Hotel Rural Los Nogales*** Hotel located at the foot of the Sierra de Cazorla and in the centre of the Ruta de los Pantanos (Reservoir’s Route. Set amongst olive trees and rocky terrain, near historic centres and stunning natural places. This is the ideal place to spend a relaxing weekend or a very active break in the mountains. More information.
Apartamentos Fuentenueva Suites*** Modern décor apartments situated in Baeza, Andalusian town renowned for its Renaissance buildings, winding streets and cobbled stoned pavements. There is an array of activities to do and see in Baeza and the surrounding area. The Sierra de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas Natural Park is nearby and offers many activities; hiking, horse trekking, mountain biking expeditions, four-wheel drive tours, canoeing, fishing, paragliding, hang-gliding, mountaineering, climbing and caving. More information.
La Casería de Tito Country hotel located in the village of San Bartolomé, 6 km from Úbeda and 15 km from Baeza. This is a place to relax, and to venture a visit to one of the surrounding places exhibiting representative Renaissance art, Úbeda and Baeza. For nature lovers, there is plenty of hill-walking in the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas Natural Park. More information.
Hotel La Casona del Arco*** This charming hotel is in the heart of the historic town of Baeza, by the Ubeda Gate with its Almohad style tower and the remains of the ancient city wall, surrounded by monuments and just 100 metres from the commercial centre. The hotel offers you also a spa area, a garden and sun terrace surrounding an outdoor swimming pool, along with a café, lounges and patio. More information.
Spanish Civil War guided tours in Barcelona
Guided tour around Spain
Spanish natureTravelling around Spain on a scooter
Entertaining video from the Guardian here showing a woman travelling around rural Almeria on a Vespa scooter.
Best tapas bars in Palma de Mallora
The Guardian has this article on the best tapas bars and bodegas in Palma de Mallorca, home to an an impressive ranges of good eateries. I particularly liked the sound of Bodega Bellver:
Tucked up a side street around the corner from the theatre, Bellver is about as far away from Palma’s gleaming 21st- century tapas bars as it’s possible to imagine. Dark and shadowy, with shelves lined with dusty bottles and wine barrels, and rickety wooden tables scattered around the small space, it is steeped in history, atmosphere and the smell of spicy pork frying on the tiny grill beside the bar. Order up icy beers and pinchos and settle into a slice of unchanged Mallorquin life.
Trekking in the Sierra Nevada in June
I enjoyed this post on the iberianatureforum by Maria:
Outside the tapas bars of Lanjaron temperatures reached 30 degrees. 2500m above we donned our duvet jackets as an icy wind tore across the white snow filled plateau. Such are the contrasts this year in southern Spain’s Sierra Nevada, a legacy of the worst winter weather in living memory.
Read the original story here:
Travel guide to Osana
Good review of the county of Osana here from Barcelona writing.
On food of Osona
Pork and its by-products may be the most emblematic food of the county, but Osona has much else to offer gastronomes. The truffle (trufa), a black mushroom that grows underground and is highly prized, and a wide range of bolets (Catalan mushrooms) including pinetell, rovelló, rossinyol, cep and fredolic are found locally, as are the white beans (mongetes) of the Collsacabra Mountains, characterised by their small size. For dessert, the pa de pessic de Vic (sponge cake) is worth trying as are the regional cheeses, curds, honey and jam.
Teruel bat
Detail of modernist forge of the Staircase of the Paseo del Óvalo. The monumental staircase was built in 1921 to link the new railway station with the old part of the city. The work has modernist and neomudejar details. By SantiMB on Flickr
History and culture Notes from Spain