Zaragoza, Spain

Zaragoza, Spain

We arrived there in the evening, coming from Segovia...

Zaragoza, situated on the river Ebro, is the capital of Aragon, an autonomous Spanish community.

We had our dinner in front of the Basilica-Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar, praised as Mother of the Hispanic Peoples by Pope John Paul II.

From Zaragoza

This Cathedral is reputed to be the first church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

According to the local tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared miraculously, in the first century, standing on a pillar, to Saint James the Great.

Today, 12 October, Zaragoza celebrates "Las Fiestas del Pilar".

Also today, Spain celebrates El Día de la Hispanidad (Columbus Day, literally Hispanic Day), since it's the day of the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

Here, two photos of the Cathedral surroundings...

From Zaragoza

From Zaragoza

I made this video on the following day, after visiting the Cathedral....



I hope you have enjoyed travel with me ;-) This is the last entry about my Summer vacation ;-) Stay well!! ;-)

Paco de Lucia, Entre Dos Aguas (1976)

Avila, Spain

Avila, Spain

We stopped there to have dinner on our way to Segovia...

From Ávila

This city is notable for its complete medieval city walls...

From Ávila

From Ávila

Below, the street where we had dinner...

From Ávila

A special moment when we arrived in Segovia...



Next stop: Zaragoza! See you there!

Segovia, Spain

This post is dedicated to Aledys and Anita ;-)

Segovia, Spain

We arrived in the evening to Segovia, in Spain, after driving about 7 hours, coming from Lisbon.

Look how exquisite is Segovia's Cathedral... ;-)

From Segóvia

This late Gothic style Cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is located in the main square of the city, La Plaza Mayor.
This Cathedral is known as "La Dama das Catedrais" or " The Lady of the Cathedrals" because of its magnificence.

From Segóvia

Magnificent is also Segovia's Aqueduct....

From Segóvia

Symbol of Segovia, this Roman Aqueduct is one of the most significant and best-preserved ancient monuments on the Iberian Peninsula.

From Segóvia

The city is beautiful with its streets and houses from the Middle Ages...

From Segóvia

From Segóvia

In the following day , we went to the Alcazar, one of the favorite residences of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Castile and also a key fortress in the defense of the country in the Middle Ages.

From Segóvia

The sharp slate spires were added in the major renovation of the Alcazar conducted by King Philip II after his marriage to Anna of Austria in 1570.

In 1474, the Alcazar played a major role in the rise of Queen Isabella I of Castile.

From Segóvia

Let's see some rooms of the Castle...

The Throne Room...

From Segóvia

La Sala dos Reys (King's Hall)

From Segóvia

and La Capilla (The Chapel)...

From Segóvia

From Segóvia

Wonderful Castle, isn't it? ;-)

Segovia is also known for its delicious gastronomy...;-)

When in Segovia, it's a must to eat....

Cochinillo de Segovia ...Very good!!

From Segóvia

and...

Tarta de Ponche Segoviano....so, so delicious!!!

From Segóvia

What a beautiful day we had in Segovia! I know I will treasure it forever!

:-)

From Segóvia

Zamora and the 867 years of Portugal

Zamora, Spain...

The door is opened to visit the beautiful city of Zamora...

From Zamora

This city is a "Museum of Romanesque Art" with its 24 characteristic Romanesque style churches of the 12th and 13th centuries....

From Zamora

From Zamora

Zamora is the city with the most Romanesque churches in all of Europe...

So, let's enjoy Zamora...

From Zamora

Walking or taking a coche...

From Zamora

We must stop in the Cathedral, one of the finest examples of Spanish Romanesque architecture, built between 1151 and 1174.

From Zamora

From Zamora

From Zamora

It was in this Cathedral, 867 years ago, at 5th of October 1143, King Alfonso VII of León and Castille recognized the Kingdom of Portugal in the presence of King Afonso I of Portugal, witnessed by the papal representative, Cardinal Guido de Vico.
Portugal became an independent Kingdom and the oldest nation in Europe by the Treaty of Zamora!
Congratulations, Portugal! Parabens, Portugal!!

And now, I must leave you... Enjoy the Cathedral!
Don't forget to go to the museum to see its fine Flemish tapestries of the 15th-17th centuries!!!

From Zamora

See you soon, in Avila and Segovia! ;-)

El Parador de Zamora, Spain

15th August 2010

I always wanted to visit Zamora, a Spanish city near the Portuguese frontier with Miranda do Douro.
We arrived in Zamora at dinner time, after a 9 hours travel. We were coming from Poitiers, France...
We stayed at Parador de Zamora, situated in a Renaissance Palace.

From Parador

From Parador

From Parador

We asked for the special menu of traditional Zamorana food... ;-)

Creme de Bacalao

From Parador

Sopa de Setas

From Parador

Bacalao a la Zamorana

From Parador

Arroz a la Zamorana

From Parador

In the next entry, I will publish the photos I took in this city, where in the 5th October 1143, the treaty that recognized the Portuguese independence from the Kingdom of León and Castile was signed.
Portugal, the oldest European nation, will be 867 years next Tuesday.

Reims, France

13th of August 2010

We started our journey in the afternoon.
We had our dinner in Louvain, Belgium, in front of the exquisite Town Hall....

From Leuven

.... and then we went on the road again, to Reims, a French city located in the Champagne-Ardenne region that lies 129 km northeast of Paris.

14th of August 2010

We wanted to see the Cathedral and visit the Champagne cellars.

Notre-Dame de Reims (Our Lady of Rheims) is the Roman Catholic cathedral of Reims, where the kings of France used to be crowned.

From Reims

This Cathedral, a master-piece of Gothic architecture, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.

From Reims

From Reims

What I love the most in this Cathedral?
The three portals laden with statues and statuettes.
Among European cathedrals, only Chartres has more sculpted figures.

From Reims

In the inside, a statue of Joan of Arc, the national heroine of France and a Catholic saint.
Charles VII of France was famously crowned in Reims in 1429 through the endeavors of Joan of Arc to free the country from the English.

From Reims

Outside, in front of the Cathedral, we had a nice glass of Champagne...

After this enjoyable moment, we decided to visit the Pommery cellars. This house was founded in 1858 by Alexandre Louis Pommery and Narcisse Greno.

From Reims

Louise Pommery, Alexandre's widow, built the winery into one of the most respected Champagne houses in the world.

Louise Pommery is also known for producing, in 1874, the first-ever brut (dry) Champagne.

From Reims

A curiosity...the cellars have well known city names...for obvious reasons, I took a photo of this one..;-)
La Haye (Den Haag/Haia). ;-)

From Reims

This nice visit ended with a toast to the journey we started that day... ;-)

From Reims

Cheers!!!

(I normally associate Champagne to these glamorous movies...;-)

Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, Swing Time



Stay well!

One day, Three countries

We arrived to Lago Como (Italy) after 4 hours driving through several tunnels in the mountains between Monaco and Milan.
The landscape was breathtaking in spite of the many, many tunnels...
....
The breakfast was nearby the lake, enjoying the view...

This is a photo of Lago Como, where George Clooney has/had a house ( I don't know if he has already sold it)...;-)

The lake is shaped like the character "Y", is the third largest lake in Italy and one of the deepest lakes in Europe.

From Como

We went for a stroll and then on the road to Switzerland...
(The last time I was there was in 1996)....

We have enjoyed splendid views...

snow in the mountains...

From Suiça

valleys...

From Suiça

cascades...

From Suiça

lakes...

as Lugano ...just wonderful, but I couldn't take a photo, we were driving...Lugano is a glacial lake in the south-east of Switzerland, at the border between Switzerland and Italy, situated between Lake Como and Lago Maggiore.

or Lucerne ...a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country...

From Suiça

We had our lunch in Saint Gothard. What a view!!!
N.B.: We decided not to go by the 16 km St. Gotthard Road Tunnel. This tunnel is the third-longest in the world.

From Suiça

From Suiça

We prefered to go through the mountains, enjoying the views and then take the Col Saint-Gothard...

From Suiça

We were at 2000 m above sea level in Saint Gothard! What a breathtaking day!
I remembered it was like being in Serra da Estrela! :-))
....
In the evening, we reached our next destination, again in France, where we had our dinner...

From Andlau