Love Story in Cuenca, Spain (Part 2) - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

In the last post, Julián was enlisted to fight the Italian Wars in order to improve his outlook with Inés, the girl that he was in love with.  In the weeks and months that follow, news from Julián was sporadic. 

Two years later, when the war ended, Julián, now loaded with laurels, took the shortest roads and paths to go back home.  Nothing was communicated to Inés as he wanted to make his appearance a pleasant surprise.  Finally, on one night, he showed up at their usual time to meet in front of Inés' door, intending to thank the Christ of the Passage (el Cristo del Pasadizo, in Spanish) for his safe return and a bright future.  Only this time, he found his position being occupied by a young Lesmes. 

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Infuriated and jealous, Julián pulled out his sword and threw himself at Lesmes who instantly unsheathed his sword to defend.  The quiet night was broken by the sharp clash of swords, until Julián lost his footing on one of the steps and fell.  Lesmes took advantage and push his sword through Julián's already shattered heart.  The silence returned.

Soon, the guard came.  In an effort to escape the chase, Lesmes tried to jump from a path hid in the leafy forest in the upper city, unraveled a stone and went down to the bottom of the valley.

Inés, guilty of causing two lives, confined herself in the Convento de las Petras for the rest of her life.  To this day, people say her sad spirit still wanders the Convento.

In a UNESCO town that was built by the Moors and later conquered by the Castilians in the 12th century, there's bound to be a lot of stories.  And this is one of them.

Convento-de-las-Petras-Cuenca-Spain-Copyright-Jean-Huang-Photography

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A Love Story in a Treacherous Town in Spain - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

Julián was a handsome young man from a humble background and earned a living doing labor work.  He fell in love with a girl from a wealthy family.  Every day, he would go see Inés after work in front of her door. 

Couple-Underneath-Cristo-del-Pasadizo-Cuenca-Spain-Copyright-Jean-Huang-Photography

The disparity in their social classes caused concern for Inés' parent.  To change his outlook with the girl that was also in love with him, Julián joined the army to fight the Italian Wars.  On the night before Julián's departure, the two lovers knelt in front of el Cristo del Pasadizo (the Christ of the Passage, in English) and swore their loyalty.  Neither of them would think of marrying anyone else unless they were certain of death of either one.

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In a town where houses hang out of the cliff, I learnt a medieval love story in which two young men perished.

Do you know what happened to Inés?     

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We Fell into Fox Heaven in Hokkaido, Japan - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

We went to the lake for the swans (think Swan Lake :-)).  And yet, we encountered a fluffy object in the middle of the road.  Driving on the left side in Japan on slippery surfaces could potentially mess up our senses.  We paused, the fluff ball moved.  

It's a red fox!  

We read about them ezo foxes in Hokkaido before the trip and we made a painful decision to not drive that far out to meet them.  How in the world did we get this lucky?

I called out to her and she came over.  She gave me friendly faces, like how these tooth-less babies (i.e., the baby in the Amazonas and baby D2 from LA) responded to my voices.  She would sit, squat, and walk, all the meanwhile eyes glued onto mine, like how my eyes onto hers.  There's love in the air, I'm sure, only with no words.  She would give me all looks that I would not have anticipated in my wildest dreams, like this funny side-look.  It's not a dream, it's a heaven that we fell into.  

Ezo-Red-Fox-Giving-the Side-Eye-Lake-Kussharo-Hokkaido-Japan-Copyright-Jean-Huang-Photography

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