Time on My Hands:Whither Shall I Wander?

Please click on the door above,

to better acquaint yourself with this California time portal

If I step through this Californian Spanish-colonial doorway, an obvious time portal, where will I land? I might expect to end up like Isabella of Castille (of Ferdinand and Isabella fame) in the palace at Segovia shortly before 1492. Yet, I’ve found time travel, like it's mainstream cousin, often drops me off in spots other than those I’d expected.

Like the rabbit that comes out her back door while I'm sitting glued to the entrance she went in, I tend to start out on one simple project and end up in a totally unexpected place.

a) I was supposed to fly to Texas and ended up spending five hours in the Mexico City airport. Every word of Spanish conversation I’d ever employed ABSOLUTELY deserted me as I wandered around in circles attempting to understand how to acquire two tickets to Costa Rica, nearly ending up in Nicaragua. I’m sure there were English speaking people in that airport, but I never found them. Which shouldn’t have been a problem, because normally, my Spanish speaking confidence is high.

On that day, I was reduced to drawing pictures to communicate my needs.

b) In the ‘midst of beginning vocal skill study, the solo voice class accompanist encouraged me to start studying piano, and do so right away. It’s not that these skills are unrelated. I just wasn’t expecting to need to go out and buy a piano. Six years later I am still studying piano, and voice.

Oh - and I ended up studying Italian as well. Again, it's not that it isn't related. It just wasn't in the plan book.

c) I took an intensive class in Photoshop last spring and that led to a fascination with writing apps, for which I’m having to learn a programming language I didn’t know before.

* * *

Think I’ll just open that red door, and see where it takes me. Segovia in 1492, perhaps? Then again Peron’s Argentina, or Cuba in the 1960’s may be just on the other side.

A Bit of Beauty from the Alcazar Palace, Segovia (printable tag)

Please CLICK ON THIS PICTURE to see the lovely detail.

The tag prints well on postcard stock and can be used for a gift, organizational or luggage tag.

I created this tag from a photo I took of a ceiling medallion at the gorgeous Alcazar Palace in Segovia. I wrote a bit about my day trip to Segovia in a previous blog entry, "The Rain in Spain, Stays Mainly in the Plane". The Alcazar is, of course, the palace where Queen Isabella retreated for safety's sake, shortly before she was proclaimed Queen of Castille. Modern western people tend to remember this queen more than others because she was the mother of Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine of Aragon, as well as financier of Christopher Columbus.

Isabella is one of those gals about whom I have mixed feelings. She sounds like a pretty strong woman, a good example of feminine power and strength. But she was also one of the main instigators of the Inquisition, a centuries long event of genocidal terror bent on stamping out religious tolerance among Spanish Jews, Muslims and Christens. Isabella wasn't the first ruler to think that her way was the only way, but she was a terrible crusader for her own cause. She left a legacy that continued from her time, in the late 1400's, in one form or another up until the 1800's.