Now, some people are probably thinking, "What in the world is the Province of the Salad Monkey and, what does that have to do with Spain?" It's easy. "Salad Monkey" is our silly way of saying Salamanca! (it brought many giggles from the girls and to be fair, from Sam!) And that is where we went: the Salamanca Province in Central Spain. (Salamanca also happens to be Megan's Alma Mater!)
We flew into Valladolid, a couple hours north of Madrid, and set off towards our house in the Sierra de Francia. We took the scenic route and started out in the River Duoro valley, one of the most prolific wine producing areas of Spain, as evidenced by all the wineries along the road. Our first stop was a little village in the Duoro region, Penafiel, which was overlooked by a medeival castle. We didn't have a reason to stop other than it was a crossroad on our journey and they had a market going. While looking for the market, we stopped in at a Convent that makes very nice (and pricey) wine.
Things got sweeter when we found a beautiful (and ripe) pomegranate tree. Deliciously sweet and oh-so messy snack to enjoy.
We were laughed at by the locals in the market because: "who comes to Spain and can't speak Spanish???". Which was all said in Spanish, mind you. But, with Sam's melange of Central American, Floridian and Catalonian words, we managed to buy provisions: cured ham, dried figs and apples. We then headed off towards Segovia. Segovia is a stunningly beautiful town. It has a Roman Aqueduct, a fairy tale castle and tremendous medieval streets. It was definitely one of the more impressive places we've visited in Europe.
The girls were a bit confused with the idea of babies drinking from a wolf so, they had a quick course in the founding of Rome by Romulus. It didn't help though... still disturbing, right?
After taking in the sights, we headed off towards the Sierra de Francia mountains and our Spanish Villa! We drove through what looked a bit like Kansas before getting into some nicer landscapes. The Sierra de Francia are South West of Salamanca, to the North of Extremadura and on the border with Portugal. They were named after the French settlers which were brought in to populate the area long ago after the expulsion of the Moors ("the card says MOOPS!"). It was really a beautiful area, especially as we climbed out of the plains and through the Campo Charro; home to bulls and Iberian pigs.
We stayed in a fantastic old house in a tiny village, Villanueva del Conde. It was right in las montanas and run by a fantastic family, who spoke French, Spanish and very little English. In fact, we may have been the first English visitors to the area as we were regularly greeted with "Bonjour". It was really neat. The house and village were absolutely gorgeous.
There were a couple tabernas (tavern), a tienda (village shop) with dubious business hours, narrow lanes and a play ground.
The neighbors were fantastic. And Los Hombres were super tough...
The surrounding mountains, orchards, vines and villages were equally stunning. The mountainsides had been terrace farmed for centuries with vines, olives and cherries.
And the views... Wow. Absolutely amazing.
We drove into Salamanca on the sunniest day and really admired the grace and charm of the town. We had a fantastic lunch in the Plaza Mayor and watched people for a while.
It was such a nice city, the sandstone was absolutely perfect and glowing in the sunlight. A wonderful day.
We headed back to Villanueva del Conde that afternoon and Sam went off to find some local wine. The Bodega was just down the road in the next village so, he didn't think to take a camera. After all, what could possibly happen on a 2km drive to Garcibuey, the next village??? I'll let Sam tell you this story of his...
Well, the bodega was closed, so I walked through town, admiring the spray painted hammer & sickles on everything and then drove to the next nearest large village: Sequeros. Sequeros was quite a bit larger so, I had to walk through the medieval streets (wandering mostly) and ended up outside of the town where two old ladies asked me what I was looking for and renamed me: 'Chico'. I explained that I was looking for a tienda to buy some wine. They laughed and sent me back into the village with a string of directions, of which all I could get out it was to go back into town. Wandering through town again, I met 2 more old ladies who took me to another house, where another old lady took me to the edge of town near an old slaughterhouse and orchards. She then started yelling: "Juaaaan! Juaniiiiito!" at the top of her lungs. All the while she kept showing me these big glass jars which were full of some type of meat chunks (it was just as strange as it sounds). After a few minutes of shouting, a guy emerges from the fields about 100 meters away and starts walking towards us. In my fantastic, mispronounced Spanish (and while watching the old woman dish out the meat chunks to some stray cats), I explained that I wanted to buy some wine and was looking for the tienda. The old lady left me to Juan who directed us back into town. I don't think I really feared for my life, as the Spanish folks were a good foot shorter than I am. Then Juanito took me to a rundown rowhouse and into the basement... Turns out, Juanito was a budding winemaker and all the old ladies sent me to him and not the tienda... So, he showed me the laboratory (which was now stainless steel as that didn't infect the wine as much as the wood used to...) to make wine, moonshine, limoncello and, smoked hams. All in this rundown, dirt-floored basement. He then broke out some wine, limoncello and moonshine and he and I sat in this dirt floor basement and had a blast! I finally made it home to Kelly and the girls about 2 hours later with a couple of homemade bottles of Spanish Red wine and heck of a story! But augh -no pictures!!!
(And now, everytime Sam buys wine, he walks in a store and yells "Juaniiiito!!!". Much to everyone's chagrin...)
The next day was a bit rainy so, we hung out and explored some of the local villages. The locals were some of the most friendly folks we have ever met. Absolutely nice and beautiful people. We even met a couple from Catalonia! They had moved here to run a souvenir shop of all things. Which seemed a bit odd as we were the only tourists in town at that time. But, we had a good time talking with them and then headed back to relax in our villa.
We woke to heavy rain the next morning but, that was ok. The region had been in a drought for a while so, it was welcomed. We were also leaving that day so, we drove out through the Sierras for the airport. On the way, we were treated to an up-close and personal view of some of the most rare wildlife in the area: Golden Eagles! Actually, we nearly hit them with our car as they flew out of a tree next to the road...
We had a good flight to England and a loooonnnng train ride home. We were back to Darley at nearly 2200. A long day. But, no worries, it was now Christmas time in England!
But, we have a very fond place in our hearts for Spain and its people.
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