota, with Annie's pine forest, where Darwin has been taken for many walks.
I understand Annie’s passion for this amazing place, and it does need to be walked around and discovered and then shared with others. I loved it. (I SO enjoyed seeing it all again through your eyes too.)
 
Annie and I nattering away.....which we did quite a bit of ! Captured by Mark who had wandered off up one of the towers.
There are Neolithic and bronze age remains at the site, and of course, the Romans were there too. However, the majesty and power of the hill site were properly realised during the 12th and 13th centuries under Islamic rule. The remains of the town within its outerwalls reminded me a little of Carcassonne. There is evidence of the butchers, the pharmacy, of  people’s homes as well as that of the military and defensive purpose of the actual fortress.
 

Annie loves every stone of the place, and easily transmitted it to us. Her grasp of what happened and when was a little more vague. It was pretty easy to forgive her though. Her overwhelming passion for this beautiful place was very powerful.

Actually, I’ve always been a historian more interested in why something happened than when it did, but her “ oh it was ages ago”  or “ a long time ago Janice”……meant I needed to look things up a bit, so I at least had some idea of when the Christian arrived and when various sieges took place. (I’d forgotten I had two historians in tow...dates were never my strong point. I found it interesting to be asked ‘when, exactly’ and ‘what happened before this?’...but obviously hadn’t a clue about any of it. I shall endeavour to find out and remember for future visitors - but I suspect they won’t need quite so much detail!)
 
It seems that the Moslems were losing to the Christians, in Alcala at around about the same time as Christian crusaders were claiming land all over the place from French landowners who protected the Cathars further north.
The ruined, and now partly restored abbey within the fortified town was beautiful. Evidence of Romans, Wisigoths, Moslems and Christians can be found. A well produced film shown in the cavernous ruined abbey showed some of the changes that had happened over the centuries, and showed dear old Napoleon, personally lighting the match that burned the place to the ground. (And I did learn some things I didn’t know before even though I’ve seen this particular film three times already...the problem is that I tend to get all emotional at the end as the music swells and the film shows all the best bits of the town...I forget the detail then in the great swell of pride and amazement that rises up in me…)
The stunning interior of the restored abbey building, destroyed by Napoleon, where the film show took place.
I could go on…..about Alcala la Real, and about Annie…..but I intend to blog about Annie in her home village of Villalobos, as part 2 of this adventure. So, I will just add a few photos to our text, and promise a bit more of our adventures in my/ our next blog. (Looking forward to seeing the photos - and chipping in where I can!)
la Iglesia Mayor Abacial, with evidence of the town outside.....homes from the 16th century.

29 comments:

  1. Amazing photos of an amazing place; a wonderful post!

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    1. Thanks Maria, I am wishing I could have spent longer with Annie....but there will always be next time.

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  2. That was a stunning post....now all alight (non Napoleonically) to read up on the history having seen these photographs

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    1. Thanks Helen. Annie and I really hope we will manage a get together, which includes you, in the not too distant future.

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  3. Love this post...glad you had an awesome time with your friend. Great photos and what an amazing place. You are so lucky to live in Europe and everything within driving range.
    You look great...take care. XX

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    1. The driving was just a little too much to be honest. I wasn't up to taking my fair share of it, so Mark suffered a little. It is a long way from southern France to southern Spain ! However, it was worth the effort. We had a great time.

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  4. Too few photos of Janice here, methinks. She looks absolutely fantastic, despite the shingles that struck just before she set off - I hope there'll be a few more in the next post. In the meantime, I'm so glad to see that other readers found the place amazing...I'll brush up on dates if anyone else is interested in a tour...possibly!
    Great time. Well captured. Axxx

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    1. Not so sure about looking fantastic Annie.....but I no longer hate my hair, which is a real bonus ! As you know, I loved Alcala la Real, but the real joy of our trip was coming to casa Rosales and seeing you all getting on with life. I love your cards and your zentangles, your chocolate moulds, your fig, orange and walnut jam and your teapot and your beautiful family.....including Darwin of course.
      Thanks for a beautiful couple of days. Jxxxx

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  5. Great photos - I didn't realise Annie lived in such a historic place.

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    1. You'd love it ! I thought of you as I walked between the raised footprints of the homes surrounding the abbey.

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  6. This post is so interesting! I am really interested in this period in history -- especially the history of the Muslim period, which has been ignored by many for such a long time. I have only been to Spain once about 20 years ago and at that time did not have the chance to do any exploring -- but this makes me think it's about time to get back and do some more. And the pictures are just fabulous. I'm really looking forward to part 2!

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    1. It would not be possible to ignore the Muslim bit of Alcala's history, and of course, the Alhambra and Cordoba are close by. It is fascinating stuff, and my interest in it has certainly been reawakened by my visit. I also find the way that southern Spanish Catholicism has been influenced by the Islamic past is intriguing. However, I'll be honest, the best bit of the trip was seeing Annie !

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  7. Great post, beautifully crafted and illustrated. You certainly made the most of your time with Annie. Thank you both for sharing your visit with us. Next stop Barcelona...

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    1. So, would you be up for a bloggers' gathering in Barcelona....next spring maybe ?

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  8. Lovely to follow along with your adventures! That's a loooong drive. We drove down to Granada on our first visit to Spain, but took well over a week to do it, stopping along the way. I'm looking forward to finding out what else you got up to ... and will email you about some other stuff.

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    1. I've got back to you about the jazz festival via email....sorry we'll have to miss it. The drive was too long, if I'm honest. Although we did not make the mistake coming back that we did going south. We stuck to motorways, and didn't try to take in every interesting place along the way.....that is fine when you have plenty of time....but motorways are best for covering the miles.

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  9. To both Janice and Annie, what an absolute delight it is to read of your ventures, and see both. Keep on posting.

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    1. We had such a good time Penny....now how about you making it over to Barcelona ????? ( otherwise, as you know, I have every intention of catching up with you in Illinois one of these days)

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  10. What a great idea to do a post and include comments via Annie, who I am now following thanks to you.
    I love the photo of La Mota as light fell, and the day light one too with the town of Alcala la Real sprawling below it.

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    1. Rosemary, you will love Annie's blog. Her life is interesting, her interests are incredibly varied, and she writes brilliantly. Alcala is a very special place.

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  11. This is all SO fascinating! What a wonderful place.
    I wonder if there is a name for people who are passionate about history but hopeless at dates?
    There should be! I'm definitely one.

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    1. It is a wonderful place...and don't get me wrong. I don't need exact dates for things. Its much more interesting to know why something happened and what its consequences were. But, I like to know a rough order of events and I like to know what was going on at the same time in different places, so I need some vague time reference. Annie was hilarious, and clearly for some people....a long long time ago is fine. I was pretty useless at dates when I taught history though.....order, cause and consequence ...much more important !

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  12. Oh Janice, what a wonderful post, and how special to meet up with your blog friend Annie to do it all together. Spain is incredibly beautiful and has such powerful history. I would soooo love to go there one day. The photos are amazing - my favourite is the hill fortress overlooking the town; just gorgeous. Take care and keep well. xxx

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  13. Thanks Patricia. It was a very special trip for me. Spain is so close to us when we are in the south of France. the border is less than an hour and a half's drive away....but Annie is right down in the south, and it is a big country ( ok.....not by Aussie standards)...but I think I might fly down next time ! Jx

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  14. Wonderful to read how your friendship developed.The joint blogging works so well and really cements your friendship.
    Interesting to see the photos of La Mota.The Neolithic remains would have interested me - i spent a few Saturday mornings in The Picton Library in Liverpool doing some research on Neolithic Man.

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    1. Alcala la Real is a fascinating place...and the whole trip, and follow up blogging has been great fun.

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  15. This was a truly wonderful post Janice and Annie. I loved the joint commenting, the photos of you all (especially Annie who has been a bit retiring where photos are concerned ;-) ) the photos of gorgeous Alcala la Real and the fascinating history of the place and the area. You obviously made the most of every minute of your visit.

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  16. Isn't the photo of Annie, looking over her shoulder, lovely ? We did have a great time.

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  17. Just catching up Janice and this post is lovely. Amazing photos. That was certainly some journey to get there, but clearly well worth the effort.

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