Adventures in travel and photography
We arrived in Bilbao mid-day. Unfortunately the Guggenheim museum, world renowned, was closed that day. Bur we found a little cafe in the old town for lunch before we met our guide Xavier.
We then met our guide Xavier, who took us on a tour of the old town.
After a brief van tour along the river, sights including the Guggenheim, we headed off to San Sebastian.
On our way from Leon to Bilbao, we made a stop in Burgos to see the cathedral. Burgos boasts one of the masterpieces of Spanish Gothic, its Cathedral, declared a World Heritage Site. The French Gothic Cathedral of St. Mary, has three main doorways which are flanked by ornamental bell towers. Inside is the Chapel of Candestable, decorated with figures of saints and the tomb of El Cid (Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar), the 11rth century military commander.
The cathedral is approached via the Arco de Santo Maria, a gateway which once pierced the old city walls and remains a plump and satisfied portal which leads from the river to the old town. The sculptures on the front represent the figures of Carlos V, El Cid and Fernan Gonzalez, the first king of Castile. The cathedral was begun in 1221.
On the way across northern Spain. Next stop was Leon, the capital of Leon and Castile, and is a city with a vast cultural, historical and architectural heritage. The Roman legions conquered this are around 29 BC and called it Legio so the Celts knew who was in charge. The region was dominated by various groups for hundreds of years, and became an autonomous kingdom in 910 AD. In the middle ages power and money drained away to Madrid, but the pilgrimage route to Santiago was boosted, and fine buildings such as the cathedral were embellished. The old city center has been preserved. It has become a university town and the chief city of the region.
Santa Maria de Regia de Leon Cathedral is a Catholic church which was initiated in the 13th century. It is one of the greatest works of the Gothic style, with French influences. It is mostly known form taking the “dematerialization” of gothic art to the extreme, that is, the reduction of the walls to their minimum expression to be replaced by stained glass, constituting one of the largest collections of medieval stained glass in the world.
The City
The Cathedral
Dining and Lodging
We ate at a very nice place called Lumiere, which offered a broad selection of Spanish dishes. Seafood included of course.
We spent the night at Parador de Leon/ Hostal San Marcos. This is situated in the 16th century former monastery built by Fernando (Isabel’s husband} for the order of knights who looked after pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela. The building’s plateresque facade is considered a fine example of Spanish Renaissance architecture.
Santiago is the capital of Galicia, the northwestern part of Spain. It is the culmination of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, and the alleged burial site of the biblical apostle St. James. His remains reportedly lie within the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela, consecrated in 1211. The city has a well preserved historic center lined with narrow, medieval streets, and has a rich Galician culture and cuisine.
The cathedral, constructed mainly between 19075-1122, has a Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque design. Each facade with its square constitute a large urban square.
The city is alive with trekkers, dressed in casual clothes and normally with backpacks and walking poles. We stayed in an old convent converted to a luxury hotel, the Palacio del Carmen. Dining was enjoyable at this hotel, for both dinner and breakfast, and the rooms were modern and comfortable.
Our next stop was the little town of Pinhao right in the wine country of the Duoro Valley. The whole area is spectacular. Below is a view of the Pinhao River where it meets the Duoro River. Interestingly the Duoro has its beginnings in Spain – where there is a well known wine area called Ribera del Duoro that we visited later in the trip – and continues on the Portugal, eventually meeting the Atlantic at Porto.
The vineyards are located on the steep banks of the river, and are by necessity all managed by hand – prepping, planting, growing and cultivating and harvesting. Typically they are built in horizontal steps, often with slate stairs between levels.
We spent two nights at the Vintage House in Pinhao, a lovely hotel right on the river; every room was on the water side, and there were two bars right on the river. Many day cruise were based in front of the hotel. Our first day started with a private two hour cruise on the Feel Duoro downstream to Folgosa. Our hostess was Carlotta and the captain was Paolo. Carlotta was very informative about the whole region, so the trip was educational as well as scenic.
We debarked at Folgosa and walked about 150 feet to the restaurant D.O.C., owned by the renowned chef Rua Paula. We enjoyed a cheese board with honey and marmalade, grilled prawns, a crisp white wine and a lovely creme brule.
Our next stop, with Nuno our driver/guide, was the winery Pacheco. Here we sampled a white, a red and two ports. We left with two bottles of vintage port.
After a rest, Nuno took us across the street and rail tracks from the hotel to a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant, where we huddled around a small table and dined. The fare was a flaming chorizo, cheese and meat tray and sliced onions in olive oil. What fun!
The next day we began with a nearby visit to Quinta do Bomfin, one of the Duoro Valley’s greatest vineyard and winery. This winery is part of Symington Family Estates. The family is a combination of British and Portugese origins, and the 4th and 5th h=generations are still active in the business. The firm owns several of the big names in port, including Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s and Cockburn’s. They also produce Douro wines in 26 different quintas in the valley.
We spent some time in the visitor entrance at this quinta, which has a large display of family and business history. We then stepped out onto a lovely terrace overlooking the Douro River, and tasted a variety of wines and ports.
After a delightful tasting – and a port purchase – we headed off in the van downstream to Peso de Regua and a stop at the old train station. An old storage building has been converted to a charming restaurant, where we enjoyed another lovely meal.
We then headed on a drive into Spain and our next stop at Santiago.
Crazy Horse Memorial
On our last day in Rapid City, we headed off to see the Crazy Horse Memorial, a mountain monument under construction in the Black Hills. It will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse riding a horse and pointing to his tribal land. The memorial was commissioned by Henry Standing Bear, a Lakota elder, to be sculpted by Korczak Ziolkowski. It is operated by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization.
The master plan includes the mountain carving monument, a Native American Museum and a cultural center. The monument is being carved out of Thunderhead Mountain, on land considered sacred by some Lakota, on land roughly 17 miles from Mount Rushmore. The sculpture’s final dimensions are planned to be 641 feet long and 563 feet high. The face of Crazy Horse, completed in 1998, is 87 feet high; the Presidents at Mount Rushmore are 60 feet high.
Needles Highway
The Needles Highway is a 14 mile scenic drive within Custer State Park, featuring dramatic granite spires, narrow tunnels, and hairpin turns. Completed in 1922, thee highway is part of the peter Norbeck Scenic Byway and is known for its winding course and the stunning beauty of the Black Hills. Key features include granite formations, tunnels, curves and bridges, wildlife and Sylvan Lake.
On our way from Porto to Pinhao on the Duoro River, we stopped at Casa de Juste for a tour and a cooking class. This estate is located about 60 km northeast of Porto. The manor house dates from the sixteenth century and has been in the Riba Duoro family for 18 generations. The property has a number of buildings and several acres of gardens. It is today considered a historical site by the Portugese Association of Historical Gardens. It is owned and managed today by Ana and Fernando Guedas and their family.
Fernando gave us a wonderful tour of the gardens, the small chapel and the main house. He is currently about to become head of the garden association. Ana helped us prepare a wonderful lunch of tomato soup with a poached egg (very Portugese), baked chicken, rice and tarte tatin for dessert. Cooking and eating was accompanied by a Casa de Juste vineyard green (young) wines – a rose and a white.
After a long visit and a great lunch, we headed over the mountains to Pinhao.
Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway
The Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway is a 19 mile scenic drive through the Black Hills along US Route 14A. It is famous for its towering limestone cliffs, waterfalls like Bridal Veil and Roughlock Falls, and lush forest scenery. The route follows an old railroad grade, offering numerous pull-offs, hiking trails such as one to Devil’s Bathtub, and points of interest. It is a popular route for nature lovers, photographers and motorcycles, Particularly due to its proximity to Sturgis.
Deadwood
Deadwood had its heyday from 1876 to 1879 after gold was discovered there, leading to the Black Hills Gold Rush. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. At its height, the city has a population of 25000, attracting Old West figures such as Wyatt Earp, Calamity Jane, Seth Bullock and Wild Bill Hickok, who was killed there.
The town has been designated as a National Historic Landmark District, for its well preserved Gold Rush-era architecture. The town has five unique history museums. Current population is about 1300. Today it is a busy tourist attraction, offering the museums, shops (western wear, tee shirts, liquor, etc), staged gun fights and staged Hickok killing. The local cemetery is of interest, containing the remains of Hickok, Calamity Jane and many well known Old west figures.
We have recently returned from a two week trip to the Iberian Peninsula. The trip was arranged by Trips for You of Lisbon; the key organizer was Joana Sousa. This was a driving trip set up by one of Wendy Perrin’s country based WOW agents. We flew into Porto and departed from Madrid after spending time in the Duoro Valley the traversing northern Spain from west to east. This post will cover the key elements of the trip, taken by driver and van plus guides as appropriate. Later posts will provide more detail on key activities along the way. First stop was the city of Porto, Portugal.
Porto
We flew into Porto via Frankfurt on Lufthansa. and stayed three nights at the Pousada do Porto on Rua das Flores. This charming little hotel was on a very busy pedestrian street just down the road from the train station. The first evening we had snacks (tapas) at a small nearby cafe. The next day our guide Sofia walked us down the street to a building known as the Stock Exchange. This building was the basic place of financial transaction in the past, and serves now as a center of cultural life in the city.
After touring this beautiful building, we drove out to the “foz”, or mouth of the river where it flows into the Atlantic.
And then around town a little.
After a rest, we enjoyed a dinner at a little cafe called Ostras and Coisas, where we were served a delicious variety of fresh seafood.
On our second day we drove to a nearby town called Matsosinhos, where we met our guide for the day, a sweet gal named Maria. She was actually a marine biologist by training and experience who has started a guiding service with her husband. She accompanied us on a tour of a sardine canning factory named Conservas Pinhais. We had the pleasure of seeing the sardine cleaning, packing and canning, all done by women. At the end we were able to taste the different sardine offerings, which were excellent given the top quality and freshness of the fish.
Maria then took us to a local market focused on fresh seafood and vegetables.
This was followed up with lunch at one of Maria’s favorites, O Valentim. This restaurant entrance was dominated by a huge grill, apparently utilized for virtually all served within. The dining was superb. A sampling:
Eventually we departed, returned to the hotel and rested. We knew the evening would be long as we had reserved a 7:30 pm seating at Villa Foz for a tasting menu. This is a one star Michelin restaurant housed in an old mansion situated downstream from Porto alongside the Atlantic Ocean. The menu shows 11 entries, but the meal had several additional amuse bouches! The service and food was exceptional. We left the table at 11:30 pm after a four hour experience.
The next morning we checked out, and headed with our driver to the Duoro Valley for our next stop. Here is an image of the iron bridge built in 1887 and called the Ponte Maria Pia.; it was designed by Gustave Eiffel.
By now we needed a slow day. So we headed out to Bear Country USA, located about 10 miles south of Rapid City. This is a drive through wildlife park and zoo in the Black Hills. Founded in 1972, the park is noted for its bears, but offers other wildlife including wolves, elk, mountain lions and bison on 200 acres of rolling hills. The park is very well done. It also includes a half mile walking loop with smaller wildlife, including raccoons, skunks, bobcats, foxes, coyotes, arctic wolves and foxes, young bears and so one. Well worth a couple of hours.
The Carefree Photographer 