Jan 30, 2019: Last Night in Miami

Just back in our little apartment high above Miami after a shirtsleeves' walk along the waterway and a dog park where we discovered a lovely ceramic chair about 20 feet high:

Spanish is spoken everywhere here, making us feel right at home. Most amazing, though, is the weather change -- no coats, no snow, no cold noses. Instead, flowers, palm trees, and little cafes with fresh croissants and very strong coffee.

As we walked back through the park, a flock of about 20 brilliantly green parrots flew at speed along the tops of the palm trees, dive-bombing and circling and then gone. What a surprise!

Tomorrow, we leave for Spain, so today is our final repacking day. What good memories we'll take with us!

I'm still uncertain about access to internet, but I will try to update our adventures here and hope you enjoy. I'm also uncertain how to avoid those nasty roaming charges as I take pictures with the camera.

Haven't written much of anything since we left home, but the netbook is ready (as is the story). May the rest of your winter be mild!

How Wearing Glasses Can Save You from Being Burned at the Stake

Tomorrow morning, January 28th, at 4:30 am, we leave for a nice six-week trip on the road. First Miami Beach, where 60F is far more welcoming than 20F, and then, off to Seville, Spain, for a month with four dear friends.

So, I'm reactivating our travel blog, for in our Seville apartment, we'll have reasonable access to internet, Moorish culture, museums, little cafes, and perhaps a side trip to Cordoba and another to Grenada.

Seville's Museum of Popular Arts and Customs (Wikipedia)

Speaking of Grenada, that impossibly beautiful city surrounded by mountains and home of the Alhambra, I remembered my trip there so long ago, perhaps in 1973 or 1974. My ten-day circle tour of Spain with a small group of retired school teachers stopped in Grenada to visit the Alhambra.

That night our group was taken to the hills for a dinner hosted by gypsies who sang and danced for our entertainment. I was young enough then to be vain and often did not wear my prescription glasses. When I was tired, my left eye would turn inward.

Wikipedia

As we were leaving the cave of the gypsies, several made a strange sign with their hands, specifically against me. They would not look me in the eyes. I was confused until someone explained the signs were wards, protecting them from me. They believed I was a witch.

If it had been in the middle ages, I might have been banned or burned at the stake for that turned eye.  So, as we prepare for this month-long adventure, I’m wondering if this has changed much in the last 50 years. Of course, I do wear my glasses now -- all the time!

But I wonder if those gypsies are still living in those caves in the mountains above Grenada -- and if we will visit to hear them singing and see them dance.

May your own travels go well. Stop back by to see what we're up to next!