Okay, I’ve got an hour to explore Valladolid, Spain. I’ve been in this position before. I guess I will just meander and try to find some interesting sites before I have to hit the road.
Wow, did I get lucky! I stumbled into the Valladolid city park. I guess it is their version of Central Park in New York or Griffith Park in Los Angeles. This one looked fairly normal as I walked in. Some footpaths, some trees, some greenery—but wait, there’s more!
I began to notice lots of different birds—geese, ducks, pigeons—and then I came up on several intricately colored peacocks. Whoa!
Then I saw some of the locals feeding the birds, and a clearer picture began to emerge. These birds were hungry, and they knew that these stupid humans would feed them. It begat a feeding frenzy! There were peacocks everywhere! Crazy!
There were also some wild-looking squirrels. At first I thought they had little pompadours, but when one started following me around, I could see that they just had really furry ears. Very strange and unique compared to our American squirrels back home!
Before leaving the park, I discovered a beautiful lake surrounded by stone-and-concrete edge walls that looked very old, probably from the late 1800s or early 1900s. As I followed the lake edge, I stumbled across one of my favorite things: a grotto!
There’s a term I’ve seen used when discussing this ancient twentieth-century obsession with building things out of concrete to resemble natural things like wooden railings or naturally occurring caves or grottoes: “concretia dementia.” Usually the term refers to one crazy individual (normally an older man who works by himself, like Simon Rodia, who built the Watts Towers), but it can also apply to a city planning committee, like they obviously had here in Valladolid back in the late 1800s/early 1900s. To see things like this, somewhat derelict, but still standing, always fills my heart with joy.
I’m sure there are lots of other really incredible things here in Valladolid, but it’s time to hit the road. Tonight I will be in Zaragoza, at the Rock and Blues club. Let’s go!
See photos and videos at Deke’s original Facebook post!
