timistravels

Dec. 30, 2014

Left Salamanca after a morning walk and headed to Avila. Sits 3714 feet above sea level. It is the highest provincial capital in Spain. The main reason we stopped here was to see the Walls of Avila that date back to 1090 when construction on the walls began. The stone wall encircles most of town. There are 9 gates in which to enter and the average height is 39 feet tall! We found FREE parking outside of the walls and hiked up to it for the viewing. Worth a stop!

Then we took off for Segovia because I really wanted to see the Alcázar of Segovia. This castle sits at the top of Guadarrama Mountains and is said to be similar to the shape of a ships bow. Originally it was was built as a fortress and later it was used as royal palace, Royal Artillery College, state prison and military academy, and still hosts a military artillery museum. The building of the Alcazar was started in 1120 and part of the original building burnt in a fire in the 1896.

We drove out of town and up a few side roads, then hiked across a farmers field to take a picture from out of the city. Once back in town we toured the castle and got to the top for a view of the city!

One other noteworthy part of Segovia is the aqueducts. No one is sure when this was constructed though archeologists think it was during the 1st century AD. Parts were destroyed by the Moors in 1072, but restored in the 1400’s. Historically water was transferred from Fuente Fría river, about 11 miles away in the mountains, water ran just over 9 miles before arriving into the city. Again amazing city well worth a stop.

Dec. 29, 2014

On a sunny, but cool day we pulled into Salamanca, and we’re thrilled we’d booked a room near the Cathedral Vieja, University (universidad de Salamanca) and Plaza Mayor, all highlights of our visit here. Almost all the historic buildings were built with sandstone and have a bright, golden look to them.

The University has been in existence since 1134. It is the oldest university in Spain and the fourth oldest in Europe. Columbus came to this school for travel information. Many exchange students come here, including many Americans, specifically to study the Spanish language!

I, of course, was thrilled to see “residence” buildings after I lived in U housing for many years both during college and later as a hall director! Wish I could have gotten inside one for a tour!

Cathedral Vieja is also one of the oldest in Europe. It was started to be built in 1513 and finished in 1733. It’s been a national monument since 1887. It’s stunning inside and worth the 4euro charge to enter.

Plaza Mayor is all its claimed to be, full of life especially in the evening. The alleys around it come alive around 5 pm. The plaza itself is a beautiful square that dates back to the 1700’s. Historically it held bullfights but now it is full of eateries, coffee, and trinket shops. It too is built from sandstone and has a soft look to it.

Glad it was sunny as it was around freezing, but we bundled up and enjoyed Salamanca’s old town area.

Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014

Let me start by saying I’m happy we came to San Sebastian if for nothing else to eat the pintrxos, the Basque word for tapas.

We drove our car to the train stopped and without much problem bought round trip tickets into town! When we got off the train in downtown San Sebastian it was pouring rain, it reminded us of Juneau on in October day. It was just before noon and downtown was absolutely dead, the only people we saw where those headed into the church for noon mass. We continue to old town where at least there was a little more activity, however nothing really came alive until about 1 PM. Suddenly all the bars were opened up and there were tons of people crowding them trying to get some food and beer and wine.

We decided to do as the locals do and as we’d read about; we hopped from bar to bar to “txiquiteo” as the locals call it. We just walked up and down the street entering different bars and filling our plates with 2 to 4 pintrxos! Some were cheese and vegetables, some seafood others were ham with toppings but my favorite or any of them that had anchovies. Paired with a glass of beer or a glass of sangria we enjoyed each stop.

Once the rain stopped and actually cleared up a bit almost becoming sunny though it was cold and windy most of the day. We were still marveling at the fact that most of the stores were closed and that it seemed to be quite quiet town considering it’s such a tourist destination. I’m sure in the summer it’s just the opposite and again, in some ways it reminds us of home, everything closed down until all the tourists come back. We are sure it had also had a lot to do with it being Sunday though it was disappointing to be such a ghost town.

San Sebastian is a community of almost 200,000 people and in the summer tourism about doubles! But on this cold rainy winter Sunday it was more or less a deserted town. The community sits on the Bay of Biscay, and the winds hollow through town, and today was no exception. I’m sure in the summer the be winds off the water are refreshing but today they made it chilly.

The main language here is not Spanish it is actually Euskara, the Basque language, which made it even more challenging for us to interact with people. All the signage and menus were also Euskara so we resorted to pointing to much of the food!

We’re glad we visited but don’t think we got a true idea of the community.

<

Dec. 26-27, 2014

We rolled into town as the sun was setting and arrived just before dark. Found our hotel easily and I actually cried with joyful tears as we entered our room. This was the ideal hotel and town, the one that I’d imagined in my mind small town Spain would be like.

The narrow cobblestone streets, red tiled roofs and rock/concrete buildings left you feeling as it were 1000’s of years ago. We walked through the maze of “streets” in awe of every view. One corner highlighted an old steeple, another showcased the country side farms, and another the balconies of local residents.

Upon arrival and check in we were invited to a community concert at the local community center down the ally. Of course we chose to be “one with the people”. We arrived early and got a chair, though many after us did not. The first 45 minutes was full of choir singing mostly in tune! Then the youth (with a few adults including our hotel owner) entertained us with several movie scores and Christmas songs. They were really good!

We then stopped at the tapas bar across the street from our hotel. We met a woman and husband from Madrid and told us we’d found a magical place to visit. She said that they come here for vacation to escape the city.

The history of this town dates back to 901, yes that 901! It was a border town during the Reconquista. In 1492 King Ferdinand was born here when it was known simply as Sos, but was later changed to Sis del Rey Católico meaning “of the Catholic King” in his honor.

Though it is off the beaten path I would highly recommend stopping here for a night. Our hotel, “el Peiron,” is 4 years old and family run. Mom and dad speak NO English but one son spoke enough that we could get by. I can’t say enough about how much we loved this hotel and town.

Dec. 25, 2014

We had wanted to visit the park and headed out on Christmas morning knowing that we had tickets for 12:30 to tour Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. We rode the subway to the closet metro Lemmen, and as we offloaded the subway a nice young woman was standing there helping tourists explaining that it was necessary to take the bus to the park because it was a long walk. She shared with us that you take bus number 24 to the park. We also learned it was an 8 euro entry. At that point we decided to hold off and go to the park in the afternoon AFTER our other tour, because she said you buy tickets to enter at a specific time on the 1/2 hour you can stay as long as you want but once you leave you can not return.

The park was inspired by the craze in England to have garden parks, hence the name “Parc”. This park was requested by Count Eusebi Güell, where of course it got its name. The site very high on the hills of Barcelona was a rocky with little growth of anything but a few trees. At the time very few people wanted to go up there because it was difficult to get to, no easy way up the hill.

Eusebi Güell asked Antoni Gaudí, at the time an up and coming a architect to design the park. It took 14 years to complete from 1900-14, and became an official city park in 1926. The park was listed World Heritage Site in 1984 because it highlighted Gaudi’s work.

We found the visit to be enjoyable and again to be overloaded with Gaudi’s work. He was of course influenced greatly by nature as you notice throughout.

e

infamous art work at the entry to the park

amazing art work made from broken tiles.

Dec 25, 2014

Basilica de la Sagrada Familia is the 2nd most visited site in Europe after the Eiffel Tower with about 3 million visitors a year. Gaudi spent 43 years working on this project and the “life” side was finished before he died. The rest has been, and continues to be, built from his vision and models. 75% is completed but the last 25% will be the most difficult.

There will be 10 more towers built and the main entry. They will need to tear down over 1000 apartments to finish the basilica. The goal is to complete it by 2026, which would mark the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death ( by accident, he was hit by a train 74 years old).

The side he finished which we entered through represents Life; Faith, Charity and Hope. Mary and Jesus are symbolized in the birth while there are the three wise men, Angels playing music, the star of Bethlehem. On the other side is the life of Jesus, this is sometimes called the “Bible in stone”.

At the base of the two main columns are turtles. One a sea turtle and the other a land one. This is because this Basilica is in the exact center of town 1/2 way between the water and the mountains.

Gaudi used nature as inspiration. He would say that he felt most near God when he was in the forest with giant trees and the sun filtering in through the trees. This is the feeling you get inside the church, the light flowing in through the stain glass is stunning and ever changing. It was just breathtaking.

Also inside are 52 pillars symbolic of the 52 Sunday’s a year. The balcony will hold up to 1200 choir members. Each of the windows have a name in the middle reflecting locations in the world with special sanctuaries.

The current exit side of the building reflects death, including the last supper and the burial. After Gaudi’s death another architect was brought into finish this facade. Ironically he was agnostic yet wanted to take on this challenge and insisted on living in the structure as Gaudi before him had done.

The side not built will be themed Glory, and those working on the completion continue to use the models Gaudi built and keep his vision in the forefront of all they do.

All in all stunning structure.

Dec. 22, 2014

The Royal Palace of Madrid is a great way to spend a few hours while in Madrid, and absolutely should be on your list. It is not lived in today though they are ceremonies that do take place in the castle. It is near the Opera station of the metro and costs 11euro to enter or is FREE from. 4-6 daily. Don’t confuse lines. The one you will see first is for group tours, go around the corner for individual tickets.

The original Castle was in 16th century but sadly burnt in 1734 and the current castle was built on the same site. It took almost 20 years to build the current structure in which Charles III first occupied it in 1764.

There are 3,418 rooms though on the tour you may only see 20-30 rooms. It is the largest square foot palace in Europe. Unlike the Versailles in Paris much of the interior of the palace is original and in tact. There are many famous paintings, much porcelain, gold, silver and even Stradivarius instruments.

All in all a must see when in Madrid. Ironically our host family here have never been! It takes guest sometimes for people to see a touristy thing in the back yard! NO PHOTOS allowed inside the palace rooms so photos are of postcards or off the website.