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Well, we had taken a few trips to Italy and so most of you must be wondering when we would finally take a trip IN Spain. Our friends Missy and Alex came over for a few days and so
we decided to go explore parts of the western Atlantic coast - the Cantabria region. Before we did that, however, we introduced Missy and Alex to the wonderful San Sebastian bread, doughnuts, wine, fish, beaches, waves and the not
so wonderful idea of having to walk miles to get to it. With gas at over 5 bucks a gallon we don't do a lot of driving around here (so quit whining with your $3). Missy at one point referred to this trip
as "spanish fat camp". We thought that was quite funny and we had to share that with you.
Our trip to Cantabria involved driving to the coastal city of Santander. Santander is nice enough but it does not have the charm of San Sebastian. In the summer it is reknown for its big beaches (such as "El Sardinero") and it is definitely a pleasant place to spend a couple of days people watching. But we went in October, definitely not summer, so we explored the inner parts of Cantabria. Cantabria is a very rural region and it is mostly hilly with some fairly high mountains to the west, known as the "Peaks of Europe". Before we set off, we will try to portray what the tone of the trip was with the picture below.
Yes, those would be part of the "Peaks of Europe" behind Alex's head. Anyway the attractions here were mostly well preserved ancient rural towns. Some of them such as Barcena Mayor have been named historical sites and are in the process of being restorated and preserved. Our first stop was Santiago de Garabandal, where according to legend, both the Archangel Michael and the Virgin Mary appeared to three little girls that were walking around the town. Mary actually appeared three times and each site is marked with a painting and flowers. The pictures below should give you an idea.
The town itself was very nice and we all agreed it was are favorite. It is the site of many holy pilgrimages but it has managed to mantain its authentic feel, unlike Barcena Mayor where tourist shoppes are beginning to sprout like fungus on week old bread. Santiago, is obviously a rural town and most of the houses have been there for hundreds of years. At first glance it appears almost run down but then you discover its sort of "shabby chic" charm. Anyway, we liked it.
Having finished the tour of Sebastian we got into the car and proceeded to Tudanca and Barcena Mayor. Before we show you pictures of these two towns, we'd like you all to know that the stereotype of farmers driving their cattle on the road in rural Europe is absolutely, positively, f***ing true. Yes, we ran into a herd of cows and one of them was actually toying with us. She would move to the side of the road and as soon as we were going to pass her she would run right back in the middle. Don't believe us? Check out these pictures.
Anyway, back to our trip. What follow are pictures of the area we were visiting. The places were very beautiful and the peace and quiet was quite amazing. We think that words can't really describe this region, so we will (hopefully) let the pictures do the talking.
In case you have not noticed this region is reknown for its balconies (and they really take pride in their flowers). Dulcis in Fundo Well, as it is customary in these pages we have the final section where we make some random musing about something that struck us in the trip. To be perfectly honest it is actually an excuse to fit that last picture that really did not go with the rest of the story. This one is of Annmarie standing on a beach in Cantabria with the pounding surf (those are big waves, trust us). For those of you with a keen eye, you can notice Annmarie's brand new Italian "bronze" sneakers. We liked this picture, so we put it in cuz it's our website and we can! See y'all next time.
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