Gayle Brennan Spencer – sending random thoughts to and from South Austin
Above, Plaza Mayor during the final week of San Pedro Regalado
Below is the spectacular view of Valladolid’s Main Plaza from our rental when we first arrived in the city. We were in the heart of the city, yet our apartment was surprisingly quiet… for several days.
Continue reading “Postcard from Valladolid, Spain: Thrust into the thick of things”
(We briefly interrupt the series of postcards from Budapest with breaking news from Oaxaca.)
Out for a stroll last evening with no room for dinner after a major lunch at La Biznaga, I requested a route that would pass by the front of the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de la Soledad. The Mister was not fooled. My real mission was the Plaza Socrates in front of the basilica, home to a dozen ice cream vendors.
But, before I could even begin to ponder the flavor options, music erupted on the street below. Brass bands and dancers with floral arrangements crowning their heads were gathering for one the city’s numerous exuberant processions, Las Calendas, to call out townspeople to celebrate, usually in advance of a saint’s day. This one appears to be a warm-up for the Feast Day of the Assumption of Mary, El Día de la Asunción de María, on August 15.
The festive dancers, fearless as castillos showered sparks around them, gigantes or mermotas, stilt-walkers, a truckload of little angels and the woman in blue bearing extra rockets and castillos to set off every couple of blocks completely distracted me from my original mission.
I shall return to both the delayed delivery of postcards from Budapest and to Plaza Socrates another day.
That leaves me time to ponder whether I want to order rose or chocolate-chile ice cream. Those wouldn’t pair well in one dish, would they?
Encountered a lively little parade on our way back to our casita after lunch Saturday. Don’t think it had much to do with building hype for the Super Bowl.
And then, last night in our barrio, the fireworks started and tubas tooted about 9 with a rowdy group of sombreroed locals parading into town to set off castillos. Wasn’t fast enough to grab the camera and unsure of the occasion of that parade either. Perhaps honoring a saint’s day, or perhaps simply because it was Saturday night.
Postcards from Barton Springs 