10/6/2015: More Train Wreck

Spent the night with a toothache. Was having significant pain. E-mailed Maria, our property manager, to ask for help finiding a dentist. She, within minutes,was at our door with information. Her dentist and friend could see me at 10:00. It was about 9:15. We were scheduled for a tour at 11:30. I rushed off to the dentist. Becky went to the tour. I was going to catch up. Met with an excellent dentist. He felt my bite was off. So he shaved some teeth down and I felt immediate improvement.  He felt the pressure I was putting on the 'good' tooth had produced an infection. He gave an antibiotic and an analgsic for pain. By the next day I was fine.

Caught up with Becky just in time for tour. This was of th Jewidsh Quartr, Catedrql and Alcazar.  The Jewish Quarter was a maze of very narrow alleyways. Passed through the kissing street.  So named because of its narrowness.  They were done this way to control heat and cold. The Cathedral is the third biggest church in the world and the largest cathedral in the world. Opulence is a vast understatement. One room contained numerous gold artifacts, including a crown with 1,000 diamonds. Wonder what the current pope would have to say about that. They claim to have the body of Christopher Columbus buried there. Supposedly, NASA sent a team to investigate and concluded it is Columbus buried there. Tell the Dominican Republic about that! The Alcazar was a Moorish Palace.  After the Catholic takeover, they did not dismantle or demolish this palace as they did others. It is very impressive with the traditional arch design. But the plaster carvings, tiles and mosaics are amazing, many patterns within patterns, stories within stories. There are beautiful gardens. In all, you can see how it would be a restful and reflective place to stay. At this point, I was out of gas. Went back to the apartment. Early dinner (8:30). Very early departure.

Photos: cathedral, Jewish Quarter, with kissing street, Giralda, cathedral, inside cathedral ( third is cChristpher Columbus tomb, main alter, entry to Alcazar, examples of architecture, etc, gardens.

Can't say enough about Maria and all of her help. She has followed up, even here in Barcelona to see how everything is going. If you ever read this, Maria, muchas gracias,  otra vez.