Roadtrip Through Spain ... October 2014

Farewell to Asturias!  You can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.

During the first four days of this week, we visited seven cities and drove 1500 km.

We said farewell to many of our friends, old and new, and five of us Sundari yoga girls stayed on in Spain for a little roadtrip....or so we thought!

Depart Oviedo for Leon and Salamanca.   Our mountain guide Camilo  agreed to drive our van for the week, a godsend by all measures and he's interesting and  fun to boot! We departed Spanish Steps and drove out of the Cantabrian mountains south toward Leon and Salamanca.  The rugged and beautiful mountains end just past the border between autonomous regions.  We drove into increasingly gentler and dryer terrain,  the mountain fogs and horreos giving way to rolling plains, vineyards and fields of grain and corn ready for harvest. We stopped  for rest  at a rustic little country store full of colorful local items and with hot espresso too.

The storekeeper slicing serrano ham into thin slivers.

Camilo explaining the characteristics of locally made pocket knives.to the ladies.

The road runs for miles along the Ruta de Plata, the old Roman road used to carry silver from the mountain mines to the coast.  We stop in Leon, Roman walls still standing in the town center, the home to a legion of 35,000 Roman soldiers  in centuries past.  The name "Leon" derives from the Latin word for "legion".

The leon de Leon

The town market is bustling with vendors of chestnuts and hazel nuts gathered from the forest, braided swags of garlic, eggplants and other fall bounty.

We wandered and enjoyed a glass of wine in a corner cafe, with serrano ham on toast for pinchos (savory snacks presented on crusty bread) . We went on to a restaurant where I enjoyed the most delicious meal of fork-tender chunks of pork with a red wine reduction on a bed of rich mushroom puree ...it was heaven on a fork.   On to Salamanca to find our hotel (it took three tries even for Camilo). We had a glass of wine and went  window shopping, and those who still had energy went out pub crawling and playing fussball with the college students of Salamanca!

Salamanca to Fuensaldanya and Burgos. After breakfast we briefly explored Salamanca and and joined in a tour of the magnificent renaissance cathedral, with it's gilded spiral columns  made from Inca gold, the altar piece gleaming even in the dim morning light.

The cathedral at Salamanca

The carved walnut choir stalls were built around an oversized illuminated medieval hymnal, big enough for all the singers to read.

Choir stalls, uprigth and uncomfortable. with misericordias!

The oversized hymnal, about a meter tall.

Illumination.  Magnificent.

 It was Armed Forces Day and a mass was being said for the many service men and women present, all in dress uniform, and many of high rank..

 We walked across the river via the Roman bridge for the classic view of the  city,  the churches and tall buildings lit by the morning sun. Camilo informed us that Roman bridges are always built on the level, not with pitched roadways.

Walking the Roman bridge at Salamanca

 On to the University of Fonseca, one of the first in Spain and we see the original 15th century college.  Back to the hotel, we drove an hour or so to Fuensaldanya, to  La Bodega la Sorbona, a popular restaurant established within an ancient wine cave, with a reservation courtesy of Juan Carlos.   The caves were excavated into the living rock and vented to the exterior to exhaust the fermentation gases from the wines, which can be lethal in closed spaces.

In the cave

I savored the sauteed mushrooms with garlic, and  garlic soup made with bread crumbs, egg and oil. Pictures of matadores were on the wall, and wine served in typical terra cotta jugs.

Back into the van and on the road, and I discovered that the delicate fan shaped protector for my camera lens had gotten bent and jammed, and won't close or open properly. At least it still works. Our stop for the night, Burgos was on the Camino de Santiago, and many pilgrims and their scallop shells were seen on the buildings, walkways, and shops.  We visited the fall vegetable market  as the light dimmed, then had dinner and retired.

Burgos to San Sebastian.  In the morning in Burgos we met up with a Spanish Steps hiking group walking the Camino for a tour of the fine Gothic cathedral.  After, we hiked up to the castle, partly destroyed by Napoleon's retreating army, now rebuilt. We descended through the town's great arch, and browsed a local pottery fair. After lunch, it was time to drive on to San Sebastian on the Basque coast. We checked in and went out to walk through the fine old Belle Epoque town.

Belle Epoch San Sebastian

 San Sebastian was the summer home to the Spanish court  at the turn of the 19th century. A lovely tapas bar recommended by a Spanish chef (Camilo's aunt)  provided refreshment of  vino tinto and pinchos (the prunes wrapped in bacon were lovely), then we met up with friends and shared sangria, pinchos, and lots of laughs.

San Sebastian to  Zaragoza.   In the morning, we walked down to the waterfront,  seeing the Don Quixote fountain, past a fine carousel and down along the beach and around to the marina.

The bronze fountain of Don Quixote and Pancho Sanza

I bought a beret (txapella) marked with the basque symbol called a Lauburu ("four heads" in Basque language, supposedly representing earth air fire and water) then went exploring  and rallied at the cathedral. Nearby an opera singer was singing on the sidewalk, her lovely voice soaring.

My new txapella, worn a la Francesa

(Footnote:  Basque is a strange and ancient language.  Thank you is "eskerick asko")

Arrived Zaragoza after almost four hours of driving, just before sundown.  I slipped out for a little stroll, past the leaning tower, down by the cathedral of Nuestra Senora del Pilar, whose feast day coincided with Columbus Day, just passed. A massive pyramid of flowers was built in the street; crowds came to see it, a special mass was being said, very festive.

Zaragoza was founded by Caesar Augustus

The cathedral and mountain for flowers for NS del Pilar

  Good hunting for cutpurses! I passed wonderful tapas bars and cafes, a flamenco studio, art galleries.

Tapas ...little works of art.

The art of Joan Miro, Zaragoza's native son.

Costumes for professional flamenco dancers.

Back to the hotel, I walked part of the same route with the  group. Zaragoza is home to over half the population of Castile, and was the seat of  King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, the patrons of Columbus. So much to see, so little time.

Zaragoza to Barcelona.  Got out early (but not early enough) drove for four hours. I was nursing a heavy cold. We stopped for a bite at a Spanish truck stop, got some cough drops and split sandwiches among us. On the road again, we arrived  too late to return the van right away as planned. We checked in to the hotel, and Camilo took us out to orient us to the city before he left. We walked out along the Rambla,  a gracious tree-lined pedestrian boulevarde along a thoroughfare of the city, to the Gothic quarter, then came back to return the van.

La Rambla en Barcelona

Camilo wished us farewell and departed to catch his bus back to Asturias.  Bridget and I returned to our room and were chatting when the phone rang. Camilo had missed the bus, and ended up stuck in town for one more night. We were delighted, and the three of us headed down to the Gothic for celebratory tapas in a renaissance-era inn, walls two feet thick and glowing in golden ochre light  on the square near a cathedral.

Barcelona all day.   Some of us took the tourist bus, but we strolled the Rambla, stopping to admire both Gaudi apartment buildings, window shop and people watch.

We visited the famous Boqueria market, loaded with marvelous local produce and meats, artfully arranged. The variety of foods is endless.

At El Mercado Boqueria

Beautiful produce...

...and handmade marzipan.

We explored the Gothic quarter, wandering and shopping in the narrow medieval lanes.  We had a delightful lunch, and reasonable, the best dish being fork -tender braised duck glazed with caramelized baked figs. Mmm.

I visited La Ribera district with its narrow lanes, shopped bohemian boutiques, and toured the Picasso Museum housed in an old palace. His early works painted on postcard sized pieces of wood, his series "the Sculptor and his Model", and his bullfight sketches were highlights for me. Wonderful!

Self portrait of Picasso, in the museum in Barcelona.  1898.

So footsore! Later in the evening, we went across the street (the shortest possible walk!) for tapas and sat at the open counter facing out on the street, watching the night life and being flirted with by the charming manager.

(Footnote:  Barcelona is in Catalunia, where Catalan is the language.  They actually have a movement to cecede from Spain.  Good morning is "Bon Dia", and thank you is "Moltas gracias".  Using these phrases brings smiles to Catalan faces.)

Second full day in Barcelona .  It's Gaudi day.  Bridget had a pass for the metro which we could use later, so we took a cab to Guell Park to get there early.

Guell Park

The grounds keeper's cottage

Everything is surfaced with tile

Interior details of grounds keerpers cottage.

Gaudi's residence

We rode the metro to Cathedral of the Sagrada Familia.

Sagrada Familia, as ever, under construction

It is truly spectacular, but the line wound around the block. Gaudi was an extraordinary visionary, a whimsical genius.  His works have provided Barcelona with tourist revenues and construction labor for generations of workers, with the new construction of Sagrada Familia and conservation of all his tiled edifices.

Bridget rockin' the Metro!

 We took the metro to the University and went exploring, shopping, laughing.  We had lunch in La Ribera in a picturesque little cafe.

Yet another great meal!

In a little niche of a shop along a crooked lane, we bought delicate hand-made shrugs from the lady who crochets then.

The medieaval lanes in La Ribera

The crochet lady in her shop

Barcelona street life

 It was departure eve, so we went back to pack. Later, Bridget and I walked around the block and found a little place for one last snack of tapas ...tomato slices and fresh cheese with drizzled with basil oil, and roasted endive with mustard sauce.

The Spanish take pride in their delicious food and excellent wines! I enjoyed tasting the regional cuisines, made from locally produced meat and vegetables--an essential part of the experience of Spain (or anywhere, for that matter).  The serrano hams, salt cured and aged hanging from the rafters, and the even finer Iberian hams, made from black ancestral hogs fed on acorns and hazel nuts, are the national delicacy.

A friendly butcher proud of his Jamon Iberica

Interestingly, alcoholism is not as prevalent in Spain as in many other countries.  Their enjoyment and appreciation of their good wines is done in moderation.

The next day we flew back to the States, and home sweet home after two months of European travel!.

 A heartfelt "Gracias" to Camilo for his guidance and friendship.

Gaudi and me