Ávila, away!

R.I.P. Canon PowerShot

This weekend, I spend a day in Ávila, a city about an 1 1/2 hour outside Salamanca by train. As I walked on its medieval wall, I tripped, and watched in horror as my digital camera careened into the distance. I made sure to look away but I'm pretty sure I heard the sound of it smacking into the ground. Then, as I frantically descended the steps of the wall to retrieve it, I noticed a man ha
d it in his hands and was walking away with it! After chasing him down, I got it back. I probably should have just let him take it because the thing is completely busted. Since then, I have replaced ye olde Canon with another 80 euro Canon camera.

Luckily I managed to retrieve a few photos before my camera gave out. I'll keep this to a photojournalism post, with pictures and detailed captions.

Basilica de San Vicente is an example of Romanesque architecture.
According to legend, St. Vincent was buried here and then the
basilica was built over their tombs. 

There is a 15th century Asian-like canopy that
 stands above the sarcophagus of Saint Vincent, shown on the right.

Me on top of the wall (muralla) of Ávila.

Las murallas de Ávila were completed between
11th and 14th centuries. These are the most complete
fortifications in Spain. There are 88 towers and the wall spans 2,516 meters.

The Cathedral in Ávila was built straight into the
wall and is considered to be the first Gothic Cathedral
 in Spain. It was planned as a Cathedral/fortress.

Another view showing the Cathedral built into the wall.

Plaza Mayor of Ávila.

View of the walls and buildings inside the walls.

Sleepless in Segovia

Vista from the alcazar showing the Segovia Cathedral and Sierra Guaderrama.

Following a two-and-a-half hour bus ride on little sleep, I thought I was going to sleep through my time in Segovia. At the end of the day, however, I was still sleepless...but I struck gold. A day in Segovia made for an unforgettable experience. I craned my neck to see the buttresses and flemish stained glass windows of its 16th century cathedral. I walked a matter of yards to its first century Roman aqueduct. And I turned a corner to face its brilliant Alcazar. To a visitor unfamiliar with Segovia, down streets in any direction from the plaza mayor await sights that contend with the imagination.

Catedral

Inside the Segovia Cathedral.

Adorned with flemish stained-glass windows, three Gothic vaults, and a bell tower, this chapel finished out the era of Gothic style with a flourish. My favorite part in this free visit was exploring the 20 chapels. Filled with triptych paintings and sculptures, this is like a box of chocolates for aspiring artists. Each exhibition showcases something different from the solemnity of a reclining Christ figure in "Capilla del Cristo Yaciente" to a reredo (decoration around an altar) by José Benito Churriguera. After having some struggles with the audio guide, I had to do some research myself.

Acueducto 

Soaking in the sun by the acueducto.

This aqueduct built by the Romans without mortar, relies on equilibrium and gravity for support. Originally, I thought the aqueduct, which spans for several kilometers, was made of arches but, in fact, arches were only placed where needed to keep the aqueduct level—meaning the Romans cut through hills and built arches over dips in terrain to create this transport system. I thought one of the most awesome parts of the visit was looking at the holes drilled into the side of the rocks for a pulley system used by the builders. A pincer (for all intents and purposes) was placed onto the rock and when force was applied, the pincers contract, boring holes into either side of the rock and then allowing workers to lift the rocks with ease. Just knowing that those holes demonstrate a crucial construction innovation making this structure possible made my respect for their focused creative abilities rise even more. My favorite architectural piece I've seen in Spain thus far. Period. End of discussion. I liked this aqueduct so much so, in fact, that hope to make it down to Mérida to look at the aqueduct there as well—comprised of brick and stone, but not nearly as well preserved.

Alcázar

Impressive facade of the alcazar
(all but original—since it has been rebuilt time and time again)

The Alcázar (castle) of Segovia projects out of a rocky cliff in Segovia. Often thought of as inspiration for the Disney logo and castle, the building was originally an Arab fortress and was later used frequently as a residence for the royals of Castilla y Leon. After that, the purpose of the fort again changed—becoming the Royal Artillery School in the 18th century and, a century later, the Alcazar was made into a military college.

The sheer size of the building, and the high bridge leading into the fortress, demonstrated to me how perfect this would have been as a point of defense for the Arabs. The area open to visitors shows the range of usage seen by the building from the monarch's throne room and armory (adorned with full suits of armor as well as crossbows, swords, and halberds) room used by the Royal Artillery School. As the group finished walking through the many rooms, we ascended the 150 steps up the "torre nuevo" or John II tower and found an unbelievable panoramic view including the city and cathedral along with the sierras in the distance and expansive plains and rolling hills to the west.

On top of the alcazar with Segovia in the background.

The little things:

-Looking at the gazebo in the plaza mayor and turning 180 degrees to see the cathedral. I really like the juxtaposition of vibrant daily life (vida cotidiana) and remnants of the past.

-Sharing a bag of roasted chestnuts as the temperature dropped.

-Savoring each bite of a chocolate covered cone filled with nata (in this case, a type of whipped cream)

-Realizing that my bus driver shared an uncanny resemblance to Harrison Ford (check slideshow for a photo)

-Listening to Spanish students talk about their anatomy test on the way back to Salamanca...a reminder that kids (even in the land of enchantment) stress out about school.

Salamanca II: La dorada

In the last post, I covered my weekday schedule and now I can describe my experiences in the city to you.  In my first few weeks, I have taken it upon myself to become familiar with the city's main cultural points of interest, and will describe the Plaza Mayor, the new and old cathedrals, the University of Salamanca, the Puente Romano, and—my personal favorite—Convento de San Esteban. Salamanca's buildings are made from sandstone and they take on different colors as the sun sets—giving Salamanca the title "La Dorada" or the Golden City—thus I have decided to call this post "La Dorada," the cultural counterpart to my other cut-and-dry post, "Mi casa y mi horario."

Plaza Mayor—corazón de la ciudad

City hall and the clock. When I took this picture, the
temperature was in the mid 60s—a rarity in
typical Salamanca winters.

General meeting point for people in Salamanca. The plaza was built in 1755 and originally was used for bullfighting. People will meet under the clock tower and go grab tapas or walk around town. I often meet other students here, including people from Salamanca. Through the university, I can participate in "intercambios," where I meet with native Spanish speakers and we spend half the time speaking English and the other half speaking Spanish. So far, I have met José—a 25 year old studying at the university, María—another student, and María Jesus and Alejandro—a mother and son. I have learned a lot of useful colloquial phrases from all of them. We also check out some of the local hotspots including this shop called "Sweet," which is basically the Sweet Factory except it also has an olive bar in the back...not sure how many people choose this as their go-to olive place.

Catedrales

On top of the Catedral Vieja.

During our cultural tour of Salamanca, I visited the Old Cathedral (Catedral Vieja de Santa María) built in the 14th century employing a Gothic Style. Though the tour was truncated, we were able to make our way into the bell tower and onto the roof of the building. With sunny skies, we had a great view of the city.







Universidad de Salamanca

Facade of the University of Salamanca
(the building where I have half my classes
is to the left of the frame).

The university was founded in the 12th century. The oldest university in Spain and the third oldest in Europe still operating today, the university was recognized by Pope Alexander IV in the 13th century. It was here that Columbus lobbied to geographers about the importance about charting a course for the Indies. Here, also, academics discussed the rights of indigenous people in America and even actively participated in the Council of Trent—one of the most important councils of the Catholic Church.

Fun fact: UC Berkeley gave a Redwood to the university as a gift. The tree still stands in a university patio (you can find the picture to my slideshow).

The building that I have classes in is right next to the facade of the university—where students now look for a frog carved in amongst tributes to Ferdinand and Isabella in hopes of receiving good luck in their studies.

Patio de Escuelas

In my free time before class in the morning, I like to spend a few moments in the university patio (Patio de Escuelas) and admire the symmetry of the arches. If I sit at a certain angle (blocking out the cell tower nearby from view), I feel like I'm in a completely different era. The walk from my host's apartment to the university takes about 30 minutes, a walk I now enjoy because it forces some exercise into my day.






Puente Romano

Toro de Salamanca.

This is a look at the Puente Romano, facing
away from the city center.

This forms part of the 'Plata' (silver) Roman road linking Astorga and Merida. Many believe the bridge was built in first century A.D. This was the first Roman monument I saw in Spain, and I still cannot quite process the age of the bridge and how easy it is for me to access on a day-to-day basis. After thinking about how old the bridge was, I saw the "toro de Salamanca," a bull sculpted out of stone—a piece of prehistoric art. Apparently the bull lost its head after being dropped into the Rio Tormes. The Romans used these prehistoric pieces of stone as materials for their structures as stone is fairly hard to come across in these parts. Though headless, the toro still carries with it a fascinating history. Many people from the city cross the bridge on their daily walks or jogs and on the return trip they can see the old cathedral and much of the university.



Convento de San Esteban

This is a picture of the convent from Wikipedia...much better
than the few I took in the rain.

Me in the cloister. At this point, no one else was visiting
the inside of the convent.

On a saturday, I decided to make a solo day trip to the Convento de San Esteban. For only a couple euros, I made my way through the 16th century halls that replaced the original 13th century Dominican monastery (according to tradition, Christopher Columbus stayed in the earlier building). The facade of the church depicts the martyrdom of St. Stephen and contains the work of various architects. The church contains Gothic and Renaissance influences and, inside, there is a main reredos covered with gold and intricately decorated. The cloister ("Claustro de los reyes,"my favorite), contains arches in a Renaissance/Gothic style and contains a shrine in the middle. The sacristy, build in the 17th century, has walls in classical style. Since no one was inside, I decided to test the echo a little bit and the acoustics were awesome...in hindsight this was probably a bit inappropriate.