Salamanca, Castile & León, Spain

View of Salamanca across the Rio Tormes

Yay! We are in Madrid and this weekend is our first long weekend in Spain!

This weekend Spain celebrated the feast of the 'immaculate conception'. Briefly, December 8th annually is a day which a large proportion of Catholic's celebrate the birth of the virgin Mary by attending church and then 'feasting'. We like the idea of taking a weekend to feast and so we ventured to one of Spain's oldest gastronomical capitals -Salamanca! 

A frosty morning at the New Cathedral (built 16th Century) 

Aside for being well know for its local produce and beverages Salamanca is rich in a very long history and is now also a UNESCO world heritage site. It has such a long history that actually its all a bit confusing as to who was where and at what time. However we were told that the city was originally founded pre-Ancient Rome period. From that time and for the next couple of centuries there were an array of sieges/wars and overtakings and the city was occupied by Christian kings, Muslim rulers and other Empires (including the French). 

Placio de Anaya 

Then during the Spanish Civil War in 1936-1939, Salamanca was Spain's de facto capital by the country's Nationalists.

In the year 1218 Salamanca was granted royal charter to its University of Salamanca (which had been teaching since 1130) and the university became one of the most prestigious and acclaimed within Europe, the wealth and reputation of the city also increased.




The city today is still considered a 'university town' with students making up the a large percentage of population (around 36,000). In fact the city now has the highest bar-to-inhabitant ratio in Europe (synonymous with a large student gathering perhaps?) .  

Panoramic of Plaza Mayor by night

As winter is well under way, when we arrived late on Friday evening (via high speed train from Madrid) it was pretty chilly. Our first stop was the Plaza Mayor (above) the beating heart of the old city. This plaza has seen everything, from bull fights, executions, royal balls, markets and is considered one of the most beautiful in Spain. The plaza was built from 1729- 1755 in Spanish baroque style and is really quite stunning. 

Mmmm.... Yum!! 

Spanish pastries 

Our next stop was dinner and so we did the Spanish 'thing' and hopped around several tapa bars! An advantage of heading to a student town were the discounted prices. One large tapa and glass of wine and/or beer costs approx 1-2 euro.  Typically you hop to several rather than staying in one place. 

Pictured abover is John enjoying a delicious tortilla (potato pie) at the bar. 

A popular meat store in the Central Market

Spanish breakfast! 

Early the next morning we explored many of the old churches and buildings getting ourselves lost in the old windy cobbled streets. It was very cold so we had regular stops in small family-run stores, sometimes into bakeries to smell the fresh bread and to nibble on a chocolate croissant or into a side street bar just to ponder and enjoy a strong coffee. We found an old market and bought some seasonal Christmas fairy lights to decorate our Madrid flat and Kara spent a ridiculous amount of time trying on an array of leather boots for fun.

We also visited Salamanca's central market (built 1899) where locals came to purchase their produce. (Markets are still a preferred shopping experience for many).

Salamanca is widely known for its top class cured ham (jamon) and the market is a good place to go and try a wide variety of samples, as well as a wide range of fresh produce and dairy products.

Poor little piggies! 

Meat! Meat! Meat! 

Casa de las Conchas (House of the shells)

Over the next few days we spent our time between exploring the city's bars, 'feasting' on Spanish tapas, and wandering in and out of the old buildings.

We were quite fascinated by the old Roman bridge (built 1st century BC) leading out of the city but probably more so getting our heads around the delicious Spanish wine! 

Next up- stuffed cheesy mushrooms

Tapa time! Tortilla de Patata

The pictures below are some of the amazing architecture and places within Salamanca, Spain.

Tot siens,
John and Kara

Autumn colours! 

What a handsome view! 

Ancient Roman bridge, South of the City

A few glasses of wine and a festive spirit at Plaza Mayor

Plateresque facade of the University of Salamanca

Taking a break by the Cathedral

Facade of the Church of La Clerecia

Trying the Paella- yum! 

A world apart (Spain and China)

A view of Beijing on a clear-ish day

Our 'team' is currently in transition! John has made the move to our new home in sunny Madrid, Spain! And Kara is now just weeks behind- tying up some loose ends and finishing her employment in (the wintery) Beijing.

After exploring Turkey last month and immersing ourselves into the amazing European influences -yes we mean the food, we are excited to head to and make our next move to Spain.

In Madrid, John will be a student studying at one of Europe's top business schools and Kara will most likely find herself immersed in the wine (ah hem culture).

Eating Beijing noodles and dumplings

So at this time we prepare ourselves to say goodbye to China. This past year has been amazing and with the impending departure we had the chance to truly reflect on our experiences and send love to those who have helped us on our way. We hope that everyone gets the opportunity to visit China sometime in his or her life. It is truly a remarkable and different place to the west. In brevity, so cold, so hot, so old. Never have we seen so much weirdness, atrocities, passion and friendliness all in a day. We will miss China and our lives in China. Someone asked us the other day what we will miss the most and it sounds odd but we will miss being Westerners. In Beijing foreigners tend to mostly stick to common districts (typically around the embassy's) and with a ratio of 1:200 in a city of 25mil+ we are a rare breed. It sounds vain but in China westerners are prized for their pale complexions, light hair and big eyes. People stare, but they stare out of curiosity so it's a fleeting look or a quick smartphone photo. You are addressed as 'beautiful or pretty girl or handsome man' and people will remark 你是漂亮 (ni hao piaoliang) even if your face its puffy and red after climbing stairs on the mountainside for the last 40 minutes. It gives you a sense of confidence and you feel proud to be different. Living in China and not speaking Chinese is of course not without its challenges but this was part of the fun for us. There is some joy in being able to switch off everyone when out walking or sitting down to eat, living in ignorance of signs, local news and the bombardment of communication/propaganda can be somewhat relaxing. When you’re ready you can flick it back on.

Peking Opera

We probably won't miss the oily food, aside from the dumplings (favorite being 莲藕和鸡蛋 which is lotus root and egg) and certainly not the air pollution which on some days is so bad that you can't see the building 100metres in front of you. Nor will we miss the smoking and the foul spitting. We've seen things that can't be unseen, but when we reflect it's all those things that make China different too- and in a weird way.. we will miss it. 

We will miss the safety of China. China is an extremely safe country. Lastly we will miss the convenience China offers. Dinner sets you back not even 10mins and NZ$1.50- where can you eat cooked food so cheaply? 

Summer dinner atmosphere

A special Baozi

Until then, tot siens,

John and Kara

Autumn visit to Xiang Shan Park, Beijing, China

Autumn has arrived in the Northern hemisphere! The evenings are quickly descending into an early darkness and the mornings, bitterly cold. Golden yellow, chestnut red and dirty orange leaves are falling heavily from the trees which line the old Chinese city streets.

On a relatively warm and clear day Kara and her work colleagues ventured West of Beijing to explore the mountains (in particular Xiang Shan). After taking the subway as far as it goes and then a bus for an additional hour they reached the foot of the Western mountains. 

It was a beautiful day, dubbed APEC blue, after the governments current initiatives to clear the sky for an international economic conference. With barely a cloud in the sky we spent the day climbing the steep western slopes. We feasted on lunch at the top before making our way back down and stock piling fresh citrus fruits at a local farmers market. 

Below are some photos taken during the autumn adventure!

Tot siens,

John and Kara

Izmir, Turkey

Izmir (4000 years in the making!)

We spent our last few days in Turkey up the Western Coast in Turkeys third largest city; Izmir. 

This was soo good! 

The city that feels absolutely huge (with a population of 4m+) however, has a small inner city area where we spent our time hanging out and mentally preparing ourselves for the next few weeks ahead. Getting to our hostel was the hardest part of the trip. We had our tourist scam rader up on full alert after be-friending a local who followed us into a cafe and then proceeded to offer us a lift in his 'taxi'. Hahaha... we love a try'er! 

Truthfully, we didn't do much exploring in Izmir although there are a number of places worth visiting (such as the Kadifekale Castle or Izmir's clock tower) we decided to just relax together by the waterfront, smelling the salty waves, drinking coffee and eating Turkish food and then of course eating a little more before waddling back to our hostel.

Locals just relaxing at the waterfront

The weather was a tad cooler than down on the South coast but it didn't bother us much. 

Pretty much bird flu waiting to strike! 

We stayed at a small communal hostel not far from the water front which was packed with travellers like us.
Most of the day we meandered about the waterfront but on our last Sunday morning we joined some others from our hostel and explored (supposedly Turkey's oldest and largest) flea market. It was actually pretty boring and full of absolute junk, and the odd fruit and vege stand until we found the live animal section and there it was actually rather fascinating.  We wouldn't really recommend it at all. 

We have included a few shots below that we took in Izmir but this was certainly a few days of 'down time' for us :) Next up.... Madrid! 

Tot siens,

John and Kara 

Walking up and down the Izmir water front

Amazing baked potatoes. 

The making of Johns candy treat! 

Grapes for sale at the market

In Selçuk exploring Ephesus and Pammukale, Turkey

Ancient library of Celsus in Ephesus 

The bus network in Turkey is efficient, on time and quite comfortable. There are a number a big companies to choose from. We chose a company called Metro for our trip from Bodrum to Selçuk and it turned into very passionate ride. 

Passionate (long story short) because our driver was punched in the nose and then our bus attendant wheeled a carving knife at several passengers who were waiting to board but it seemed had too much baggage. 

Can I help you? 

You could say the shit then hit the fan and we sat watching the 'passion' of everyone in close vicinity unfold (even the random who somehow appeared holding the broken off leg of a table). It proceeded to get worse when our safe viewing spot from inside the bus was compromised as the attendant tried to hide from the unfolding drama in the bus and was followed.

We arrived into Selçuk as our driver was still spitting up blood and probably nursing a broken nose and only a bit behind schedule.

We made the small town of Selçuk our base for several nights as it is reasonably close to several ancient attractions. After a good night sleep and a delicious buffet Turkish breakfast we hired bikes and cycled the 3.5km to Ephesus, built in the 10th century BC, where we spent the morning exploring old Greek ruins. 

The temple of Hadrian 

We got there early and got a few photos without many people in them. But as the morning progressed and the cruise ship tourists came in bus after bus it became rather crowded - as expected from a major tourist attraction.

Playing in the columns

Old way to the market 'hi ho, hi ho'

The ancient theatre in Ephesus 

Roman decoration

Ancient columns 

In towards the small settlement

Ancient houses

Roman ruins

Steps in the ancient city

The ruins were a fantastic site. It's quite amazing to see how civilised the Greek community was back during the Roman period. The ancient city, now home to a healthy population of tame cats, had street lighting, sewage system and even air conditioning (to catch the sea breeze) in the houses. 

Please, you're in my sun

Head of a Roman Emperor

My favourite statue

Roman public lavatories 

Relaxing with ayran and goremeze

Everything was made out of white marble, including the roads, the stadium, the amphitheatre, the meeting "theatre", the beautiful library, the communal toilet where 50 people did their business facing each other, and even the brothel and surrounding homes. It's an amazing cite to behold and well worth a visit. We lost track of time and spent several hours exploring the excavated houses. 

Then we took our bikes to an area called the Seven Sleepers (mentioned in both the bible and Qu'ran) there really wasn't much to see but it had a great authentic restaurant where we saw older ladies making wood-fired cheese pancakes (goremeze). So we sat for a relaxing lunch and turkish coffee on the carpeted floor with colourful pillows under the trees with birds chirping away completing the atmosphere.

Cycling the back country

Then we decided to cycle the other "3km" to the Aegean sea which didn't look too far on the map. Turns out the map wasn't really to scale and the 3km was actually another 6km which, to the untrained muscles already suffering in the heat, can feel very long! 

Surprising the area reminded us of Adelaide. It was hot, very dry and large gum trees lined both sides of the road and the smell was very yummy! 

Playing on the cotton candy castle

The following day we took a bus to Pamukkale. Pamukkale is located in the middle of the Denzili province and boasts a small world heritage site city, famous for its ‘cotton candy’ rock formations.

The mineral rocks, although unique to Turkey, are similar to the famous pink and white terraces that were destroyed by volcanic eruption in New Zealand in 1886. 

Looking down the travertines

The terraces and travertines have been built up over centuries by flowing supersaturated carbonate minerals coming from within the local hot springs.

The volcanic area has been used as a thermal spa since the second century BC and on the plateau above the terraces sits the ancient Greco-Roman city of Hierapolis.

Just relaxing, spa side.

A foot bath all to himself

Relaxing in the pools

Landscape and view 

Although we had a nosy around the ancient city, we spent more time jumping into the naturally heated pools and rubbing the therapeutic clay over our skin. Ahh.. bliss. A very beautiful place to visit!

Enjoying the pools

Taking a dip in a travertine

Tot siens,

John and Kara