Fiesta!! ...and Tapas!!

Just by coincidence my stay in Valladolid, Spain, coincides with their annual Festival of the Virgin of San Lorenzo... and when I wandered out last night to get some supper, I found myself in the middle of a fiesta.

The "Plaza Mayor" (Main Plaza) was filled with people.  They were watching local groups perform traditional folk dances

.

  The city hall was decorated and illuminated for the festivities.

Branching out from the plaza, the bars and restaurants had set up stands on the streets.

I went into one of the tapas bars.  Because so many of the people were out on the street, the interior was not overly crowded.  I was even able to sit at the bar.  I think I was the only non-Spaniard in the place.  The waiter looked like a rather dour Spanish gentleman, until you spoke with him, and a smile spread across his face.

They didn't have sangríá, so I ordered a similar beverage called "tinto de verano" (red summer wine).  Actually, I think that is a better choice. since some places make their sangría too sweet.

I then decided to try out some tapas.  As I have said before, I don't care for shellfish, so that immediately eliminates quite a few choices.  Also, forget about tripe or other organs.  Still there were quite a few appetizing choices on the menu.

I began with "salmorejo"... a thicker version of "gazpacho".  Yummy!  So far, so good.

I then ordered "patatas bravas"... potatoes with a spicy sauce.  This place also added mayonnaise.   A bit heavy on the mayonnaise, but it was tasty.

  
I saved the best for last... a plate of thinly shaved Iberian ham.  This was the real thing... made from free-range pigs that have a diet of acorns.  Once you've tasted "jamón ibérico de bellota", that pale stuff we call ham at home will never compare.

So at long last I found a good, non-touristy tapas bar serving my favorite Spanish foods!

It turned out to be a great evening.

 

An Evening in the "Wet District"

Last night, my last night in León, I wandered around that portion of the old town which is known as "El Barrio Húmedo"... loosely translated as the "Wet District".  This maze of narrow streets and little plazas is filled with restaurants and bars.

 

Granted, it was a week night, but it seemed that by 10 PM this hub of nightlife was starting to wind down.
 
I sat down at a table of one of the "tapas" bars for a bite to eat.  I ordered a sangría and a serving of ham croquettes.

The sangría was a bit too sweet.  The croquettes were OK, but I have had better.  I'm just not having luck picking places to eat on this trip!  

The waiter, however, was very affable, and when I asked him about the origin of the neighborhood's name, he explained that there are three theories.  The first is that it's called the "Wet District" simply because there is so much drinking going on in the area's more than 100 bars.  The second, the one I like the best, is that in the old days carts would carry large, uncovered vats of wine to the bars.  As the carts traveled over the bumpy cobble-stone streets, the wine would slosh out of the containers and wet the streets.  The third, more mundane theory, is that due to subterranean rivers under the neighborhood, the streets flood easily during the autumn rains.  

This afternoon I left León on the train to Valladolid.  It was a two hour trip, and there were very few passengers.  I don't think that there were more than a half dozen people in my car.

Adiós, León

and

Hola, Valladolid...

  ...where they are celebrating a "fiesta" this week!

The town is really hopping!  

A Renaissance Gem

I have written about León's Romanesque Basilica of San Isidro and its Gothic Cathedral.  Today I visited the city's third great architectural monument... this one dating from the Renaissance.

The Monastery of San Marcos was originally built in the 12th century as a shelter and hospital for pilgrims traveling the Route of St. James and as the headquarters of the Knights of the Order of Santiago.  (The knights were a military / religious order dedicated to protecting the pilgrims making the long journey across northern Spain.)  By the 1500s the building had fallen into disrepair, and in 1514 King Fernando el Católico (King Ferdinand, the husband of Queen Isabella) made a grant for the reconstruction of the monastery.  Work on the new building did not begin until the reign of their grandson, Carlos I (better known to us as the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V).  

The monastery is an example of the "plateresco" style of the Spanish Renaissance.  "Plateresco" means "in the style of a silversmith", and the architecture is characterized by elaborate sculptural decoration.

 Medallions of mythological and historical heroes adorn the facade.

 The scallop shell, the emblem of St. James, is a recurring motif.

Above the main entrance, St. James is shown slaying the Moors.

 In front of the monastery, a bronze statue portrays a weary pilgrim pausing to rest.

The church still functions as a place of worship, and a portion of the old monastery is today a museum.  The rest of the building is now a "parador"... one of the luxury hotels which the Spanish government has established in historic buildings across the country.

León at Night

Here are a few pictures that I took last night while I wandered around the city of León...

 A Romanesque church facing a little plaza

 This 16th century palace in now a government building

 This building, which now houses a bank headquarters, was designed by the Catalán architect, Antonio Gaudí.

 The Cathedral bathed in illumination

Romanesque and Gothic

León is an even older city than Burgos.  It began as a Roman encampment in 29 B.C.  As the Christians began pushing the Moors to the south, the Kingdom of León was established, and the city of the same name became its capital in A.D. 910.  It was an important city in the early Middle Ages, and, like Burgos, was a stop along the pilgrimage Route of St. James.  When the Kingdom of León was consolidated with the Kingdom of Castille in 1301, the city's importance declined.  Today, however, León, with a metropolitan population of 500,000, is larger than Burgos.

Today I visited two of the most important medieval monuments in the city... the Basilica of San Isidro and the Cathedral.

In the early Middle Ages, the predominant style of architecture was Romanesque.  Due to the limitations of technology, Romanesque buildings are not very tall, and the walls are thick with few windows in order to support the roof.  The Basilica of San Isidro, built in 1063, has had some later renovations, but its style is basically Romanesque.

  
The Basilica contains the burial chamber of the kings of León.  Eleven kings and various other members of the royal family are interred here.  The vaulted ceiling of the chamber is adorned with the finest examples of Romanesque paintings anywhere.  It is sometimes referred to as the "Sistine Chapel of Romanesque Art".

The adjoining cloister is the oldest Romanesque cloister in Spain.  It is also of historic importance because it was here in 1188 that King Alfonso IX convened the first parliament in Europe.

As medieval architects improved their technological skills they were able to build taller buildings, with thinner walls and more windows.  This new style which originated in northern France was known as the Gothic style.  The pilgrimage Route of St. James was a conduit for new ideas from France, and in 1205 work began on a Gothic cathedral for León.

The exterior of the León Cathedral is much simpler than the cathedral in Burgos.

Unlike the Cathedral of Burgos, very few additions were made to the interior decoration.  Thus, the Cathedral of León is an almost pure expression of Gothic style.  The building is most noteworthy for its stained glass windows.  There are over 19,000 square feet of stained glass, and most of it is original... a rarity.  It is one of the greatest collections of medieval stained glass anywhere in the world.

 

On to León

Yesterday I strolled along the streets and through the riverside parks of Burgos one last time before I had to go to the train station.

My train left promptly at 3:25 PM.  However it arrived at my destination of León a half hour late.  For some unknown reason there was one stretch of the journey where the train went very slowly.  But it was still a very pleasant two and a half hour ride.  The train passed through agricultural lands of the Spanish plateau.  Most of the fields were tan stubble where the grain had already been harvested.  The fields of sunflowers were no longer the bright expanses of yellow they are earlier in the year.  Their blossoms were now spent, and the black seed heads drooped sadly.  Little towns huddled around the towers of old churches.  On the horizon were the mountains that stretch along Spain's northern flank. 

I arrived in León around 6 PM.  The temperature was much warmer than it had been during my three days in Burgos.  I took a taxi to my hotel... part of the Eurostars chain.  The room is pleasant, modern and clean, but I was surprised by how small the room was.  I have stayed at a Hotel Eurostars in Mexico City a number of times, and the rooms there are huge.

 The view from my window

After settling into my room, I did a bit of exploring of the city.  The hotel is located on a modern shopping street...  a huge "Corte Inglés" Department Store is just a block away.  My first impression of the city is that it is less tourist oriented than Burgos... that it is a sizable city with a life of its own.  Just a short walk from the hotel however is the historic center... a maze of narrow, pedestrianized streets where I will be doing most of my sightseeing.

It's time for me to have some breakfast and head out discover the sights of León.

Burgos - Culinary Disaster

Regular readers of my blog know that I frequently write about my dining experiences while I travel.  You may have noticed that I have written nothing about the food here in Burgos.  Although I have enjoyed visiting the fantastic historical sites in this city, I would not recommend Burgos for its food.

The local specialty here is "morcilla" (blood sausage).  It may very well be delicious, but I cannot get past my revulsion at those slices of black sausage.  I am also at a disadvantage in Spain because I do not like shell fish.  Even in the inland cities of Spain, shrimp, squid and other "mariscos" are prominently featured on the menus.  However, I have always been able to find dishes more to my liking.

As a traveler I know enough to avoid the restaurants in Europe that cater to the tourist trade.  However in the Old Town of Burgos that is virtually impossible.  On Friday, my first day in Burgos, I went to a little restaurant near the cathedral and ordered the menu of the day.  The garlic soup wasn't bad, but the pork tenderloin wasn't anything special.

I love Spanish "tapas"... at least the ones not made with shellfish... so Friday evening I decided to have my supper at one of the "tapas bars".  The Old Town is filled with "tapas bars", but they were jammed with people, and I didn't feel like pushing my way into the crowd.  When I finally found a place that wasn't so crowded, I should have known that it was because the "tapas" were not as good.  The "patatas bravas" (potatoes with a spicy sauce) and the ham croquettes were mediocre, and the sangria was too sweet.

On Saturday, I went to another restaurant near the cathedral called BonFin.  Again I ordered the menu of the day.  I started with "menestra", a type of vegetable stew which I like.  This however was a plate of overly salty, over-cooked slop.  My main course of "bacalao' (codfish) wasn't very good.  That evening I had a seriously upset stomach.  Fortunately I felt better the next morning.

On Sunday, after my long walk back from La Cartuja, I was passing through the modern commercial district of the city, and found an elegant looking restaurant.  There was no English menu posted on the street.  (That's a good sign.)  I went inside.  The clientele seemed to be well-to-do, local families out for Sunday dinner.  (Another good sign.)  Well, my "gazpacho" was good, as was the dessert, but my main course of lamb was more fat than meat.  The meal was definitely not worth 45 euros.

It's rather sad that my best meal of the day has been the breakfast buffet at the hotel.  I chow down on Spanish ham, "tortilla española", manchego cheese, "churros" and chocolate-filled croissants.

We will see what culinary adventures (or misadventures) await me in León.