As we returned to Spain, our first stop was in the beautiful City of Salamanca. Here resides the oldest university in Spain, the third oldest university in the world, founded in the 1200s.
The entire old city is a UNESCO world heritage site. As you enter the old town you see that all of the buildings are constructed from the same sandstone, largely because of a quarry not far from the city.
Walking from our hotel to the square (Spain’s best Plaza Mayor), you really do see that the city is a university city, as the area is teeming with students. Seated on the tiles in the middle of the square are 3 fine arts students sketching various parts of the architecture.
As we were leaving our dinner spot in the Plaza, the entire square was simultaneously lit up; a very warm and inviting scene.
Avila
We arrived at a stop just outside Avila shortly after 9 a.m. and, after all the warm places we have been, +10 C seemed very cool (yes, I know we are being wimps!).
The place where we stopped is significant, as it was the birthplace of St. Theresa of Avila.
From a very young age, she was determined to be a Saint, like Francis of Assisi. When she was 7 years old she decided to set off to fulfill her dream. Being a young child, she did not get that far before she had to stop and rest. These 4 pillars mark the spot where Theresa stopped.
Here, her uncle sat down with her and convinced her to come back home for a few years until she was a little older, at which time she could leave and join a convent. This determined young child did exactly that, and of course eventually did become a Saint!
Holy Toledo
Entering Toledo, we stopped at a forge to be shown how the famous Toledo swords are made. Today the industry has three main customer groups - museums, collectors, and the movie industry. In fact, the swords used in the movie The Lord of the Rings were made here in Toledo.
The process of inlaying gold in the steel, which is called Damashi, is named after Damascus where the craft was perfected. Most of the swords we saw had beautiful inlaid gold.
In the days of old, the outcome of a fight depended not only on the personal ability of the fighter, but the perfection of his weapon. The Toledo swords were made of exceptionally hard steel which made them an invincible force in the hands of an expert swordsman. All European armies knew the superior quality of Toledo steel swords and many great warriors relied only on sabers of Toledan provenance.
There were 60 churches in Toledo, 13 of which were cloisters for various orders. Plus, there were 11 synagogues, the earliest of which dated back to 586 B.C. The Cathedral that still stands today was started in the 1300s and took 270 years to build.
One of the most interesting churches , now a Museum, is the Sinagoga de Santa Maria la Blanca. This Synagogue’s architecture harmoniously combines the three religious influences, Islam, Judaism and Christianity. While it looks like a mosque, it never was. It was a Synagogue built by Muslim workers around 1200, then became a Catholic Church in 1492, when Queen Isabella forced the expulsion of Jews or their conversion to Catholicism.
The city of Toledo is considered by Jews to be one of the holiest cities in Europe. Here the Muslims, Jews and Christians lived in peace for centuries. It is a pity that we cannot seem to do the same in this day and age.
The American expression “Holy Toledo” is believed to date back to the time when the Sephardic Jews immigrated to the USA and would reference their former holy city - Holy Toledo!
Madrid
On our return drive to Madrid, Alberto, our guide, was very guarded in what he told us about dinner tonight, and for a good reason!
When we arrived at the Restaurante La Castafiore, we were greeted by a goodly number of waiters. In the centre of the restaurant was a piano, so we were confident that there would be entertainment of some sort.
Partway through the first course, one of the waiters sat down at the piano and started playing some beautiful music that was recognizable but the title was elusive. Then a waitress stepped out of the kitchen and started singing “O Mio Babbino Cairo” from a Puccini opera. The entire dining room / audience was rapt as she sang her heart out.
After listening to our waiter sing Nessun Dorm from another Puccini opera (Turnadot), I was able to ask him where he learned to sing opera. In what can only be described as a small world, he told us that he learned at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
He was surprised when I told him that I knew it well as I had been to see it on one of my many visits to Buenos Aires between 2000 and 2012.
After the operatic performances, they turned to songs from various musicals and finally had everyone up dancing! A great time was had by all.
On the way back to our hotel, we took another quick tour of the city, this time down Gran Via or what North Americans know as Broadway (literally translated). He pointed out the most beautiful McDonald’s restaurant in the world.
This McDonald’s location was formerly a very high end jewelry store. They were allowed to use this location on the condition that they did not change any of the retail space, due to its historic significance. Consequently burgers are slung on marble countertops that previously displayed expensive diamonds. If you find a more upscale McDonalds, I would be interested in hearing about it!
In the morning, we had another tour of the city with a few stops along the way, including the Royal Palace. As we came from the underground parkade, Dianna was charmed by a Torero, (bull fighter) and he convinced her to have her picture taken with him.
This is the closest she will likely agree to get to a bull fight, or to a bull fighter!
While we we admiring the architecture, we noted that there was a great deal of police activity near the entrance.
We happen to be visiting on Christopher Columbus Day as they call it in the USA, so the King and Queen would be receiving a large number of guests for lunch after the completion of the parade.
This palace is Europe’s largest and the third greatest after Paris’ Versailles and Vienna’s Schoenbrunn. It has 2,800 rooms (imagine that cleaning bill!) and today is only used for ceremonial purposes.
After a couple more stops we were on our way to Segovia. This is a beautiful medieval town with a 2000 year old 9 mile Roman built aqueduct and water channel.
The aqueduct is an impressive and massive structure with 20,000 - 24,000 blocks of stone (you count them!), all held together with no mortar. Imagine the skill of the architects and builders in those days. Even with all of our skills and technology, we cannot seem to replicate the feats of the ancient builders!
The cathedral in the main square of Segovia was started in 1525 and completed more than 50 years later. It’s neo-gothic style makes it quite striking.
After lunch our last stop in Segovia was the Alcázar (Palace).
This structure was started by the Moors and must therefore date back to between the 700s, when they arrived, and 1069, when they left the area. The Spanish monarchs then continued to build on the base. It became one of the favourite residences of the monarchs of Castile (one of the major areas of Spain). It was a palace, then a prison, then a Royal Artillery School and finally a museum. Some say it was the inspiration for Walt Disney’s castle in Sleeping Beauty. You decide!
On the way back to the bus, Gord and I have the opportunity to walk back along the Arab built walls surrounding Segovia.
Today has truly been a walk back in time.
On our last evening with group, we had our farewell dinner. On the way, Alberto explained that we would have some musical entertainment by a group of students that were (supposedly) singing to earn money to pay their tuition fees. The group is called Tuna Universitaria de Madrid.
Now, when you look at these guys, you have to wonder how long they have been in university, or perhaps more correctly, how long since they have been to university! However, they were good sports and good musicians, and a good time was had by all.
We all said goodbye to each other and bid our farewells, adieus and adioses. This was a delightful group to travel with and, as Alberto said, while we may all have been from different parts of the world and have many differences, it is more important to focus on our similarities as our fellow traveller John had so eloquently said.
Of course, this kind of trip could not happen with out the excellent skills of our professional, proficient, personable and very knowledgeable tour director, Alberto.
And Alberto would be the first to tell you that he sleeps very well at night knowing that our bus and luggage arrangements are left in the extremely capable hands of Paulo, our wonderful driver from Portugal.
Paulo, você é um motorista de ônibus muito profissional! (You can translate that from Portuguese if you want!)
Our next installment will be from Barcelona, so we say:
Hasta luego,
DGSP
