Tag Archives: Spain

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

The city of Cuenca, Spain

We went to Cuenca to visit this unique and quaint city. It is known for its long history and unique buildings and is classified as a UNESCO world site. The city was built as a defensive city in the Caliphate mountains by the Moors. Cuenca is unique because it is a well-preserved medieval fortified city. It is also known for its “casas colgadas”  (hanging Houses) built on the sheer cliffs that overlook the Huecar river.

We went to the local tourism office and spoke to the clerk who suggested we take a taxi to the top of the city and walk down the medieval old quarter of Cuenca.

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View from the mountain in Cuenca Spain

We arrived at the top of the city at the parking lot of the Castilo and took in the breath-taking views.

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Cliffs of Cuenca Spain
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Ray, Brad, Louise, and Shelley at the top of the Castillo Parking lot in Cuenca, Spain

We walked slowly down the steep cobble-stoned streets working our way through the amazing city.

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View of the old section of Cuenca Spain
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View of the buildings on the cliffs of Cuenca Spain

Along the route, we came across a side path that went under the roadway that was beautiful.

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Path leading under the roadway in Cuenca

The view from the path provided a stunning view of the Cuenca valley.

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Path in Cuenca Spain
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View of the valley in Cuenca Spain

After taking a break and looking at the beautiful vistas, we headed back down the streets of Cuenca towards the central Plaza de Mayor.

There were 11-century old buildings  along the way, some of which were  built on the sheer edge of the cliffs of Cuenca.

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Building on the cliff edge in Cuenca Spain
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Hanging house in Cuenca Spain

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We arrived at the busy Plaza de Mayor which is the main square in the old medieval section of Cuenca. There were numerous  restaurants and coffee shops in the square.

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A partial view of the Plaza Mayor of Cuenca

We decided to take a break and have some snacks and refreshments before heading on to explore more of the city of Cuenca. The city of Cuenca has so many amazing sites and unique things that we will do several blog post on it. Below is a video capturing some of the amazing sites of Cuenca.

https://youtu.be/WLkYYaAAkEc

“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.

Spain

A visit to Madrid

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We decided to take the train and spend a few days in Madrid. It is very convenient having the high-speed train system in Alicante. We headed to the train station and boarded our train. It only took us about 20 minutes in total to get to the station and board the train.

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Shelley, Louise and Brad on the High-speed train to Madrid

The train ride took two and a half hours to arrive at the main train station in Madrid. The Atocha Train Station is the largest and oldest station in Madrid.

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Train track area of Atocha Train Station
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Outside view of the Atocha train station in Madrid

Once we arrived at Madrid it was a short walk to the hotel. We dropped off our luggage and headed to the “Hop On Hop Off” bus. We took the “Hop on Hop Off”  bus which gave us a great tour of the city.

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Hop On Hop Off Bus in Madrid

We managed to see a lot of the popular sites along the way. It was a nice way to travel and get a feel for the city. Below are a few of the sites we saw while traveling on the Hop On Hop Off bus.

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The bus took us to the modern section of Madrid and we enjoyed seeing some of the newer building.

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Madrid football stadium

After we toured the city by bus, we headed off on foot to explore the city. We came across some very interesting locations, including this one which is a building that has real grass, flowers and plants growing on the outside wall of the building.

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Building with grass, flowers and plants growing on the outside wall.

The City of Madrid is beautiful and has lots of history. We enjoyed walking the city and taking in all the sites and sounds. Over the course of the two days, we were in Madrid we walked over 35 kilometers. It was a full two days but a very enjoyable time.

 

“adios y que tenga un gran dia”