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Royal Glass Factory of La Granja, Spain: All about glass
A blob of glowing orange wobbles on the tip of a pipe. The craftsman pulls the pipe out of the crucible, spins it and splashes water over it. He perches himself up on a ladder, places his mouth near the other end of the pipe and blows. The frail mass at the opposite tip changes shape and loses colour rapidly. The wind in the pipe manipulates the metamorphosis of the blob and soon it takes the form of a glass pitcher. The crafter separates the pitcher from the pipe and cuts the excess glass away from it’s mouth. This process of glass making from the 1st century BC is preserved…
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Offbeat Spain: A Medieval ruin and an art hub tucked inside a forest
Among the pine groves in Segovia province of Spain, away from the chaos of the city, with the natural forest noise in the background, I am playing with Meena, a friendly Labrador. A film of mist surrounds us. Occasionally, it clears revealing stunning view of the woods that thrive on the cliff below. Meena runs along with me. A little ahead on the dirt road, we come across the ruins of a 13th century Christian monastery known as the Cistercian Monastery of Santa Maria de la Sierra, which is classified now as a national monument of Spain. Most of the site has now crumbled, except the church that still stands…
