The Adventures at the Alltybrain Farm, Brecon, Wales

Published on by joannaalmasude Category: 2019 Travel, Brecon, UK, Wales

What an adventure! We arrived to Brecon from Manchester on March 4th 2019, very sick. We had picked up the flu in Manchester (even though we both had a flu shots in the fall). For the time we were in Brecon, I did think it was just a nasty cold. But in the end, it lasted way too long to be a cold. I got it first and passed it on to Amar. So by the time we arrived to Brecon Amar was getting very sick and didn’t feel well enough to venture out of the house until our last day there. March 9th.

Brecon was absolutely lovely! Green rolling hills. Flowers. Neat bushes lining most of the roads. It appears so manicured and at the same time wild and natural, as if nature herself is especially neat there.

The road to Alltybrain

The Alltybrain Farm was no less than amazing inside and out. That was not an act of nature, but 25 years of hard work by the owners Patrick and Rose. It’s hard to do it justice in photographs, but I will share a selection here.

Puck and Zip, the family dogs…. and both are very sweet.

Zip, AKA Scooby Doo (looked just like him in size and shape…) is an older guy…. very mild tempered and one might say helpful. A great farm dog! Puck, the short little fellow (who reminded me a bit of Scrappy Doo) is much younger and a pistol. We were warned that he has to be on a lead… or he will take off the the neighbor’s farm. And he did once. But we got him back! Though an escape artist… he is also adorable!

The Alltybrain Farm

La Nucia, Spain

Published on by joannaalmasude Category: 2019 Travel, La Nucia, Spain

La Nucia is a little suburb of Benidorm, Spain…. it’s mostly in the mountain area looking down on Benidorm which is by the sea. I have never stayed on a mountain as high as this one… a very interesting experience.

We are staying here in a condo high up on the mountain with 2 lovely cats… which have their own album which can be viewed here. It’s a three week adventure spanning from the end of January to February 20th.

Benidorm, Spain

Published on by joannaalmasude Category: 2019 Travel, Beach, Benidorm, Spain

For anyone interested in finding a reasonably priced Spanish beach vacation spot, check out Benidorm. Coming from the United States, I had never heard of it. It sits between Valencia and Alicante on the eastern coast of Spain. We are here in February 2019 for around a month. The weather is pretty nice (50s at night and 60s up to 70s during the day), very similar to Florida in February!

This photo I took on February 10th. It is a typical view of the large and well developed boulevard on the Ocean. The afternoon sun is amazing – creating dramatic contrasts and light and shadows,

Amar and I are walking many miles on the shores of Benidorm and I’m taking hundreds of photos. But no artwork yet. Maybe someday when I am traveling less, I will have time to produce more artwork! 🙂

The Prices are great in Benidorm, food, clothing, shoes pretty much everything is cheaper than the USA. Wine is especially good price, and for good wine! Below are a few selected photos from out stay in La Nucia and walks in Benidorm.

Quick Sketch of the Lagrasse Abbey

Published on by joannaalmasude Category: 2019 Travel, Artwork Complete, Cathedrals & chapels, France, Sketches, Watercolor

Today I did a quick sketch of the Lagrasse Abbey. It’s wintertime and very cold. The colors are very muted – but I thought the dried tall grass (a nice yellow ocher) was the most interesting part of the image. I do have a hard time staying interested in images that lack people or animals, but this was very quick sketch. This Abbey is currently being renovated – thus the scaffolding around the tower. It was a good exercise to get back into the groove of creating on this long trip abroad.

Lagrasse, France

Published on by joannaalmasude Category: 2019 Travel, France

A hidden treasure; a remote village in the south of France. We found this beautiful ancient village of Lagrasse through our friend Poppie!

We are visiting here in January of 2019. It is difficult to capture this amazing stone village in photography. Hoping to do some sketching while I’m here.

The final photograph in this gallery is a view from the window of our flat, across the river and toward the Lagrasse Abbaye … which was built in the 7th century.

Notre Dame du Haut

Published on by joannaalmasude Category: 2018 Travel, Architecture, Cathedrals & chapels, France

I came across a sign to Notre Dame du Haut while driving from Zurich Switzerland to Troyes, France today. So, you can be assured this was an unplanned visit, but when I saw the sign for it along the interstate, I had to see it in real life! It cost 8 Euros to visit, and you couldn’t even see and photograph the outside without paying. Usually I find this extremely annoying, but I think this is going to the upkeep of the building, so I consider it both a donation as well as payment for photos I can use when I teach Art History. 

Here are a few of the photos I took – quite nice I think.  🙂 Click on the photos to see them larger!

Almeria Spain

Published on by joannaalmasude Category: 2018 Travel, Almeria, Spain

We are only spending a few days in Almeria, March 9th – 12th, 2018. 

Arrived by bus on March 9th at 2pm. Found our way to the Airbnb by taxi. We stayed in the older district. We have been to Almeria before… back in 2007 (if I am remembering correctly). And we did enjoy the one day/night that we stayed. So, I was looking forward to the visit! 

Here are some photos from our visit… including the Alcazaba (free and excellent to go through), The Dona Pakyta Museo De Arte (free and excellent) as well as the Historical Museum  (again free and excellent)!! Overall I highly recommend visiting Almeria. Great history and an excellent value.  


Almeria Quick facts

Almería is a city in southeast Spain. The Alcazaba is an imposing Moorish fortress overlooking the city. The fortified, 16th-century Almería Cathedral has a Gothic ribbed ceiling. The Museum of Almería displays archaeological finds from across the region. Underground lies a network of tunnels, the Civil War Shelters of Almería. The English Cable is a huge iron pier and symbol of the city’s former mining industry.
  • Population:
    • 193,024 

Granada

Published on by joannaalmasude Category: Classes

Granada – Quick facts (From Google)

Granada is a city in southern Spain’s Andalusia region, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It’s known for grand examples of medieval architecture dating to the Moorish occupation, especially the Alhambra. This sprawling hilltop fortress complex encompasses royal palaces, serene patios, and reflecting pools from the Nasrid dynasty, as well as the fountains and orchards of the Generalife gardens.
  • Population:
    • 234,758 (2016)
  • Elevation:
    • 738 m
  • Neighborhoods:
    • MAPFRE
    • Oficina Seguros MAPFRE
    • Santa Juliana
    • San Francisco Javier
    • MAPFRE Insurance Office

 

Free Everyday:

 
Palace of Carlos V –  Calle Real de la Alhambra, s/n, 18009 Granada 

Museum of the Alhambra – Calle Real de la Alhambra, s/n, 18009 Granada
 
Bath of the Mosque – Calle Real de la Alhambra, s/n, 18009 Granada
 
Museo de Bellas Artes – Palacio de Carlos V, Calle Real de la Alhambra, S/N, 18009 Granada
Museo de Bellas Artes is Granada’s leading art museum and a treasure trove of artistic masterpieces. 
—————————————————————  (Saturday afternoon) ———————————-
 
House of Zafra – Calle Portería Concepción, 8, 18010 Granada  (open till 5pm)Nasrid palace built at the end of the XIV century. The Catholic monarchs ceded it to their secretary Hernando de Zafra. At his death it became part of the foundation of the convent of Santa Catalina de Zafra. The convent conserved the palace between 1527 and 1946, year in which it passed to public ownership. Noteworthy are the decorative elements, especially the plasterwork, the carpentries and the remains of mural painting.
Corral del Carbón – Calle Mariana Pineda, S/N, 18009 Granada (open till 7pm)

This building was a Alhóndiga, founded by Muhammad V. Place of shelter and store of merchants and traders arrived from distant places. After the conquest it was inn, store of carboneros and corral of comedies. Declared National Monument in the nineteenth century. In 1933 it passed to the state, being restored and incorporating to the patrimony of the city. The most impressive feature of this building is its magnificent horseshoe arch entrance that leads to the zaguán (foyer) and  the  fountain in the centre of the courtyard.

José Guerrero Center Calle Oficios, 8, 18001 Granada, (Opens at 4:30pm)
Free to enter at any time, is home to some of the Granada-born artist’s best works and organizes cultural activities as well. 


 
Free Sunday (only): 
 

Arab house Horno del Oro – Calle Horno del Oro, 14, 18010 Albaicín, Granada

The Horno de Oro house, built at the end of the XV century, and transformed after the castillian conquest, was a palatine residence. A rectangular courtyard with a reservoir centers the building, establishing the rooms on the shorter sides. The typical nasrid arcades of the courtyard argue an arcaded gallery.

 

The Chapiz House – Camino del Sacromonte, 1, 18010 GranadaThe Chapiz house occupies a large piece of land with garden and orchards. It consists of two different houses with different origins. At present, it hosts the School of Arab Studies, dependent of the Superior Council for Scientific Investigations. It was accessed was from the square of the Weight of the Flour, through a space common to both houses, which are an example of the evolutive process of the Nasrid domestic architecture from its maturity period to the sixteenth century.

Bañuelo – Carrera del Darro, 31, 18010 GranadaThe Bañuelo or Baño del Nogal, was declared National Monument in 1918. It is composed of three rooms, preceded by a house with a small courtyard. The cold, warm and hot rooms were built with reused Roman , Visigoths and Caliphs elements. The first room to enter would be the cold room or bayt al-barid; the next room, the hot or bayt al-wastani, is the most spacious of them all. Although this bath has been considered as a construction of the eleventh century, because of its typology that is very similar to those of the Nasrid period, it can be considered of a much more advanced period.

Palace of Dar al-Horra – Callejón de las Monjas, s/n, 18008 GranadaThis palace was the residence of the sultana Aixa, mother of Boabdil. It is structured around a central courtyard. In one of its sides we can see a lookout tower. It preserves beautiful plasterwork on the upper floor with inscriptions from the Nasrid period. After the conquest, Queen Isabel la Católica ceded this palace to the monastery of Santa Isabel la Real, and it will not be until the beginning of the 20th century that it passes to the state and is restored. Declared an historic artistic monument in 1922.

Fundación Rodríguez Acosta – (free Sunday afternoon) – Callejón Niño del Royo, 8, 18009 Granada
One of the most prestigious art museums in Granada, the Fundación Rodríguez Acosta is so much more than just paintings. While the art—most of it from 20th century Spanish painter José María Rodríguez Acosta—is incredible, the museum is a work of art itself. The beautiful five-story structure offers unforgettable views of the city.

Granada: 3-3-2018

Published on by joannaalmasude Category: 2018 Travel, Granada, Spain

Yesterday included a smooth rainy bus ride from Cordoba to Granada. Then with a time mix up and waiting in the rain for an hour to get into out airBnB. We ventured out to get food. After a long walk in the rain we found the Grocery store closed! More search for groceries led us to meet a local who invited us to their families nightclub with very good drinks… thus to dancing and a good end of a very wet day. Which brings us to today, our first full day in Granada. Tried we finally found a store and got food in the morning … and then ventured off to explore the following 2 places:

  1. House of Zafra – Calle Portería Concepción, 8, 18010 Granada  
    Free of charge. Nasrid palace built at the end of the XIV century. The Catholic monarchs ceded it to their secretary Hernando de Zafra. At his death it became part of the foundation of the convent of Santa Catalina de Zafra. The convent conserved the palace between 1527 and 1946, year in which it passed to public ownership. Noteworthy are the decorative elements, especially the plasterwork, the carpentries and the remains of mural painting.

  2. José Guerrero Center – Calle Oficios, 8, 18001 Granada
    Free of charge. This is home to some of the Granada-born artist’s best works and organizes cultural activities as well. 

Cordoba Schedule and Reviews 2-27 thru 3-1

Published on by joannaalmasude Category: Classes
Visited Tuesday

 
XXX Casa del Guadalmerci omeya    –   FREE  – open  till 8pm –  (visited – 2/27)
 
XXX Posada del Potro Centro Flamenco –  FREE – Open till 7PM –  (visited – 2/27)
 
 
XXX Casa Arabe – FREE –  (visited – 2/27)
 
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
 
Wednesday  
 
XXX   Centro de Creacion Contemporanea de andalucia – FREE –  only open from 11 AM –  2 PM
 
XXX  Zoco Municipal  – FREE  – time open all day- 
 
XXX  Museo Taurino   –   FREE
 
Pation Basilio 44   –  FREE   12:30 – 2:00 PM closed  (closed)
 
Palacio de Viana  Patios y Palacio  –   FREE on Wednesday from 2pm – 5pm   (closed)
 
Trueque 4 centro de interpretacion de los patios   –   FREE (closed)
 
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
 
Visit Thursday
 
Trueque 4 centro de interpretacion de los patios   –  10-2   FREE 
 
Museo Julio Romero de Torres  –   Free I think…..
 
Home to eat lunch 
————————————
 
Pation Basilio 44   –  

Alcazar de Los Reyes Cristianos –  Free 6pm on Thursday
 
Banos del Alcazar Calif    –   Free 6pm on Thursday  (same as above)