Oviedo, Pau, and Home

 

Cathedral of San Salvador in Oviedo

This is the last of several blogs about our summer travels.

You can find the first one here, and the second here. The third one is here.  The fourth one is to be found here.

The heat of the summer is over, and good riddance! September is nicer; still warm, but without  the intensity of August. Plus much cooler nights! And we have, finally, come to the end of our Spanish travels.

Much as we enjoyed the mountains, once our week in Las Arenas was up it was time to move on to Oviedo. This city is the capital of the Principality of Asturias, the northernmost province of Spain.

We really liked Oviedo. It felt like a small town in spite of its population of 200,000. And. as we wandered its historic streets, we were constantly surprised by how few people we saw. This was mid-August, peak tourist season! We were hearing tales of crowds and packs of people everywhere. Here, not hardly so much!

Monasterio de San Pelayo, just up the street from where we stayed.
We passed it every day going into the city.

A large, open plaza, mostly empty. Where are all the people we expected?!

Oviedo is a city of layers. There’s the medieval city, started in 761 CE. The tourist core of the city consists of the area around the cathedral (of course!), the plazas and museums there. Further to the west is the more modern city, with large and elegant buildings dating the the last century, and the magnificent park, Campo San Francisco. And beyond that are the residential areas, with more modern, and less interesting, buildings. 

I like this wall! Medieval? You bet!
The "three-light window" of Iglesia de San Tirso,
all that's left of the original church built in the 790s.

A glimpse of the cathedral caught from a side street.

A shopping street in Oviedo.

And speaking of shopping... this poster was for sale in one of those shops.
(OK, another GoT reference. But Pelayo of Asturias really WAS king in the north!)

Another view of the cathedral bell tower.

Scattered throughout the city is a wonderful collection of statues, mostly added in the last few decades. Public art is well represented in Oviedo! 

Vendedoras del Fontán, one of many modern statues in the city.
In the market square, of course! (Plazuela de Daoiz et Velarde)

Paula y la Bella Lola in El Fontán Square

La Maternidad de Botero, a more modern sculpture in the, er, more modern part of the city.

Oviedo was a location for the 2008 Woody Allen film Vicky Cristina Barcelona, a minor claim to fame (and yes, Barcelona was also a filming location). We watched the movie and found it unremarkable, but the city did put a statue of Woody Allen in a prominent spot. 

Paul and Woody, hangin' in Oviedo.

Campo San Francisco is a large, wonderful park in the modern part of the city.
Park visitors are welcomed by this photographer.
(And how many seats have polished that chair, and horse, waiting to have their picture taken?)

No, not a castle, just a building (offices??) across from Campo San Francisco.

An older—and more significant—claim to fame is that this is the origin of the Camino de Compostela. It started in the 9th Century when King Alfonso II walked from Oviedo to Compostela to honor Saint James. As the reputation of the Camino spread, pilgrims came from further away. Oviedo is still the last major stop before Santiago de Compostela, about a two-week walk. 

"Oviedo, origin of the Camino" says this large sign across from the cathedral.

We certainly enjoyed Oviedo, but it was clear our enthusiasm for playing tourist was waning. After our three days in the city we were happy to point the car east and head for the French border.

La Gitana, the Gypsy, watching over...

...the evening dining scene. This was the one time Oviedo seemed crowded: at dinner!

            Pau 

We had often seen this French city on the map, at the edge of the Pyrenees, and always wondered what it was like. We skipped it on the drive to Spain; now we had a chance to visit: the drive home was long, we needed to stop for the night somewhere, and Pau was conveniently located half-way home. 

View from the escarpment, looking out at the train station and the mountains beyond.
The yellow stakes are a monument to the Tour de France bicycle race.

We were charmed! It’s a small city, with a fine view of the Pyrenees. It has its history: King Henri IV was born here in 1553 (‘course, he wasn’t king then; he had to marry the sister of King Henri III first, then wait for him to die… but that’s a long story we’re still piecing together!). Before ascending to the throne of France, Henri was the King of Navarre, most of which is now in Spain.

National Museum and the Château de Pau.
(And birthplace of the future Henri IV.)

Église Saint Martin

His palace/birthplace was the historic center of the town; we hoped to visit it but it was not open for visitors until the afternoon, and we needed to get on the road.

Église Saint Martin from a different angle.

We did see our third (and last!) funicular on this trip in Pau. The city is built on an escarpment that overlooks the river and the train station. Sometime at the beginning of the last century (and that would be the 1900s) it was felt access to the town would be greatly enhanced if people didn’t have to climb the few hundred vertical feet up from the train station.

Pau's cute little funicular car.

So, a funicular! It works the same way as all the others: one car goes up while the other goes down. They are connected to the ends of the same cable, so one car basically pulls the other up. Clever! 

The whole funicular, from the escarpment downtown to the lower terminal,
with the train station in the distance.

            The road home

The next day we were up and out on the road. As we moved along the excellent toll road (the autoroute) we found massive traffic jams. We’d traveled this way before and the road had always been clear and open. What was going on! 

August, that’s what was going on. August is vacation month. While the French have begun to move away from the rigid social requirements of the past, August is still the month when the kids are out of school, and when everyone is is looking forward to their four-week vacation (with another two weeks around Christmas). 

So August is the month most people are on the road, coming (early in the month) or returning (at the end, of course!). These days there is more and more overlap into July and June, but August is still the big month. 

And even though we were traveling in the middle of the month, the highway was jammed. We thought we’d have lunch at one of the excellent rest stops… same thing! Jammed, full of people, every picnic table occupied as was most of the grassy area. We quickly got back on the road. 

But the traffic eventually cleared, and we made good time. By late afternoon we were pulling up to our building in Montpellier, glad to be home!

Home again! We’ve had some hot, humid days, but by now (early September) the fall weather is clearly on its way. 

And, after being home for a month, so are we (on our way): In a few days we will be leaving for the Italian island of Sardinia. South of Corsica, north of Sicily. We’ll be taking the car with us, so our trip will start with an 11-hour ferry ride.

You can read all about it here in a few weeks!

Campo San Francisco park in Oviedo.
And yes, that's actual grass; the turf must be changed out every day!
(Note that date is 4-August-2023)

Our Summer not in Montpellier, IV

 

Looking up the valley of the Rio Duje, near Sotres

This is the fourth of several blogs about our summer travels.

You can find the first one here, and the second here. The third one is here. 

Ahhhh, the worst of the heat is gone! Now we have sunny warm days, and pleasant nights. A very fine time in Montpellier! But we are yet to finish our travels in Spain...

Los Guías, a café in Las Arenas honoring mountain guides.

                 Arenas de Cabrales

We reluctantly left the tiny hamlet of Quintanilla-Montecabezas and the generosity of our hosts there and drove further west to the Picos de Europa mountains. Our next stop was Las Arenas, a small town with one main street, but quite lively in the summer thanks to all the visitors to the Picos.

While small, Arenas is the only biggish town in this very mountainous area, and so is a center for mountain activates. Stores sell hiking and mountaineering gear, storefronts offer guide services and equipment rentals; a glance along any street is sure to find someone with a walking stick and a backpack.

It’s an attractive town, but the real value is outside, a few kilometers into the mountains. We were not interested in making an expedition; our goal was simply to learn about the area. And while the mountains are fabulous, the area also is celebrated for its beaches.

Hiking trail near the town of Sotres.

Sotres, seen from the trail.

A peak in Sierra Mor, the Sotres Recreation Area

Another view of the mountain village of Sotres.

Mountains: 

    We drove through the mountains each day, as it was the only way to get out out of town! The roads were good, if often narrow (and terrifying). Some days we drove further up into the mountains; others we drove to the coast to explore the towns and beaches there. It became quickly apparent that one thing about mountain roads is that there was no place to stop! The roads were narrow and shoulders non-existent, and what parking places there were were either fully occupied, or… marginal. (Europeans seem to be willing to park in places that we don't even recognize as places!)

There was one intriguing village that was on no road; access required either several hours of hiking or a 10-minute funicular ride. We opted for the ride, but it was clear that parking in the lot at—or anywhere near—the funicular terminal was not going to happen! (We just don’t get up that early for these popular places.) So, we took a bus to the funicular.

The funicular car, emerging from it's long (very long!) straight tunnel.

Paula on the bridge into Bulnes.

Well worth it! Unlike the funicular in Bilbao (or the one on the Isle of Capri), this one ran through a very straight, very steep tunnel all the way. Once out, under the open sky again, the village of Bulnes was a short hike away. And we were glad to be walking, after the mild claustrophobia of that funicular!

First thing we saw after that long dark tunnel was this church.

A scenic village? Oh, you bet!

We spent about an hour in Bulnes, hiking to the scenic overlook and having coffee. The place was hardly crowded, but most visitors were clearly more ambitious hikers than we are. We saw boots and walking staffs aplenty.

Some of the hiking boots we saw that day.

On our way to the café.

Enjoying a meal in the open air in Bulnes.

Beaches: 

    We saw some pretty wonderful beaches on our explorations, but never got in the water. The weather was cool and mostly cloudy (yeah! That’s why we came!), and we were more interested in hiking around and exploring the area than lying in the sand.

The beach at Llanes.

A distant view of Los Cubos de la Memoria by Agustín Ibarrola
"Cubes of Memory": an artist painted the huge concrete cubes used on the breakwater in Llanes.

Punta de Jarri, just north and west of Llanes.

Besides, most (all?) of these beaches are not easy to get to! Notable in this category is the Playa de Torimbia. We turned off the main route and followed a stunningly narrow road lined with houses (“Are we sure this is one way?” we kept asking ourselves, terrified we’d meet a car coming down), which gave way to an open but stunningly steep road. We ran out of pavement near the top, where drivers were jockeying for a parking spot. We got lucky and just drove into one. We didn’t stay long; we took a photo of the beach far below, checked the altitude (95 meters), and realized relaxing on the beach meant a 300 foot vertical drop… and climb. (Which many people were willing to do! ...but, er, not us.)

Playa de Torimbia   
See the path at the far end of the beach? That's the access point,  670 m horizontal (2200 ft) and 95 m vertical (312ft) from the parking lot!

And taken from the same spot, different direction, the Playa de Toranda.
We had NO idea how to get there!

We were particularly interested in visiting the cathedral in Covadonga. While the cathedral (built at the end of the 19^thCentury) is impressive, it is the location in the steep rocky mountains that make it fantastic. The approach is a long, slow climb up a winding road. We saw cars parked well before the top, but on a hunch we kept going, and did manage to find a spot right near the cathedral.

Basilica de Santa Maria la Real de Covadonga

This area is famous for the Battle of Covadonga in 722 CE, arguably the beginning of the Spanish Reconquista, the centuries-long long process of driving the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula. The cathedral, a replacement for a modest chapel that burned a few hundred years earlier, honors Pelayo, who defeated the Moors at the Battle of Covadonga and ruled the region from 718 CE to his death in 737.

Near the cathedral is this statue of Pelayo, first king of Asturias (and, therefore, Spain)

Another view of the Basilica de Santa Maria la Real de Covadonga.

Pelayo’s rule marked the creation of the kingdom of Asturias, which was to become the northernmost region of Spain. Pelayo is therefore considered the first king of Spain (which explains why that major street near where we stayed in Seville is named after him!).

The famous Roman Bridge of Cangas de Onis (actually built at the end of the13th C).

.

View from the bridge: Cangas de Onis, first capital of the Kingdom of Asturias
and initial burial place of Pelayo.

After a week in the Picos de Europa mountains, we ended our trip with a few days in the city of Oviedo, today capital of the Principality of Asturias.

But that visit will have to wait for yet one more blog!

View from the overlook in Bulnes; the Pico de Europa mountains.

Our Summer Not in Montpellier, III

Sunflowers! We saw endless fields of sunflowers!

This is the third of several blogs about our summer travels.

You can find the first one here, and the second here.

 

Oh, but it’s been hot in Montpellier of late! A real canicule, a heat wave where the nights are almost as hot as the days. It’s getting better; today is cooler (just!) but very humid. Let’s return to the cool hills and fields of Northern Spain…

Once out of Bilbao,  we were on our way, to

          Quintanilla-Montecabezas

…a tiny village out in the countryside. Paula’s goal in planning this trip was to escape the heat and avoid crowds. She was attracted to the area known as Las Merindades, which is near the city of… well, nowhere, really! That’s what made it so attractive. Her research turned up a lodging called Dreams in the tiny village of Quintanilla-Montecabezas.

And it was a dream! Our hosts were lovely, and had a beautiful house and yard, complete with swimming pool. We passed a very fine week there, slept well, and had great dreams!

Entrance to the Airbnb Dreams.

Our room is on the left.

Quite literally, the end of the road. Nothing but fields out there!

We spent our time exploring the sunflower-filled—and very uncrowded—countryside. This is in the Castile region… Isabella country.  (It was her marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469 that united the two adjoining regions and started the county that we call Spain today.)

 

This church was at the edge of town; first thing we saw a we arrived,
last thing we passed on our way out.

And several kilometers along, we come to civilization... well, more buildings, anyway.

Every afternoon, after our explorations, we would follow the well-paved but very narrow road up the hill, between the sunflower fields and forest, a few kilometers to where it ended in this tiny place of less than a dozen homes. On Sunday we took a day off from the tough job of exploring, and just hung out around the pool.

The pool; a great place to spend a relaxing Sunday.

And where did we go on our trips out? Well, we drove past many many fields of sunflowers, their, er, sunny faces turned inquisitively towards us (well, so long as the sun was behind us!). It left us wondering, Are these fields a response to the troubles in Ukraine, where sunflowers are (were?) a staple of the economy? Well, no, but kind of.

More sunflowers!

Sunflowers have been grown for oil and animal feed in many regions of Spain for a long time, so it’s not new. But as Ukraine got more involved in the international market, demand for Spain’s sunflowers dropped. Needless to say, demand is back up now, but Spain has been growing these flowers for many decades.

Wine County: Spain has many wine regions. We saw no vineyards here but we knew there were wineries nearby, and one day we set out to find them. At one point we passed through a series of short tunnels through steep cliffs, and there, on the other side, were vineyards!

 

OK, so this is the old highway, now a hiking trail.
But the real highway tunnels are just over there...

Vineyards set in the midst of a stunning landscape!
(With the also stunning Ysios Winery)

Dramatic entrance to the Ysios Winery.

At the top of our list to visit was a particular bodega known for its spectacular architecture, the Bodegas Ysios (the Ysios Winery). Its striking sinusoidal roofline mirrors and is emphasized by the jagged mountains in the background. It was quite stunning!

Another view of that fabulous roof line.

Looking out the entrance of Bodegas Ysios to the hilltop village of Laguardia. 

We followed that with a visit to the nearby hill town of Laguardia. It was charming, with its narrow streets and old stone buildings. Lunch was a bit of a let-down, consisting of several pintxos (a Basque word pronounced pinchos). We want to think of these as tapas of the kind we’ve enjoyed so much in Sevilla, but they are nowhere near that good. A pintxos is mostly a morsel of food—cheese, ham, fish, or even some delicious concoction of several of those in an excellent sauce—on a piece of bread. It can be simple, or quite good… except for the bread. (Yeah, we gotta say, once we leave France the bread—and pastries!—get very disappointing).

 

The narrow streets of Laguardia. Just as in our hometown of Montpellier,
the narrow curving streets serve a defensive function--and provide shade.

A flower-laden bicycle in the curving narrow streets of Laguardia.
Even here in Spain it's a decorative element!

Undaunted by our less-than-ideal lunch (and I will quickly inject here that we had a number of memorably good meals while on this trip… this just wasn’t one of them!) we headed to another winery known for its architecture, the Bodega Marques de Riscal. While this one was less dramatic than Ysios, it is unique, appearing as a package from a distance; a present waiting to be opened.

 

Bodega Marques de Riscal

There was a third winery we were interested in, the Bodegas Navajas, one in which we actually wanted to buy some wine. But our hosts pre-empted that need! When Paula added an extra night in Bilbao, something had to give, so she sliced off our scheduled first night at Dreams. Rather than a cash refund, our hostess offered a case of wine: six bottles of red, six of white. We were quick to accept her offer! (And spent the rest of our trip with boxes of wine tucked behind the seats… an advantage of having a car.)

A hiking bridge over the river.

At one tourist information office (always our first stop when we arrive at a new town) we found a map and description of a couple of dozen water features in the area: waterfalls, springs, pools… we had time to visit only a few of them, and mid-summer is not when you find the highest water flow, but they were cool and refreshing, even just to see! 

We didn't stop here to swim, but it sure looks good! (I especially like the inflatable unicorn.)

Along the way we stopped to visit St. Barnaby's Hermitage (Cueva ermita de San Bernabé), located in a cave. While we were assured that the cave was extensive and quite spectacular, our tour was brief and consisted mainly of the chapel, which has been exquisitely decorated—if that’s the right word—with paintings of the various tortures to which St Barnaby was subjected.

Inside the Cueva ermita de San Bernabe.

Extensive paintings on the cave walls, depicting the trials of Saint Barnaby.

While hardly ancient, these paintings were done in the 18th century.

The outside of the cave was impressive, as were the surroundings, with steep cliffs above and green meadows below.

The outside of ermita de San Bernabé

We  had heard of a music festival in the area, in the town of Frias. Curious as to what that might be like, we stopped in to check it out on the way back to our place of Dreams. Not much was happening while we were there; I expect things were chill during the day and the real action was at night. But it was another pleasant hill-top town, this one with a fortified castle.

Accommodations for the music festival.

Parroquia San Vicente Mártir (Parish of St. Vincent the Martyr)

One advantage of a hill-top town: fantastic views! From San Vicente in Frias.

This cute pizza stand was closed when we came by, but I'll bet it was hopping at night!

Pica Peñamellera seen in the distance from the road;
a hint of what was to come in the Picos de Europa.

With some regret to leave of our place of Dreams, and our very lovely hosts, we took to the road.  We had more to see: mainly, the town of Las Arenas and the Picos de Europa mountains. But we’ve come to the end of the page, so we’ll have to save that for the next posting!

On the road again... and sunny sunflower fields under a threating sky.