Road trip to Spain, in May. (Pic Heavy)
May 31, 2019 13:57:14 GMT -5
adrian65, captbob, and 9 more like this
Post by NevadaBill on May 31, 2019 13:57:14 GMT -5
I am back from a vacation in Spain, but for some reason half my brain is still on vacation, and I am having trouble getting to the forums. More on that later, perhaps. Here are a couple photos from the trip.
It might take many hours for me to post this, as I am still playing catch-up over there, and I am working right now. Plus, I am due to fall asleep at the keyboard soon, due to my odd time schedule as of late.
We spent nearly 3 weeks, some of it on tours, and some on our own exploring via train, bus, and mainly on foot. I am not an expert at photography or writing so I am just going to do my best here to share some of the experience.
Madrid. This is a typical family restaurant. They handle breakfast, lunch and dinner. Many also serve as Cafe's, and have late night drinks too. Many of these are family owned, and very friendly. This one is a Belgian one. It costs a bit extra (2-3 Euros) to eat at these establishments, since it is higher cost to have a street side presence on a popular and busy road. The food can be very good at these smaller businesses. Notice the dog house; he is part of the family too, but didn't make the picture.
Madrid - Typical delicatessen
What you are looking at here, is the typical bread and butter business found in much of the country. The Jamon (leg of pig) deli. These are small family businesses which often sell other favorites of the region, often including Cheeses, Wines, Olive Oils, and tasty Confections, usually with Nougat. But the star of the show is the Jamon sandwiches that you see him preparing. They are especially good with some Olive Oil, or spicy Tomato spread. Some times with cheese as well. The legs handing on the wall are sold to locals, and covered with heavy wax often to help with preservation. There are many varieties of meat, depending on the region, and what the animals are allowed to graze upon. These are very strong flavored meats. These businesses are all over the place. And it is common to see locals stop in for a quick bite, and a short beer. Check out the different bites being prepared here.
It is not uncommon to see market stands where all forms of foods are created. One such hub had lots of different restaurants, and another example of the Jamon (ham) sandwich:
Don't these subs look tasty?! You bet they are. My wife commented at some point that she could eat these every day. It is not exactly ham. While they do have traditional ham, like you would see in a Christmas spread, the Jamon is a cured, seasoned, and very strong flavored meat. Here you can see the boy carving from the special setups they use to hold the meat. You can actually buy everything you see right here, including the special knives and hardware.
There of these establishments sell things which can be quickly consumed on the run. Shops open and close often during the days, at odd hours. Often starting business at 10:00a, and running until past 10:00p. Businesses often close for a couple of hours, right in the middle of the day, and then re-open later. Life is built around siestas. So, when food is needed, often it is eaten standing up, or on the move. Small, hand sized portions (Tapas) are common. Here is a market business specializing in fish (Pescado).
Most people move about the city very quickly. This is not the casual stroll you would find in the cities of Las Vegas, New York or Chicago. But rather, people move about as a form of exercise. many, not owning more than a scooter, and traveling on foot and using public transportation as a means to getting around. Autos are less common.
So, you will commonly see locals zipping past you on foot at a rapid pace. Advice is to always stay to the right, just as you would on the roads. Escalators, paths, and street walkways are always busy with foot traffic. Here is a very typical picture taken in Madrid, which shows how people eat, standing up at cafe's. Lots of scooters, mopeds, and small transportation used in this city to great effect. You can actually rent Uber battery powered scooters just about anywhere in Madrid. Walk up, unlock one using an Iphone, and off you go.
Notice the wooden door in the picture. I can tell you that these old cities have much the flavor of old Rome or Paris, with very old, solid, grand wooden doors at the entrances of the main city street establishments (apartments, restaurants, businesses, etc). I actually thought about writing a separate article which only highlighted the beautiful doors that I saw. This is a common thing though, much like the streets made of stone, found in all cities throughout the whole country:
This is a random sample, as I took dozens of pictures of interesting doors such as this. But you can see that this one is quite large (maybe 20 feet tall in full), and has withstood the tests of time. I thought they were interesting.
The streets of most major cities are framed with 6 story buildings, much like you would see in much of Europe. The roof tops are not so ornate, but the walls themselves are often decorative stone, and have nice railing, plants, and other interesting decor. Here is an example. Also caught in this picture was a local street parade, which featured dozens of these larger than life characters. They would often run in to the crowd and touch the people (often children). This might be for good luck, but I didn't ask:
The streets are very clean and free of debris. Grafitti is fairly common in some parts of major cities, but it is not to the degree we saw in other older cities in Europe. Most buildings are in great shape, and those that are not, are often undergoing some restorations.
Again, you can be walking in just about any major city, and see no autos on the street. Just food traffic and public transportation, as seen here. Most locals (in spite of the fantastic tasting and often fattening array of foods), are in very good shape, mainly because they walk everywhere they need to go.
But the cornerstones of all major cities in Spain, are no doubt, the cathedrals and churches. Many of these are massive in scale, and are a full city block wide. This is one in Zaragosa. You could just be walking the streets and all of a sudden a huge cathedral would just appear in front of you:
I could probably do another write up on just the cathedrals since they are some of the most amazing that I've seen in Europe, but that would take up too much space here. I am not a travel expert and there are most people more qualified to document these buildings than I am. This is what the grand palace of Seville looks like. Just look at the massive scale, and the details of this exterior in this shot. The interior rivals any cathedral I have seen anywhere, including Notre Dame or the Vatican. Just grand.
It is so impressive walking through some of these larger cities, just how much work has gone in to creating very decorative and massive structures. This panorama is taken from the entrance of some government buildings. I don't know their origin. But you can rent small boats or take a gondola ride, right through the streets:
Actually, these shots just don't do the locations justice. Most of these locations are the kinds of places that you pack a light lunch for, and spend half of the day roaming around. These are just some of the shots only.
One of the grandest cathedrals is found in Barcelona, Spain. The temple of the Familia Sagrada has to one of the most famous in the world. I can't do it justice with just a single picture of two. The streets are alive with tourists speaking every possible language, and artists framing those same streets with their art.
Again, due to the massive scale of the cathedral, it is impossible to get any kind of picture of it from the ground level. It is a giant, towering over the community that surrounds it. This one happens to be undergoing a full time restoration and building. I am not a historian, but I believe that work began centuries ago, and as you can see, is still a work in progress.
The stain glass windows, on the inside of the cathedral are so very colorful during the daylight hours, that I have to share a picture. The glass is everywhere, and there is no way that you could tell this by looking at the exterior only. This cathedral has a modern flare to it, which is nothing like anything else I have ever seen. Really stunning.
Rather than go on and on about the churches and structures, I just think I should drop a few more photos that are random from the journey, which shows some of the unique character developed by this beautiful country. Here is the skyline of Toledo.
Toledo is one of the most famous cities in Spain for manufacturing swords and knives. While I am not a collector, I understand from some that I was traveling with that this is a bucket list destination for many that do. The streets are lined with shops, all displaying their hand made wares. Be careful though, as you need to be an expert to know what you are buying.
Ronda (round-a-bout, literally) is a larger city which is built atop some very high hills, towering over the landscape. It is impossible for me to show the scale of this in one picture, but this bridge is famous, mainly because it bridges the gap between two half of this city, and goes many many hundreds of feet below where this shot ends. It looks to be about a quarter a mile down from here. We ate some tapas at the cliff-side cafe you see on the other side.
Tapas (litterally meaning, the "top" or cover. Coined after locals used to put small appetizers on top of their drinks to keep bugs off of the drink. They put these small foods on top of the drink).
The streets are full of social types. This is a very social people in general. Luckily I took conversational Spanish in college. It went a long way, even though I found myself pointing and grunting at times to communicate. Hehe.
And just like many other tourist type areas in other parts of Europe, there is no shortage of unique photo opportunities to be had. This gentlemen has an entire build up for his stand. And he happily accepts tips.
As usual, all of these pictures can be doubled in size, simply by <Right Click> on the picture, and selecting "Open Image in New Tab".
The country left us with many unique memories and experiences. Mostly, the weather is fantastic in Spain. As soon as we got back (a couple days ago), we started looking up house rentals in South of Spain. This is some place that we will be coming back to. Great food, really warm and friendly folks everywhere, and a country that in my opinion is the very definition of vacation destination.
I tried to find a picture where I didn't look so old and fat. This was a cliff side restaurant in Valencia we dined in. We will definitely be coming back to Valencia.
Thank you for coming along!
It might take many hours for me to post this, as I am still playing catch-up over there, and I am working right now. Plus, I am due to fall asleep at the keyboard soon, due to my odd time schedule as of late.
We spent nearly 3 weeks, some of it on tours, and some on our own exploring via train, bus, and mainly on foot. I am not an expert at photography or writing so I am just going to do my best here to share some of the experience.
Madrid. This is a typical family restaurant. They handle breakfast, lunch and dinner. Many also serve as Cafe's, and have late night drinks too. Many of these are family owned, and very friendly. This one is a Belgian one. It costs a bit extra (2-3 Euros) to eat at these establishments, since it is higher cost to have a street side presence on a popular and busy road. The food can be very good at these smaller businesses. Notice the dog house; he is part of the family too, but didn't make the picture.
Madrid - Typical delicatessen
What you are looking at here, is the typical bread and butter business found in much of the country. The Jamon (leg of pig) deli. These are small family businesses which often sell other favorites of the region, often including Cheeses, Wines, Olive Oils, and tasty Confections, usually with Nougat. But the star of the show is the Jamon sandwiches that you see him preparing. They are especially good with some Olive Oil, or spicy Tomato spread. Some times with cheese as well. The legs handing on the wall are sold to locals, and covered with heavy wax often to help with preservation. There are many varieties of meat, depending on the region, and what the animals are allowed to graze upon. These are very strong flavored meats. These businesses are all over the place. And it is common to see locals stop in for a quick bite, and a short beer. Check out the different bites being prepared here.
It is not uncommon to see market stands where all forms of foods are created. One such hub had lots of different restaurants, and another example of the Jamon (ham) sandwich:
Don't these subs look tasty?! You bet they are. My wife commented at some point that she could eat these every day. It is not exactly ham. While they do have traditional ham, like you would see in a Christmas spread, the Jamon is a cured, seasoned, and very strong flavored meat. Here you can see the boy carving from the special setups they use to hold the meat. You can actually buy everything you see right here, including the special knives and hardware.
There of these establishments sell things which can be quickly consumed on the run. Shops open and close often during the days, at odd hours. Often starting business at 10:00a, and running until past 10:00p. Businesses often close for a couple of hours, right in the middle of the day, and then re-open later. Life is built around siestas. So, when food is needed, often it is eaten standing up, or on the move. Small, hand sized portions (Tapas) are common. Here is a market business specializing in fish (Pescado).
Most people move about the city very quickly. This is not the casual stroll you would find in the cities of Las Vegas, New York or Chicago. But rather, people move about as a form of exercise. many, not owning more than a scooter, and traveling on foot and using public transportation as a means to getting around. Autos are less common.
So, you will commonly see locals zipping past you on foot at a rapid pace. Advice is to always stay to the right, just as you would on the roads. Escalators, paths, and street walkways are always busy with foot traffic. Here is a very typical picture taken in Madrid, which shows how people eat, standing up at cafe's. Lots of scooters, mopeds, and small transportation used in this city to great effect. You can actually rent Uber battery powered scooters just about anywhere in Madrid. Walk up, unlock one using an Iphone, and off you go.
Notice the wooden door in the picture. I can tell you that these old cities have much the flavor of old Rome or Paris, with very old, solid, grand wooden doors at the entrances of the main city street establishments (apartments, restaurants, businesses, etc). I actually thought about writing a separate article which only highlighted the beautiful doors that I saw. This is a common thing though, much like the streets made of stone, found in all cities throughout the whole country:
This is a random sample, as I took dozens of pictures of interesting doors such as this. But you can see that this one is quite large (maybe 20 feet tall in full), and has withstood the tests of time. I thought they were interesting.
The streets of most major cities are framed with 6 story buildings, much like you would see in much of Europe. The roof tops are not so ornate, but the walls themselves are often decorative stone, and have nice railing, plants, and other interesting decor. Here is an example. Also caught in this picture was a local street parade, which featured dozens of these larger than life characters. They would often run in to the crowd and touch the people (often children). This might be for good luck, but I didn't ask:
The streets are very clean and free of debris. Grafitti is fairly common in some parts of major cities, but it is not to the degree we saw in other older cities in Europe. Most buildings are in great shape, and those that are not, are often undergoing some restorations.
Again, you can be walking in just about any major city, and see no autos on the street. Just food traffic and public transportation, as seen here. Most locals (in spite of the fantastic tasting and often fattening array of foods), are in very good shape, mainly because they walk everywhere they need to go.
But the cornerstones of all major cities in Spain, are no doubt, the cathedrals and churches. Many of these are massive in scale, and are a full city block wide. This is one in Zaragosa. You could just be walking the streets and all of a sudden a huge cathedral would just appear in front of you:
I could probably do another write up on just the cathedrals since they are some of the most amazing that I've seen in Europe, but that would take up too much space here. I am not a travel expert and there are most people more qualified to document these buildings than I am. This is what the grand palace of Seville looks like. Just look at the massive scale, and the details of this exterior in this shot. The interior rivals any cathedral I have seen anywhere, including Notre Dame or the Vatican. Just grand.
It is so impressive walking through some of these larger cities, just how much work has gone in to creating very decorative and massive structures. This panorama is taken from the entrance of some government buildings. I don't know their origin. But you can rent small boats or take a gondola ride, right through the streets:
Actually, these shots just don't do the locations justice. Most of these locations are the kinds of places that you pack a light lunch for, and spend half of the day roaming around. These are just some of the shots only.
One of the grandest cathedrals is found in Barcelona, Spain. The temple of the Familia Sagrada has to one of the most famous in the world. I can't do it justice with just a single picture of two. The streets are alive with tourists speaking every possible language, and artists framing those same streets with their art.
Again, due to the massive scale of the cathedral, it is impossible to get any kind of picture of it from the ground level. It is a giant, towering over the community that surrounds it. This one happens to be undergoing a full time restoration and building. I am not a historian, but I believe that work began centuries ago, and as you can see, is still a work in progress.
The stain glass windows, on the inside of the cathedral are so very colorful during the daylight hours, that I have to share a picture. The glass is everywhere, and there is no way that you could tell this by looking at the exterior only. This cathedral has a modern flare to it, which is nothing like anything else I have ever seen. Really stunning.
Rather than go on and on about the churches and structures, I just think I should drop a few more photos that are random from the journey, which shows some of the unique character developed by this beautiful country. Here is the skyline of Toledo.
Toledo is one of the most famous cities in Spain for manufacturing swords and knives. While I am not a collector, I understand from some that I was traveling with that this is a bucket list destination for many that do. The streets are lined with shops, all displaying their hand made wares. Be careful though, as you need to be an expert to know what you are buying.
Ronda (round-a-bout, literally) is a larger city which is built atop some very high hills, towering over the landscape. It is impossible for me to show the scale of this in one picture, but this bridge is famous, mainly because it bridges the gap between two half of this city, and goes many many hundreds of feet below where this shot ends. It looks to be about a quarter a mile down from here. We ate some tapas at the cliff-side cafe you see on the other side.
Tapas (litterally meaning, the "top" or cover. Coined after locals used to put small appetizers on top of their drinks to keep bugs off of the drink. They put these small foods on top of the drink).
The streets are full of social types. This is a very social people in general. Luckily I took conversational Spanish in college. It went a long way, even though I found myself pointing and grunting at times to communicate. Hehe.
And just like many other tourist type areas in other parts of Europe, there is no shortage of unique photo opportunities to be had. This gentlemen has an entire build up for his stand. And he happily accepts tips.
As usual, all of these pictures can be doubled in size, simply by <Right Click> on the picture, and selecting "Open Image in New Tab".
The country left us with many unique memories and experiences. Mostly, the weather is fantastic in Spain. As soon as we got back (a couple days ago), we started looking up house rentals in South of Spain. This is some place that we will be coming back to. Great food, really warm and friendly folks everywhere, and a country that in my opinion is the very definition of vacation destination.
I tried to find a picture where I didn't look so old and fat. This was a cliff side restaurant in Valencia we dined in. We will definitely be coming back to Valencia.
Thank you for coming along!
