Ice Ice Baby (Seville - Carmona - Écija -Córdoba)

And sadly, dear reader, that brings an end to our time in Seville. It's interesting how your arrival can set the tone for the coming days. The drive in was relatively easy, there was a car spot out the front of the hotel, the car park (expensive) but the spaces were large and we liked Seville from the first instant. 

After breakfast, we were driving to Córdoba via two smaller towns, Carmona and Écija. There was no real reason to stop at either town except to break up the trip. Carmona was about a 30 minute drive from Seville and we found a street parking spot relatively easily. 

The entrance to the Carmona old town.

Like so many of the other towns, it had an old town area protected by walls or a fortress dating back to Roman times. It also had many churches, curiously, none of which was open to the public. As we walked towards the high walls, we observed two men in fluro vests, leaning up against cars that were parked right next to old town. Jayne had read about them prior to our visit. The car parking is actually free but the town apparently ratifies these two charging visitors €1. If they pay up, fine, if they don't, it appears nothing happens to your car but we were happy to walk for 5 minutes to avoid the entrepreneurs.

Another church.

We wandered the narrow streets, alerted to approaching cars by the squeal of rubber on limestone. It was a public holiday today, in lieu of yesterday and the main square was beginning to fill up with locals enjoying their day off work.

The walls above a café.

As we left to go back to our car, I attempted to take some final photos of yet another church across the main intersection, outside the walled old town. It took a good 10 minutes to take one shot free of traffic as every car within miles of Carmona seemed to converge at this roundabout. It was actually busier than the traffic in Seville as we departed the city earlier in the morning.

Worth the wait.

The next stop, Écija, was about 45 minutes drive. Somewhere along the A4 we could see a brilliant light that seemed to get brighter as we came closer. The light was so intense you could see dust particles and the rays of light themselves. Apparently it is a solar tower and is able to generate sufficient electricity to power all of Seville's homes. Sorry there are no pictures, but if you are interested you can read more about it here.

The palace wall in Écija.

Écija is known as the town of towers and that comes as no surprise as you drive down toward the town from the A4. Once again street parking was simple and we programmed the map to set off for the palace in the old town.

One of the many towers.

The old town was like every other, narrow limestone roads, narrow footpaths (if they existed), churches and cafés. It was even quieter here than Carmona and all the action seemed to be focussed on the new town. We walked around and snapped a few photos, marvelled at all the churches with doors firmly closed, found a palacio with decorative walls and then made a bee-line back to the car. Well, as much as that was possible.

A distant tower.

Back in the car, we put the hotel address into Apple maps, my preference because it provides more detail as you drive. Arriving in Córdoba was quite straight forward and I followed the instructions until I was taken off piste into the old town and told we had to park and walk the remainder of the distance to the hotel. We knew this was not correct.

We reprogrammed the address and were taken god knows where, down tiny little streets that couldn't fit a car and a pedestrian. "You have arrived," came the announcement, but clearly we hadn't. No hotel in sight. Another fruitless drive and eventually we found somewhere to pull over and swapped maps to Google. Off we went again.

At this point I was unsure if we'd travelled these same streets but I was hellbent on following Jayne's instructions as I tried to avoid pedestrians, motorbikes and cars. Turn right came the instruction, but I was not able to comply which meant being rerouted and driving away from what possibly could have been our hotel.

As we neared the missed turn for the second time, we had been driving around Córdoba for almost 30 minutes. We screeched down one last street and saw the name of the hotel. Jayne went inside to enquire about parking. We had arrived, park here said the man.

The drive way to our hotel.

I can't begin to articulate the stress I feel driving a car on the wrong side of the road, down streets too narrow for cars, with signage in a language I do not read, all the while having other road users behind me and pedestrians walking down the road centre. I was glad to be out of the car and for it to be valet parked. €32 a day parking is extortion but there was no way that car was coming out until it was time to leave Córdoba. All exploration would be done on foot.

Once divested of the car, we proceeded inside the hotel to check in whilst sipping a glass  of welcome cava. The hotel is boutique, formally a private palacio, with amenities and rooms going off in multiple directions. We were given a tour of the place which includes Roman ruins, visible underneath the floor of the breakfast restaurant. This was followed by the spa and sauna suite, after which we walked through the first building out through gardens, complete with a pool and outdoor bar area, into a separate 3 storey building and up to our room on the first floor. All very grand first impressions.

The lounge area.

After the ritual unpack, we headed off with map in hand to check out our rendezvous point for the next day's organised tour. The reconnoître took us through the main square and down a main street towards the river and the Alcazar that would be our first tour focus tomorrow. Once we knew where we were going, we headed back for a beer in the main square to relax, do some people watching and get the feel of our penultimate destination.

As we sat, taking in the sights, several Spanish matrons came through the establishment's tables and chairs and pushed past us, apparently not impressed that we were in their way. They settled at a table not far from us and continued to glare at us until we departed to return to the hotel. We have no idea what the problem was nor how we managed to cause offence when there were many other patrons sitting just like we were. 

The main plaza.

Anyway, back at the hotel it was time for dinner in the open air courtyard out the front of reception. The evening was very pleasant and we were one of the first groups to arrive. By the time we finished our meal, every table was occupied by guests. We were greeted by the Maître d' who showed us to our table and then sent one of the waiters to take our drinks order. This is where the 5 star rating of the hotel started to come unravelled slightly.

We ordered our food and a bottle of Verdejo, the Spanish really do rule supreme with that grape. The wine arrived in an ice bucket which I told him we did not require. He wanted to argue with me. I felt the bottle temperature, it was chill, unlike our wine waiter. "No ice bucket," said I. "The ice is not too cold," he said. No, I replied. He left with in a huff with the bucket. Our wine continued to open up as it warmed a little and allowed all those hidden honey notes to come to the fore. I watched with amusement as the wine waiter fawned over other more compliant guests. He didn't come near us again. Perhaps we should have summoned him to put an ice cube in each glass.

Which finally brings us to today's title. Who would have thought I'd be using white boy rapper Vanilla Ice as an theme? Not me. Anyway, in honour of our wine waiter who clearly doesn't understand wine, let's listen to Ice Ice Baby. I couldn't make it to the end of the song and all it proved was that John Deacon could write a ripping bass line. You can draw your own conclusions about the rapper.

I am uncertain as to whether there was discussion amongst the wait staff but the young woman who served our table, needed some serious lessons in how to wait and serve a table and how to place the dishes. It is not right to lean across the guests. Nor is it ok to slap the plates down on the table. If this was a café in the plaza, I would still make a comment about the poor etiquette, but this is a five star hotel and the food was coming from the Michelin kitchen. I guess it was easy to see why both of these servers had been relegated to the garden and were not allowed inside the restaurant.

We actually had dinner reservations for inside the hotel restaurant, Arbequina for Wednesday night, but cancelled on the back of tonight's performances. The food is the same in the restaurant or the garden, but I'd had enough of the service. The only other thing to note was the soundscape to dinner in the garden. It was just inside the walls of the palace so the screeching, squealing tyres of the taxis serenaded us throughout.

Another smooth transit day is over.

Until next time.

Don't Lose Your Head (Zurich)

Yesterday's beautiful afternoon morphed into a blue sky, sunny day. After 10 hours of sleep, everything looked good, dear reader, except my reflection in the mirror. Breakfast was essential, prior to embarking on our 6 hour walking tour. Not noticing anything in our rambles the previous day, we opted for Delish, the café associated with the hotel.

An excellent espresso was followed by tomato and burrata, and cherry tomatoes and ham, prosciutto and salami. There were also fresh fruit and cereals and nuts and yoghurt. The croissant was passable. Suitably fleeced, sorry charged, for the day, I paid the almost $100 AUD and we walked to Central to meet our guide and fellow walkers.

Now is probably the time to talk about how expensive Zurich is ... it's really expensive. Scandinavia expensive. There, that's done. No, seriously, it is one of the most expensive cities in the world, certainly as far as food is concerned. A basic pinsa (pizza) is around $50 AUD, a schnitty is similar and specialty restaurant prices are just scary. If you're planning to visit, and it's worth it, don't convert prices to AUD, just live your life - but make sure you've saved up plenty of expendable cash.

A fountain ornament near the hotel. Great codpiece.

Anyway, I digress - we arrived at the appointed meeting spot on time. There were 14 of us in all, 1 younger guy from South Africa, 3 Australians and 10 Americans. Our guide Vasi was originally from Greece. Or so he said, but his ability to praise the Romans and not once say anything like, "but of course the Greeks did it first", had me wondering about his authenticity.

I picked the tour through TripAdvisor and it was then booked through Viator. Once confirmed it became Wow Zurich Tours. The Zurich Walking Tour with Cruise and Aerial Cable Car is a mouthful and a tad overstated. The 'cruise' part is actually a public transport ferry, not that there is anything wrong with that, and the pace required to complete some sections is unrealistic. Aside from that, you get to see and do all the basics and it is a great introduction to Zurich.

The Landesmuseum is a bit Harry Potter.

The meeting place was outside the Landesmuseum near Central Station. Vasi was quick to point out that one section of the tour required us to walk up a very steep hill to catch a bus. This was time critical. We had 7 minutes to get to the top to make the bus connection and if we were unable to fulfill this requirement, we should look for alternatives. Not a very positive start to the day as a number of the group began second guessing whether they would be able to fulfill the brief which incidentally had not been mentioned anywhere in the tour criteria. Yes, a moderate level of fitness was recommended, but given none of us knew what the gradient or distance of the "steep climb" would be, it was not realistic to make an assessment of the likelihood of being able to complete it in the requisite time.

That is a solid door.

The tour commenced uneventfully with a stop at the Zurich Central train station followed by a short walk to the entrance of the funicular that took us up to the campus of the premier University in Zurich, ETH, which apparently boasts many Nobel prize winners among its alumni, most notably, Albert Einstein. Apart from being an excellent vantage point to take some photos of the Altstadt precinct, it also provided the next anecdotal opportunity for our guide.

Here we heard about why Swiss chocolate reigns supreme - a mixture of:

- happy cows which provide the highest quality milk due to their personalised care, including daily massages from the farmers who own them. No, really.

- highest quality organically grown cocoa beans.

- traditional recipes and methods of production overseen by master chocolatiers, handed down through generations.

The view from the University entrance.

We also heard multiple theories questioning whether Einstein was the brains behind his theories or in fact, like many celebrated men (George Orwell, Picasso, me ...) his wife was the genius who never received any recognition due to the prevailing patriarchy. I suspect this will be an area of major academic study over the next 10 years or so. If you're interested, Wifedom by Anna Funder looks at the Orwell situation.

Fancy lights for a University.

Our walk was a rambling pace and stops were designed to impart a more in-depth knowledge of Switzerland, its people and culture. The next stop was on top of one of the many bunkers that are dotted around the country in case of attack. Apparently being neutral means you have no friends and need to protect yourself, like some Marvel hero, Crow for example (I watched it on the plane. Just don't). The bunkers are huge with dormitories, classrooms, cafeteria, all you need to survive, except the will to live because you're trapped underground with thousands of others. Vasi said that there is around 10% capacity in the bunkers for tourists and people from out of the city. A quick google check found his population stats to be rather rubbery, but I guess the concept is, room for all. I'm a sceptic.

This unassuming ramp is the bunker entrance.

On top of the bunker (see what I did there?) we also discussed military service and gun ownership. It's a complex story but basically every citizen has to do military service and everyone owns a state issued gun. The gun needs to be kept and maintained in a specific way and this is checked by a some nice police people or the army, whatever. If you breach the rules you are fined.

We walked parts of Altstadt with the group that we hadn't already traversed, although it was close to our hotel. Here the influence of Scandinavia was evident. In times when literacy was poor, paintings on the side of buildings allowed for navigation. Some buildings had their purpose carved into stone over the doorway. Something also prevalent in Roman times. As are the fountains that produce drinking water. Every fountain in the city has a separate water source and is safe to drink from or refill your water bottle.

A shoemaker?

A boot maker of quality as signified by the snake.

There are narrow laneways and wider streets throughout the old town. The narrow alleys were actually the sewer system back in the day. The toilets in the house were in rooms perched over the top of the lane or alley. Should you be using the laneway as a pedestrian thoroughfare you needed to move fast or carry a large umbrella, and be careful where you placed your feet.

Don't look up.

We next paused to admire a wall built in Roman times as Vasi waxed lyric about the Roman contribution to Switzerland back in the day. He was so enthusiastic I had to question his Greek origins. What Greek raves about the Roman empire without referencing that the Greeks did it first? And better. He said he was as scientist interested only in facts. I call bullshit.

The walk up to the park atop the wall was steep. This was the tester to see who would make the ascent later in the day. It was clear our group of 14 would not be that large at day's end. In the park, discussion turned to voting, women's rights and other issues. Voting in Switzerland is interesting. Anyone can create change provided certain criteria are met. Then there is an education process that generally takes years. Finally the vote for the change, yes or no, is like a referendum in Australia. If you agree with the concept there is no need to vote. It's left to the naysayers. There is an assumption that non attendance to vote is a vote for yes. Why waste your precious leisure time voting to show you support what is already being proposed?

Grossmünster Church with the salt & pepper shaker towers.

There are numerous churches worth visiting for the artwork. Fraumünster has several stunning stained glass installations by Marc Chagall as well as a 9 metre window by Giacometti. Chagall's work can also be found in a nearby café. Clearly culture abounds, but it was not always like this we were informed by our guide.

St Peter's boasts the largest clock face in Europe.

Women did not get to vote until 1970. There are numerous places across the city that are still divided along gender lines because of the previous incidence of domestic violence. Apparently a new, educated Switzerland was born sometime in the 1970s and has been getting progressively better ever since.

The history of Switzerland, like many European countries is long and chequered and is a story of occupation, overthrow, peace, rinse and repeat. Vasi constantly reiterated the theme that the Swiss are kind and welcoming people and then would follow a tale where the protagonist had his head removed. The guillotine was very popular and no doubt helped to keep the people well behaved. Points in case - the removal of all Muslims around the 1300s (I think) and a similar dislike of Jews some years later. The guillotine got a work out. Hence today's title, Don't Lose Your Head by Queen from 1986. Here it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecrheD1eYYU.

A former hero who lost his head.

After a brief (and imho unnecessary stop for lunch) the tour continued. We caught a public ferry down the lake to disembark and climb the stairway to heaven, well the bus, in 7 minutes. Or else the guillotine. The path was very steep but made more problematic by the constant reminder that we would be left behind if we did not get to the top in the required time frame. We made it and then stood around for three minutes waiting for the bus. As I predicted, our numbers had dwindled. Three of our group were missing out on one the main reasons for going on the tour: the cable car to the top of the mountain for the panoramic views of Zurich and its surrounds.

The cable car is able to accommodate 30 people. My mind drifted back to the crowded elevators in HK. Thankfully we didn't cram that many people in today. The ride to the top takes about 10 minutes and then if you're an energetic local you go hiking along the trails. If not you walk the ten minutes to the café for food, beer and a rest. The view is, of course, spectacular. It looks down on the lake and out over the urban expanse of Zurich which was much larger than I thought. In the other direction are the 'baby' Alps. Not so visible today through the camera lens due to the haze.

The view from the top.

We have experienced the best weather. Temperatures in the mid 20s, blue skies with some light clouds. Not the weather the locals are used to nor what they want. They want cloud to keep the temperature down. Climate change is having a serious impact and the glaciers are melting at a faster rate than ever. The impact of this means the alps are moving apart. One current study suggests they are moving into Italy and the border between the two countries may need to be renegotiated.

Our ride home.

Waiting for the cable car to return, Vasi was answering questions around health care, crime, whatever. He explained that health care was subsidised by the government and your healthy lifestyle options will be also be subsided. Unhealthy people, as in obese, receive nothing but smoking incurs no penalty. Again, I call bullshit. Every second person here smokes. It is disgusting and pervasive. It is near impossible to enjoy a meal or a beer outdoors and not be suffocated by cigarette smoke. Vasi said the link between smoking and ill health is not 100% proven. That just demonstrates he is not the 'scientist' he says he is. There are very few studies that can claim a 100% causal link, if any.

The 'baby' Alps in the haze.

The cable car trip down saw us onto a train to head back to Central where we bid the remainder of our group farewell. The other Aussie then joined us for beers in Altstadt before he headed back out of town to his hotel and we retired to freshen up before dinner.

Another big day, dear reader, that saw me asleep by 8:30pm.

Until tomorrow.

Under Pressure (Talbot Bay, Horizontal Falls)

Another post card morning, although this time as we woke up, we were moving towards Talbot Bay and had yet to move through the narrow channel. I'm sure it has a special name, but I can't recall, as Ronald Reagan said so often.

The view at breakfast

It was breakfast at 7am so we could see the journey through the islands and particularly the tight navigation through what is known as "the narrows". We scored a breakfast table outside and enjoyed the relative peace of the early morning while the staff fussed over us. Another day roughing it on an expedition voyage.

Post breakfast we went up to the Observation Deck on Pont 6 to enjoy sailing through the narrows. It was a beautiful morning, turquoise seas, sunshine and then wind in your face on the observation deck. Actually wind doesn't quite sum it up. I fought to open the door, removed my lanyard and glasses, placed both in my pocket and bravely pushed forward to a place at the rail. I'm not sure how they measure wind speed up here dear reader, but it was strong enough to blow a dog off a chain.

The second set of narrows

After having every wrinkle from my face smoothed out and my receding hairline moved another few centimetres up my head it was time to seek the relative safety of the cabin.

Random observation: it is difficult to not to observe other people's knees when seated on the pumped-up sides of a zodiac. Aside from hearing aides, the other go-to accessory appears to be vertical scars from the top of the shin to above knee. Neither Jayne nor I have this accessory or the other - and that is good.

From our initial observations, Talbot Bay is as busy as Pitt Street, Sydney at this time of the year.  There are a number of vessels, some private, some commercial, as well as a seasonal boat/pontoon complete with live-in staff and a helipad to receive the constant influx of visitors who fly in by sea plane or helicopter from, most probably, Broome.  The big draw card you ask?  The Horizontal Waterfalls to which we are headed both this morning and again this afternoon.  

The seaplane/helipad/fast boat pontoon and Le Lapérouse

This phenomenon that David Attenborough described as "one of the greatest wonders of the natural world" is a pair of breaks in a mountain range that has narrow entry and exit points through which the massive tidal flows of the Kimberley try to squeeze.  These create a huge back up of water on alternate sides of the gap which results in a tidal difference of almost 11 metres.  This massive movement of tidal water between the sides of the gap is a "horizontal waterfall" of up to 4 metres.

The trip out this morning was very wet, courtesy of the wind and the swell it whipped it up. I was saturated before we'd gone more than 100 metres. I shifted my back pack further down the zodiac to Jayne's care to protect the camera.

Note the water level

We observed the falls at a distance but were restricted in how close we could go. We could have certainly passed through the falls but the 70 horsepower of the zodiac outboard motor is not sufficient to come back against the tidal flow, such is its power and speed.  Had we gone through, we would not have been coming back any time soon.  At least until the change of tide. Therefore, we observed from a distance the powerful (1200 horsepower) fast jet boats that take tourists backwards and forwards through the gap and then we headed out to explore Cyclone Creek and its amazing rocky cliffs, bird life and river whirlpools.

An hour later - look at the water level

After the falls, we zodiaced (is that a word?) around the waterway into Cyclone Creek and a few other quiet waterways. We saw abundant birdlife in one of the backwaters, Brahminy Eagle, Whistling Kite, Friar bird, Rainbow Bee Eater, Honey Eaters, the list goes on.

The geology and geography is fascinating and far too complicated for this simple mind my dear reader. Perhaps photographs might display some of the curiosity of the area. The geology also provides today's title, that classic collaboration between David Bowie and Queen, Under Pressure. It was pressure that has created the twisted and tortured rock formations of the Kimberley.

Rocks ... under pressure

Back home it was time to reapply sunscreen and attend to lunch and the magical Rizal who appears at Jayne's shoulder with a bottle of French Rosé as soon as she is seated. Then back to the computer to work on the blog before this afternoon's trip through the falls on the fast boat.

The fast boat trip was, well, fast. As one might expect. It did have 4 x 300 horse power outboard motors to ensure passage against a  very strong current. In the time we had been back on board the tide had turned completely and was now running in the opposite direction. The driver told us that, at the change of tide, the falls are actually still for less than one minute before they resume their passage through the gap. We crossed back and forth through the gap a few times, but were unable to get through the second narrower set of falls.  The driver informed us that they will not pass through these unless the tidal difference is less than a metre. As with everything in this area, the tides rule and if they aren't right then you alter your plans.

It looks calm enough

Until you get closer

The tide is on the way out

The second falls- a no go zone today

The fast boat was a great experience and we didn't even get wet, something that is becoming increasingly unusual on our excursions. Back to a warm shower and a quick G&T and the daily recap. The G&T was quite pleasant, replacing the variable quality of the Piña Colada and confirming that I make a bad G&T - I have never mastered them at home.

Dinner was the usual 5 course affair on Deck 4.

Tomorrow we are up early again for a trip to Montgomery Reef. We board our Zodiac at 6:30am and we have been warned that, due to the predicted wind and swell, we will get wet.

Until next time ... internet connection willing.