Tag Archives: Chaput foot prints

Oldest restaurant in the world in Madrid

January 2, 2023 chaput@live.com

We were in Madrid and exploring the streets when we came across the restaurant called Casa Botin. It is known as the oldest restaurant in the world and was founded in 1725. This is according to the Guinness Book of Records.

Shelley Kathy and Dan outside of the oldest restaurant in the world Botin in Madrid

It was featured on several documentaries and was listed by Forbes magazine’s as third place of the world’s top 10 classic restaurants. It is renowned for its delicious suckling pig.

We took a look at the outside of the restaurant and noticed a mockup model of the interior of the restaurant in the window. We stopped and checked out the layout of the nearly 300 year old restaurant.

Inside the restaurant was packed with patrons and it was very lively with lots of laughter and chatter..

We decided to ask on the off chance that we could get a table for dinner, even though we did not have a reservation. We were greeted by a friendly waiter who after looking for a few minutes found us a table. We were very fortunate to be able to be accommodated and had a table on the second floor. We walked along the main floor past the kitchen area which as we looked in we could see the wood fired oven and an array of meals being prepared.

Suckling pigs and preparing area inside the kitchen area.

So upstairs we went for a meal at the oldest restaurant. We ordered several different meals including the suckling pig. We had some wine and enjoyed the amazing atmosphere of the restaurant.

Ray and Shelley at the Botin Restaurant in Madrid

Kathy and Dan at the Botin Restaurant in Madrid

After enjoying our very tasty meals we mentioned to the waiter that we had seen a documentary on the Botin Restaurant. He was very friendly and we even were given a quick tour of the lower area of the restaurant which was quite interesting.

Dan walking down the stairs into the lowest level of the Botin restaurant in Madrid

Shelley, Kathy and Dan in the basement level of Botin Restaurant in Madrid

Down in the lowest level of the restaurant we could see the old curved brink walls of an ancient wine cellar. You could almost see the history come out of the walls. Earnest Hemingway was a regular at the Botin restaurant along with many other celebrities over the centuries. It was truly a great experience to see and have a meal at the Botin restaurant.

“Disfruta cada día y la vida”

Spain

Vallodolid

November 5, 2022 chaput@live.com

We stayed for a few days in the city of Valladolid which is located in the autonomous region of Castile and León. This is also in the Riebera del Duero area. The city of 300 thousand is very beautiful with lots to see and do.

Statue in front of the Calvary academy in Valladolid. Spain

There were lots of statues that appeared to be randomly placed throughout the city.

Statue of person wearing a pointed hood which hides the identity. Traditionally this is done on the holy week where their faces are covered in mourning, and also as a sign of shame for the sins they have committed throughout the year. .

Many times we would be walking along a street and come across a bronze statue of some kind.

Bronze statue of a walking man with umbrella, Shelley taking a stroll with him.

It was easy to see where people sat or touched the statues by the polish on the bronze.

Bronze statue of a person with suitcase and umbrella- Note the polish of the suitcase where people have used as a seat

One in particular that we came across was part of a fountain and was a little bit unexpected and surprised us.

As we got closer to this particular statues it was clear that they were naked men. It was not hard to see where the bronze was polished.

There was a beautiful park located in the centre of the city, so we decided to walk through and check it out.

It wasn’t long after we entered the park that we were being followed.

We stopped to take a selfie at one of the fountains located in the park.

We explored some of the many different churches in Valladolid. They were very ornate and quite beautiful.

We explored the streets of Valladolid and worked our way to the Plaza Mayor.

Shelley and Ray in Plaza Mayor in Valladolid Spain

The Pisuerga River flows through the city and has beautiful trails on the shoreline. We walked the trail for a while exploring this area of the city.

The city of Valladolid was a great experience and we enjoyed our time very much. I can see us returning in the future to explore more of this city.

“La vida se trata de las aventuras que tomas y los recuerdos que haces.”

Spain

Bodega Remigio de Salas Jalón experience

October 31, 2022 chaput@live.com

We went to explore the Riebera del Duero wine region of Spain. It is one of the top wine making regions in Spain. The area is located on the extensive, elevated northern plateau of the Iberian Peninsula. It follows the Duero river and has ideal conditions for wine making.

View of part of the Riebera del Duero region in Spain.

We were excited to visit some of the bodegas and experience some wine tours. We began with a visit to the bodega called Remigio de Salas Jalón located in the highest part of the urban centre of Dueñas. It is located in the side of a mountain and the majority of the bodega is located inside manmade caves and is underground. We did a little exploring in the area before heading to the bodega.

Shelley on the mountain side near the bodega

The road up to the bodega Remigio de Salas Jalón

The entrance to the bodega Remigio de Salas Jalón

This area has a long history of ancient wineries and the Salas family has maintained an authentic age-old wine tradition. The Salas have been making wine since 1738 on this land. This is the fifth generation of the Salas family that has followed in the tradition of wine making on this land.

We were fortunate to have had a private tour of the winery and explored some of the caves that hold the wine. The grapes are transported to the bodega by tractor and then brought into the bodega by a conveyor type system.

Grapes brought to the bodega for processing into wine

Wine grapes being loaded into the bodega through a conveyor type system

We began our tour in the main entrance area and before long we were walking down a corridor that went into the dug caves created in the mountain side. It felt as if we were walking back in time to a different era.

One of the corridors in the cave system of the bodega.

The entire bodega was very impressive but the most unique thing was the Original Roman era wine press that was still inside the bodega.

The wheel section of the Roman wine press.

The lever area where the wine would be pressed.

Once we had toured the bodega of course we had to sample some of their wines. It was a great experience and very memorable.

“El vino es un pasaporte al mundo.” – Thom Elkjer

Italy

The Colosseum in Rome

October 3, 2022 chaput@live.com

One of the highlights of Rome is the Colosseum. It is considered and listed as one of the new wonders of the World. For us this has been on our list of must see for years. This amazing structure is 52 meters high, which is the equivalent of a 17-storey structure.

It is an amazing structure with the arch architectural element. There are 80 arches over four floors that creates the famous elliptical shape of the Colosseum. The history of the colosseum is quite interesting. In fact in ancient Romans times it was called ” Flavian Amphitheater” which came from the name of the imperial family Flavia.

Shelley and Ray in front of the Colosseum in Rome

We were awed by the sheer size of the pillars, arches and overall size of the colosseum.

The inner section of the entry pillars of the colosseum

The amphitheater was a massive project and was designed to seat over 55,000 people. The amphitheater’s construction was funded with the spoils seized from the Jewish Temple after Roman crushed the Jewish Revolt of 70 AD. Stolen Jewish artifacts not only funded the building of the Colosseum, but Jewish slaves seized during the revolt built the building.

Image of the massive size of the colosseum in Rome.

At the end of the construction, the inauguration was celebrated with extraordinary games and fights that lasted 100 days.

We were fortunate to have an in depth tour of the colosseum with access to the underground area. A truly amazing structure and design known as the hypogeum. It was a network of tunnels and chambers distributed in two levels where gladiators and animals were kept before appearing in the arena above.

Lower rooms and hallways of the colosseum

We walked through the underground areas and could just imagine the chaos and sounds of the gladiators, animals and people.

We saw a recreation of the elevator type structures used to raise gladiators and animals into the colosseum arena.

Recreation of Roman elevator system in colosseum

recreation of a cage area of elevator at colosseum

After exploring the lower level of the colosseum we went to the reconstructed section of the arena floor where gladiators would have fought. The view from the arena floor gave us a unique perspective of just what the gladiators would have seen.

Shelley and Ray on the colosseum arena floor area.

We then explored the upper areas of the colosseum and saw the areas where over 50,000 spectators would watch the battles. Senators and the wealthy had reserved seats engraved in marble.

View of the colosseum walls under the floor.

It was one of those pinch me moments touring the colosseum and seeing such a unique and awe inspiring historical structure.

“afferrare la vita e non rimandare a domani cosa puoi fare oggi”

Italy

Rome Italy

September 27, 2022 chaput@live.com

Rome for over a millennium was the centre of power and controlled most of the world. It has a complex and deep history, so we decided to take some time and explore this amazing city. We walked through many of the streets that had remnants of Roman ruins and historic sites. We were in awe at the richness of the history. We went to the normal tourist sites like the Trevi Fountain. It is an 18th-century fountain in the Trevi district in Rome. It is very impressive standing 26.3 metres high and 49.15 metres wide. This is the largest Baroque fountain in the city or Rome and one of the most famous fountains in the world.

Shelley and Ray in front of the Trevi Fountain

The ornate statues in the Trevi Fountain in Rome

We also went to see the Spanish Steps which climb a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and by the Trinità dei Monti church, at the top.

There was a police presence there and they were watching the tourist and keeping them from loitering too much or sitting down on the steps.

We of course had to walk up the 135 steps to the top. The view from the top of the Spanish Steps gave a nice view of Rome.

The view from the top of the Spanish Steps in Rome.

At the base of the Spanish Stairs is the Fontana della Barcaccia .

The fountain of Barcaccia, which is fountain of the boat in Italian.

We walked to different piazzas and almost each one had amazing sites and statues. We came to the National Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II which is also known as Altare della Patria meaning Altar of the Fatherland in english..

It is an amazing and impressive building located in the center of ancient Rome.