Tag Archives: Spain culture

Spain

North to Vitoria-Gasteiz

We decided to take a trip to the north of Spain to explore some of the area. We headed out by high-speed train with some friends to the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Ray and Shelley on High speed train to Vitoria-Gasteiz

The train had lots of leg room and was quite comfortable. It is a great way to travel at 247 kms per hour.

247 Kms per hour speed sign on the train to Vitoria-Gasteiz

We arrived in the early evening to the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, which is the capital city of the Basque region. This was our “base” and we would stay here and take day trips to explore the region. We got unpacked and settled in before exploring the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz.

The following day we began exploring the city, which was very vibrant and interesting. We walked through the streets towards the centre of the city.

The streets of Vitoria-Gasteiz near the old quarter of the city.

We came to a main plaza called “Plaza de la Virgen Blanca” which is one of the oldest meeting points in the city.

Plaza de la Virgen Blanca in Vitoria-Gasteiz
Ray and Shelley at the base of the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca

There were some cafes and restaurants around the plaza with a larger monument in the centre. The monument called “La batalla de Vitoria” is a monument to remember the battle which took place in the city during the Napoleonic wars in 1813.

La batalla de Vitoria monument in the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, Vitoria-Gasteiz

We walked through the old quarter which dates back to the 11th century.   We came to the 11th century “wall” of Vitoria-Gasteiz which was a fortified wall to protect the city.

Section of the fortified wall of Vitoria-Gasteiz built-in the 11th century

We explored the old city centre and came across many unique and interesting buildings and architecture. Below are a few of the pictures in the old city centre of Vitoria-Gasteiz.

13th century building in centre of the old town in Victoria-Gasteiz
View from the church area to the Plaza Virgen de la blanca.
Ray overlooking the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz from the old city streets.
Plaza de España
Government building with gardens in old centre of town
Church in Vitoria-Gasteiz old centre

The city is rich with history dating as far back 581 AD. We spent the entire day exploring the streets of the old centre of the city. It was truly amazing to see such historic features in the city.

“Ados eta egun handia”

Spain

A visit to the Mercado colón in Valencia

We stopped at the Mercado Colón to explore this beautiful structure.

The Mercado Colón in Valencia

The outside facade of the Mercado has two prominent masonry facades which look similar to triumphal arches.  The arches also are decorated with beautiful ornamentation.

Shelley in front of the arch of the Mercado colón

We walked through the Mercado and explored the inside of the building.

Snail ornament in ceramic tiles in the Mercado

There was a nice water feature on the lower level of the Mercado.

Water feature on the lower level of the Mercado
Water feature with statue and plants in the lower section of the Mercado

 

The Mercado is over 4300 square meters and has different shops and restaurants throughout.

In side view of the Mercado Colón in Valencia

The Mercado was built-in 1916 and has iron work from that period throughout the roof structure. We walked through looking at different shops and restaurants and decided to stop for a drink.

Shelley and Ray in the Mercado de Colón in Valencia

We enjoyed a nice coffee and relaxed enjoying the sights and sounds of the market. We even had a visitor drop by for a quick visit and snack.

Pigeon having some crumbs under our table at the Mercado

We stayed at the market for about an hour enjoying the lively atmosphere. It was a great way to spend some time.

“Adios y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

Birthday in Valencia

We went to Valencia to celebrate Shelley’s birthday. Our day began with a 1:40 minute train ride to the city of Valencia. We arrived to a beautiful warm day in downtown Valencia. We settled in to our hotel before heading out for a walk through the city. We started out walking through the beautiful “Jardin del Turia.”

Path in the “Jardin del Turia” which leads under one of the bridges in the city.
Jardin del Turia in Valencia

The park has a very interesting past. It was originally the Turia River which overflowed its banks in October, of 1957. The flooding reached heights of over five meters (17 feet) high. At least 81 people died and thousands were displaced during the flooding.  As a result of the devastation caused by the flooding the city decided to divert the entire river through fields south of the city. After much debated and public protest the former  seven kilometres of riverbed was converted to the current park in 1986.

Map of the Jardin del Turia Park

We walked through a section of the Jardin del Turia and then headed towards the centre of the city. Along the way we came across some beautiful  building architecture, parks and statues .

Building in Valencia with ornate decor
Ornate building in Valencia

We stopped along the way to enjoy the views and admire our surroundings.

One of the arches in Valencia
Shelley and Ray in front of one of the many statues in Valencia
Shelley in front of the fountain near city hall plaza in Valencia

We walked along the streets until we reached city hall plaza.

City hall Plaza in Valencia

The streets around the plaza were cordoned off and there was a large street party going on. We stopped to check out the live music and walk through the area.

Street party with live music at Valencia City Hall Plaza

After exploring the city centre,  it was getting dark so we decided to walk back to our hotel, which was a fair distance away.  On the way back the city views changed as it got darker.

Valencia city view in the evening
The view of the City Hall Plaza at night in Valencia
Ferris wheel in Valencia
A section of “Jardin del Turia” at night

It was a long walk but very enjoyable. The city of Valencia has some beautiful features and architecturally interesting buildings.

“Adios y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

BONFIRES OF SAN JUAN

Every year for the past 90 years, Alicante has hosted the “Hougeres” and celebrated the bonfires of San Jaun. We were fortunate to be invited to our friends place to watch the “Noche de la Cremà“ which is the burning of the hougeres. We headed there early to take a walk around the hougere before going up to the apartment.

Shelley and Ray at the Hougeres

The hougere was three storeys high and had some beautiful features to it.

Detailed painting of faces on hougere
Detailed different features of the hougere

There was also a smaller hougere which was done by children which was also very impressive and beautiful.

Children’s Hougere

It was sad to think that all of the 89 hougeres in the city would be destroyed by fire later in the night. We went up to our friends apartment to spend the evening and watch the activities. We gathered on the terrace to enjoy the party and watch the crowds.

Alli and Shelley on the terrace
Ray and Augustine on the terrace

The apartment overlooks one of the main hougeres on a large street in Alicante. We had a perfect view from their terrace.

The view of the hougeres from the terrace

The view down the street was full of people and lights.

The view down the street from the terrace

We watched people gather and get ready for the burning of the hougeres. The fire truck arrived and began to set up and prepare for the burning.

Fire truck arriving at the hougere to set up for the burning

The burning  of the hougeres begins at midnight and is signaled by a large palm fireworks sent up from the Santa Barbara Castle.

After the signal we watched for the start of the burning of our hougere. There were fireworks going off throughout the city and the atmosphere was incredible. We enjoyed watching the burning of our hougere and seeing the firefighters spraying the crowd with water.

Firefighter spraying the crowd
People edging the firefighter on and getting sprayed with water

The spraying of the crowd is a ritual in the event. The crowd chants insults at them in jest and they then turn the water spray on the crowd. There is also a song which roughly translates to “Wet me fireman, please wet me. I’m dying of heat, save me from this hot flush”. The crowd also chant “agua, agua, agua”over and over until they get sprayed. It is all done in fun.

Small hougere burning and firefighters spraying the crowd with water

We put the following video together to give you an idea of the extent and amazing nature of the burning of the hougeres.  The video is only a small portion of the party that continues throughout the night.

The experience was one we will always remember. It is amazing how the Bonfires of San Juan and the Hougeres in Alicante are celebrated every year.

“Adios y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

Cycling tour of the Fogueres

We went with friends to a cycling group to tour some of the fogueres in Alicante. We arrived at the meeting place which was near the Plaza del Toros.

Shelley, Sonja’s daughter, Sonja and Ray at the start of the cycling tour

It was a very hot day and we were surprised to see so many cyclist there.

Cyclist gathered near the Plaza del Toros preparing to tour the fogueres.

We left the Plaza del Toros and headed toward our first foguere. It was tricky cycling at first because of how close we were to other cyclist.

Cyclist along the route to see fogueres

We went a few blocks and then came to our first stop. The foguere was interesting and focused on a specific topic.  It was people of all different type and nationality. The focus of the foguere was that we are all inter-connected and co-dependant.

Shelley at our first stop of the fogueres.
Foguere of different people in the world

After checking out the foguere we saw another one which was close by. This particular foguere was very impressive with ornate designs and detail. The focus of the foguere is the government corruption that is an issue in Spain.

The political Puppeteer pulling the strings
The political parties being caught up in scandals
Mariano Rajoy -Prime minister of Spain and other politicians as clowns
Mushrooms on the ground representing the public which is being fed manure by the politicians.
A maze showing the politicians actions before being ousted from office.

We enjoyed reading and looking at the different pieces of the foguere. We then got back on our bikes and headed towards our next foguere. We arrived at a huge foguere which had some spectacular art work. This foguere also focused on world politicians.

Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump with missiles pointed at each other.

The fogueres had some very pointed opinions about the nonsense that is taking place across the world. We would take our time and read each sign. It was the regular people making statements about the politician and policies that affect their lives. The signs below Trump and Kim translates roughly as “they enjoy moving boats, for them it’s just a game, we’re fed up with their big show of ego” and “poisoned songs are these serene of war, two countries face massacre our future.”  “in the “summit” we saluted and we all breathe, this is well that they speak even if they are lies to one of the other”

There were lots of details in the fogueres. Everywhere we looked you would see small details and ornate decorations.

Detailed sections of the fogueres
Shelley and Ray in front of a three-story high foguere
Some of the small detailed sections of the fogueres

We cycled for approximately three hours and then came to one foguere which was different. This one was giving away free drinks of horchata.

Shelley and Ray at a foguere during the cycling tour.

This foguere was sponsored in part by a company that made “horchata de chufa” which is a traditional Spanish drink. It is made with the chufa sage bulb and is a refreshing natural drink .

Sonja and Shelley at one of the fogueres on our cycling tour

We enjoyed the free horcheta and looked at the foguere.

Foguere focused on water use and supply
Large crowds of people throughout the viewing of the fogueres.
Foguere creatures of the sea with clocks showing time running out.

Throughout the cycling tour we saw many different fogueres and enjoyed seeing the many different pieces of artwork. We came to our last foguere of the evening which was also quite interesting.

Three story high foguere
Foguere against violence

There were so many things to see that the evening went by quickly. We really enjoyed the tour and seeing different fogueres along the way.

“Adios y que tengas un gran dia”