Several people really enjoyed the descriptions of the House of Good Fortune, ruins of a typical street and two houses in Cartagena. My first reaction was, if we like old or ancient things, we should look in our own mirrors. Yikes.  All kidding aside, that's what we are doing when we step into the memories of older cultures.  When David and I lived in Bryan,Texas the house was built in 1939 and it was in the historic district of the town. It was a small cape cod built by high school students in a building program.  Perspective shifts.  

When we moved to Pennsylvania there were usable buildings from the 1700's and Native American sites that were light years older.  The irony is that, "aqui in Espana" old things are often old hat.  They have been surrounded by Roman ruins, Iberian ruins, the Visigoths destroyed many of the ruins and the Moors built beautiful buildings that Ferdinand and Isabella,better known as Reyes Catolicos, "transformed" from mosques into cathedrals. The last time we were here one of David's fellow matematicos was driving us to Madrid from Valencia he was only pointing out the tv towers and radio towers not the ancient cathedrals or windmills or... that captivated us.  

Ironically, we chose a house north of Valencia that is "older".  When potential renters came by to look for a summer house in La Canyada I overheard them saying to the real estate agent that it's a nice house but it's so old.  It was built around 1950.

Casa de Buena Fortuna

Here's the Roman house where they found FORTUNA written at the entryway to one of the houses.  Not a bad sentiment to offer for those who enter. 

The piecing together of tiles found in the rubble suggest interesting senses of color. I always thought that the Romans were all about white, monumental marble, but apparently not so.  In the large view the spaces that haven't filled in create a different reality.  Almost as interesting as what they have pieced together.  For the artists- negative space.

In the photo of the design, up close you see the actual size of the pieces.  Those of you who love jigsaw puzzles eat  your hearts out.

Museo Arqueologico Cartagena

And from the Archeological Museum in Cartagena we saw this sign.  Some of the tablets are funeral markers, but lots of them are just signs about laws, rules, and locations.  So for those of us who complain about the email we write or deal with.  Think how carefully you would consider writing if you had to use a chisel and stone.  No whiteout or backspacing to delete.  If you read Latin please tell me what this is about.

The funeral monuments are pretty cool but imagine the time that went into them.  Todays granite or concrete monuments are a little cheesy.  I just wonder if this is really a likeness of the person who died, or if like in US obituaries you see photos of people when they were 20 in a sailor suit.

Plaza de Toros, Cartagena

The Plaza de Toros in Cartagena looks a lot like a Roman amphitheatre, this one also demonstrates the Moorish influence in the area which was considerable. the key like openings.  Of course under neath this they have found ruins of a "roman theatre".

This quirky building below is an ode to all of us when we feel like we are standing alone.  This facade is typical of Spanish urban renewal.  They save the front and build behind it.  Of particular interest though is the knot of wires that are  hanging from the house.  Code inspectors in the US would have a conniption fit as my grandmother Myrtle used to say.  

But just to remind us that we are not in charge at all, here is one of the trees we have found all over Spain, and no one we have asked knows their names.  They remind me of the trees we saw in Joshua Tree National Monument in California. You too can play, "Name that tree."

This tree has to be really old, that's how it made into the antiguo category.The next episode will take in a little Murcia and the 25th anniversary that David and I shared in Murcia.  We know some of you have 50th anniversaries coming up, like my brother Floyd and his wife Fran. But, hey we started much later. So happy trails and looking in the mirror is not such a bad idea.