Valladolid: Concert, Castle and Wine.

Last 2nd of November was a different day.  We broke the school routine.

The day before I didn´t sleep very well. I was thinking about the trip the next day: Valladolid. I met my classmates at 8.30, took the bus, said good morning to our teachers (Teresa, Geography; Gema, Music; and Luis Clavero, Biology) and was ready to start the trip. The journey lasted one hour, more or less. Valladolid is 112 km away from Salamanca but there is a dual carriageway and driving is easy.

When we got to Valladolid, we went for a short walk in the city. The bus left us near Campogrande and then we tried to explore the centre of the city until we went to Cultural Centre Miguel Delibes.

The city of Valladolid The province of Valladolid is located in the interior of Spain, in the centre of the Castile-León region. Its capital is the city of Valladolid. The province of Valladolid is also famous for being a land of castles. There are over 30 in total, including the castles of Peñafiel, Íscar and Medina del Campo.Valladolid is also an outstanding wine-producing area: as well as the famous Ribera del Duero wines, there are four other wines with the local Designation of Origin. The gastronomic specialities include a range of stewed pulses, sweet confectionery and wild mushroom dishes. The historic centre of Valladolid conserves an important monumental and architectural heritage, particularly comprising noble houses and religious buildings. As the city has undergone significant urban growth in recent decades, Valladolid today offers a wide range of leisure and cultural options, with cinemas, theatres and museums, such as the National Sculpture Museum in the College of San Gregorio. This splendid building in the Flemish Gothic style, one of the most outstanding constructions in Valladolid, with carved figures by artists like Alonso Berruguete and Gregorio Fernández. The Museum of Spanish Contemporary Art in the Patio Herreriano –a cloister in the old Monastery of San Benito– contains over 800 20th-century paintings and sculptures.                                                                                             Adapted from http://www.spain.info/

At midday, we were at Miguel Delibes Centre, a modern cultural centre with auditorium, theatre and rooms for exhibitons. We went to enjoy the concert Vox Ballenae. Al first we talked a lot so our teacher told us to keep quiet. I enjoyed the play a lot. I love music and concerts drive me crazy. The more concerts I go to, the more I enjoy. In this play the author mixed music, theatre, dance and video.

After the play, we had free time for lunch. Some of us had our sandwich and drinks near the cultural centre. But other classmates crossed the road and went to Carrefour´s restaurant and had a spectacular lunch with eggs, steak and fish. Good idea! Next time I will try it!

After lunch, we took the bus and went to Peñafiel, a village where most people work with wine. However this village is famous because it has a beautiful castle at the top of the city. You can see it in the photo.

Peñafiel The town is full of deep excavated underground caves which were traditionally used to store the wine because of the constant temperature they kept all year around. These caves have chimney vents for ventilation and to evacuate the gases generated by the fermentation of the wine. These chimney vents dot the landscape in and around the town and the castle. Peñafiel was a very important centre in the Middle Ages, as evidenced by the fact that it had up to 19 churches.

We went up to the Castle, at the top of the city. The castle can be seen from kilometers away. We had a guided visit and we could go up to the highest tower and enjoyed the wiew.

Then I visited the Wine Museum of Valladolid. The castle hosts this Museum. There we learnt about the history and culture of the well-known wine called Ribera de Duero. We learnt the winemaking process. Adults usually taste the wine here, but not children like us.

When I finished the visit to the Museum, we came back to Salamanca. Some of us were tired. In the bus we tried to have a rest with the music of our mobiles, but it was quite difficult.

I think the best parts of the journey was the concert, the Castle and … my classmates.

Teachers, thanks. Where are we going next time?