Tag Archives: Expat

Spain

Christians and Moors Battle

We awoke early and took the Tram to El Campello, a city approximately 20 minutes away from Alicante.  We went early to attended the beginning of the Moors and Christian festival which started at 7 am. We arrived to find a large crowd of people already lined up along the beach.

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Crowds of people lined up along the beach to watch the reenactment of the Battle

The festival which is held every year to observe the patron saint, the Mare de Déu dels Desemparats. The events are recreated to depict the history of the Moorish occupation of the area between 700 and 1400 AD.

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Dawn with the reenactment of the Christian and Moor battle.

The beginning of the festival includes the reenacted of the arrival of the Moorish army by boat. As they approach the shore of El Campello in a flotilla of boats, torches are lit, cannons fire and musket shots rings out.

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Reenactment of the Moors landing in Spain

When they arrived at the shore, the battle continued on the beach. They fought each other in a choreographed  battle with swords and on horseback. It was truly an exciting and amazing thing to watch.

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Landing on the beach start of moors and Christian reenactment.

We watched the battle for approximately 45 minutes before the reenactment moved along the shoreline to the castle where the next leg of the reenactment begins.

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The king in the reenactment

The Moors and Christians face off at the castle in a long speech in Spanish. Unfortunately, we could not understand what was being said, however, it was very interesting to watch.

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Moor leader speaking to Christians

The reenactment was very well done and spectators would get dressed in the traditional dress to attend the festival.

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A family dressed up for the festival
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People dressed in traditional clothing
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Dressed in traditional clothing for the fiesta

They even had real camels in the reenactment.

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Ray with a camel in background from the Moor Christian festival
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Camels in the Moor Christian Festival

We watched the entire reenactment which was very interesting and enjoyable.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Equestrian show in Jerez Spain

We stopped at the “Fundacion Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre” located in Jerez Spain. The equestrian School is known around the world for its “Andalusian Horse Dance” which is an amazing display of  horsemanship and horse skills. The equestrian school has been visited by the king of Spain and is considered the royal equestrian school of Spain.

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Fundacion Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre in Jerez, Spain

We arrived and entered the arena which is fairly large. The arena is well designed and every seat is excellent for viewing the show. We settled into our seats and awaited the show.

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View from our seats in the arena

The show started with an explanation of the  history of the horse and the interaction with man. Then there were eight horseback riders that entered the arena and began a routine with the horses.

The display of horsemanship and abilities was amazing. The horses were spectacular and very well trained completing intricate routines in perfect timing.

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View of the horses from our seats
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Part of the routine of the “dancing horses”

The rider and horse did routines that had the horses “dancing” with exaggerated steps ad jumps by the horses. After the Dancing horse routine, they did a routine with unmounted horses.

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Horse on hind legs doing a hop
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Part of the man and horse display with jumps and bucking part of the show

There was also a horse and buggy routine which demonstrated the precision handling of horse and buggy.

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Wagon section of the show

We enjoyed the show which was approximately 1 1/2 hours long. The show was unique and well worth te time to go and see.

“adios y que tenga un grand dia”

Spain

A walk along the river in Cuenca

We took a walk down the old streets in Cuenca and found ourselves along a pathway which brought us down towards a river.

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Pathway downwards toward the river

The path brought us to the river’s edge where a trail followed the riverbank throughout the city. We took the path and enjoyed a nice walk along the Júcar and Huécar rivers.

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Path along the river in Cuenca, Spain

We headed down the trail and admired the different views. Stopping along the way to take photos and enjoy the moment.

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Louise taking a moment to take a photo and enjoy the view
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Trail along the river edge in Cuenca, Spain
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Buildings along the edge of the cliffs of Cuenca

As we walked along the path we came across some of the buildings perched precariously on the cliffs. It is amazing that these buildings have withstood the test of time.

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Building on the edge of the cliff in Cuenca
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View of building on edge of cliff from the river bank in Cuenca
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Shelley, Louise, and Brad on the path in Cuenca Spain

We walked approximately 3 hours all along the walkway. We saw some beautiful scenery and amazing buildings perched precariously on the cliffs of Cuenca.

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View along the walkway in Cuenca
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Buildings on the edge of the cliffs in Cuenca

We came across some buildings which had sewer pipes exposed down the side of the cliffs which connected with the main sewer system.

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sewer plumbing exposed on the outside of the cliffs of Cuenca

Along the way, we enjoyed the sights and sounds which almost made you forget that you were in the heart of the City of Cuenca.

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View along the walkway in Cuenca

The walk along the pathway was very enjoyable, the sights and sounds were amazing and we had a wonderful time.

“adios y que tenga un gran dia”

 

Spain

Million Dollar View for Dinner

We decided to go to a restaurant in Cuenca for dinner. We headed to a quaint small restaurant that was located in the old quarter of Cuenca called “Posada de San Jose”.  The entrance was in an unassuming hotel lobby. We entered and went down a set of stairs to a lower lobby area.

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Lobby area of the restaurant

We went through the room to the next doorway which brought us to the little quaint restaurant area.

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Restaurant area with inside seating

We asked for a table outside and she indicated we could sit anywhere outside. We went to the small balcony which hangs above the cliffs of Cuenca. We found the perfect seats for our dinner overlooking the Cuenca valley and mountains.

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Shelley, Louise, and Brad enjoying the great view at the restaurant in Cuenca Spain

We enjoyed a wonderful meal with great views in a historical building on the cliffs in Cuenca.

“adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Visit to Cuenca Spain

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We took the high-speed rail system to Cuenca Spain, a small quaint city in the mountains. We arrived at the train station “Cuenca Fernando Zobel” which is a new station located on the outskirts of Cuenca.

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Cuenca, Spain the new RENFE train station platform

The new train station is a beautiful new facility and is quite impressive. It looks more like an airport than a train station.

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Inside of the RENFE train station in Cuenca, Spain

We decided to walk into Cuenca and headed down the sidewalk towards the city.

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Walking along the new sidewalk away from the train station toward Cuenca.

As we continued the walk the sidewalk ended and we were walking along the roadway.

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Walking along the side of the road heading towards Cuenca.

We continued to walk for approximately 30 minutes when a priest stopped his car and approached us.  He asked us if we were ok and where we were headed. We told him to our hotel in Cuenca and he indicated that we were about 6 kilometers away from our hotel. He offered to take us there in his vehicle and we decided to take him up on his offer. The four of us and our carry bags squeezed into his small compact 4 cylinder car. The priest was very helpful and drove us to the hotel.

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Priest driving us to the hotel in Cuenca

We thanked him very much and offered him some money, which he refused. He told us to pray for him and wished us well. It is nice to see the goodwill of strangers and to be the recipient of a random act of kindness.

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Our hotel “Torremangana” in Cuenca, Spain

We settled into our hotel rooms and prepared for the next few days of exploration and adventures in Cuenca Spain.