Tag Archives: Spain culture

Spain

The city of Cadiz Spain

We went to the city of Cadiz Spain which is in the south of Spain. Cadiz is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Spain and one of the oldest in western Europe. The Spanish navy has been stationed in Cadiz since the 18th century.

We decided to walk through the old section of Cadiz exploring the narrow streets and admiring the historic buildings.

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Narrow streets in old quarter of Cadiz Spain
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Typical historic building of Cadiz

We came to a large central plaza where people were enjoying the day at the cafes and pubs.

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Main Plaza in old quarter of Cadiz Spain

We walked through the plaza enjoying the hustle and bustle of people. We came to the Cathedral in the plaza which was quite nice.

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Cathedral in Cadiz Spain

We walked along the streets until we came across the ruins of a Roman Theater which was partially excavated. It is believed that the theater was built in the 1st century BC and one of the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It could hold more than 20,000 people and was mentioned in Roman writings.

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Roman Theater wall from 1st century BC in Cadiz
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Roman Theater remains in Cadiz Spain
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Roman Theater the view of the seating area

We went into the Roman Theater and explored the site. It was truly amazing to see the ruins knowing that they were built in the first century BC. We were able to enter underground and see parts of the Theater from below.

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Archway to below grade of the theater
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inside the underground passageways of the theater

Inside the passageways, we could see the walls which were pitted and worn over the years.

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The walls of the underground passageways

After exploring the underground passageways, we went into the museum section of the Theater.

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Shelley in the museum section of the Roman Theater

We read about the history of the theater as well as to the discovery of the ruins after being excavated in 1980.

Afterward, we headed to the walkway along the edge of the city. The  views along the walkway were beautiful. We could see the entire coastal area of Cadiz.

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Walkway along the coast of Cadiz Spain

We stopped to admire the views and enjoy the beautiful sunshine.

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Louise and Bard on the coast of Cadiz Spain
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Shelley at the coast of Cadiz Spain

We walked along the waterfront for a while then headed to the park before heading back home. The park area was nicely groomed and was a relaxing walk.

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There were statues and nice shaded areas to sit and relax.

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Blaz De Lezo Statue in the park in Cadiz

“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

Abanico (Handfan) in Spain

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One of the things we have enjoyed in our adventures in Spain is the culture. The Spanish tradition of the “abanico”  is interesting. The use of the abanico (Fan ) is a long-standing tradition in Spain. The use of the fan in Spain began around the 13th century   when fans from the Middle East were brought back by Crusaders.

The tradition of the fan was originally used for cooling a person in the heat of the Spanish weather. It is alleged that the fan was also used as a form of secret coded messages. The “secret” fan language was a means to deal with the restrictive social etiquette. In fact, one of our Spanish friends told us how her mother communicated with her father before they were married through the fan secret language.

The secret language is believed to be as follows:

Open fan over the chest showing the design “Yes”
Open fan over the chest showing the back “No”
Open fan covering one of the cheeks “I like you”
Wave fan very fast: “I really like you”
Wave fan very slowly: “I am not interested”
Open fan covering your nose “I want to see you”
Open fan covering your chin “I want to talk to you”
Closed fan near the heart: “I love you”
Open fan placed over lips: “Kiss me”
Close fan waving; “I am thinking about it”
Hit close fan against hand “Leave me alone”
Open and close the fan: “I am upset”
Open fan waving energetically on one side “Don´t come now, other people around”

The “abanico” is still very popular in Spain and it is not uncommon to see women waving the fan when they are hot. The abanicos are sold extensively throughout the country and it is not uncommon to see tourist buying a cheap fan as a souvenir.

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Abanicos on display in Barcelona souvenir store for sale
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Numerous abanicos on sale at a local department store in Alicante

The abanicos range in price from $1 euro up into the hundreds of dollars. The handcrafted artisan style fans are very beautiful and a piece of art. We looked at some fans on display that were quite expensive and locked inside a display case.

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Expensive abanicos on display in locked case at local department store

The style and diversity of the abanicos are truly amazing. There are some for women’s small hand purses, evening classic style and some are works of art used to accent a women’s clothing. We bought a fan to remind us of the tradition. Can you tell which secret Shelley is saying in fan language?

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“adios y que tenga un gran dia”

 

 

Spain

a visit to the Yelmo cinema

We have been resting and taking it easy since getting back to Spain. We have adjusted to the six-hour time change and are now back into our routines. Last night we decided to go to see a movie at the local theater.  We walked to the Yelmo Cinema which is about ten minutes away and is located in the Puerta de Alicante Mall. We went to see the Movie “Star Trek Beyond” which was playing in Spanish.

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Star Trek Beyond Movie Poster

I went to the lineup to purchase our tickets and asked the clerk in my best Spanish  “Hola, dos billettes por la cine Star Trek Beyond, por favor” She looked at me like I was talking gibberish and asked me to repeat myself.  This time, I spoke slower and repeated it again, then she said (in Spanish) oh you mean “Star Trek: Más allá”.  Yup still working on the Spanish communication…

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Line up for tickets and refreshments combined at Yelmo cinema

We bought our tickets for a grand total of $4.50 euros each and went to enter the cinema. The girl taking the tickets informed us that we had to wait until the other show was finished in about fifteen minutes. We decided to walk around the lobby of the theater and look around. As we were waiting we came across some info on the Yelmo fan card. It is a points card similar to the Scene card for  Cineplex theaters in Canada. We decided we would join and get a Yelmo fan card. I went back up to the girl at the counter and asked her in my best Spanish, how do we get the Yelmo fan  card. She explained the process and gave us two application forms. We filled out the forms and paid our $2.50 euro each for the membership. This provides us with one free movie each and discounts on everything from snacks to entry into the movies. We are now proud owners of a Yelmo Fan cinema card.

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Yelmo Cinema Fan card

We watched the Star Trek movie in Spanish. It was very difficult for us to grasp what was being said in Spanish for several reasons. We have never studied scientific terms in Spanish and of course, they were talking very fast, which made it almost impossible to follow along. We sat there a little confused at times but still enjoyed the movie. It is fair to say we are going to watch this movie again, but this time in English.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”