Bondi Beachfront

I hit town in time for a splendid Sydney winter; Bondi and the city generally welcoming me with open arms. I felt like a prodigal son, albeit mildly guilty that my ideal life would span both here and Spain.

On the other hand, I think the city will forgive me that.

Valle del Tajo

Sydney is great, but damn I miss Ronda. Hello to friends, special cheerio to Ronda Tortugas rugby team.

Laneways of Arcos de la Frontera

Out-and-about with Melly in the Sierra de Grazalema.

Ronda via Puerta de San Miguel

Not strictly accurate but who's splitting hairs...

Penitente

So I guess I just hung out in Segovia Cathedral for a bit. They had chillout music playing and the air was cool and still. One didn't have to be a subscriber to appreciate the spaces in play, both architectural and contemplative.

I remember sitting there with the only sound being the rythmic scrape of a penitenta making inexorable circuits of the interior on her knees. I was sitting up in the apse, and she'd shuffle past me, head bowed and murmering, every fifteen minutes or so. I wondered what she was sweating about and who'd picked the CD.

I left feeling muted and chilled to the bone. The streets were empty in the late afternoon, the market was gone and the old town now seemed closed and unfriendly. I was glad to reach the touristy strip where a shrieking group of school kids dispelled my melancholia, if only to a measure.

Segovia's charm had been mysteriously dispelled. No longer the cheerful journeyman, I wandered back to Madrid in silence, feeling quite alone.

Let that be feedback to the architects...

Segovia

I took a day trip to Segovia from Madrid (as one does). Highlight of the day, and the motivation for the expedition, to be honest, was the cochinillo asado - roasted suckling pig.

La dama de las catedrales españolas

The 16th century Cathedral of Segovia. The statue is a 10th (hmm... 11th?) century Virgin & Child.