Posts Tagged ‘Merida’

I just started to understand some Spanish!

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

June 11, 2009

Just when I was starting to understand some Spanish we go to Portugal.  We got on a bus that took us from Merida, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal.  Not once crossing the border between the two countries did we have to show our passport because in the European Union you are free to move between countries unlike earlier where we would have had to go through a customs checkpoint.  We then arrived in Lisbon and I once again was totally without any clue as to communicating.  The one nice part was that more people in Portugal spoke English than in Spain.  We came into the Santiago Calatrava designed Estacao de Oriente.

Estacao de Oriente

Estacao de Oriente

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Roman Amphitheater and Theater

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

June 11, 2009

Date: 15 BC

Location: Merida, Spain

These two theaters were built by the Romans and are among some of the best preserved Roman ruins in the area.  The amphitheater is still used today for performances.  I first visited the theater which would more likely called a stadium today.

Roman Theater

Roman Theater

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National Museum of Roman Art

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

June 11, 2009

Architect: Rafael Moneo

Date: 1980-1985

Location: Merida, Spain

The National Museum of Roman Art was built to display the Roman artifacts from around Spain.  It was designed to use the Roman style as a source of style.  The entire building appears to be constructed from Brick but instead the brick is a fromwork for the reinforced concrete.  From the outside the building tries to not appear massive through the use of buttresses that line the main street facade.

National Museum of Roman Art Exterior

National Museum of Roman Art Exterior

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What is in Merida?

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

June 11, 2009

Merida is an interesting town because it takes at most half an hour to walk to any point in the city, assuming you don’t take the long way.  Even when we went to the bus station to get tickets to Merida from Sevilla the attendant asked What is in Merida?  Still we stopped there and in terms of architecture this city has some pretty interesting buildings.  We started the day in Plaza de Espana.

Plaza de Espana

Plaza de Espana

From there we headed up to the National Museum of Roman Art.  On the way we passed the Templo de Diana, an ancient Roman temple that is currently being restored.

Templo de Diana

Templo de Diana

After the National Museum of Roman Art we headed over to the Roman Amphitheater and Theater.  That was the end of our day in Merida.

Photos of Merida

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We need to be at the top of that other hill!

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

June 10, 2009

After the morning in Sevilla we got on the bus and headed to Merida.  The ride to Merida was the first bus we took and I must say that I prefer the trains to the buses.  When we arrived in Merida we started to walk to where the Google Map showed the hotel to be.  We got there and there appeared to be no hotel and we were just a little confused.  Then we figured out that we were on the other side of the city from where we were supposed to be.

Merida Map

Merida Map

Luckily we were not in a hurry to get there so we were able to walk there and still have time for dinner.  Probably the worst part of this whole ordeal is that we knew the hotel had a pool so we were all looking forward to jumping in a cooling off.  Well when we got there they said that their pool was closed and did not open until the 15th.  What luck!

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Merida Lodging

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

Location: Velada Merida Hotel

  • Check-In: June 10, 2009
  • Check-Out: June 11, 2009
  • Address: Avenida Reina Sofia S/N Merida, 06800 Spain
  • Notes:

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