Hello lovely girls! I'm still on holiday. This time on the ocean coast, not the Mediterranean coast. We're not far from Portugal actually.
My postcard is not one I received but one I have bought locally:
It's a place that we went to last night. These are replicas of the ships Columbus sailed to America with. Fascinating to visit and then to realize how small they were.
For those who haven't read Friday's blog, I'm on holiday in a place called Matalascañas, near Huelva in south west Spain, on the Atlantic coast.
The weather is not so good, but at least I've been able to go out for walks and do excursions.
We visited the convent where Columbus lived with his son Diego, for several years while he was trying to find sponsors for his journey. When he got sponsored by the queen, he recruited sailers from the nearby village of Palos de la Frontera as they were used to ocean sailing and had sailed to Canaries Islands (but never any further than that). Their vessels were ocean worthy.
The wharf was built for the 1992 Seville Expo which celebrated the 500th anniversary of the first voyage of discovery to America
The sanctuary is dedicated to the Virgin of the Ribbon, the patron saint of the city . The ribbon is, in Marian iconography , a symbol of consolation and protection.
Wikipedia writes: The legend of Huelva speaks of the existence of a shoemaker called Juan Antonio, a pious man who had the custom of giving shoes to poor children on the day of the Nativity of the Virgin . One day, when he was on his way to Gibraleón , he suffered a strong pain in his side that forced him to stop. When he invoked the Virgin of the Nativity, a ribbon appeared that he tied around himself, soothing his pain. When he got home he told the story and a painter friend of his, called Pedro Pablo, offered to paint an image of the Virgin in thanksgiving for the miracle .
The painter portrayed the Child Jesus naked but wearing sandals, in memory of Juan Antonio's charitable gesture towards poor children.
The above image is also from Wikipedia as there were too many people about for me to get a good picture.
It was quite a pretty place. Inside was very crowded and I only took a few photos. This is a part of a mural which tell the story of the shoemaker:
It was tiled throughout. And of course I had to take a picture of the door, which wasn't spectacular, but still typical:
And outside on the forecourt were beautiful trees:
And the view over the estuary was stunning.
As I will be joining Elizabeth and Bluebeard's T-Party, I will need a drink:
As our group entered the dining room, the tables were already prepared for lunch and there are always wine bottles on the table (Wine and water are included in the price).
That is all for now.
Happy T-Day all!
Lisca
