Salvi grew up in Dúrcal (w), a small town in the south of Spain, and she still has a house there. So this morning, we set off to spend a couple of days in Dúrcal:
Yes, it was a long drive. A large part of the drive took us through the area of Spain known as La Mancha, so of course:
We stopped for breakfast at a little roadside inn, where Juan Carlos bought some melons from a fruit vendor next door:
I took some pictures of scenery along the way:
We made another stop for lunch (like I said, it was a long drive):
...where I ordered boquerones, a favorite of mine at Spanish restaurants. They're anchovies, but not the salt bombs you get on pizzas. They're marinated in vinegar, and they're delicious (if you like vinegar). They usually look something like this:
But to my surprise, what landed on the table in front of me was this:
Boquerones also come fried! Who knew? Well, they weren't what I was expecting, but they were good anyway.
So we finally arrived at Salvi's house:
...on a quiet, small town street:
Quite a change from Madrid.
Like their house in Madrid, this house was also full of books, and the walls were also covered with paintings. In the back yard was a pool deck, with intricately patterned Moorish style tilework:
...and walls covered with hundreds of decorative plates:
In the afternoon, I went out for a walk, and took some pictures of the town:
I came to a central plaza with a fountain:
...and a church:
...dedicated to San Ramon:
The plaza also featured a statue of Rocío Dúrcal (w):
...who I had never heard of. I looked her up and found that she was a singer and actress - and she had nothing to do with the town of Dúrcal. Her real name was María de los Ángeles de las Heras Ortiz, and she apparently chose her stage name by picking a name from a map at random! In keeping with my tradition of bringing home music from where I've travelled, I bought one of her albums.
Later, we took Kettle and Goleta to a vacant lot that Salvi also owns, and let them run and play. We also met Salvi's sister, Conchi. And that was it for the day.