My Spanish Sabbatical, 2007/8
Daniel W. Koon
October 21, 2007
hi all--
We hope you're all well & happy!
on friday, we took another day trip. we got a direct bus to Segovia [1 hr], and walked about 15 mins to the old city, which is smaller and less hilly than in Toledo.
First, we went to the Alcazar (wikipedia), a Disney-looking ** castle with excellent views all around. {Seeing the castle from up-close has been our biggest jaw-drop moment so far. Pictures below.} It was the home of Ferdinand and Isabella; in the throne room we imagined them giving Cristobal Colon the money for his voyage to the new world. Over the thrones is the motto 'tanto monta,' which was Isabella's way of saying that she expected to have power equal to Ferd's. According to Wikipedia, F & I had many Sephardic ancestors.....Many of the castle's ceilings have gilded patterns, as do some pieces of furniture. There's also a collection of armor [none of the suits of armor had any protection over the crotch...???]
Our next stop was 1 of the centuries-old synagogues, which has a Sephardic museum smaller than the one in Toledo, but with 1 striking feature--a sort of big diorama of a traditional synagogue into which some [male] figures are projected--they look like little moving holograms. It was very Star Wars, until instead of saying 'help us, Obi Wan,' the figures, dressed for their Shabbat service, sang 'Ki Mitzion' and one held up the open Torah, as is still done every Shabbat morning all over the world. I got a book on the history of the Jews in Spain [translated, sometimes amusingly, from the Spanish], which I'll give Cong. Beth El when we get back. [But if anyone wants to read it before June, I'll send it soon--Jody? Dov?] The other former synagogue in Segovia has been a church for a few centuries; there's no sign that it was once a synagogue except a painting of it done a couple of hundred years ago. Lunch was at a pizza place that also has goat cheese sandwiches, then we went to a pasteleria [bakery] for some very satisfying desserts; eli had the spanish-style hot chocolate, which is almost as thick as pudding but tastes much more chocolate-y.
Segovia's cathedral has, of course, lots of paintings in the side chapels, and lots of gold & marble everywhere. The choir 'room' has seats for over 100 singers and 2 organs, each of which is 2-3 stories high and has a few statues of angels blowing trumpets around the pipes. I wish we could've heard them played..... {It is an incredibly imposing cathedral from outside, and the last great Gothic cathedral of Europe (1577).}
Eli's favorite sight was the Museo de Brujeria [witchcraft], which mostly had jars of herbs, weird animal specimens and quotes from some witchcraft manuals [how to change a man into an animal and control him, etc.]. There were also some grisly torture devices that were used on suspected witches during the Inquisition. {There was a spiky chair used by the Inquisition that was nothing like "the comfy chair" used as a torture device by the Spanish Inquisition in the Monty Python sketch.}
Sat. we mostly recovered from the trip, except that I made another quick Ikea run for some fleece blankets [the nights have been chilly]. BTW, if anyone in Canton goes to Ikea Ottawa any time this year, could you get us a Mangel laundry drying rack? It's so Ikea-- a clever but simple modern design and well-made. I'll happily reimburse you the ~$15 US cost. We have one here, which cost 5 euros--about $6.75.
Sunday night D & I went to a zarzuela {the Spanish version of 19th-20th Century light opera} show in a park by the royal palace. It consisted mainly of romantic songs sung in 18th century-ish costumes from about seven different famous zarzuelas, with little plot that we could identify, with a dab of flamenco dancing thrown in.Like a lot of shows here, this one started at 10 pm, ended @ 12, so it was a stretch for us!
That's the news from here. Let us know how you're doing--
Judy & Daniel
Cathedral of Segovia
The Alcazar
View from the Alcazar
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