cities

CITIES VISITED IN SPAIN

AVILIA
This town was beautiful. The walls that surround the old part of the city were built of stone, and were very thick. The church was old, People today still lived and worked within the old city walls. It was interesting to see the buildings and walls that were built hundreds of years ago, and the ATM machine that is a product of the 20th century. The shops in the town sold ice cream and other food of this time, but you could climb the tower like the knights of past times to see the area beyond the walls.

EL ESCORIAL
El Escorial monastery was huge. It is said that it contains 30 miles of corridors, 16 court yards, and over 1000 rooms. King Philip had this building built for the purpose of burying the royal families. The tombs in the basement contain the bodies of past kings, queens, children, and other relatives of the royal family. El Escorial is only about a 45 minute drive from Madrid, and about 3000 feet higher in elevation, so this building was also used a summer home for the Royal Family to escape the heat of Madrid.

MADRID
Madrid is a huge, metropolitan city. The population of around four million people work and live in very different parts of the city. One section of the city is very old. The buildings reflect the Moorish influence, and the streets are narrow and winding. Another section is more modern. The Royal Palace is huge, and built of gray stone. There are fountains and archs throughout the city that commemorate events and times of the history and literature of Spain and Madrid. Many people live above the business buildings in apartments. I did not see any single family homes during the bus tour of Madrid. The Prado is one of the most famous museums in Europe. Our time there was short, but the paintings and sculptures we saw were beautiful.

SALAMANCA
This university town was interesting. We walked from our hotel to the Plaza Mayor at 10:30 P.M. The town was alive, even though it was a Sunday night. There were shops still open, and people meeting in the square. It was interesting to see the shops that contained modern clothing, accessories, and gifts housed in the old buildings that were built in the 16th century.
The university was wonderful. It was made of stone, and very cold. The rooms that we saw had hard wooden benches that students sat on. The chapel was beautiful, and is still used today for weddings. This university is the third oldest in Europe, and is used still used as a school.
The Old and New Cathedrals are side by side, and are very different. The new cathedral has not been finished. The old cathedral has tombs under the floor that contain the people of the town, and important people of the area.
Shopping in Salamanca was different than shopping in the United States. Everyone walks. One long street has been roped off, and no cars are allowed. People walk along the sidewalks. The shops are small, and contain items of a specific nature. There were no malls in the downtown area. The streets are narrow and the small cars barely have room to travel. There are no yellow lines in the middle of the streets. The bricks are turned a different way to mark the middle.

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
This was the first city that we visited, and my favorite. The walls of the buildings were white, and all the roofs were red tile. The streets were narrow and winding. People lived in apartments above the businesses, and hung their laundry on a rope that was strung from window to window. This is a university town also, and people walked everywhere.
The shops were interesting. The meat shops sold only meat, and there were shops that sold pastries, fruits and vegetables, and other speciality items. These shops were next door to shops that sold clothing, books, gifts, and expensive jewelry.
The Cathedral of St. James was beautiful. It is hard to believe that something that large, magnificent, beautiful, ornate and elaborate could have been built hundreds of years ago. The history behind this cathedral is fasinating. There are many small chapels built by private families on either side and behind the main cathedral. This cathedral was a distination of religious people during earlier times, and the stone steps have been worn by all the feet that have trod on them.

SEGOVIA
The Aquaducts that were built in the time of the Roman occupation of Spain are still standing in Segovia, and are in perfect shape. These aquaducts were built without motor of any kind, and the stones are still in the same place.
The most outstanding building in Segovia has to be Alcazar Castle. This is like a fairy tale castle with towers, large rooms, exhibits of armour, and a dungeon. There were 154 steps to the top of the tower, which I did not climb. But some of the students and teachers did.

TOLEDO
Toledo is a city that has a rich heritage of three distinct groups of people. For many years the Christians, Moors, and Jews lived in their own parts of the city and in harmony with each other. The city is like so many other Spanish cities: narrow streets, small shops, castles and monasteries, and beautiful old churches and homes. El Greco lived and painted here, and we visited a house that contained many of his works. We walked down back alleys and narrow streets that went up and down the hills. We saw the influence of the 20th century on an old way of life. We walked across an old stone bridge that had towers at each end, and saw the pollution of the river below.

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