Canary Islands
by Robert Bovington
The Islas Canarias are not part of mainland Spain or even Europe. They are located just off the coast of Africa – the nearest countries are Morocco and Western Sahara. There are seven islands and all are volcanic but that is where their similarity ends – all of these semi-tropical paradises are quite different from one another.
Tenerife is the largest and has more to attract the visitor including parrot and penguin parks, tropical gardens and the Las Cañadas del Teide National Park where Spain’s highest mountain – Mt. Teide 3,717m is situated.
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| Las Cañadas del Teide National Park |
La Palma is lush and green and is perfect walking country.
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| La Zarza, La Palma |
Gran Canaria is quite diverse with a coastline ranging from awesome cliffs to golden dunes. Inland there are stark mountains and tranquil valleys.
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| Gran Canaria dunes |
Lanzarote is startling! The island has over 300 volcanoes and the locals raise all manner of fruit and vegetables that grow profusely due to the abundance of volcanic ash. A visit to the ‘Montañas de Fuego’ – ‘Mountains of Fire’ is a must in order to witness the bizarre landscape of lava flows and red mountains. The island is a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
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| Playa de Papagayo, Lanzarote |
Fuerteventura is only 60 miles from Africa and has miles of golden sandy beaches.
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| a golden sandy beach in Fuerteventura |
La Gomera and El Hierro are less well known than the other five islands. The former consists of steep green terraced hills and tranquil valleys. It is another good place for walking, especially the Garajonay National Park.
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| La Gomera |
El Hierro is the most westerly and the smallest of the islands. It is mountainous and steep cliffs surround the island except at Valverde, the capital, where wooded slopes meet the sea.
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| Echedo, El Hierro. |
The islands are split into two provinces. Tenerife, El Hierro, La Palma and La Gomera belong to the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which is also the administrative capital. The eastern province of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria comprises Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
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| Panoramic view of the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife |
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Parque de María Luisa in Seville
by Robert Bovington
This lovely romantic garden was donated to the city by the Infanta Maria Luisa Fernand at the end of the nineteenth century. The famous landscape gardener, Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier, added further enhancements.
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Parque de María Luisa in Seville – Monument dedicated to Bécquer © Robert Bovington |
In 1929, the park became the centre of the Ibero American Exhibition. Adjacent to the park is the beautiful Plaza de España which was used to showcase Spain’s industry and technology exhibits.
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Seville – Plaza de España © Robert Bovington |
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Elche
The Moors formally laid out the ‘Palmeral of Elche’ in the 10th century. They installed elaborate irrigation systems and these are still functioning today as are the agricultural practices developed by these enterprising people. Elche is a World Heritage site because the palm forest is so impressive and important.
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| Basilica de Santa María |
Elche has a number of historic monuments and one in particular is worth a visit – the ‘Basilica of Santa María’, a spectacular building with a bell tower and an imposing blue dome. The present Basilica is the fourth religious building occupying the same site. It was the site of a Muslim mosque when Jaime I, King of Aragón, conquered the town in 1265. The present building was started in 1672 and finished in 1783. A visit to the bell tower is worth the effort. From the top, panoramic views of the city can be enjoyed – in particular, the groves of palm trees. On the different landings of the tower information is displayed about the building of the Basilica, its architectural styles and its importance in regards to Elche’s other claim to fame – the ‘Misteri’ or ‘Festa d’Elx’ – a medieval sacred play. This ‘Passion play’ is acted out in the Basilica every year on the 14th and 15th of August. It is listed as ‘World Heritage’ making Elche one of the few places in the World to have two ‘UNESCO World Heritage’ awards.
The ‘Huerto del Cura’ – the Priests Garden. It is known as ‘The Jewel of the Palm Park’ and rightly so – it is a calm relaxing place – a delightful garden of palm trees, tropical plants and cacti. It even has a pond with ducks!
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| Imperial Palm |
The tree got its name following the visit of the Empress Elisabeth of Austria in 1894. The spectacular tree clearly impressed her. She commented to the proprietor “…the date palm has the power and strength of an empire”. The Empress was just one of many prominent visitors to the ‘Palmeral’ of Elche.
I like the cacti garden – La Rocalla has many types of cactus ranging from small spherical specimens to tall pipe-shaped ones that almost matched the palm trees for height.
I would recommend anyone who visits the Costa Blanca to pay a visit to Elche and to the ‘Huerto del Cura’ in particular. Magic!
Las Murallas de Ávila
Las Murallas – the walls – are magnificent and encompass the whole of ancient Ávila. Building started at the end of 11th century and they are 2.5 kilometres long, 14 metres high and around 3 metres thick. They are still in pretty good nick.
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| Ávila © Robert Bovington |
Alfonso VI ordered their construction after his conquest of Ávila in 1090. Moorish prisoners were allegedly employed to build the wall. I don’t suppose they were paid though!
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| Ávila © Robert Bovington |
There are eighty-eight towers and nine gates that include the imposing Puerta del Alcázar and the Puerta de Rastro. Visitors can walk along the walls between these two points. The walls are beautifully illuminated at night.
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Diverse Almería – Baños de Sierra Alhamilla
Los Baños de Sierra Alhamilla is a small village dominated by a spa hotel, situated next to primitive but nevertheless attractive houses amidst an oasis of palm trees.
An attractive indoor garden is set in a central courtyard. It is quite delightful; an oasis of peace and tranquillity. It apparently took eight years to restore the old building and the hotel ‘Balneario de Sierra Alhamilla’ is splendid. It provides a range of health treatments; some of them based on the health-giving properties of the mineral waters of the Sierra Alhamilla.
Many birds inhabit the sierra, though most occupy the areas above 800 metres because of the increased tree cover. Finches, stone curlews, little bustards, crested larks, short-toed larks, lesser short-toed larks and black-bellied sand grouse inhabit these mountains, as do blue rock thrushes, crag martins, alpine swifts and black wheateaters. In the highest peaks, birds of prey including eagles, buzzards and kestrels soar.
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Diverse Almería – El Cabo de Gata
On the south-western edge of the Cabo de Gata Natural Park is the small village actually called El Cabo de Gata. It is a pleasant little seaside resort beside a beach of white sand. The whitewashed buildings, that line its promenade, are mainly holiday apartments, interspersed with the occasional bar.
The village still supports a small fishing fleet and the fishermen’s boats, nets and lobster pots pepper the beaches at the southeastern end.
Nearby is the Salinas de Acosta area of the natural park. Between spring and autumn, thousands of migrating birds stop here on their journeys between Europe and Africa. Apart from flamingos, there are storks, avocets, eagles and many other types. Only a few remain in the winter when the Salinas are drained after the autumn salt harvest.
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“Photographs of Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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Al-Andalus
by Robert Bovington
In 711 an army of 7000 under the command of the Berber Tarik-ibn-Zehad crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and defeated Roderic the Visigothic King of Hispania. The Muslim armies swept through Hispania and conquered Toledo which was then the capital of the Visigothic kingdom. This marked the beginning of Muslim domination of a large chunk of the Iberian Peninsula.
The Lions Courtyard
Alhambra
photo: Robert Bovington
The Arabs named this vast region Al-Andalus. Initially it comprised five administrative areas roughly corresponding to Andalucía; Galicia and Portugal; Castile and Léon; Aragón and Catalonia; and Septimania which apparently was where the modern French region of Languedoc-Roussillon is located. So Al-Andalus was pretty big! At that juncture, Al-Andalus was merely a province of the Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus.
Over the centuries, Al-Andalus was ruled by varying Arab dynasties. For example, the Abbasid dynasty assassinated the Umayyads and seized power, and Al-Andalus became a kingdom also known as the Emirate of Córdoba (c. 750-929). Successively it became the Caliphate of Córdoba (929-1031); then a collection of Taifa kingdoms. The last of the Arab kingdoms was the Nasrid kingdom of Granada (1232-1492), which by then was merely the territories of Almería, Málaga, and Granada. This gradual yet massive reduction in the size of this once great kingdom was, of course, due to the Reconquest of Spain by the Christians. Al-Andalus ceased to exist in 1492 when Boabdil surrendered the city of Granada to the Catholic Monarchs.
an extract of my Pinterest pinboard ‘Al-Andalus’ is shown below…
To see more pics click on:-
http://pinterest.com/robertbovington/al-andalus/
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Almería – a graphic account
some pictures of Almería are shown below
to see all the pictures on my Almería Pinterest pinboard click the following link:-
http://pinterest.com/robertbovington/almeria/
Further photographs of Almería on Panoramio…
http://www.panoramio.com/user/2391258/tags/Almer%C3%ADa
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“Spanish Impressions”
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Part of my ‘Spanish Impressions’ pinboard on Pinterest…
Click on the following link to see more
Spanish Impressions pics…
http://pinterest.com/robertbovington/spanish-impressions/
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“Spanish Impressions”
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“postcards from Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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“bits and bobs”
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Part of my ‘Spanish food’ pinboard on Pinterest…
Click on the following link to see more Spanish food pics…
http://pinterest.com/robertbovington/spanish-food-and-drink/
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“Spanish Impressions”
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“postcards from Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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“bits and bobs”
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“Spanish Expressions”
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Spanish churches and cathedrals
Part of my ‘Spanish churches and cathedrals’ pinboard on Pinterest…
Click on the following link to see more Spanish cathedrals and churches
http://pinterest.com/robertbovington/spanish-churches-cathedrals/
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“Spanish Impressions”
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“postcards from Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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“bits and bobs”
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Spain in old posters
Part of my ‘Spain in old posters’ pinboard on Pinterest…
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Click on the following link to see more Spanish posters
http://pinterest.com/robertbovington/spain-in-old-posters/
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“Spanish Impressions”
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“postcards from Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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“bits and bobs”
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Spain in paintings, drawings and old photos
Part of my ‘Spain in paintings, drawings and old photos’ pinboard on Pinterest…
Click on the following link to see more paintings and drawings of Spanish sights (and sites!)
http://pinterest.com/robertbovington/spain-in-paintings-drawings-and-old-photos/
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“Spanish Impressions”
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“postcards from Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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“bits and bobs”
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“Spanish Expressions”
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Ronda in pictures
Part of my ‘Ronda’ pinboard on Pinterest…
Click on the following link to see more photos of Ronda:
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“Spanish Impressions”
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“postcards from Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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“bits and bobs”
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More Spanish places
Part of my ‘More Spanish places’ pinboard on Pinterest…
Click on the following link to see more photos of Spanish places:
http://pinterest.com/robertbovington/more-spanish-places/
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“Spanish Impressions”
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“postcards from Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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“bits and bobs”
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“Spanish Expressions”
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“Spanish Art”
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Great Cities of Spain
Part of my ‘Great Cities of Spain’ pinboard on Pinterest…
Click on the following link to see more photos of the great cities of Spain:-
http://pinterest.com/robertbovington/great-cities-of-spain/
more blogs by Robert Bovington…
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“Spanish Impressions”
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“postcards from Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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“bits and bobs”
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“Spanish Expressions”
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“Spanish Art”
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“Books About Spain”
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Granada in pictures
Part of my ‘Granada’ pinboard on Pinterest…
Click on the following link to see more photos of Granada:
http://pinterest.com/robertbovington/granada/
more blogs by Robert Bovington…
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“Spanish Impressions”
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“postcards from Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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“bits and bobs”
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“Spanish Expressions”
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“Spanish Art”
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“Books About Spain”
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Famous Spaniards
Part of my ‘Famous Spaniards’ pinboard on Pinterest…
Click on the following link to see more photos of famous Spaniards:http://pinterest.com/robertbovington/famous-spaniards/
more blogs by Robert Bovington…
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“Spanish Impressions”
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“postcards from Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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“bits and bobs”
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“Spanish Expressions”
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“Spanish Art”
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“Books About Spain”
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Diverse Almería
Part of my ‘Diverse Almería’ pinboard on Pinterest…
Click on the following link to see more photos of the diverse province of Almería
http://pinterest.com/robertbovington/diverse-almeria/
more blogs by Robert Bovington…
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“Spanish Impressions”
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“postcards from Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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“bits and bobs”
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“Spanish Expressions”
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Andalucía
Part of my ‘Around Andalucía’ pinboard on Pinterest…
Click on the following link to see more photos of of Andalusia.
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“Spanish Impressions”
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“postcards from Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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“bits and bobs”
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“Spanish Expressions”
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Nerja
Nerja is a coastal town in the province of Málaga. It is a popular destination for tourists mainly because of its caves but it also has several fine beaches set amidst charming coves beneath steep cliffs.
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The Balcón de Europa is a nice place to visit. It is in the centre of the old town and is a mirador or viewpoint that provides stunning views along the coastline.
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The caves are about five million years old and were formed by rainwater seeping through the cracks and fissures in the rock, eroding the layers below to produce cavities and hollow channels. Over a long period the cavities got larger creating enormous chambers. The dripping water also formed stalactites and stalagmites.more photos of Nerja…
even more photos of Nerja:
more blogs by Robert Bovington…
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“Spanish Impressions”
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“postcards from Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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“bits and bobs”
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“Spanish Expressions”
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“Spanish Art”
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“Books About Spain”
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Palencia Cathedral
Palencia Cathedral is one of the city’s monuments to its rich history. It is known as ‘La Bella Desconocida’ (The Beautiful Unknown One). Perhaps it is because of the treasures inside the cathedral that it has been given such a curious title. El Greco’s ‘St. Sebastian’ is just one of the valuable paintings to be found here.
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| photo: public domain (Fmanzanal) |
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| photo: public domain (Fmanzanal) |
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| photo: public domain (allmennheten) |
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| photo: public domain (Zarateman) |
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| photo: public domain (Zarateman) |
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| photo: public domain (Zarateman) |
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| El Greco’s ‘St. Sebastian’ photo: public domain |
more blogs by Robert Bovington…
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“Spanish Impressions”
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“postcards from Spain”
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“you couldn’t make it up!”
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“a grumpy old man in Spain”
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“bits and bobs”
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“Books About Spain”
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Salamanca Cathedral
The New Cathedral is one of a pair, aptly named Catedral Nueva (new) and Catedral Vieja (old). They are physically connected to each other -the new one was begun in 1513 when it was decided that the old cathedral wastoo small. The Catedral Vieja was started in the 12th century in Romanesquestyle. It was completed a century later and one of its main attractions is itshighly intricate 15th-century altar – the work of Nicolás Florentino. TheCatedral Nueva was built in late Gothic style with Renaissance and Baroquedecoration. Inside there are eighteen chapels but the Capilla Dorada is thebest, housing as it does over a hundred sculptures.
Photographs of Spain 