Planking Across Spain

I don’t recall exactly the “how” or even the “why” this began but for some odd yet humorous reason I ended up planking a number of sites during my trip to Spain. What began as a simple one-time joke became a long-running gag funny in its silliness and pointlessness. The photos were taken by various friends who were more than happy to oblige (and egg me on!)

VALLADOLID:

The wall is one of the original borders of the city of Valladolid still left standing.

Everyone was upset during our group dinner as it was our last week together…so I cheered them up with a plank!

VITORIA-GASTEIZ:

PAMPLONA (Iruña):

Apologies to Ernest Hemingway and family! Continue reading “Planking Across Spain” →

Friday at Griffith Park Observatory

“There’s Griffith Park.”

“Griffith Park? Is that where the observatory is at?!”

“Yeah, up this hill.”

“Let’s go!”

20 minutes later, my friend and I were at the top of hill, parking her car and giddy with excitement. Neither one of us had visited this Los Angeles landmark since we were children:

Not our ride.

A bust of actor James Dean.

Continue reading “Friday at Griffith Park Observatory” →

Museo Casa de Cervantes: The Former Home of Don Quixote’s Father

Museo Casa de Cervantes (House of Cervantes Museum) is a museum dedicated to the life and work of Spain’s greatest writer, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.

Don Quijote cover — "Oh yeah...the guy who fought the windmill!"

The museum is the former home of Cervantes who lived in Valladolid with his family from 1604 – 1606. He completed his masterpiece, El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha, here and published it in 1605. Monarch Alfonso XIII and Archer Huntington, then-president of the Hispanic Society of America, purchased the property in 1912 and later donated it to the State. The building was officially inaugurated as the Museo Casa de Cervantes on April 12, 1948.

Take a brief phototour of the museum after the jump. As always, all photos can be found on my Flickr. Continue reading “Museo Casa de Cervantes: The Former Home of Don Quixote’s Father” →

Segovia, Spain: Romans, Goths and Catholics

I wonder if History teachers in Spain toss their written materials out the window and book a field trip for their students in place of a lecture. It wouldn’t surprise me if this were the case considering the amount of living history and architecture contained, for example, in a city such as Segovia.

Segovia is home to many pieces of architecture that hold a significant spot in history, so much so that UNESCO declared in 1985 that a portion of the city to be a World Heritage site.

Segovia’s most notable piece of history is a Roman aqueduct that is nearly 2,000 years old and erected without the use of cement or mortar. The city is also home to a large Alcázar (castle) where various monarchs including Alfonso X El Sabio (Alfonso X The Learned/Wise), Los Reyes Católicos (The Catholic Kings), Felipe II (Phillip II) and Carlos III (Charles III) lived and exercised their power.

There is also an enormous Gothic cathedral that contains 23 chapels built in 1525 at the behest of Emperador Carlos V (Emperor Charles V).

Below are a number of photos of these monuments as well as other photos from my time in Segovia. All can be seen on my Flickr.

Continue reading “Segovia, Spain: Romans, Goths and Catholics” →

Wednesday in Salamanca, Spain

I spent a long afternoon with friends in the city of Salamanca last week. We covered most of the city but I wish we could have stayed longer to enjoy more of it.

Here is Rick Steves with a wonderful introduction to Salamanca followed by my photos (full set also on my Flickr):

Continue reading “Wednesday in Salamanca, Spain” →

A Weekend Jaunt to Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls (Fiesta de San Fermin)

The Fiesta de San Fermin is an annual festival held in Pamplona, Spain most famous for the daily encierro a.k.a. the running of the bulls. The event was thrilling and tiring (my friends and I slept on a patch of lawn outside the bullring alongside hundreds of others without accomodations) but well worth it. I’m definitely going to return to Pamplona a few more times while I’m still able to. Some of my favorite photos are below. You can see the entire set on my Flickr.

A Brief Tour of Valladolid, Spain

I have lived in Valladolid for nearly two weeks now and my time here so far has been incredible. The city is small enough to cover by foot which I’ve grown accustomed to. Most streets are small and, today, I realized that I have yet to see a pickup truck, Escalade or other large vehicle in the city. The buses are the largest vehicles here.

Anyway, enjoy the photos below and make sure to see them all on my Flickr page.