Category Archives: Spain

Spain

A visit to beautiful Santander in Cantabria Spain

We went to Cantabria to visit friends and explore the area over a few days. One of the spots we explored was the city of Santander. Our first stop was the Palacio de la Magdalena. It is located on the Magdalena Peninsula which is a 69-acre  peninsula located near the entrance to the Bay of Santander. 

The palacio was built in 1911 and used as a summer residence for the Spanish Royal family until 1931. It was then used for summer courses for the Menéndez Pelayo International University. 

Today the Palacio is the most visited place in the city of Santander and continues to be used as a conference and meeting hall.

Augustine, Alicia, Shelley and Ray on the stair of the Palacio de Magdalena

The views from the Palacio gardens were spectacular.  Looking over the bay and towards the Cantabrian Sea.

View of the Cantabrian Sea and a Lighthouse in the distance.
View of the bay entrance to Santander.

The City of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria. It is a port city and located in the northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Cantabrian Sea.

We walked through the downtown area exploring the beautiful architecture and streets.

The head office of the Santander Bank which the city is named after.
The Gran Casino del Sardinero in Santander
Cathedral of Santander

After exploring the area we decided to stop and enjoy some tapas and a drink at the Mercado de la Esperanza.

Main entrance to the Mercado de la Esperanza in Santander

Inside the mercado were many unique and interesting food stalls.

We walked along the rows until we found a nice spot to stop and enjoy some tapas.

Afterwards we walked along the waterfront exploring that area of the city.  We came across some interesting monuments along the way.

The Raqueros statues along the pier in Santander.

These statues represent the era when children worked the pier to earn  money to survive. The statues pay respect to the children that worked for a living.

Monument Fire Statue in Jardines de Pereda Santander

The Monument Fire Statue in Jardines de Pereda marks the devastating fire that occurred in February 1941 in Santander. The fire destroyed a large part of the historic center of the city,. Fortunately only one person lost their life however thousands of families lost their homes and businesses.

View of a section of the waterfront area of Santander.

We continued our walked along the waterfront and decided to take a break at the local marina. We had a great view and enjoyed a relaxing time watching the ships and boats.

Alicia, Shelley, Ray and Augustine

It was a very enjoyable day in Santander and we really enjoyed exploring this historic city. 

“Disfruta cada día porque cada día es un regalo”

Spain

A few days in Ávila Spain

We went to explore the historic city of Ávila Spain. It is located in the autonomous community of Castile and León and is the capital of the province of Avila.  

We explored the narrow streets and historic centre of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Winding  our way along some of the unique streets inside the walled section of the city.

Main plaza in Ávila

We walked along the streets and came across many interesting architecture buildings and churches.

The 12th century Cathedral of Ávila
The 17th century Convento de Santa Teresa

The city is located more than 1,130 m above sea level and ther enclosed old town is located within  11th -14th century medieval walls.  The walls are very impressive and one of the main landmarks in the city.  We walked along the perimeter of the wall  which is approximately 2,5 Kilometers  (2,734 yd). The imposing walls with its semicircular towers and 12 m (39 ft), high walls is quite impressive. 

Walls of Ávila Spain

One of the nine gates into the walled section of the city.
Main gate of the wall

There are  9 gates in the fortified walls with some providing access to the top walkway of the walls. We went up to the top of the wall and were greeted with stunning views of the city and area. 

Ray and Shelley on the walls of Ávila Spain

We walked along the top of the wall exploring the views and fortified sections of the wall.

Ray on the wall of Ávila Spain

View of the 12th century Basilica of San Vincente

It truly was amazing to think of the history and time that has passed on these walls. 

View of the walls of Ávila from the top walkway.

Ray climbing to the top tower section on the wall
View from one of the towers along the wall

The sun was setting and we were able to see a spectacular sunset on the wall of Ávila.

We walked the wall partway then headed down for a well deserved break and something to eat. Back in the main plaza we found ourselves a nice spot to enjoy a meal and drink.

A great way to end the day of exploring and adventure.

“Todos los días puedes emprender una aventura grande o pequeña si quieres”

Spain

Alicante in June with Family

We had a visit from family and we were so excited to have Janice and Scott here in Alicante. They arrived in Madrid and we met them at the airport and then came back to Alicante by train. They arrived at the perfect time because Alicante has a large fiesta called the Hogueras de San Juan, which is an annual event in June. Each day we tried to explore and see different things of Alicante. There is much to see and do here. One day we walked and explored some of the different hogueras that were being set up throughout the city.

The large pieces of art work and sculptures are made with wood and paper mache and are truly amazing to see. We walked along the different streets checking out the various hogueras. 

 

 

After walking and exploring the hogueras we stopped along the way to enjoy some refreshments.

Scott and Janice enjoying a refreshment with a view of the Santa Barbara Castle behind them

Another day we went to explore and see the 9th century fortified Santa Barbara Castle which is located on Mont Benacantil and overlooks Alicante and the Mediterranean sea. 

View of the Santa Barbara Castle from the Marina in Alicante
Janice and Shelley at Santa Barbara Castle
View from the Santa Barbara Castle
View from the Castle overlooking the Sea

We walked along the promenade and the beach enjoying the view of the Mediterranean Sea. There were parades and music everywhere we went.

We had friends come and visit with us from Sweden. We had a BBQ and enjoyed time together. We even decided to play a Virtual reality game together. It was a great experience involving a scenario of aliens invading Alicante and we had to save the city. It was a lot of fun, here is a short video of our game, spoiler alert, we saved the City.

 

 We so enjoyed our time in Alicante but before we knew it, the time had come for us to head to our next adventure.

We packed our bags and headed to the airport, Budapest here we come.

“hasta Pronto”

Spain

Wine tour in Requena Spain

We went on a trip for a few days to visit the town of Requena in eastern Spain. It is located on the left bank of the river Magro. The town has a long history and at one time was used as a Moorish fortress. The moors occupied Spain for around 800 years, from 711 to 1492. 

Part of the fortress in Requena Spain

Requena is dominated by the ancient citadel of the Moors, and still has traces of the original town walls.

Church front of Arciprestal Del Salvador in Requena
The Iglesia Arciprestal del Salvador is Renaissance-style, Roman Catholic church. It was erected in the 15th century.

We walked and explored some of the streets of the older section of Requena. 

One of the narrow streets in Requena
A narrow street in Requena

Another interesting fact about Requena is the existence of a labyrinth of caves located underneath the streets. Between the 12th and 13th centuries during the Muslim period, caves were excavated and used for storage and protection. 

One of the gated and locked entrances into the labyrinth of caves under the old quarter of Requena.

There are 22 caves that can still be found in Requena today. Many homes in Requena’s old quarter have a cave as part of the house. Thanks to geology, it was possible to easily excavate the subsoil which was done by the moors.

Entrance into the Historic Murviedro bodega.

We had the opportunity to visit the Murviedro’s Historic Winery located in the old quarter of Requena.

Entering into the cave system under Requena

Through part of the tour we explored some of the ancient caves under the city.

Ancient containers used for wine storage

It was like going back in time and experiencing the sensation of a different era. The bodega kept some of the original wine containers and in the original condition. 

 

Original clay cast for storage of olive oil or wine.

After exploring the caves of the winery we were able to enjoy a fantastic wine tasting of their different wines.

Overall It was a great experience and provided us with a snapshot of ancient times through the caves of Requena.

We finished our day by walking along the small alleys that led to the edge of the city, where we admired the stunning sunset.

A very enjoyable and memorable trip to Requena Spain.

“En la variedad está el gusto”

Camino de Santiago, Spain

Camino redo from Lugo

In September of 2021 we started the Camino de Santiago known as the Primitivo route. It begins in Oviedo and is 321 kilometers to Santiago. We left from Oviedo and after incuring an injury we had to stop in Lugo. See this entry for the details  https://chaputfootprints.com/?p=18542

After two years we returned to Lugo to complete what we had started two years earlier..

Shelley and Ray on their way to start Camino de Santiago

Our trip began with an 8 hour train from Alicante to town of Ourense in Galicia then we took a bus to Lugo. 

Ray and Shelley on the bus heading to Lugo

We arrived in the early evening in Lugo and checked into our Hotel.  Excited and anxious to start our camino the next day. Our day began early and we started out at sunrise.

Shelley on our first early morning trek on the Camino de Santiago from Lugo

We reached the camino marker that also marked the end of the camino for Shelley two years earlier.

Shelley at the camino marker outside of Lugo

She stopped and put a new rock on the marker and then we continued along the camino. There were many beautiful spots along the camino and over the next five days we would wake up early and walked long hours.  Below are some of the spots along the way. 

Although the journey was hard, it was very rewarding with special spots and memories along the way.  The experience was enhanced when we finally reached Santiago de Compostela. To stand at the Cathedral of Santiago and look at it gave us a sense of accomplishment. It was a happy and emotional time even though our bodies were sore and tired. 

Shelley and Ray at the Cathedral of Santiago

We managed to find a nice table near the cathedral and sat down to relax and take in the moment.

Shelley and Ray near the Cathedral of Santiago

After checking into our hotel and settling in we headed to get our compostela. We arrived at the compostela office and within 10 minutes had our certificates.

Ray and Shelley’s certificates of completion -Compostela de Santiago and camino stamp passport

We spent the day relaxing and had a nice meal to celebrate the adventure and achievement.

Shelley and Ray toasting the finish of the Camino de Santiago

The following day we headed home to prepare for our next adventure.

Shelley and Ray heading home from the Camino de Santiago

“Hasta la próxima, buen Camino y disfruta de cada paso de la vida.”