potrerohillman

ok, i came for the opera and the hiking and the cutesy little shops and restaurants. santa fe is more than that. it is the state capital and it has a college or two. and if you are going to madrid (mad-drid thank you) it is not a bad place to spend some time. downtown around the square is sooooooooo touristy, and the church with the spiral staircase built by an angel. or go to canyon road with its art gallery after art gallery—ok so maybe southwest and western themed art is not your thing. you can eat well, green chili is tastier although you can bring back home lots of red chilis of differing degrees of heat with the pottery and silver and weavings. oh, there is the toy museum, wow!

food, drink. and of course gaudi.
the capital of catalunya is a great city for foreigners. it is easy to negotiate around and the people are friendly. architecture and food compete as the main attractions. not far are sea coast cities for summer relaxation—sitges for one.

i have been to oaxaca twice. the last time was for spanish language school. what a great idea! what a great place! oaxaca is special, surrounded by mountains, vibrant, beautiful. the color of the city is a pistacchio green from the limestone. the zocolo is still the center of town with people there all day and into the night. music concerts in gazebo, the square lined with cafes and restaurants. i liked the suero, beer and lime. for the curious there are the grasshoppers deep fried. of course, oaxaca mole is famous and the chocolate in many flavors. the markets fabulous filled with color, smells, sounds. not far the ruins of monte alban, or the rug weaving villages or the villages where pottery is made or the colorfully painted wooden figures. in the summer, there is a dance festival. art galleries abound. super restaurants. music in a full range of styles. if you are lucky you can join a religious procession on feast days, fireworks which explode right there on the street. even soccer and baseball.

flew to aswan, took a boat up the nile to luxor. great ruins, flashy son et lumiere. don’t drink the water, don’t eat tomatoes or lettuce—oh my, nile water can make you very very sick. egyptian people, sunny, open. the desert rushes up to the nile’s thin band of greenery. the coptic churches along the river even in cairo north on the corniche. the cairo museum jam packed with treasures. the mosques, take off your shoes.

so many bicycles, so few red lights. the central park where the early morning is filled with people gracefully excersizing or airing out their birds in cages. the school of traditional chinese medicine. the little shops where you can buy ink and brushes or maybe a chop. graceful wide streets, tree lined.

renting an apartment again. the best way to experience a city. close to s giovanni in laterano and the scala santa. i’ve climbed the steps on my knees—great to mediate, contemplate. i like churches and rome is great for that and for sidewalk cafes. the historic center has lots of ruins and the tiny alleys there and across the tiber in trastevere, you can walk for hours.

away in the mountains, the monastery is on a long winding road following the river through forests. the compound is large with rooms in various styles of old bulgaria. the churches within the monastery heavy with the scent of incense and the glow of precious metals on the icons and iconostases. even when the weather is not sunny, rila is beautiful if a little sad.

juxtaposition-neoclassical late 1800’s mixes with smart shops, suv’s, mafia and old churches. the choir at alexander nevsky cathedral is heavenly. street corner pizza with corn, ketchup and mayonaise, espresso in little plastic cups, rakia. begging gypsies, packs of roaming dogs, a faded opera house, inexpensive classical music recitals, chalga clubs, ndk, vitosha-the street, the mountain. a bottle of mavrud, women’s market, doctor’s garden, boris garden, the icon museum in the basement of the cathedral.