Saturday, October 27, 2007

SALAMANCA BY NIGHT

MAGICAL MISTERY TOUR - JANUARY 2006

At night, after a first stroll around the city, we had an early dinner (arrived at 9:30 p.m. at the restaurant and were the first there) and I got back to the Hotel to have some rest. The mist was already invading town!


"CHURCH - Salamanca has many churches, and at night they usually have nice lights on!


"CATHEDRAL PORTAL - The north façade at its best"


"UNIVERSITY - The King of the Plateresque. While the rest of Europe embraced Italian Renaissance, Spain has always demonstrated a flare for the decorative arts, and kept the magnificence of its Gothic and Moorish components. While the Renaissance was essentially a structural architectural movement, the Plateresque style focused on the decorative side. So, extremely stylized façades integrating sculptures, busts, and floral and organic motifs are its most common feature"


"CLERECIA AND A PART OF THE CASA DE LAS CONCHAS"


"ANOTHER CHURCH"


"BLURRED PLAZA MAYOR - These night photos are always a bit blurred, but I have no patience for the tripod! This is how Plaza Mayor looked like before dinner. "



"IN THE MIST - Plaza Mayor is the most famous example of Churrigueresque architecture. Just as the Plateresque style is a branch of the Renaissance, the Churrigueresque style, which lasted from the 1600's until around 1750, comes within the realm of Baroque architecture. The word Churrigueresque comes from the Churriguera family, an architectural dynasty of brothers, descendents and pupils. Almost a Plateresque revival, Churrigueresque is mostly ornamental"




"PATIO DE LOS CASTELLANOS - The inner patio, the only part that remains of the original 15th century building, has been reformed to be the centre of the hotel. It’s an architectonic treasure"

28 comments:

S-V-H said...

The Hotel looks VERY nice, Gil! You are almost like me, no patience too with the tripods...:-)you have still captured the essence of the buildings.

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

after the last post, i was hoping to see Salamanca by night..and u seemed to have read my mind....it's equally breathtaking without the daylight :)

CaBaCuRl said...

Your photos are quite dramatic, against the blackness of the night sky.There is obviously much to see in Salamanca.

Lakshmi said...

wow ! nights are always beautiful the lights capture the mood ..the blurred effect only enhances the feel

Nihal said...

Hi there,
First off, many thanks for your visit on my journal:)Pleased to hear that you enjoyed reading my write-ups. Spectacular shots from Salamanca -Spain. Blogging sounds like a school for me to learn more about the destinations where I've not been yet. Already on my wish-list to pay a visit for this treasure before too long. Appreciate very much your sharing. Will drop here in soon. Have a blessed Sunday.

Sigma said...

The place must have been a sight to behold in the night. In the lights, the intricately carved facades look all the more regal. But the mist seems to have played a bit of spoilsport :-)

P.S.: I think that by now you'd have got used to the order in my erratic visits. I am not able to visit many blogs during the week, and sometimes during weekends too, so clear up all the backlog in one sitting on a holiday :-)
P.P.S.: You must visit the forts and palaces and temples in Rajasthan!! :-))

lv2scpbk said...

Wonderful details on this building, inside and out. I like how the first photo shows how huge this is.

Shionge said...

What an excellent tour, we love churches :D

Poly said...

You are a travelman.
En Mexico decimos "pata de perro"

Very nice photos

Poly

Peter said...

This brings me some nice memories; I have almost the same pictures somewhere in my archives, including the hotel shots! As already said, a fabolous place. An advice to those who haven't been there: GO!!

Ash said...

Beautiful night shots....Lovely!!

alice said...

Do you mean in Portugal, you have your dinner earlier than in Spain?
Very nice hotel, you could danse in such a lobby!

Marie said...

Quelle magnifique architecture. Très impressionnant. Very beautiful.

Cuckoo said...

As always, night shots are just beautiful with blurred vision gives another look.

You haven't used the tripod. :)

We too have many places in India to see the architecture.

lyliane six said...

Ce sont de toutes autres images la nuit! les lumières changent les vues. c'est très beau, superbes monuments.Cela me donne envie de voir Salamanque, mais aussi de retourner visiter Lisbonne que j'ai à peine vu, c'était trop court.
Michel est rentré de Tokio où il est allé, après Séoul et Busan,son avion a été annulé à cause des grèves d'Air France, mais il en a eu un autre quand même.

Emilieee said...

Beautiful photographs especially those of cathedral! I always like seeing cathedral (photographs only, have not yet see a real one in person).

kuanyin333 said...

Great photos as always! You sure do get around! Happy Halloween!

Anonymous said...

Hello again! I came back home yesterday evening, greetings from Teide and Garajonay National Park of Gomera and it`s laurel rain forest !

I try to remember, why this name Salamanca is so familiar to me, it must be something in it`s history. I have never been there.
Thanks for your post!

JO said...

Amazing architecture, it really humbles me to be in the presents of such maginificent work - I love all the fine details... stunning

Nikon said...

Beautiful photos, Gil. The detail in the architecture is amazing & the mist shots are very different :)

Kunterbunt said...

It looks like a wonderful hotel where I would like to stay and feel back in old times.

Lori said...

The architecture is just amazing. Thanks for showing us!
(I never bother with a tripod either, I guess maybe I should try to use one sometime.)

Anonymous said...

Hi everybody,
had a terrible week with lots of work and no free time at all. Hope to save some during the weekend to reply to you and to visit your blogs. Too late now!

Anonymous said...

Sue,
That’s a great hotel, and there was no need of a tripod to show it!

Moi,
Thanks. Les beaux esprits...

Cabacurl,
Backpakker,
Thanks. The Plateresque and the Churriguerresque also help!

Nihal,
Thanks. I loved to read your texts. Unfortunately, time isn’t always available to drop by more often. You make a good decision to put Salamanca on your wish list...

Sigma,
Thanks for your comments on my blog; they are always much appreciated. I understand your blog problems, as they are so similar to mine.
I think the mist gave did put some magic on the photos...
Don’t need to mention Rajasthan; I’ve been dreaming of it for ages… Hope to see it rather sooner than later!

Lv2,
Shionge,
Most of the Salamanca churches are stunning.

Poly,
Glad to see you back. Pata de perro is an amazing expression; maybe not too sympathetic to dogs... ;))

Peter,
It’s probably time to recover the old shots, though I can’t say much, as my Revival blogs a re a bit dormant in Ireland and Thailand...

Ash,
Thanks. Night or day, Salamanca is highly interesting!

Alice,
Come on, this is a polite country: we don’t start dinner neither at 4:30-6:00 nor at 10:30-11:00p.m....

Marie,
Merci. Tu n’es pas trop loin de Salamanque, ni bien sûr de Lisbonne. On t’attend ici...

Cuckoo,
Never with a tripod... ;)

Lylianne,
À Lisbonne on t’attend toujours. Bien que Michel a réussi à rentrer, même avec Air France en panne. Il semble que la saison des grèves des transports a commencé. Je me rappelle que normalement elle se prolongeait, du moins à Paris, jusqu’a la fin de janvier, mi-février...
Bon weekend!

Emily,
So glad to see you back. You’re perfectly on time to start seeing cathedrals live...

Kuanyin,
Thanks. Not much time for Halloween...

Leena,
Glad to see you back! Hope you had a great vacation time.
Salamanca: witches and demons? That’s the start of my last post on the town...

Jo-Ro,
Nikon,
Thanks for coming back; love your comments.

April,
NH Hotel Patio de los Castellanos is your address in Salamanca. No commission... ;))

Lori,
Don’t think I’ll ever carry that tripod...

Anonymous said...

WoW...some very beautifully captured shots...just love all the architecture there...beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Kalyan,
Thanks! Good taste to like that architecture...

Dawning One said...

love the Plaza Mayor set of photos. "the mist creeps in on little cat feet"

Anonymous said...

Dawning One,
Love that expression: "the mist creeps..."