MAY DAY PARADE AND MILLION MARIJUANA MARCH

Two Parades in Three Days


May Day is celebrated as a labor day in Italy. In the States we try not to remember the events of the Haymarket Riots (you can look it up on Wikipedia), but here in Italy May 1st is commemorated with parades. Since we live right next to one of the main parade routes in Rome, Via Cavour, I was able to see this one which seems to have been sponsored by the UGL, the Unione Generale del Lavoro - something like the AFL/CIO. Many groups paraded representing different kinds of work and different cities and regions in Italy. Things seem to be somewhat depressed here for labor, too few jobs, low salaries, inequity for women, difficulty coping with immigration... What kind of future does this little guy have?


I think these guys, who were actually at the May Day parade, might have been scoping out the route for the Million Marijuana March which happened two days later.


We were sitting peacefully in the garden with the sun shining, when police helicopters and loud music sent me running out with my camera once again.
This time the parade looked very different with thousands of under-30s (and a few well-over-30's) making their way down Via Cavour dancing, drinking beer, clowning around (some literally!)

and generally having a good time.





This group were just hanging out and let me take a few shots.


This was the Million Marijuana March, Roma MMM 2008. Not much weed that we could smell, though, mostly beer. People in both parades seemed fine with being photographed - some even welcomed it, though some not.








I especially like this shot of these two girls who were taking a break before the serious partying started down the hill near the Forum.


The parade ends.

GRANADA GRAFFITI AND FOOD NOTE

One of the things I loved about Granada was its marvelous 'art' graffiti. On my last day there I went around and took some pictures. Here are a few:

For Chrissie, a note about food:
A total failure for me! I didn't do much homework and I went to tourist places sometimes, sometimes not, so maybe I deserved some bad luck.
I had high hopes for tapas (especially since I think of them as having the right scale, ie small so you can try several) but found that in Granada, and Malaga too, tapas are served in large portions - way too much food and way too expensive. I also found that the boquerones that I love from tapas places in the States, light, white, slightly vinegary anchovies, in Spain are the big red ones deep fried. Not very interesting.

Once I got brave and had "Riso Nero" - rice with squid ink and seafood. A tourist place, a mistake. Too much, too salty, the rice undercooked and the seafood overcooked, all combined with truly bad service. For shame! My only really good meals were breakfasts at the hotel which included a lovely very fresh cheese, served in little half moon bits with a tiny piece of jellied orange on top, fresh bread, fresh orange juice, and of course wonderful coffee. I never did find one of the famous 'tearooms' in the Albaycin open. Darn!

I did have one good sushi meal though - the first in months!

ALHAMBRA 3 AND LAST!

The Courtyard of the Lions, or as I think it was meant, "the Court of the Lions," is the center of that part of the palaces most people think was the most private. Of course this led to lots of romantic speculations about the harem and its princesses, about the kings and even about dreadful conflicts and revenges. On entering, the first impression I got was of a forest of fine columns that almost seem to be hanging from the stalactites of the ceilings rather than supporting them.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned before, the lion fountain at the center of the courtyard is undergoing major renovation. It is literally true that the 12 lions that support the bowl of the fountain are undergoing nose and toes jobs. This restoration effort is described in the museum that is in the Charles V palace with one renewed lion there as a demonstration. Clearly this calls for a return trip when the effort is complete! I wonder if they will also restore the gardens that surrounded the fountain. These are thought to have been sunken into the ground with four raised paths to the fountain. And so, the fountain has been boxed off. No water is flowing, no flowers cool and color the ground, and we tourists are restricted from seeing some of this magnificent place. Nevertheless, there is so much to see that even without something as important as the lions there is enough for many, many visits. Even more important than the specifics of what I saw is the feel of the place which has a clarity, an openness combined with privacy, that is very special and not easy to find in, say, the many churches of Rome.

Just off the courtyard is the Hall of the Two Sisters and the Mirador of Lindaraja. This shot is rather purple (the actual walls are more of a golden sand color) but gives a idea of the sight lines that the symmetries of the architecture provide.








The Mirador of Lindaraja with a view out to the garden. This strange looking shot was taken by holding my camera out over a barrier so that I could see what the remains of the ceiling looks like. Across the way is the Hall of the Abencerrages who feature in a bloody story of family feud. Apparently the family of the Banu al-Sarrya (changed to Abencerrages with retelling) were important people in the court. A rival family convinced the Sultan that the Sultana was having an affair with one of the Abencerrages. The Sultan became very jealous and invited all the men of the family to a "celebration" in this hall. They came and all were promptly killed. The red veins in the marble of the fountain are thought to be unwashable stains from the blood of the murdered men. My version of this story comes from my guide book, THE ALHAMBRA and Granada IN FOCUS. It goes on to explain that the red in the marble is "of course, oxidization in the marble itself."

This hall has a very high ceiling with a beautiful star shape. The height of the ceiling, the high windows just below it, and the fountain in the center of the floor below all help to keep this room cool in the heat of summer.

If you click on this shot you might be able to see the tiny stalactites that cover its surface. These are called mocarabes.

To quote once more from my favorite guide book:
"According to Muslim tradition the prophet Mahoma received his inspiration for the Koran directly from the archangel Gabriel in the famous cave at Hira, where he had sought refuge while fleeing from his enemies. A spider's web miraculously sealed the entrance to the cave to confuse his pursuers and since then it has been an important place of pilgrimage for all Muslims on their journey to Mecca some 30km away. In celebration of this event stalactites became an essential decorative element, imbued with religious connotations, throughout the world of Islam, a tradition persisting even to this day." There is, of course, lots more, but I will leave this palace at this point looking up into the heavens. No wonder the Romantics fell in love with the Alhambra!

Next along the route is the Bathhouse which reminded me a lot of ancient Roman baths with its hot, warm, and cool rooms. This shot is of the warm room. Heat was circulated under the floor warming the marble while water ran along a shallow central channel. When the water came into contact with the hot marble, steam rose providing a steam bath of the people on daises at the sides of the room. Mmmm....

Just as some of the greatest of Roman baths had libraries, auditoriums and other places of entertainment, so this bathhouse is said to have a musician's gallery. This what we need for our bath at home! The story goes that the musicians were blind so that they could not see what was going on below. Clearly an important feature!

Some still bathe at the Alhambra.


Exiting the palaces, you find yourself in more gardens alongside the Tower of the Ladies, called the Partal.
This beautiful portico is completed by its reflection in the pond.






I think I won't blog about the citadel, called the Alcazaba, because I am really back, physically and mentally in Rome. Here is a shot I like to prove I was there: And from the Alcazaba I could easily see my hotel:


Adios for now!
Ciao, ciao, ciao, ciao!
(As a woman on a cell phone on a bus said repeatedly the other day to the great amusement of everyone around her.)

BUONGIORNO!

I will finish up with my side trip to Granada in a few minutes but I wanted to offer you, my dear Reader, a Roman good morning.

We got up not too early, showered, checked the email (of course!), opened shade and shutters, and looked for the tartarughes. Ah, there is one of them, face to face with the first step!
(And here's a pic from earlier of both together. Ginevra's hoping for babies...)








Leaving home we dropped off the recycling and went for caffe' at the 'Brazile" place. There we also had cornetti and spremuta di arancia rossa (fresh squeezed blood orange juice) - a lovely breakfast and big by Roman standards.

Bill headed off to La Sapienza and I wandered on down Via Serpenti to do my shopping.

I stopped at the Barbie place, so called by us because it features a window display of many Barbies with a very realistic looking handgun in their midst. It is actually called the Italian version of 'A Little Bit of Everything.' I braved the usual chaos there for cheap napkins and Dixan laundry soap.

A few meters further down the street I bought tulips from the flower stand, then crossed the piazza where I caught this shot of a pigeon drinking from the little spout of the fountain.

Then it was on to pick up Bill's shirts from the nice guy at the lavasecco. Tomorrow is yet another holiday, he says, and he's looking forward to a picnic at Villa Pamphilj.

Home again, the sun is shining and everything feels clean after yesterday's rain.

Now to work! Buona giornata!