Wednesday, May 11, 2022

A Damaged Weathervane! Weathervane Wednesday

Mesón de Cándido weathervane 2022

The same weathervane photographed 2010

A few weeks ago we were in Segovia, Spain with our family.  Segovia is famous for many things, including a Roman Aqueduct in the middle of town, the Alcazar castle (built for Queen Isabella I), fine dining on suckling pig and lamb, and it is very high at an elevation of about 3,300 feet (over 1,025 meters) above sea level.  It is one of the highest towns in Spain, after Avila, Cuenca, Guadarrama,  and Soria. The weather can be extreme.  It was raining the day we visited, and there were heavy snows a few hours after we left (in April).  

In 2013 I featured the two weathervanes above the Mesón de Cándido tavern.  You can see that blog post HERE.   One had a piglet, and the other weathervane was a rooster.  This year we photographed the restaurant and the two weathervanes, thinking that they were different.  But, at home and seeing the images close up, we could see that they were the same weathervanes but one was damaged and missing the piglet.  

This year we ate lunch in the Mesón de Cándido and saw the famous ceremony where the roasted suckling pig is displayed with a poem, and then cut with a plate (to show how tender it was) and served after smashing the plate on the floor.  It was quite fun, and surprised my six year old grand daughter!  The restaurant is under the aqueduct built by the Romans.  We had spent the morning exploring Queen Isabella's Alcazar, and were very hungry.

Is the pig missing due to extreme weather and wind? Was it stolen? Did it run away to avoid being roasted, cut with the side of a plate, and served as dinner? 

UPDATE!  May 11, 2022 12:20 pm  -  An observant reader, Simon Loughe, noticed that the pig is still attached to the weathervane, "but it has slipped down and it's ear is now below the vane wing?"  I think he is correct.  Poor piggy is hanging on for dear life up there above the tavern! 

Mesón de Cándido

The suckling pig being cut with a plate

This is the second weathervane above
the restaurant

Mesón de Cándido

Yours Truly, in the rain, by the aqueduct and Mesón de Cándido


For the truly curious:

Mesón de Cándido website:   https://mesondecandido.es/?lang=en 

My previous blog post about these weathervanes:   

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/07/weathervane-wednesday-two-in-segovia.html   

To see over 450 other weathervanes, click this link:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday   

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Damaged Weathervane!  Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 11, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-damaged-weathervane-weathervane.html: accessed [access date]). 

1 comment:

  1. What a shame. I do hope they repair the little piggy and get him standing tall again, as it was such a lovely vane. The cockerel is also unusual - given that it is a common subject for vanes.

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