Cardiff, Wales

December 27-30

Cardiff was selected purely because it was a direct flight from Malaga, at a good price.  Upon getting there, we really enjoyed the city.  It is the capital of Wales and the filming location for Dr. Who.  There is an awesome Dr. Who museum that is an "experience" with a section like an amusement park style thing that you walk through with all the various set pieces.  A detail of Cardiff that we found fascinating was how much they liked to differentiate themselves from England. All of the signs and announcements on the train was in Welsh and English.  Welsh is a rather difficult language to even guess how to pronounce the words. My favorite part was access to authentic BBC and English television.  The other main attraction is a castle originally opened in 55 AD by the Romans.  Then it was rebuilt in the 11th century by the Norman invaders.  It has an awesome mote.  It was been occupied in some fashion since the Normans so the castle has lots of additions and new wings that are in the various architectural styles of that time. We took a train from Cardiff to London that was much more affordable than we had thought.  The train ticket from London to Paris was not at all what we had in mind....but that's another post.

Outside wall of the castle.

Main street Cardiff. 

Castle keep.

Awesome mote.

Castle.

Dr. Who museum.

Display of all the Dr. Who costumes and actors.

The Darleks.

The main docks.

Train station, note the signs in Welsh and English.

Whales countryside, nice and blurry from the train ride.

Arcos de la Frontera, Spain - Christmas Living Nativity

December 21, 2013

This was our second trip to Arcos so we could see the Living Nativity that they do throughout the entire town. We arrived before it started, we we didn't see it live, but we did get to see all the set pieces set up.  By the time we were leaving, there were many more people so it gets to be a pretty big event.  The strangest part was a life-size statue of a man pooping...with a poo pile to match.  They mean business when they make their sets authentic! We even got some more fruit tile from the same shop we got tile from earlier than matches.  I was super stoked when I found the tiles.  A very nice relaxing day walking around the city.

                                                   (Photo Credit: Jessica V.)

This is a typical Spanish decoration depicting the Three Kings delivering the presents on January 6th.  In Spain, they do not have presents on Christmas Day.

Jerez, Spain - Bodega and Flamenco Show

December 19, 2013

This tour took us to a a Bodega, or sherry factory.  This is a very large production.  They use American oak to make their barrels because it doesn't get as moldy thus lasting longer than the local wood.  After the barrels have spent their 20 years making sherry, they go up to Scotland to make whiskey.  After making whiskey, the barrels go to get refurbished then starting the Sherry cycle again. This bodega also keeps horses that participate in various races and festivals around Jerez.  This bodega also has an art collection.  Next went to a flamenco show at a local restaurant.  Some of the people in our group were getting a bit drunk as they were "tasting" a full glass of sherry at the bodega instead of just a taste.  Then at the restaurant they were hitting the sangria with vigor.  The lunch was mediocre, but the show was good.  The show had the same format as the show in Madrid.  One male singer, a guitarist, a male dancer, and a female dancer.  No castanets, just clapping.

Zahara, Spain

December 7, 2013

A pueblo blanco near Olvera and Grazalema.  It overlooks a huge reservoir.  The reservoir is only for drinking water.  No idea why they don't put a turbine on the dam to make some electricity.  The town itself if very small with an ancient castle at the highest peak.  We went on a tour of an olive mill that has been an olive mill since the Moors lived in Southern Spain.  The olive was not native to Spain, but was introduced by the Phoenicians. This mill is very small so they still use the old pressing techniques.  They have updated technology with a mechanical hydraulic press, but the concept is still the same with the single press philosophy. This mill will also do specialty presses for the small local farmers.  The process begins with grinding up the entire olive - including the pit. Then they put the paste between circular sheets onto a hydraulic press where all the oil is squeezed out. It takes several hours for the press to go completely through. Almost several days. The residual looks like tree bark. They use it in their soap production. We also went to the local restaurant that is owned by a couple from New York.  They make their own olive oil flavors by putting rosemary or hot peppers in the oil and letting it sit for a while.  It was very tasty.

Prague, Czech Republic

November 27-30, 2013

The capital of the Czech Republic. We found the language to be total gibberish but thankfully most people spoke English.  Prague has a 1,100 year history and in that time has either been a main city or significant city in many empires.  There is still Soviet influence visible.  The city appears to be doing very well.  Prague is where the original light beer was originated.  It was cheaper to buy beer than coke. The food was very dense with lots of meat, potatoes, and sauerkraut.  Our favorite part was seeing the astronomical clock that is still functioning.  We also got to see a changing of the guards at the main building in the old city.