Northern Spain

After doing Andalusia and the whole southern part of Spain... this year we came back to finish the job, with the central and northern part! The tour is quite long... but since we're at it we also include Barcelona... it's always a pleasure to go to this city, each time you feel like coming back more than willingly. It seems almost pointless to say the city is a paradise... perfect weather all year round, a city packed with monuments and perhaps the best people you'll find around, welcoming, friendly, always ready to have fun! Does this city have a flaw??? I still have to find it... I've been there 4 times and I struggle to find one...! Having left Barca reluctantly we head for our original itinerary... continuing to Madrid. The capital, with all respect, is beautiful but in my view a bit inferior to Barcelona, and anyway another kind of city...

you no longer see the influence of the sea, the climate and the people slowly begin to change; there are many things to see, starting with the famous Prado museum containing the greatest works of Spanish and Italian painters, surely one of the most important museums in the world... as well as the Royal Palace, the Palacio de Comunicaciones, Plaza Mayor and the Plaza de Toros... even though I didn't manage to see a bullfight! But as a great Real fan... I couldn't miss a visit to the Santiago Bernabeu, imposing in its structure and beautiful, and since I was there I even bought a Real shirt! Having left Madrid we head for Avila, to visit the castle of the same name, and then we head for Burgos, a beautiful city dominated by its enormous cathedral, truly spectacular!...

worth noting too the church of San Nicolas and the statue dedicated to El Cid, a legendary Spanish warrior of the 11th century. From here we strike decisively west for Galicia, opening with a stop in Vigo and Pontevedra (the Dos Tirantes bridge is very pretty, and the old town). Santiago de Compostela is, as you well know, a pilgrimage destination for thousands of the faithful from all over the world... the cathedral is spectacular... it rises almost 80 metres with its baroque architecture... a phenomenal piece of architecture!! We attend a mass too... and we wander around the church, dazzled by how many of the faithful and people there are inside... absurd! The climate here is really cooler... the ocean is starting to make itself felt...

and it'll be even colder when we reach A Coruna, facing full onto the Atlantic; in the evening it's really freezing! The city is characterised by the Tower of Hercules, a lighthouse that dominates the city... and the main square where the locals gather for a stroll. Just outside the city is the beach of Finisterre, famous for its crosses and the sea... but terribly chilly! We close our lovely trip leaving Galicia for Asturias to reach Oviedo, the capital of Asturias with little churches and interesting medieval Gothic villages, to finish with Bilbao, home of the famous Guggenheim museum!.... Spain is done too... I think it's truly one if not the best country to see in Europe!