Spain

Xiringuito Postiguet

We went down to the postiguet beach where there is a great little chiringuito.  It was a great evening with a full moon.

Shelley and Ray at portiguet beach

The chiringuito is located directly on the beach and has a great view of the castle and Mediterranean sea.

Chiringuito on Postiguet beach in Alicante.

There was cuban music playing at the chiringuito and people were gathering to listen. We found some seats and settled in to listen to the tunes.

The cuban band playing music at the chiringuito

We ran into some of our friends there as well.

Suzanne, Terry, Eric and Dana at the chiringuito

The music was very good and more and more people gathered around the chiringuito as the night went on. There were people dancing on the beach, even Shelley joined in.

People dancing at the chiringuito

We had a great evening listening to some fantastic cuban music on the beach of the mediterranean sea.

“Adios y tengas un gran dia”

Spain

Sunday walk in Alicante

We went for a walk Sunday morning to the marina and boardwalk areas of Alicante. We wanted  to check out an art exhibit that was there.  As we approached the marina area, we could see large steel frames lined up in rows on the boardwalk.

The Sebastião Salgado ‘Genesis” exhibit had large steel frames with large photographs on  each display.  We walked along looking at each photograph. Some of the photos were of nature while others were portraits of people.

Photograph of an elephant from Africa,

Photograph of Iceberg near south pole

The exhibit was quite interesting with great photos from across the world.

Shelley and Ray at the Sebastião Salgado ‘Genesis” exhibit.

It was a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Demons, creatures and strange sculptures

We walked by a park called la florida which was near a church in Victoria which had a large alligator. We stopped to check out the Alligator and then the church.

Ray with Alligator in front of the Catedral de Maria Inmaculada

After “wrestling the alligator” we headed to the “Catedral de Maria Inmaculada” to look at the ornate sculptures that surrounded each arch. The cathedral was built in 1912 in a neo-gothic style.

Ornate arches of the Catedral de Maria Inmaculada in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

When we began looking at the sculptures up close we could see some very different and strange ones. Below are a few of the sculptures we found on the outside of the church.

Chained dragon with two elf looking creatures

After looking at the sculptures on the outside of the church we went inside to explore the interior.

Inside view of the “Catedral de Maria Inmaculada”

We noticed ornate sculptures on every pillar in the church. They were also very different and evil-looking.

Man strangling another man
Man picking or poking the nose of another man
Dragon with monkey head
Creature standing over the skull with crown
Devil faced creature with human body

Pig on human body holding a woman’s head severed in his hands
Man with arm around eagle
A dragon with the head of a human in his mouth.
A man pecking out the eye of another man with tool
A person pulling out the tongue of a dragon

One of the sculptures that I thought was really different was the one below.

Sculpture of an animal creature eating the intestines of a human

The significance of these sculptures within a catholic church is unknown to me. I have read that these sculptures signify the tormented souls of individuals in the afterlife. It is certainly different from what we normally see in the catholic church.

“Ados eta egun handia”

Spain

Tapa Bar in San Sebastián

2 Comments

We went to an amazing tapa bar called “Nagusia Lau” in San Sebastián.

Tapa Bar Nagusia Lau in San Sebastián in Spain

Inside the bar were tapas of every imaginable type laid out on the bar area.

Tapas laid pout on the bar for choosing by customers.

When we entered the bar the place was packed with people. We were lucky to find a table near the back of the bar. We sat down and our waitress arrived and explained how the tapa bar worked. We go to the bar and select and put on our plate whatever tapas we want. We then tell the person behind the bar our table number and he notes the tapas on our plate.

Shelley walking along the bar selecting her tapas.

Selecting our tapas was not easy because of the large selection of interesting and tasty looking tapas. We walked along the bar looking at the different ones trying to select the ones we wanted.

some of the tapas for choosing.

We chose different tapas and headed back to our table. Each tapa was very tasty but there were a few that were extremely delicious, “Gambas” and “Pulpo”

“gambas” scrimp in a fresh sauce with peppers
“Pulpo” octopus sliced in garlic butter with paprika and other spices

We really enjoyed sampling some of the great tapas in San Sebastián and the Nagusia Lau Tapa bar was a great experience.

“Ados eta egun handia”

Spain

A Barrell of fun

We went to a bar called “Bodega del Riojano” in Santander Spain. This was a very interesting and quaint spot with an unassuming front entrance.

Entrance to the Bodega del Riojano in Santander, Spain

We went inside and immediately were impressed by the atmosphere and the unique decorations. There were barrels tops all painted with different images throughout the entire bar.

Barrels with unique paintings on each one above the bar area.
Barrels painted in the hallway of the Bodega del Riojano

We found a nice area to sit down and enjoy a drink . We could see that each barrel was painted with a different style and look. Some of the barrels had images that were photographs while the majority of them were hand painted.

Shelley, Ray, Mark and Vicki in the Bodega Del Riojano in Santander

The bar was a lot larger than it appeared with a large dinning area towards the rear of the building.

Part of the dinning area in the Bodega del Riojano
Barrels on display in a section of the Bodega del Riojana

There was some very interesting barrel paintings, including our favourite one. When you look closely at the painting you can see that one eye is missing. At the bottom of the paining is a bowl with an eye in with the olives.  The painting is done in a somewhat cubism style.

Barrel Painting entitled “Baco Cosecha 59” In the Bodega del Riojano

What was very interesting is that every barrel was painted by a different artist. The above barrel was painted by Sergio del Pozo Cossío, in 1994 “Baco Cosecha 59”.

Below are a few of the 126 barrels that are displayed in the Bodega del Riojano.

Artist Victor Merino
Artist Ricardo Zamorano Molina
Artist Pedro Flores
Artist Javier Vila Tierra Trágame
Entitled Peces
Artist Ana, Paillole

The Bodega del Riojano was a very unique spot and we enjoyed our time exploring the different barrels.

“Ados eta egun handia”

Life is too short to wait for adventure!