Unbelievable Architecture and Wide Open Spaces: Traveling Across Spain’s North Coast

Good Morning Everybody,

It has been a few days since we checked in and I thought today would be a good day to bring you up on our photographic travels so far.  The map shows our travels since arriving in Spain just two weeks ago. I’ve highlighted our stops.

Today marks the completion of our second week of travels through Spain and Portugal. I am just shy of making 4000 exposures so we’re averaging just over 285 images/day.  There should be some good ones in there somewhere;~)

Since leaving Santiago on Sunday we have made our way around the top corner of Spain and stayed a few days in Oviedo – the capital of the Asturias province of Spain. What are they famous for in Asturias? Bean stew called fabada stew and hard cider – yes, we had to try both.  I have to say, I’m a bigger fan of the bean stew which was delicious!

Another highlight of our stay in Oviedo was the magnificent Ayre Hotel shown above.  This place is without a doubt one of the most amazing architectural structures in the world. Just hit this link right here to check out more of the fabulous views of the inspiring building.

It was just a cool place to stay and worked as a great home base as we traveled throughout the area.

Another highlight of our Asturias visit was a day trip we made to Covadonga, gateway to the home of the Picos de Europa or Peaks of Europe and the location of the Our Lady of Covadonga shrine built into and on top of a solid stone edifice in the mountains.  I always ponder how they built those structures back in the non-mechanized days of old – simply amazing!  Here is an HDR image of the shrine below. BTW, I chose to make an HDR image because of the wide range of tones in the scene.  Hope you like it.

After a brief visit to Gijon, Spain – home to one of Spain’s most popular beaches – we made our way across the north coast of Spain, through the mountains and along the coast for what turned out to be a spectacular drive through some of the most beautiful scenery in all of Spain. Like I said, we should have a few good portfolio images in there somewhere.

We landed in Bilbao, Spain two days ago  – home to the fabulous Guggenheim Museum, below, hailed as one of the world’s most spectacular buildings, and designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. We have been soaking up the sight, sounds and culture of the city.

Yesterday we made a trip into the oldest wine growing region of Spain, the famed La Rioja. Once again the scenery was magnificent.  We stuck around to nearly sunset in order to pick up the light sweeping across the vineyards.

One thing LaDawn and I love about our travels are the folks we meet along the way.  Unlike Napa Valley in the US, you don’t just show up at a winery, belly up to the bar, and have a few sips of vino.  In La Rioja you need to call ahead to make a reservation for a tour and/or tasting. The extra prep was well worth it as we met a couple from Russia and another couple from the UK and had a wonderful time visiting and touring the Eguren Ugarte winery.

Today we are off to San Sebastian, our last stop before catching up with Clay Blackmore and Jared Platt for our Master Class in Barcelona next week – more on the class later.  Here is a panoramic view from Wikipedia showing one of the most visited places in Spain.

Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  I hope to get another post or two up over the weekend so please stop back.

Have a good one and I’ll see you soon, David