the pleasures of the small conference

At the end of our honeymoon, Dave flew back to the US, and I headed up to the University of Leeds for a conference. I've been trying to get to smaller, more focused conferences, so I was quite excited when my abstract on Disney's Hercules was accepted. This was my first paper on a "classical reception" topic, and I was a bit nervous to present an analysis of the movie in the company of much more experienced reception scholars.

I shouldn't have worried. Because the conference was so small (50-odd attendees?), people were so friendly! Introducing themselves in the elevator, offering thoughtful remarks during discussion, approaching after talks to continue the conversation, asking real conversational questions over dinner. I didn't know that conferences could be like this. I had a blast.

But perhaps most important of all is a revelation that came out during my panel. A classicist from University of Vermont was presenting on two children's TV shows about Hercules from the '90s – Disney's "Hercules: The Animated Series" and the "Young Hercules" show on Fox. Do you remember who starred in "Young Hercules"? None other than RYAN GOSLING.

I find this irrationally hilarious, and hope you do too!

London

By the time we arrived in London, we were a bit tired. We forgot to plan any down-time or relaxing afternoons for our time in Spain. Oops! We'll remember for next time. We took London at our own pace and still had a great time.

We "watched" (behind a giant crowd of much taller people) the changing of the guards, and then visited Westminster Abbey. Despite the drizzly weather, we got great views of Parliament and Big Ben from the London Eye!

I really wanted to have a traditional English afternoon tea, so we went to the Horseguards Hotel. Dave proclaimed himself "very fancy" for drinking fancy tea and eating fancy pastries at a fancy hotel while a HARPIST played classical music around the corner. We made it a little less fancy – when the servers graciously offered to bring us a second sample of anything we particularly enjoyed, we asked for seconds of...everything. Keepin' it classy, folks!

Our special treat was a performance of "Wicked"! All I knew beforehand is that everyone liked it and told me that I would, too. They were right! I was a little rusty on the actual "Wizard of Oz" movie, so Dave rented it from Netflix when we got back, and we watched it last night. What a crazy story!

We rounded out our time in London with hours at the British Library and British Museum, a walk through Regents Park, and dinner on Brick Lane. I loved the yellow roses in the park. Thanks, London, for a great end to our honeymoon!

Madrid

It was hard to top Sevilla's warmth and charm, but Madrid had plenty to offer. We went for late-night freshly-fried churros dipped in hot chocolate, gorged on paella, and walked around the packed squares at night. And we saw amazing works of art at the Prado and the Reina Sofia museums. No photos allowed, unfortunately, but here's a little sample of stuff you can see in Madrid (all works I recognized from my high school history textbooks!):

Hieronymous Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights"

Diego Velazquez's "Las Meninas"

Francisco de Goya's "Third of May"

Pablo Picasso's "Guernica"

I remember reading the label in my textbook that "Guernica" is in Madrid and thinking, "Guess I'll never see that painting in person." Haha, high school self! You will indeed see that painting in person!

We also visited the Royal Palace. I had no idea it would be so splendiferous, in the same league as Versailles and the Schönbrunn!

I want to live in a palace!

And to close out my posts about Spain, a picture of Dave with the symbol of Madrid – a berry-eating bear:

As a creature that loves to sleep in the winter, eats berries in large quantities, and loves fish, I have long over-identified with the bear. I have been known, on occasion, to exclaim, "I am a berry-eating bear!" while consuming an entire package of raspberries. So how could I not also embrace Madrid? Thanks, Spain, for a wonderful trip!

Sevilla

The honeymoon posts are not over yet! Sevilla was our favorite city in Spain. It had medieval charm, good food, and fascinating history, yet was manageable, clean, and friendly. You can take romantic walks through the old Jewish ghetto or along the river at night:

 
Here's the iconic Giralda bell tower by the cathedral:

We climbed to the top for a beautiful view of the city. It was mostly a twisting ramp, rather than stairs, so that a muezzin could ride his horse to the top, five times a day, to deliver the call to prayer (back when it was a minaret). We could see the cathedral from our hotel rooftop:

Inside the cathedral (one of the largest in Europe) are the remains of Christopher Columbus himself!

The royal palace, built in Moorish style for Christian rulers:

I LOVED the mix of cultures reflected in the building program and decoration. If I were a medievalist, I would totally want to focus on this kind of thing!

We ate paella in a quaint square, next to a fountain, under the orange trees. (So charming...until a bird pooped on me! Hmph.) We even caught a flamenco show. Our time in Sevilla was too short, and we can't wait to go back someday!

Cadiz

Confession: Dave said that he always imagined his honeymoon would mainly consist of sitting and relaxing on a beautiful beach. I promised him that Spain has tons of beautiful beaches! It would be the perfect place for seeing history/culture AND enjoying beach time!

Well, we spent a total of about 1.5 hours on a beach during our 10-day trip. But it was indeed a beautiful one:

 

We went to Cadiz, that old Phoenician port town founded by Heracles (like so many old cities in Spain). It was shockingly, unseasonably cold that day – in the 60s and very breezy! Locals hurried past in fleeces, scarves, and sweatpants. It was indeed too cold to go into the water, but we were generally happy not to be melting in the usual heat.

Don't be distracted by Dave's awesome farmer's tan – this picture is meant to display the Cadiz cathedral in the background.

Our trip to Cadiz was brief – we just drove our rental car down for the day from Sevilla. But it was a lovely respite from hardcore sightseeing. And who doesn't love to feast his/her eyes on the blue-green sea?

the colors of paella

My Dave, he loves paella. He loves to eat it, he loves to make it. So it's no surprise that we ate a LOT of paella while we were in Spain. We ate paella in nearly every city we visited (none in Granada, twice in Madrid), so that we could taste the different regional variants. I present to you "the Colors of Paella" (to be sung to the tune of Pocahontas' "Colors of the Wind"):

Granada

After an intense few days in Barcelona, we hopped a short flight to Granada. I remember learning about the Alhambra in high school, but I just assumed I would never see it – after all, when would I ever make it to Granada?? 16 June 2013, it turns out!

We rented a car, dropped off our bags at a "basic" hostel, and immediately headed to a viewpoint to see the Alhambra bathed in the sunset.

The site itself was even more stunning. The Generalife Gardens were amazing! The greenery, fountains, and blooming flowers were so soothing on even a mild afternoon – I can only imagine the relief they provided in a pre-air-conditioning-era summer.

 

My skills as a photographer are insufficient to capture the wonders of the Nasrid Palaces. But I tried my best:

Every inch of the walls in the public reception rooms were covered with these beautiful decorations.

A domed ceiling with stucco "stalactite" decoration

I've never seen Moorish architecture like this before, and I loved it! The intricacy of the decoration, the use of light, the demarcation of public and private – wonderful. I only wish I knew more history of that area and era to help me appreciate it more.

Granada also has some impressive Christian sites as well. Did you know that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella are buried there? No pictures allowed, unfortunately. I know this is silly, but I had almost forgotten that they were real people. An unforeseen consequence of reading too many children's books about the discovery of America?

The city also has quite the impressive cathedral.

Check out that organ!

It's a shame we only had one night and one day in Granada – there was plenty more to explore! But I'm glad we saw what we did.

Spain adventures

Hola from Madrid! Our honeymoon started a week ago, when Dave and I met up at our gate at JFK. A kindly woman switched seats so that we could sit together – all the way to Barcelona! We went on a sightseeing tear, really packing it in over just a few days. Here are a few highlights:

 

JAMON. DELICIOUS. At La Boqueria market.

 Barcelona's cathedral

The salamander fountain at Gaudi's Park Güell

 

The amazing ceiling of Gaudi's cathedral, La Sagrada Familia. I love how the columns imitate the spreading branches of trees. We learned a ton about Modernisme architecture – I really liked its obsession with sunlight and imitating natural forms. Its aversion to straight lines, though, was disconcerting at times.

 Happy newlyweds on the roof of Gaudi's Casa Battlo

Interior of La Palau de la Musica Catalunya

Sardana dance – a spontaneous, traditional Catalonian dance in the square on some Sundays! It was outlawed under Franco, but it's made a comeback!

View of the harbor from the cable car to Montjuic

mini-honeymoon in Cape May

Before we leave for our next trip, I want to post some pictures of our time in Cape May!

It's a bit of a blur to me now – just coming down off of the wedding high, catching up on rest, and getting used to being together, just the two of us. What I do remember is that it was cold, windy, and raining. Not exactly beachy weather! So we had to find some other ways to have fun:

We took a trolley tour of the historic area of Cape May, which is dominated by old Victorian houses.

The trolley dropped us off at Dr. Emlen Physick's house, where we took a tour of the interior. No pictures allowed!

 The rain somehow made the flowers more vibrant.

This is a defensive tower built during World War II, part of a system of towers guarding the East Coast.

And the lighthouse. We arrived by bicycle, ten minutes after it had closed. Maybe I should have pedaled faster...we'll just have to go back again some other time!