We recently returned from an 18-day trip to northern Spain,
completing our tour of this wonderful country. In May 2011 we travelled the
south, and in February 2012; Madrid and central regions. Much earlier, in the
Nineties, we had visited Barcelona.
Sárdon de Duero
October 09
- 11:
It was into Madrid airport to start this adventure, renting a car
there and driving northwest 200 kilometers to Sárdon de Duero in Castilla y Leon, and the Abadia Retuerta L’Domaine;
staying three nights. This hotel is a former monastery amidst acres of vines –
its wines are very well regarded. We were in room 206, very nice. The staff
gave us a tour and that evening we had an 11-course tasting menu with wine
pairing in their gourmet restaurant, Refectorio.
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| Abadia Retuerta L'Domaine |
Arriving back to the hotel, the weather was so delightful we went to
the outdoor pool for some late day sun; I was brave (or foolish) enough to take
a swim in the frigid water.
Dinner was at the hotel’s casual restaurant, Vinoteca; very good
salad and lamb with rice. The vineyard’s 2010 Pago Negralada Tempranillo the
perfect accompaniment.
Another beautiful day, we were off to Valladolid, just 60-kilometers
west of the hotel. Although now a modern sprawling city, the old town is packed
with history. Fernando and Isabel married here in 1469, laying foundations for
the modern Spanish state, and beginning the drive to push the Moors from the
country; Granada finally fell in 1492.
We parked by the rail station and walked to Plaza Mayor visiting the
15th C university with its impressive Baroque façade, the three
churches of Iglesia de Santa Maria la Antigua, Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de las
Angustias and Iglesia de San Pablo; and finally, the cathedral.
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| Valladolid University |
The Cathedral
Metropolitana is an unfinished work, started in 1580. It gradually lost
momentum but the redeeming feature is the flamboyance of Juan de Juni’s
altarpiece. The Museo Diocesano inside contains some beautiful religious art
and sculpture.
Lunch was tapas at La Cantina on Plaza Mayor before our drive back
to the hotel. We had a little more time at the pool; weather still unseasonably
warm. It was dinner again at Vinoteca and then to bed.
Leon
October 12
-13:
Before leaving the Abadia Retuerta L’Domaine, we walked the vineyard
along the Duero River; the weather was still beautiful – there is something
spiritual connecting the land with the eventual elixir in the bottle. Our next
stop, Leon, was about a two-hour, 200-kilometer drive northwest. We arrived to
the Parador de Leon on Plaza San Marcos; a 16th C Renaissance
marvel, one of the best examples in Spain, along with its well-preserved
Cloister of San Marco.
Unfortunately, the rooms and interior public spaces were sad. The
spartan décor would be a familiar sight to the monks; only the poorly done
modernizations would seem odd. Judith and I were both sure many centuries of
clerics had slept in our bed, the indents of their bodies visible in the saggy mattress.
In a word, awful accommodations; ditto for the food. By the way, the monks
didn’t have Internet access, neither did we.
We were quickly out to see the city, walking up the Gran Via de San
Marcos to the old town, then on Calle Ancha to the Leon Cathedral. Begun in
mid-13th C, it was inspired by the French techniques of vaulting and
buttressing in their Gothic cathedrals in Paris and Chartres. The tall nave is
slender and long, showcasing the great glory of the stained glass, 182 windows in
all, spanning the 13th to 20th centuries. The adjoining
museum off the cloister contains a wonderful Pedro de Campaña panel.
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| Leon Cathedral |
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| Main Altar |
We had a cava near Plaza Regla, walked back to the parador
and visited the adjacent Museo de Leon. After a blah dinner of baby lamb, it
was off to bed.
Up to a very proletarian breakfast, we were off on a very nice day
to see the rest of the city. Our first stop was in the northeast of the old
city, to the best preserved of the ancient Roman walls and the Colegiata de San
Isidoro, actually a part of the walls. Travelling south along Calle Ruiz de
Salazar we visited two well preserved palaces: Casa de los Guzmanes with its
elegantly arcaded Renaissance patio, and Antoni Gaudi’s unusually restrained
Casa de Botines. Still further south we saw three plazas: Plaza del Grano, Plaza
San Martin and Plaza Mayor. Lunch was on Calle Ancha at Via Principalis.
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| Casa de los Guzmanes |
We dragged ourselves back to the hotel and had drinks on the
terrace, cleaned up, had another bland meal and were off to bed.
Santiago de Compostela
October 14
– 15:
We were up early and off to Santiago de Compostela, 3 ½ hours and
320-kilometers, again northwest. Leaving Castilla y Leon behind, we
travelled to the Galicia region, the remote northwestern corner of the Iberian
Peninsula. The discovery in the 9th century of the supposed remains
of St. James the Apostle confirmed Santiago de Compostela as Medieval Europe’s
most important religious shrine after St. Peter’s. For over some 1,000 years
pilgrims have followed the route over the Pyrenees and along the north coast of
Spain to this holy destination.
Our home for the next two nights was the modern NH Collections
Hotel, just a bit outside the old city. Unpacking quickly, we were off on a
20-minute walk to Santiago Cathedral, travelling up Rúa de San Francisco like so many pilgrims before us. Unfortunately, a
large portion of the majestic west façade of the church was shrouded by
scaffolding, hiding most of the twin Baroque towers that reach high over Praza
do Obradorio. The present building dates from the 11th – 13th centuries. Entering, there was more
ongoing restoration obscuring the ornate high altar and the iconic botafumerio,
the giant silver censer that hangs above it. We left a bit unimpressed; perhaps
our expectations were too high.
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| Botafumerio (Censer) |
We walked the balance of the city, passing through Plaza de
Cervantes and stopping for a pleasant lunch at Café de Altamira on Rúa das
Ameas, east of the cathedral. We were back to the hotel by early evening and
had a light dinner at the bar of some charcuterie and a bottle of local white.
The morning’s weather did not look promising as we left for Costa da
Morte, the wild and remote “coast of death” stretching from Fisterra in the
south to Malpica in the north. The coast is dotted with isolated fishing
villages, tucked into the majestic headland.
We were heading west on AC-441, about 1 ½ hours, to Cabo Fisterra
(“where the land ends”). The terrain drops into the sea, scattered with rocky
outcroppings, menacing shipping over the millennia. The lighthouse stands
sentry to this place where the pilgrimages final ended; many trekkers burning
their shoes to mark the completion of their journey.
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| Cabo Fisterra Lighthouse |
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| Pilgrimage End |
Afterward, we drove along the coast and up into the hills to O’Fragón Restaurante and had a wonderful lunch: blue lobster to share, then
a tasty grilled seabass. It was then another drive on to Carmariñas, seeing many of the iconic hórreos, quaint stone grain stores on raised stilts; and Rio de Porto Rias.
A “rias” is a long tidal estuary, and found all along the coastline of Galicia.
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| Judith posing in front of a "Hórreos" |
We got back to the hotel around 6:00 pm; dinner was at the hotel and so-so.
Lluces
October 16
– 20:
We left Santiago de Compostela early on another overcast morning,
driving east-northeast 320 kilometers, a 3 ½ hours’ drive. The route took us
through the western edge of the Galician Massif and into Asturias and
Cantabrian Mountains. The effects of Ophelia, the easternmost Atlantic hurricane
on record, made for a windy and sometimes rainy trip. This was added to by
smoke from forest fires in southern Galicia and northern Portugal. Sadly, all
were started by arsonists. So the air was thick with a smoky fog, but it added
to the atmosphere as our route passed through pristine forests, pastureland and
deep gorges. At times we were just meters from the ocean. The landscape was
dotted with wind turbines, the country is the fifth largest producer of wind
energy, contributing 19% of its total domestic electricity demand.
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| Hotel Palacio de Luces |
We arrived to Hotel Palacio de Luces at about 2:30 pm, a very
bucolic Relais & Chatueax property just a few kilometers from the Atlantic.
After a quick lunch of croquetas, we had a swim in the indoor pool. Dinner was
terrible, a traditionally served chicken: a giant chicken leg (it could have
been from a small pig) served in a thick muddy brown sauce. Oh well, it was off
to bed.
We woke to an overcast morning with an acrid smell of smoke in the
air. After breakfast we drove east on the coast road, AS-257, to Lastres, and
then the N632 to Ribadesalla. This is an upscale town with a wonderful seafront
on a broad estuary of the Sella River. There is a striking white church perched
upon a promontory looking out to the Atlantic. We walked the jetty and were
buffeted by high winds.
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| Ribadesalla's Church |
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| Brave Surfers |
Back to the car, we winded our way further east along the coast on
AS-263 to Llanes where we had a nice lunch at El Cuera – very good croquetas,
and a wonderfully rich white bean and pork cassoulet, locally called Fabada. Taking the A8 back to the hotel,
the haunting Picos de Europa looming high to our left, we stopped at a car wash
to clean the built-up ash on the car.
I took another swim; dinner was not very good which meant more
leftovers for the white house cat who seemed very happy (and fat).
More rain to start another day. After getting totally twisted around
in the wrong direction, we finally made our way up very winding roads, looking
down into deep gorges, to Santuario de Covadonga nestled in the Parque de los
Picos de Europa. These beautiful mountains purportedly got their name, “Peaks
of Europe,” from returning sailors for whom this was often the first sight of
their homeland. Built between 1886 and 1901, the church here is a
Neo-Romanesque basilica and stands at the supposed site of Pelayo the Warrior’s
victory, in 722, over the much larger and better equipped Moorish army. This is
of course fiction; this battle most likely took place in Cantabria – an early
example of “fake news.”
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| Santuario de Covadonga |
We headed back to the coast and to Comillas, known for its many
buildings designed by Catalan Modernista architects, including the grand
Palacio Sobrellano built in 1881. Overshadowing all is Capricho de Gaudí, a small colorist palace designed by the then young Antoni Gaudí. In town we had lunch at the work-a-day Samovy Restaurante –
grilled ham and cheese; Judith finished with the regional chocolate con
churros.
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| Capricho de Gaudi |
Our final vsit was to the beautiful fishing port of San Vincente de
la Barquera, its low-slung stone Maza Bridge gracefully crossing the broad
estuary. We arrived back to Palacio de Luces about 6:30 pm, a 370 kilometers
jaunt. Breaks in the rain blessed us at each of our stops.
We had light bar fare this evening; unfortunately, also two bottles
of 2015 Belondrade y Lurton Verdejo!
We woke to another overcast day, travelling west along Coste Verde,
or Green Coast, which is a beautiful succession of attractive coves and dramatic
cliffs, punctuated by deep estuaries and pretty fishing villages. Our first
stop was Luarca, a neat little harbor packed with boats, and a cemetery perched
on a promontory. It was difficult to get to but worth the effort; it is
consistently ranked in the world’s “top ten” most picturesque graveyards.
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| Luarca Cemetery |
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| Luarca Cemetery |
It was then on to Cudillero, another tiny port positioned at the
base of a deep gorge. We parked and walked around looking for a lunch spot, but
we found nothing appealing.
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| Cudillero |
Thus, our midday meal was a highway rest stop; we
also had a self-service car wash to clean more fire ash off the car and fueled
up. Before returning to the hotel, we checked out the nearby lighthouse in
Lluces (faro in Spanish). I got another swim in; then we were down to dinner.
Nothing special.
Our final day here was reserved for a visit to Oviedo, about
60-kilometers west and inland from our location. We parked near the beautiful,
centrally located park of Campo San Francisco before walking to the cathedral.
It is in Flamboyant Gothic style, with a very high tower and asymmetrical
façade. There are many wonderful works of art; a 16th century
reredos, the supreme treasure of Cámara Santa
chapel from the 9th C, and many other gold and silver objects of
beauty.
The city was made more famous by Woody Alan and his 2008 movie
“Vicki, Cristina, Barcelona.” We bumped into a life sized brass statute of him
and Judith took a cheeky photo of us together.
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| Woody & Me |
Leaving the city early
afternoon, we made our way to Mount Naranco and its two magnificent
Pre-Romanesque churches. Santa Maria del Naranco is the more impressive; its
large barrel-vaulted hall on its main floor opens to two arcaded galleries on
each end.
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| Santa Maria del Naranco |
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| Barrel Vaulted Hall |
We drove back and had a very late lunch in Ribadesella, arriving
back to Hotel Palacio de Luces after six. Another swim; then we had another
uninspired dinner in the hotel.
San Sebastián
October 21
– 25:
We were up for a late breakfast and left Lluces for San Sebastián, 4 hours’ drive east into the Basque region, arriving at Hotel
Maria Cristina about 3:00 pm. Our first suite was not to our liking, the staff
switched us to a terrace suite, #503, which was very nice. After unpacking, we
took a short walk to the Zurriola Bridge and watched the tidal waves crashing
into the estuary of the Urumea River that cuts through the city on its way to
the Bay of Biscay. It was room service for dinner, accompanied by a strong
rainstorm. We were quickly asleep.
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| Zurriola Bridge - Hotel Maria Cristina in background |
Afterward, we dodged the raindrops to visit Museo de San Telmo. The
large museum is housed in a 16th C monastery. Its chapel contains 11
large murals by Catalan artist Maria Sert, depicting Basque legends and
culture. There was a large display of local decorative arts and an extensive
collection of paintings by Basque artists. A standout for me was Antonio Ortiz
Echagüe’s “Dos Mujeres del Taliflet,” or “Two
Moroccan Women.” Overall, an excellent few hours.
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| Murals of Maria Sert |
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| "Dos Mujeres del Taliflet" |
We walked back through Place de Constitucion, with its rows of
numbered yellow balconies. In the past this square was used for bullfighting
and these terraces were rented out to patrons by the municipality.
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| Place de Constitucion |
We were late reserving at the many Michelin-starred eateries, but
the concierge booked a nice spot for dinner in the hills overlooking Zurriola
Beach, “Zelai Txiki,” meaning small fields in Basque. We had very good scallops
and turbot. After a nightcap at the hotel bar, it was off to sleep.
We finally awoke to the sun. After breakfast we took a long walk
west on the promenade of Kontxa beach to the Wind Comb sculptures of Edward
Chillida, which are mounted in the rocks at the shoreline. Then it was back to
the old town, visiting the town hall and later, lunch at another pintxos spot,
Restaurante Bartolo – again very good. We finally had our bearings in the
winding narrow streets.
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| Kontxa Beach |
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| Chillida's "Wind Combs" |
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| More Pintxos |
We took the afternoon “off,” and had another good dinner in the old
town at Casa Urola; piquillos as a starter, followed by a very nice sole.
Judith and I were starting to run out of steam; we had spent two
weeks in non-stop tourist mode. The day was again sunny, so we took a leisurely
walk east along the Zurriola beach to its end to see the Dove of Peace
sculpture by Nestor Basterretxea. Lunch was at IBAI in the Zentro section, on
the fashionable Calle de Getaria. IBIA is known as a chef’s restaurant, the
preferred place for many of the city’s top culinary stars. It was a simple
establishment, quite small, and in the basement of a nondescript bar. Our beef
main course was superb; and it was fun to watch the passion for food and wine
in the other professional patrons. Lots of smelling, smiling, laughing, oohs
and aahs!
More rest late afternoon; dinner was simple and at the hotel’s bar.
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| IBIA |
We received the gift of another nice day. In the morning we walked
some more neighborhoods, skirting the Urumea River up to the beautiful Maria
Cristina Bridge. It was then back to our car; we were off to Bilbao and the
Guggenheim. So much has been written about this Frank Gehry architectural
marvel, clad in titanium. It is impressive and strangely organic, in spite of
its metallic skin. But the building is the attraction, nothing inside really
moved me. I came away with a sense that there really wasn’t much art, only very
sterile “installations.”
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| Bilbao's Guggenheim |
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| Interior Shot |
We walked a bit more after our return to San Sebastián; dinner was uninspired at the hotel’s Café Saigon.
Back to London
October
26:
We were up early, had a quick breakfast and were off to Bilbao’s
airport. After dropping off our car at Hertz (we had driven a total of 3,337
kilometers), we had a short wait until our flight departed. It was a smooth
trip; Masood had us back to our flat by 3:00 pm.
Looking back, we had seen lots of beautiful architecture from the 9th to the 20th centuries. Still, for me, the real star was the
landscapes travelling out of Castilla y Leon and then into the very picturesque
northern countryside of Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria, and the Basque region.
I recommend it highly.
