VALLADOLID (SPAIN)

[Photo: Street of Valladolid, Spain]

Wikipedia:

Valladolid (Spanish pronunciation: [baʎaðoˈlið]) is the capital city of the Province of Valladolid and de facto capital of the autonomous region of Castile and León in north-western Spain. It is situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three winegrowing regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales. It has a population of 311,501 people, making it Spain's 13th most populous municipality and northwestern Spain's biggest city. Its metropolitan area ranks 20th in Spain with a population of 413,605 people in 23 municipalities.

[Photo: Columbus monument]

TripAdvisor:

This is located just outside the train station at the corner of Paseo de Filipinos. The sculptor of the statue of Columbus was Antonio Susillo, of Seville. The statue of Columbus looks towards the New World and is guided by the statue of Faith. Both statues are on top of a globe, with a lion underneath the globe. These are flanked by four nude statues of allegorical characters. The monument was going to be sent to Havana, Cuba, for the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America at the end of the 19th century, but the Spanish American War of 1898 ended with Cuba getting its independence. Spain decided to keep the monument for Valladolid, where Columbus died.

[Photo: Museo Nacional de Escultura]

[Photo: Museo Nacional de Escultura]

Wikitravel:

Museo Nacional de Escultura: The best cultural thing that Valladolid has is the polychrome wood museum (Museo de Escultura). Some of the sculptures are used during the Easter holidays when Valladolid becomes a famous city because of its religious traditions.

[Photo: Oriental Museum]

[Photo: Oriental Museum]

Wikimapia:

The Oriental Museum was founded in 1908 and after a second renovation in 2005 was reopened to the public in May 2006. Its aim is to exhibit the large collection of objects from China and the Philippines. They were collected by Augustinian “Filipinos” in their missions in the Far East. This great collection of art is found in this city for two reasons: Valladolid was the headquarters of the Augustinian “Filipinos” in Spain and the second, being the headquarters, it was where they trained the future missionaries who later on brought many artifacts from the East.

HARBOUR BRIDGE (SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA)

[Photo: Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia]

Wikipedia:

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of Sydney, New South Wales, and Australia. The bridge is nicknamed "The Coathanger" because of its arch-based design.

Under the directions of Dr J.J.C. Bradfield of the NSW Department of Public Works, the bridge was designed and built by British firm Dorman Long and Co Ltd of Middlesbrough and opened in 1932. The bridge's design was influenced by the Hell Gate Bridge in New York. It is also the sixth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world, and it is the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 metres (440 ft) from top to water level. It was also the world's widest long-span bridge, at 48.8 meters (160 feet) wide, until construction of the new Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver.

THE PLAZA MAYOR OF SALAMANCA (SPAIN)

[Photo: Plaza Mayor, Salamanca, Spain]

Wikipedia:

The Plaza Mayor (English Main Plaza) in Salamanca, Spain is a large plaza located in the center of Salamanca, used as a public square. It was built in the traditional Spanish baroque style and is a popular gathering area. It is lined by restaurants, ice cream parlors, tourist shops, jewelry stores and a pharmacy along its perimeter except in front of the city hall. It is considered the heart of Salamanca and is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful plazas in Spain.

In 1988, UNESCO declared the old city of Salamanca a World Heritage Site. Today, there is a plaque placed in the center of the plaza marking its significance to boast the plaza's baroque-style beauty. Salamanca is known as La Dorada, "The Golden City" because of the glow of its sandstone buildings, which the Plaza Mayor represents at its core.

Rick Steves’ Europe:

Salamanca’s many students help keep prices down. The young people congregate under the stars until late in the night, chanting and cheering, talking and singing. Over the centuries, the university’s poorer students earned money to fund their education by singing in Salamanca’s streets: a tradition called “tuna music.” The name tuna, which has nothing to do with fish, refers to a vagabond student lifesyle and later was applied to the music these students sing. This 15th- to 18th-century tradition survives today as groups of students, dressed in the traditional black capes and leggings, sing and play mandolins and guitars, serenading the public in the bars on and around the Plaza Mayor. While they make their serious money performing for weddings on weekends, you’re likely to see them out singing for tips on summer week nights.