travelswithalice

September 03, 2007

Shall we go to a cathedral or see a bullfight?

Andalusia's arts and culture derive from a distinctive blend of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim history and traditions. Its architectural history attests to this.

This peculiar blend is most evident in the region's churches and cathedrals; and it is this very peculiarity that makes for interesting study in design and structure. That said, I must admit I find these sacred buildings not particularly beautiful or unified in design.

Only the Mesquita in Cordoba and the gardens of the Alhambra in Granada have evoked the kind of wondrous excitement I've always had for ancient architecture. Maybe as I get older myself I'm instinctively moving away from all things old and moldy, as a friend used to say of Europe in general.

I find I'm more interested in what people here do and how they do it. I want to join in their festivals, eat their food, drink their wine. I want to see their markets. I want to understand what they're saying. I want to know what it's like to live here.

How do their lifestyles differ from mine? Maybe I should start taking siestas too.

I'm impressed with their spiffy trash cans; they must be really serious about recycling waste here. Is gasoline cheaper here?

Why do they like cold soup? I want to know more about flamenco.

Do I like the aristocratic, soulful Sevillana or do I prefer the celebratory, bawdy bulleria of Jerez?

Are bullfights more exciting when there is a kill? Do the locals avert their eyes when things get too bloody in the bullring?

I want to see the buildings that the new super starchitects are gaining fame and fortune for. I want to stay in the edgy new boutique hotels that are so arrogant about their success they don't even answer their phones when we call to inquire.

What kind of compromises have to be made to transform part of the Alhambra into a profitable, self-sustaining, state-run parador?

Do I honestly want to trade the 5- star extravagance of our recently redone hotel room in what used to be a 15th century convent, an integral part of this magnificent palace, for perhaps a more authentic monastic experience?

Should I chase after Spain's hi-tech, molecular, surreal cuisine along the lines of the north's El Bulli?

Or should I keep trying to discover a more authentic way to eat bull's tails and pig's ears?