On the way to Santiago de Compostela, I came down with a bad cold and spent our first day here in bed. Luckily, I was well enough to join the group on the second day. Our first stop Happiness Hill, known as Monte do Gozo, has a history tied to the Camino de Santiago since the Middle… Read More Sandiago de Compostela
Our first stop was in the town of Astorga which is the site of a battle between Spanish troops and Napoleon. It also has a cathedral and the bishop’s house was designed by Gaudi. The bishop’s house. The cathedral Our second stop was at Santa Columba de Somoza, a small village nestled in the historic… Read More Overland to Santiago de Compostela
Leon was originally founded as a Roman military base and has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site for it place in history as the first established location of a European Parliament. Our day in Leon was spent visiting a rural farm. The owner was quite passionate about her work and her animals. She owned… Read More Leon
Today we leave Basque Country as we head west across the north of Spain. We made one more stop in Basque Country at Ubidea where we visited an archeological laboratory. In my last post, I talked about Charlemagne’s lost battle. He lost many soldiers who were buried in a common site. That site over the… Read More Pamplona to Leon
The history of the Camino de Santiago began in the 9th century. A hermit named Pelayo reported seeing mysterious lights in a forest, which led Bishop Teodomiro to find a mausoleum believed to be the tomb of Saint James. The first pilgrim was King Alfonso II of Asturias, who made a journey to the site in… Read More Camino de Sandiego
Today we left Bilbao for Pamplona with a stop in San Sebastian on the way. San Sebastian is a seaside town and is considered Spain’s gourmet capital (many Michelin star restaurants). It is also the gateway to the mountains of Basque country. We took a walking tour of the town before having lunch at a… Read More On to Pamplona
One of the main reasons I wanted to come to the north of Spain was to go to Guernica. Guernica is a relatively small town, just east of Bilbao in Basque Country. During the Spanish Civil War from 1936-1939, which put Franco in power, the Basque people fought against Franco. Franco was determined to unify… Read More Guernica
THERE IS LOX ON THE BREAKFAST BUFFET. Our first activity was a panoramic bus tour of Bilbao. Bilbao was a heavily industrial town until the middle to late 20th century when industry dried up. The town then made a conscientious decision to hire some really good architects to build up the town in order to… Read More First Full Day in Bilbao with Tour Group
Today we sadly left Gijon, but are looking forward to joining our tour group in Bilbao. Here is the last look at our Airbnb and attempt to show you the craziness of the parking structure in which we had to park our car. On the way, we made a stop at the Capricho de Gaudi… Read More Back to Bilbao
