Granada

Granada is a smallish Spanish city in the deep south of the country. Its crown jewel is the Alhambra, site of the remains of the great Muslim civilization that thrived there from 1250 to 1490. At one time, it held sway over much of Spain. Its troops reached as far as Poitiers in France as Muslim power moved ever north. This is a defining moment in European history.

The Alhambra now has been greatly, and sometimes controversially, restored and is a designated World Heritage site. The rather stark palace built by Charles V to mark in stone Christianity's triumph over Islam, guards the hilltop against any new incursions! Still, the visitor can summon up the beautiful life of the ancient Muslim culture of Andalusia, renowned for its architecture and refined living. There is much evidence of its advanced science, art and learning. All of that ended as the last Sultan handed over the beautiful hilltop palaces in September 1492. The subsequent persecution of Muslims has defined in many ways the Europe of today.  We have cause to reflect on history and how it repeats itself as we watch news of the millions of Muslims who would currently like to shelter in Europe as war, often precipitated by the west,  destroys their homes and families. Many times in Europe I heard intimations that Europe is not for Muslims and barricades seem to be up in defense of a Christian Europe that no longer exists except in people's minds. How will it all resolve?

Here is a taste of the exquisite lines of symmetry and the delightful decoration....

Barcelona

This large city in the north east of Spain enjoys a lovely Mediterranean climate and for a long time has enjoyed more prosperity than the rest of Spain. Its wealth is based on industry and trade and the extraordinary treasure of architecture from 1890 to 1920 is testament to a flowering of both wealth and power at that time. The city found itself on the wrong side of history at the start of the civil war and suffered a great deal as a result.

There is a strange undercurrent of political unhappiness in the city at belonging to Spain. The people see themselves as Catalan over the centuries and from time to time there is a strong expression of the desire to be an independent country. For the most part Spain has managed this tension by according the region autonomy to run its own affairs. The independence is evident every day in the widespread use of Catalan as the language of business and society in general. It can be confusing for the visitor who is trying to cobble together some Spanish for communication purposes! Beyond that, it is hard to see why in this day and age Spain would be splitting up into smaller units at a time when we seem to be removing rather than building borders, especially in Europe.

There is a lovely relaxed vibe in the city too though and the gentle climate lends itself to much outdoor sipping of coffee and wine and the cuisine is delicious. The modernist architecture best defined by Antoni Gaudi, particularly in the Sagrada Familia, still abuilding, attracts visitors in their thousands daily. What a great place for a holiday!

This was my favourite Gaudi building - La Pedrera

Ireland

I spent the first two weeks of June in Ireland. It afforded me the opportunity to visit with relatives who live there and visit the home of my ancestors. Irish people are invariably friendly and it is always a pleasure to visit.

The major reason for the timing of my visit was for the fiftieth anniversary of my completion of high school in Kilkenny College. It was an amazing experience for me to meet again all those people that I had spent six years with from 1960 to 1966. Surprisingly, almost every single person who could have returned did so. Because it was a boy's boarding school, the experience was very intense at the time. I was fairly unhappy with conditions in the school but applied myself to my studies and that provided me with the stepping stones to fulfilling many of my dreams. While I would have walked past all of my fellow students on the street after so many years apart, we quickly broke down the barriers of separation and time and had a splendid weekend talking animatedly about our school experiences. Three wonderful people had done all of the organizing over a period of more than a year and they must certainly be very proud of their efforts.

Kilkenny College has a very long history. Its first iteration was as the Vicars Choral in 1234, just three years after the incorporation of the city of Kilkenny. The college was formally named Kilkenny College in 1538. It has had several locations as the years passed. At certain times it was a school for Ireland's intelligentsia and at others languished for historical reasons as the tides of Irish history washed over it. In my day it was a small boarding school for the children of Protestants who had remained in the province of Leinster after Irish independence. We had an occasional Dubliner, banished to the country for errant behaviour no doubt! There was even one boy from colonial Africa.
The school was at that time housed in a beautiful Georgian building dating from 1712. The building has survived as the home of Kilkenny City Council but the school has moved and is now thriving in a newly prosperous Ireland in a beautiful rural setting just outside the city. Restoration has given the old school a more elegant sheen than I remember!