PORTUGAL AND THE DOURO: Salamanca Thursday 12/19/2013

SALAMANCA, SPAIN

Elizabeth did not feel very well and had not slept well. She took a bus nap for much of the 2 hours it took to get to Salamanca.

I was dreading the long bus ride, but it was interesting enough to keep me well entertained.

The land changed gradually from this rocky mountainous shistous stone to the plains of Spain. Gradually the land improved and as it became less arid, the small villages became more upscale as well.

Animals were everywhere. Common were cows, beef, cattle I think, although there were different breeds, some horned and some not, and different colors. In one coral I saw almost a dozen and they were all white.

I saw two burros in a pen, plenty of horses (some running across a forested field) sheep, and even some of the pigs that are fed acorns and make the pata negra we ate a few days ago.

Most were in large corals surrounded by stone fences. What a good bit of work and skill it required to build all these stone fences. In spots I saw where it looked like a field had been cleared and there were large pile of rocks with dirt. More seemed flat than do the stones at home and that certainly helped the construction. Also, there were small ponds so the animals had water.

As we came into civilization, we noticed larger farms. One was labeled Talleres. Another sold made furniture.

Here hawks were about.

And I saw one small garden of kale.

Even some brick was used for building here.

We passed one area of stork's nests, but without birds. In town we did see a stork in the nest.

Here too, although these photos out a bus window are not great shakes, we can see that it is so much different than the Douro Valley.

This really shows the contrast with where we had been. How flat this all is and how green. The soil is still very rocky, but there is a good amount of soil.

We did not visit as many of the tourist sites as were recommended, but we did go in the museum that featured Art Deco, meaning decorative art in this case. I liked it just fine.

Museum
The museum contains works ranging from Flemish panels, altarpieces, paintings, sculptures and a variety of archaeological pieces, and a collection of precious metalwork and an exhibition of local ethnology.

Images from Casa Lis
MORE IMAGES
We could not take photographs in the museum but these links include objects we enjoyed and give a great sense of the place. I remember the Don Quixote and Pancho and many of the glass pieces.

Clown bookends

Dancing girl of flapper days

I especially liked the paintings and especially those of the clowns and some of the women depicted in the art. I can't find the paintings that featured clowns. One was Personajes Espanotos which included a clown.

Woman in Green - This is the painting we saw by Federico Beltram Masses. You can see his other work here.
Federico Masses

I was also caught by Mujer on Barro Modesto Texidor y Torres (Spanish, 1854-1928)

WOMAN ON A BURRO

This sculptor was represented. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Bailarina_egipcia.jpg

We saw the Egyptian dancer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demetre_Chiparus

Bailenrina de Tebas by C. Colinet Jr.

Elizabeth was caught by these works of criselefantinas:

criselefantinas
This included the clown bookends I liked and the
Woman from Egypt

Criselefantinas was a style of sculpture, a technique of combining gold and ivory in one work of sculpture. The idea got extended to ivory with other materials.

Here is a description from the museum
http://www.museocasalis.org/nuevaweb/en/coleccion/criselefantinas-bronces

In this room I also liked the painting of the naked woman with the fur coat, but that's just me.

ABANICAS

There was one room that was a fan collection and they were beautiful, most depicting upper class themes of social gatherings with everyone dressed up. One is represented in the "more images" link above.

They played Louis Armstrong in the cafe. So strange.

There was plenty of stained glass. The ceiling was a huge piece with the stained glass looking rather modern, perhaps reflecting under water scenes, but pretty much a mix of shapes or colors.

There were glass lamps that I loved.
They looked like a candle had been burned and dripped down the sides, but the glass pieces were really large. I'd love one of these.

LAMP OF GLASS CANDLE WAX

Another lamp was called dragonfly but did not depict that insect. It was made of off white glass with brown patterns and I loved these as well.

Here is another one that was there and for sale

GLASS LAMP

In one small window were a few Faberge pieces, a wonderfully ornate opera glass and another piece.

In the hallway were collections of women and children in photographs and postcards. One was very racy and all about women with their breasts exposed. One other featured children with dolls. All were delightful, great collections all framed in a large frame.

We went next to see the cathedral with the largest dome in Europe, but somehow we missed it. We went in one Cathedral and just looked around, but did not buy a ticket. I think at this point we were just A bit weary of cathedrals.

We stopped in a place a bit off the beaten track for a drink and tapa. It was very quiet and rich in woodwork. Elizabeth had a coffee. I had a Felipe Segundo. It felt rather odd to have the brandy we always have at home, but it was a bit of ritual that in some strange way made sense to me. Later I was to have a 103 and this did determine that the Felippe Segundo tastes better to me.

This is the brandy we drank in Portugal that was most like the brandy in Spain. It was on our ship as well. However, once in Spain I went for my favorite inexpensive brandy.

Oddly the bartender was going to fill up a large whiskey glass rather than give me a snifter. He emptied one bottle and wa looking for another when I said it was enough. It was more than enough. This experience tells me that I need to get healthy enough to do a week in Spain that is not cathedrals or museums or anything artistic or intellectual but simply an enjoyment of wine and brandy and food. This tapa included my first tasted of chorizo. It was very good.

Okay, when I saw a girl in a bikini on a bull, I had to get into the act.

It was a great treat to use my Spanish for simple things. The waiter spoke no English, so I could stumble through what I knew and he accommodated me. Tapas were cheap, so in spite of expecting a great meal at lunch, I ordered one: pan with a mushroom and chorizo topping.

To order I had to choose from a little printed list of possibilities. At the bottom of the list were freebies added to some tapas, sauces and such, but not to mine. I liked being able to function faced with only Spanish.

Two other people were there having a coffee and reading the paper. They were quiet and unassuming. I liked all of it in a way that is hard to describe.

I asked directions to the bathroom and later to Plaza Mayor and understood the answers. On the way out I tipped the fellow and wished him "Feliz Navidad" and he returned the greeting. Such a little thing, but it pleased me.

We easily found Plaza Mayor

and were happy to have taken our drink and tapa before we got there. It looked much like the same Plaza in Madrid. I liked it, but none of the little eateries drew my attention. Somewhere here was a fine chocolate place for chocolate con churros, but we decided to skip that indulgence.

Walking from Plaza Mayor we stopped in a shop called Claire's for an umbrella as a hard rain erased the sunshine of the day. They sold "Hello Kitty" stuff. Elizabeth said it is an American shop. All along our walk back to the hotel there were upscale shops that reflected a more cosmopolitan sense of Spain than we had in the little tapa bar. This is similar to what we experienced in Madrid. In one way, I rejoice to see Spain come into the modern world; but for me the charm is gone.

A bit farther up we stopped in a grocery for the most decadent purchase of the whole trip, two kinds of chorizo. Both were delicious. We snacked on one over the week and had the other for the trip home. It would not pass customs, but we could eat it all the way across the ocean and we would in sandwiches of cheese and bread from the ship. Along with the chorizo that day, I bought a paper and sampled a bit of the sausage while "reading" Spanish.

Lunch was not impressive. Actually, it was the poorest lunch we have had, and as representative of Spain it failed. The only two dishes that were uniquely Spanish were the paella and the tortilla. The first was fine, but not exceptional. The tortilla is the worst I have had, just tasteless. I noticed that much of the paella was sent back uneaten.

The wine was very good.

The Flamingo dancing was fun and good considering we are a long way from where that is a common form of entertainment. The music did not include a flamingo guitarist, but canned music. However, the main woman singer was very good.

THE VOCALIST

Elizabeth was not feeling well, so we both stayed at the hotel in the lounge and so we missed the afternoon University walking tour.
Here is the hotel

Here is Elizabeth relaxing in the lounge.

Instead, I walked out to the park across the street to see the ducks

It was a fine park

I did not have anything at this place, however. Sob! Sob!

Later, Elizabeth joined me, probably attracted by the promise of the ducks.

I headed next to a small bar called Vinaroz
https://foursquare.com/v/vinaroz/
where I had anise, the 103 taste of brandy, and a couple tapas.