A Glorious Trip to Salamanca

Sunday, 6 November, 2016:

We awoke to pleasant news on Sunday . . .

 The Huskies had won BIG again!

All is good for Husky fans but we still have three more regular season games to go with a big one in Seattle against fast charging USC.

We were going to travel on this Sabbath to the Castilla y León region of Spain via Metro and train to the beautiful university city of Salamanca.

We were up at Zero-Dark-Thirty

to start our journey

 The view from the

Madrid-Chamartín train station

 The view of the Madrid-Chamartín

train station from our train

 Happy travelers on a train

 In about 90 minutes,

we were in Salamanca

Impressive statue in front

of Salamanca's train station

A knight on a horse decked out in unicorn armor holding a three-headed mini-dragon sure got our attention.

It was chilly in Salamanca

when we arrived

In case you were wondering, 4° Centigrade equals 39° Fahrenheit.

 The first church we saw on our

15 minute walk to Plaza Mayor

 Our entry way to . . .

. . . Salamanca's Plaza Mayor

It is generally considered to be Spain's best plaza.

 Laurie was hungry

 Me too

Cafe con leches and shared churros and chocolate hit the spot yet again.

Interesting looking restaurant

built in 1890

 On a small plaza

 A bigger church

Casa de las Conchas

Salamanca's Public Library

 Good looking Dome and Tower

Our first tourist stop was at . . .

The University of Salamanca

The University was founded in 1218

The University Seal

Statue of Fray Luis de León

The good, free-thinking Fray was a teacher at the University who was held prisoner and tortured by the Inquisition for five years (1572-1576) for challenging the Church's control of the word of God by translating the Bible into Castilian.

He had been originally arrested in the middle of one of his lectures. When he returned after his five year absence, he started anew with his famous words "As we were saying . . ."

University Doors

University Cloister

Another view from the Cloister

The pink sandstone added

warmth to the city

 Ornate University architecture

Countdown to 800 Years

The numbers are hard to read in photo form but it states clearly the number of days, hours and minutes until the University celebrates 800 year anniversary in 2018.

It was time to enter the University and get a look at some of the cherished older parts of the campus.

An Aula is a Lecture Hall

 The Pulpit where Fray Luis de León

uttered his famous line

Student "desks" were a bit Spartan

back in the 1500s

 Ornate site of University

graduation ceremonies

Exit door for new graduates

Ornate Moorish inspired ceiling

An intricate locking mechanism

requires . . .

. . . intricate key

 The University's Chapel

 My Bride caught in a mirror

to aid visitors in viewing

the colorful ceiling

The University's

Old Library . . .

. . . was amazing!

Wall art

Another intricate ceiling 

Love that beard

 Happy Visitors

 Mossy Well

The New Cathedral

By "new" we mean that it was built from 1513 to 1733 as opposed to the Old Cathedral that dates from the 12th century and shares a buttressed wall with its younger brother.

 Ornate Flamboyant Gothic

is always interesting

Quite a statement

View of the New Cathedral's Plaza

 The architecture was impressive

inside as well

 Build it tall to get closer to God

Blue Organ

Wood carving in the choir

No singing in the Choir today

Magnificent Cupola

 Laurie lighting candles

It might be time to

reupholster this bench

Capilla del Santo Cristo

de las Batallas

The small crucifix on the golden altar belonged to El Cid's personal priest and accompanied the Spanish Hero in all of his battles during the Reconquista Period of Spanish history.

I liked the hanging lamp

I like the color blue too

The Old Cathedral

 Lots of rich murals

Vivid colors and tombs

You just have to like that right?

 Not as fancy as

the New Cathedral

Murals everywhere

The Old Cathedral's Main altar

with scenes of the lives of

Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary

Old is old

 Another dead cleric

I liked the deep, rich red

Artsy-fartsy photo of the BVM

Jesus relaxing on the cross?

Nice carvings

Peaceful Bishop

A boy and his Sword

Saints?

 Raiders Fan?

 Lots of people are buried in

both the New and Old Cathedrals

It was time to move on . . .

This musician played fantastic music

 The Covered Market across

from our hotel

Writers at work in a

University town

 Chilling

Laurie on the march

Grill work on la Casa de las Conchas

in the late afternoon Sun

Street Artist at work

This bakery looked interesting

Well, we just had to support the

local economy in some way

Plaza Mayor in the Sun

There were a series of bungalows set up inside the Plaza for booksellers from all over Spain pedaling there used books.

All around the Plaza Mayor, their are niches above the colonnade depicting famous Castilian writers, heroes and conquistadors.

 Fray Luis de León

 Handsome Fellow El Charro

 Coronado was 400 years old?

Plaza Mayor taking on a great

new hue in the afternoon Sun

Francisco Franco made the list

Ready for the night time rush

El Cid

Don Pelayo

Hero of the Battle of Covadonga

After noshing all afternoon and due to our early wake-up call combined with Laurie's lingering jet lag, she crashed when we got to our hotel room.

I, on the other hand, was still raring to go for a few night time shots of Salamanca!

Plaza Mayor

Casa de las Conchas

The New Cathedral

Ancient Stonework

Salamanca is a fantastic, must see city when you visit Spain.

Glad we did!

A Practice in Guadalajara in the Midst of Our First Day of STING WEATHER!

Saturday, 5 November, 2016:

Guy Fawkes Day.

I'm sure that our son Mike was excited that today the people of Great Britain celebrate in remembrance of Guy Fawkes' infamous Gunpowder Plot to overthrow the British government of King James I in 1605 on this day.

But I digress . . .

 It was a BEAUTIFUL day in España

It made for a delightful 45 minute drive with Laurie to Guadalajara for practice this morning!

There were hay bales and

blue skies all around us

But not for long as a storm front was quickly moving in to the town famous for its American football team, the Stings.

 Pedestrian Walk

We arrived in Guadalajara about 30 minutes ahead of schedule so we decided to explore a bit.

Nice entry way to a big garden

The Circus is coming!

The Circus is coming!

Donald Trump?

I think.

  

The other big sport in Guadalajara

American football is, of course,

#1

Stings warming up

The natural grass field was already soaked from heavy rains the last 24 hours.

The downpour that would start in about five minutes and last for about an hour made it even more interesting.

Head Coach Orlando Webb

organizing the Stings

Soggy but Proud,

WE ARE THE STINGS!

I could not have been prouder of our Stings today.

We battled through the elements and proved our worth today because, after all, it was STING WEATHER!

"The worse it gets,

the BETTER we play!"

The Tercertiempo

Sponsors of Osos Rivas Football

After our great practice, Laurie and I headed back towards La Casa Grande but were in need of nourishment in the worst way.

We made it back to Rivas, Home of the Osos, to one of my favorite dining spots, the Tercertiempo. The food is great and the staff is friendly and funny.

As usual, the food hit the spot!

Back home, we spent the rest of the evening at home doing laundry, drying out our chilled bones and getting ready for tomorrow's Big Adventure, a trip to the magical city of Salamanca that boasts of the best Plaza Mayor in all of Spain.

Should be fun, stay tuned for highlights in an upcoming blogpost soon.

Adios.

Laurie's First Full Day in Madrid

Friday, 4 November, 2016:

Laurie awoke quite chipper with nary a hint of the feared Jet Lag that usually accompanies a trip half way around the globe, proud of her.

After a coffee at La Casa Grande and bidding good morning to Jesús, Bere, Luna and Camila, we were off to introduce Laurie to the varied wonders of Arganda del Rey before heading into Madrid to buy Laurie a Tarjeta Dorada.

The Tarjeta Dorada is the RENFE Senior Discount card that makes train travel in Spain incredibly affordable for those of us in our Golden Years.

But first, the wonders of Arganda del Rey . . .

Wood Carving above the door

of Iglesia San Juan Bautista

 And another

Laurie wanted to enter Arganda del Rey's ancient church and who was I to argue as my job was to protect and serve her.

The BVM

Jesus needs Communion?

Same BVM, different version

The Iglesia's intricate, ancient

locking mechanisms

 And another

 Still shaking my head over this

monument on church grounds

Laurie wondered exactly how old the Iglesia really was and I did too to be truthful. I spied a small sign next to a side door and approached it to see if perchance it gave any clue as to the age of this fine structure.

No luck there but while I struck out, Laurie was now talking to a young gentleman. Who was this man?

It turned out to be Padre Samuel

the young pastor of the Iglesia

He was helpful, full of knowledge about the Iglesia and happy to show us around his historic church.

The Iglesia dates back to the 1400s as it turns out.

I asked him about the Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera monument. There is a list of names on it of those from Arganda del Rey who died during the Spanish Civil War. I asked Fr. Samuel if the names were of all the dead from Arganda del Rey who fought on both sides. A little sheepishly he said no, only of the Nationalist casualties. To review, the victorious Nationalists were led by fascist General Francisco Franco and were whole heartedly backed by the Catholic Church in their efforts.

In the picture above, we are in the Iglesia's sacristy that Fr. Samuel graciously showed us without being asked.

We both liked Fr. Samuel as he was warm, personable and enthusiastic. He invited us to come to Mass and we surely will attend before we go home to California.

It was time for lunch so we stepped across the street to have a great dining experience at . . .

 La Tertulia

Two cafe con leches, a tortilla Española, a ración of ham croquetas and a couple of Clara beers hit the spot for the both of us.

Fully sated, it was on to Madrid . . .

 We walked by Arganda del

Rey's pleasant Central Park

But American football

is ok, right?

Laurie in the Park

Depicting Armanda del Rey's

annual Running of the Bulls

The BVM is HUGE in our town

The Jungle at the Atocha

Train Station in Madrid

Waiting for our turn to buy

train tickets

With our Tajetas Dorada in hand, we opted to purchase train tickets on the high speed AVE train to Salamanca for a day trip on Sunday, a rare day off during out time here.

The AVE will get us the 125 miles from Madrid to Salamanca in only 90 minutes.

Rest by the Opera building

We purchased our tickets after a bit of a wait and then started to walk in the rain. We ended up in this café on Plaza Isabel II for an adult beverage and a break in our walking routine.

 A little wet but fully into our

wedded bliss mode

Even though we had had a huge lunch, there is always room for . . .

 . . . Churros and Chocolate!

Laurie in front of the

Chocolateria San Gines

Time to board a somewhat

empty Metro for the trip home

I still had a Junior practice to tend to at 7:00 p.m.

Jesús was taking the Senior team to a Team Building Retreat in nearby Ávila for the weekend.

I was staying behind in order to help with the Junior practice tonight and with the Stings practice in Guadalajara Saturday morning.

Also, it was deemed as a good career move on my part not to abandon Laurie on her first weekend in town to go to the retreat.

Gracias Jesús!

Soggy Juniors Post-Practice

Head Junior Coach Carlos del Amo is seen here talking to his troops. Their first game is a week from this Sunday on the road against Los Cuervos, a team from another part of greater Madrid.

Another GREAT day to be in a state of wedded bliss!

My Bride Arrives in Madrid

Thursday, 3 November, 2016:

The wait was almost over as Laurie was scheduled to touchdown at Madrid's Barajas Airport at 6:00 p.m. after her long day of flying, first from Los Angeles to Munich and then, after a one hour and 45 minute layover, to Spain's capital city.

The first order of business was to clean up our corner of La Casa Grande up to her somewhat strict specifications.

This entailed washing all of our bed linens, sweeping the floors and doing ungodly things to cleanse our bathroom.

I wisely figured that our bedsheets might not dry out completely hanging from our kitchen windows clothesline so I jumped into the Land Rover to be at IKEA's doors when they opened at 10:00 a.m.

As always, IKEA offered good linens at a more than fair price but more importantly their breakfast of a huge glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and a big ham and cheese bocadito for only 2 Euros was the real bargain of the trip.

Our living accommodations were now in perfect order so I relaxed during the afternoon reading more of the whacky tales of Cervantes' Don Quixote de La Mancha.

At 4:30 p.m. I was off to the airport which is only about 20 minutes away IF there is no traffic.

There wasn't so I was about an hour early after finding a parking spot in . . .

Floor 2, Section 2C-503

Once inside the airport itself, the arrivals message board said that Laurie's Lufthansa flight from Munich was right on time.

It actually landed six minutes late, heads will roll!

My Bride Enters Spain!

In a stunning upset, her large check-in bag was ten pounds underweight. 

Who would have guessed?

The drive back to Arganda del Rey was a lot tougher as we were stuck in the middle of Madrid's ferocious drive home traffic.

Laurie was hungry, so before taking her bags up to the apartment, we walked over to our friendly neighborhood eatery, La Almazara for some . . .  

Croquetas de Jamón

YUM!

She adapted to Spanish life quickly.

We still had our Thursday night practice with the Stings in Guadalajara from 9:15 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Laurie, both feeling strong and being an American football junkie, decided to go with us.

Trooper.

 Tackling Progression,

extend your . . .

. . . hips VIOLENTLY!

Discussing the night's

practice schedule with the DL

Daily Agility Drills

First night of Defense,

drilling against the Cut Block

We have a long way to go on this technique.

Team Defense

First, our three down linemen were unblockable and gave us a fierce pass rush all night long. Of course the white bags that served as our offensive line had terrible footwork.

As for our Scout Team running back, we wear shorts in this league!

Life is really good today!