Notes from August 2025:
Spanish Road Trip#
2025-08-01#
And the road trip started.
Now, Caceres might be our first destination for today, but eating is the first real stop (although, additionally, we refueled on the way). We found a restaurant on the way where they serve Italian food. After some deliberation about ravioli with boar meat, I settled for pizza cuatro quesos. The place is advertised as being next to a pool and it looks like a selling point deeper inland.
We drove through Las Vegas and it finally inspired us to check what vega means. It's a low territory with fertile ground, usually next to a river. This made me chuckle because the Usonian Las Vegas seems to be boldly named, then.
Upon driving into the town, we learned that it's spelled Cáceres, though not even Wikipedia lists it as such. Maybe I should have double-checked with the Spanish version. The city centre has lovely well-preserved medieval buildings. In one of the narrow streets, a street musician was noodling "Bella Ciao" on an electric guitar and I gave him my only 2-euro coin. But he was good and got me whistling the theme over and over, so it's only fair.
I've seen things you, people, wouldn't believe.
2025-08-02#
In the morning we went to Casa Árabe in Cáceres, which is a museum in the restored original building from, well, a long ago. Then we drove to La Alberca and while Cáceres might have medieval buildings nicely composed in the later developments, La Alberca looks like taken out of "The Legend of Zelda" or "Lord of the Rings," with narrow streets paved with rocks and buildings not matching any form of grid.
But before we reached La Alberca, we made a small stop to swim in a river. Coming from the coast, we rarely swim outside of the pool and then the sea, so it was our exotic. But also nostalgic in my case because that's how my vacations looked like until around mid-1990s (with exception of around 2000 when I started drowning). All the elements were there, including reckless boys and the smell of barbecue. Also, the water was pleasant albeit cold at first, but we're in the middle of heat.
I met a guy in the river and he asked me if I was British and upon learning I'm originally from Poland, he shared that years ago he was in Warsaw thanks to the Erasmus exchange. Then he swam away.
2025-08-03#
A crucial part of a road trip is, drumroll please, the road itself. Spain can look very different in regards to plants and types of architecture even after a relatively short drive. It's August and it's scorching hot and it feels like driving through a scenery taken straight out of western for most of the time. And yesterday we took a side road, a lovely serpentine cutting around an olive orchard on a hill. Beautiful sights and beautiful drive too.
From La Alberca to Salamanca, our today's stop, we drove through an area with not much more but cow pastures. No food joints and maybe one or two small hotels. We drove through small towns which felt like American road movies, with just buildings along the road. And there were straight roads going up to the horizon, a bit like in Australia or Africa maybe. That's exactly what I hoped for but more.
"Delicious foods. Happiness more."
-- a label on chopsticks
Ramen was so spicy (5/5, per order) that I didn't need to have coffee afterwards.
We sat in 100 Montaditos while waiting for the cinema to open and there was this elderly woman who was loudly inquiring everyone around to buy her cold coca-cola. She seemed to be missing a couple of marbles and it was generally a saddening look if anything. Kind of makes you think that you'll be no better at her age. Just before departing for the movie we bought her a glass of coke.
She might have been old and a bit out of touch, but certainly not out of her wit. When she tried to bum a glass of cold coke and the young people replied to her that she had money, she said, "Ah yes, I have, but in the bank." No sell, but still, an impressive attempt.
A girl at the counter in the cinema didn't know what americano is. We settled the matter with cafe solo con agua caliente.
An observation. On Costa Del Sol, when I have a Hawaiian shirt, waiters speak to me in English, automatically. But not in Salamanca. I suppose they have less tourism here.
A sushi bar today was the first exception to this rule.
2025-08-04#
Salamanca is an impressive city. Not as big as Madrid and much more coherent stylistically with all the yellow stone used for the façades. The colour vividly reminded me of Malta, just cleaner. The buildings are well preserved. They are also much more monumental in its scarce decorations when compared to Madrid's lavish style. And at the same time, the city reminds me of my home city of Kraków, especially Plaza Mayor which could have inspired Nowa Huta's Plac Centralny, with the columns and all.
We went to fish out the astronaut that was added during restoration years ago. Some people were appalled by this addition, but to hell with them. It's cool and composed in smartly.
We also visited the University. I missed the legendary frog on one of the carvings, but I got a fridge magnet later, so we're good. The building itself is also impressive, following the city it's located in, especially the ceilings. There are even magnifying mirrors to have a look without spraining one's neck. A bit of Hogwarts vibe, though that might not be the best recommendation these days (but the school was inspired by such buildings after all).
2025-08-05#
Today we landed in Segovia.
The city is as yellow as Salamanca, but otherwise the architecture is different. Older. Narrow streets and a style less decorative when compared to Salamanca. It was founded by Romans themselves, to whom it owes an aqueduct which was built without any concrete, just blocks of stone one on another. And it's been like that for 2,000 years. Impressive.
Coming from Kraków, I am used to moving around old buildings that remember times before times and there is a similar feeling here, but it's all so much older and it's visible.
Then the alcázar, or: the castle. It's one of two real buildings that inspired the one from Disney's logo, the other one being located in Germany. One thing I can say for sure is it does look like taken out of a fairytale, with tower roofs looking almost unreal. Inside was a tad smaller than it would seem from the outside. They have a large collection of knight armours and two thrones and what looks like the original king's bed (it's shorter, per its time). And some paintings. And old books.
In the castle's gift shop, I bought a book about "reading" castles, that is recognising their aspects to know if they were redone over time, as often was the case, and what was the purpose of various elements. It reminds me of "The Burglar's Guide to the City" which I read a couple of years ago.
2025-08-06#
[driving]
2025-08-07#
Valley of the Cuelgamuros#
On our last day we drove to the Valley of the Cuelgamuros to see the former burial site of General Franco (they moved him out in 2019). I'll say this: if you think you saw a big church before but haven't seen the basilica there, then you have seen nothing. The thing is enormous and very intimidating and while it's not unusual for churches to be physically overwhelming, they usually lean towards some form of worship. This one no, it's just ominous.
The basilica is carved inside a mountain and thus has no rooftop so to speak but the biggest cross in the world on top of the mountain. The inside looks like a mix of a temple and an atomic bunker. It could probably be used as a bunker. Thanks to that it's also quiet because it's isolated. And the temperature is pretty steady.
Visually it's very ascetic, due to sharing style with (other) fascist architecture (think of Albert Speer). There are enormous figures that add to the general villainy of the basilica, especially the hooded ones inside, near the altar. But also gigantic angels with swords by the entrance.
It's not allowed to go to the main part when there is a church service and guess what, there was. This, however, allowed us to see a nice spectacle because at some point, all the lights inside went out apart from the one above the altar. I saw a giant cross in the distance emerging from complete darkness. Crazy.
As I said, the basilica didn't make me feel as if I was in a place of religious cult but rather a personal monument. It took 18 years to build and it's bigger than Rome's basilica (so they split it and consecrated a slightly smaller part to not contest the Rome's one). General Franco should be ashamed of himself for that. But regardless, it does make an impression. Like Death Star or buildings from "Rebel Moon."
Atlantis Aquarium#
Before hitting the road we went to Atlantis Aquarium near Madrid. I think it's part of Madrid but still far from the centre. I'm still confused with those really big cities. It's not the biggest aquarium, but they have sharks and that's what counts in our family. They also have this enormous sea turtle which strolled majestically through the aquarium. And I finally got to see axolotls myself.
Hotels#
This time we've went with budget accommodation, unlike on Tenerife in April. One 1-star hotel and others 2-star.
The first hotel, Don Carlos in Caceres, was situated in an old building, so the plan of corridors and stairs reminded me a beginner's map to Doom, but that's part of the charm.
The second one, Hostal La Alberca in La Alberca, was at the edge of the old city, so we could go sightsee right after leaving the hotel. It didn't have a lift, which amounted to climbing up to floor 2 with our luggage. They also use physical keys for the locks in the doors. The bathroom had a short shower cabin, so I could see everything without opening the door. Quite convenient but never came to use. No A/C, so falling asleep took some time.
In Salamanca we stayed in Hotel Castellano I, the only 1-star on the list, and we spent there two nights. The room was almost entirely taken by beds and it had no A/C, buy there was a fan which was more than enough in the night. They had the weirdest toilet flush I saw. We spend each evening in their cafeteria. Solid tapas. On our first night we were surrounded by retirees who seem to spend their evenings there (a good recommendation). No lift, but we were on the first floor.
Our final stop, Hotel El Mirador in Segovia, brought back warm memories of Polish vacation houses, albeit rather from the outside. The room was very good, with hard materace and AC. We sat in the bar downstairs, but it was closing a bit early. As it's located by the main road, it felt like a movie motel the most and it fell nicely into the general internal movie I was playing myself all this time.
And with that I can go back to taking normal notes.