Now to head north and another unfinished church

Left today for the hidden gem of Valladolid (about an hour by train). But reflected about the wonderful town of Salamanca. In the few days I was there, I knocked out over 60,000 steps and took about 300 photos!. What I really liked was that the town had so many hidden and not so hidden surprises. There were no overt touristy things like the open top buses and the silly little tourist trains, meaning that you had to walk everywhere, which was nice as most of the streets in the old town were closed to traffic. The food was outstanding and some of the local wines I tried such as the rufete variety reds and whites (which is exclusive to Salamanca) were delicious. However, it's time to move on to begin my travels north to San Sebastian and Biarritz before I begin my month in France.

It's an overnight stop in Valladolid, a historic city in the heart of Spain and home of Miguel de Cervantes (author of the novel Don Quixote, a work considered as the first modern novel). Side fact - He was born in Alcalá de Henares where Angel's mum now lives and where I visited in 2018!!. The town is also where Christopher Columbus died! It was once the capital of Spain (in the 1600's) and today is known as the wine capital. It is a flat, walkable city with so much to see. The highlight for me was the unfinished Valladolid Cathedral. The original design would have created a church which would have been the largest cathedral in Europe, but ultimately only 45% of the project was completed due to lack of resources after the court moved to Madrid, and the expenses caused by the difficult foundations of the building. (what is it with catholics not finishing their churches!) Another fun fact is that during the religious processions the members parade with tall pointed hoods with eye holes carrying flaming torches...((KKK?). A lot of the buildings here are built from the local limestone, so the architecture is quite stunning. Unfortunately I am only here for a day and should have spent a few days here as there seems to be lots to explore.