Christmas, boxing day, holiday.....whizzed by.sigh...
Spain was wonderful. Barcelona i think is much more livelier than Paris. Hey, even their language is. Which one do you think brightens up your day Olla! or Bonjour! The latter is too chique, sophisticated i think.heheh. Just my two cents.

Andalucia was marvellous. The great monuments, palaces, mosque that was built by the Islamic empayer that once ruled Spain, words cannot described their beauty neither can pictures capture their splendour [ok, i probably still don't have the talent =\ ]. Walking through the Alhambra, the fortress of the Nasrids Sultan in Granada and the once great Cordova Mezquita that could hold hundreds of jemaahs [now turned into a cathedral], my heart did feel a wee bit sad. How could we have lost all of that.
Simple, like all great civilisation at the height of its glory, overly immersed in wealth and idleness, they forgot to maintain their strength. That, coupled with power struggle, rivalry, deceit and provocations....lead to the downfall of the empayer.
You've got to admire their workmanship, the calligraphic Al-Quran verses, geometrical designs. Not one single tile design in the Alhambra was repeated when once used. They all look geometrically the same but on close inspection, you could see that each piece was different. The palace was design with tranquility in mind; ponds and fountains with beautiful gardens. Wonder how it feels to live there, walk in its gardens and patio. ^_^