Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
From Toni....this is the last night in Valladolid - a very interesting city.
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| Toni, Angie and Patti (The 3 Muskateers) |
whole time.....fantastic!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Pictures from the private touring of Bilbao bullring
I could not upload all the pics since the blog uploading feature works so slowly, so check out the rest of the museum pics on my Facebook page!
A strange and spooky town called Las Medullas
Here are some pics/link for a spooky town we visited called las Medullas:
http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3301629015/a=8723880_8723880/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3301629015/a=8723880_8723880/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
A miracle for Patti in Bilbao
So yesterday, I was walking around the Basque town of Bilbao in search of the bullring and in particular, I was looking for the bullfighting museum. I arrived at the bullring, which appeared to be closed, but there was a large wooden door at the far end that appeared unlocked. I went in and found myself completely alone in a relatively new arena. I was euphoric. I walked around and took some pictures of a beautiful bullring recently washed down, I walked upstairs and found a treasure trove of really old bullfighting carteles, I mean really old, like from the 1800s!!! I took some pictures, but the lighting was poor. I met a friendly little dog who followed me around a bit and then layed down to take a nap.
I found the museum in the stadium but the glass doors were locked up and it was dark. I contented myself with the satisfaction of viewing the beautiful old posters lining the halls.
When I went downstairs, I finally ran into someone, a young man who appeared to be working at the arena. I asked him if the museum was closed (of course, I had just been wandering upstairs so I knew it was locked down up there!). He asked me a few questions (who are you? where are you from? etc. etc) and said he would be happy to open it up for me. Well, I had one of the best afternoon´s of my life, as Arturo proceeded to let me into not only the museum, but also the ´capilla´ (where the bullfighters pray prior to their matches) and the banquet room (where the judges and bullfighters celebrate dinners and events during the fiestas), he showed me the vet´s offices, the area where the matador´s and judges choose which bulls will fight which toreros, the holding areas, the entire bullring and its administrative areas. I got a detailed, two hour private tour of every area of the bullring as well as a political and social history of tauromaquia in Bilbao!!!
Arturo was a real expert in the field and provided such an incredible richness of information with each of the rooms we entered and gave me such great insight into each of the exhibits in the museum. I saw some beautiful artwork and several pieces that were created by Goya (a spanish artist who was also a bullfighting afficionado!). The museum was amazing and before I left, Arturo invited me to return to any upcoming fiestas and promised preferential seating! Imagine that! I´ve got a friend now at the bullring in Bilbao! Pictures forthcoming...
I found the museum in the stadium but the glass doors were locked up and it was dark. I contented myself with the satisfaction of viewing the beautiful old posters lining the halls.
When I went downstairs, I finally ran into someone, a young man who appeared to be working at the arena. I asked him if the museum was closed (of course, I had just been wandering upstairs so I knew it was locked down up there!). He asked me a few questions (who are you? where are you from? etc. etc) and said he would be happy to open it up for me. Well, I had one of the best afternoon´s of my life, as Arturo proceeded to let me into not only the museum, but also the ´capilla´ (where the bullfighters pray prior to their matches) and the banquet room (where the judges and bullfighters celebrate dinners and events during the fiestas), he showed me the vet´s offices, the area where the matador´s and judges choose which bulls will fight which toreros, the holding areas, the entire bullring and its administrative areas. I got a detailed, two hour private tour of every area of the bullring as well as a political and social history of tauromaquia in Bilbao!!!
Arturo was a real expert in the field and provided such an incredible richness of information with each of the rooms we entered and gave me such great insight into each of the exhibits in the museum. I saw some beautiful artwork and several pieces that were created by Goya (a spanish artist who was also a bullfighting afficionado!). The museum was amazing and before I left, Arturo invited me to return to any upcoming fiestas and promised preferential seating! Imagine that! I´ve got a friend now at the bullring in Bilbao! Pictures forthcoming...
From Toni - Valladolid - Patti in heaven at a bullfighting museum cafe 10-1-10
Some additional pics on our way to Santiago de Compostela
Sorry for the additional click, but if you go to the link below you will get to see several pictures of our walk just before and upon arriving in Santiago. We met a farmer along the way by the name of Manolo (seen in one of the pictures, giving me his facebook address!) and wanting to introduce us to his friends ¨Cristian¨´ (a pig) and Marina (a goat). Please click below! If you have a snapfish account, you can simply sign in to see the pics, if not, don´t worry, you can still see the pics, just skip that part.
http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3301830015/a=8723880_8723880/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3301830015/a=8723880_8723880/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
From Angie---got to the end of the world, now it´s on to shopping!
here are some of Toni's pics
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| Happy troopers |
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| Dropped my rock at the end of the world |
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
From where I sit now
There was so much stone at the beginning of the camino. Everything seemed to be made of it and vineyards were surrounding all of it. The water fonts are abundant along the portuguese trail. We took many pictures, not all have yet arrived onto this blog, but there are so many beautiful roman water fonts along the way. Ancient roman bridges and cornhouses known as ¨horreos´are used throughout Galicia. A farmer took us into his property to show us his beautiful ´horreo´which was full of corn cobs and explained to us how these are processed into cornmeal or feed for the animals.
The spanish countryside is full of large houses often times lined with beautiful flowers. We saw so many wild dahlias and colorful flowers surrounding the farmlands. Large houses and large meals seem characteristic of the Galician countryside.
Young children and dogs are obviously beloved in this part of the world. They are coddled and looked after and so gorgeous to look at. I pet many dogs and every one of them was friendly to me when approached.
Still, I feel the better part of every day is begun with a napolitana from a local bakery and a cafe con leche. This can happen at different points of the day, not only in the morning.
And now it is late, so goodnight.
The spanish countryside is full of large houses often times lined with beautiful flowers. We saw so many wild dahlias and colorful flowers surrounding the farmlands. Large houses and large meals seem characteristic of the Galician countryside.
Young children and dogs are obviously beloved in this part of the world. They are coddled and looked after and so gorgeous to look at. I pet many dogs and every one of them was friendly to me when approached.
Still, I feel the better part of every day is begun with a napolitana from a local bakery and a cafe con leche. This can happen at different points of the day, not only in the morning.
And now it is late, so goodnight.
Have arrived in Bilbao, Basque territory
Came into Bilbao on the toll road this afternoon. Could not believe the toll (17.75 euros!) from Burgos (about a 2hr drive). Well, yes, the condition of the road is excellent, but that is a higher toll than we Americans are used to!
We were excited to see, just before arriving into Bilbao, the sign indicating the Orozco valley. (its spelled a little differently here, Orosko), but still, its our ancestry! We´ll explore some of the valley tomorrow.
But first, need to find a place to stay here in this region next to the shores of the Atlantic.
p.
We were excited to see, just before arriving into Bilbao, the sign indicating the Orozco valley. (its spelled a little differently here, Orosko), but still, its our ancestry! We´ll explore some of the valley tomorrow.
But first, need to find a place to stay here in this region next to the shores of the Atlantic.
p.
Internet cafes closed
Due to today´s national strike, many of the businesses are closed. I am unable to upload all the wonderful pictures we have from the last several days. So I am limited to some descriptive text.
Well, we´ve made some new friends, including farmers, local coffeehouse owners and other pilgrims. Its been a very interesting experience. I loved the spaniards in Galicia. Very uninterested in us and generally cool. Not necessarily rude, but so self composed. No one asked us anything about ourselves, unless they were NOT spaniards. Last night, at a creperie we stopped at, the owner was so friendly that we looked at each other and wondered where he was from, knowing he could not have been a local!
Its geographically beautiful here!
p.
Well, we´ve made some new friends, including farmers, local coffeehouse owners and other pilgrims. Its been a very interesting experience. I loved the spaniards in Galicia. Very uninterested in us and generally cool. Not necessarily rude, but so self composed. No one asked us anything about ourselves, unless they were NOT spaniards. Last night, at a creperie we stopped at, the owner was so friendly that we looked at each other and wondered where he was from, knowing he could not have been a local!
Its geographically beautiful here!
p.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Rain today
Today´s walk 2
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