"Forget the Hotspots"
Yzabelle Bostyn, a journalist working for The Olive Press, has recently written about five less well-known places away from the popular big cities, like Barcelona, Granada, Madrid, Málaga, Sevilla, and Valencia.
Her choices are good ‘uns. I’ve been to all five. Here’s what I think:
[Image courtesy of Google]
Reus (Catalunya)
Close to Salou, this is Gaudí territory.
I spent a week there with my first wife Jeryl and our two young kids, Amy and Tom, some 37 years ago. We stayed in an apartment in Salou, famously gay, even back then.
It was wet, I remember, but during dry spells we enjoyed the beach, and had fun exploring the rocky coastline and the restaurants which offered a huge variety of fresh fish
We liked it, although we never returned – Spain has so many other delights.
Salou beach [Catalunya Turisme]
Jaén (Andalucía)
After my divorce from Jeryl, I was with a new lady, Maude. She had fallen in love with Spain after I took her there, to such an extent that she bought a little house in Ronda (Malaga) on her second day in the town.
But, I digress .....
After some time together living in North Wales we embarked on a little parador trip through southern Spain. We started at the emblematic parador in the grounds of the Alhambra in Granada - Wow!
After that we were at the paradores in Cordoba and Cazorla, before fetching up in Jaén . The parador here is an old castle, Santa Catalina, crowning the city and offering visitors a spectacular view of the mountains of the Sierra Morena and Sierra Mágina.
The Parador de Jaén stands out for its façade of huge stone walls and impressive interior vaults. We certainly enjoyed our stay there.
Jaen parador with town in behind [20 Minutos]
Down in the town centre, Jaén was less impressive, just a busy, working city. A few years later I was to discover two nearby cities, Baeza and ubeda, which are much more impressive.
Oviedo (Asturias)
I was here for a European Study Visit (Socrates) while the UK was still a member of the European Union.
The topic was to be “Teaching a modern foreign language from early ages”. By law in Spain, children have to study a foreign language (English) from age three.
As the Senior Adviser for MFL in Sefton (Merseyside) this was of great interest to me.
Oviedo [Spain.info]
I was joined on the course by educators from across the European Union.
It was a fantastic week, during which we visited schools, sat in on lessons, had de-briefing meetings, went on trips into the countryside, drank lots of cider and were right royally entertained by our hosts. I even enjoyed a brief “liaison” with Paula, a German headteacher.
I liked Oviedo and also Gijón, on the coast.
La Gomera (Canary Islands)
Back in
the early 2000s, Jeryl and I were on holiday in Tenerife (where were the kids?) and on one day we caught the ferry from Playa de Los Ingleses to La Gomera, a tiny island in the Canary Islands archipelago.
Back then, the island had no airport, no nothing really. But we had a great day, exploring on foot and swimming off the beach near the ferry port.
Now La Gomera has an airport, so I suspect it’s more touristy.
Town beach on La Gomera [Expedia.es]
Jerez (Andalucía)
I’ve been to Jerez de la Frontera, home of sherry, a few times.
We used to use the airport at Jerez until Ryanair pulled out and there were no more flights suitable for us.
However, the first time I went to Jerez was with Jeryl during our 2000 silver wedding anniversary tour of Andalucía.
We did a guided visit of the González Byass bodega, which was incredibly interesting. It gave me a love for fino, a dry sherry.
Jerez de la Frontera [rumbo]
On subsequent visits with second wife Rita, we nearly always managed to not find our way out of the city by car. The road signs are non-existent, and Google Maps doesn’t have a clue.
I’ve been with Bianca, Rita’s niece; with Julia, Laura and Jakob, relatives from Germany (we visited the Jerez Riding School); with my daughter Amy, husband Carlo (now ex-husband) and their son Felix; and with a group of friends on a coach trip from Montejaque.
Jerez old town is very atmospheric with loads of great bars and restaurants. The sights are also fascinating and the Riding School was amazing.
I like Jerez; Rita does not!
Conclusion
Yzabelle's five choices are fine, although I could offer some others which would be strong contenders for inclusion.
These would include Baeza (Andalucia), Cádiz (Andalucia), Cuenca (Castilla-La Mancha), Girona (Catalunya), Salamanca (Castilla-León), Santander (Cantabria), Toledo (Castilla-La Mancha), Ubeda (Andalucia) and Hondarribia (Basque country).
Hondarribia [A un Clic de la Aventura]
I suggest Yzabelle Bostyn has not visited all the places she mentions.
For example, Oviedo has no beaches, as it is inland in the mountains!
Jaén is not the best "non-hotspot" in Jaén province; nearby Baeza and Úbeda are far superior in every respect.
She doesn't do Jerez justice either - the town is about sherry and horses, not flamenco.
Q.E.D.
© The Spanish Fly
Links:
MY SPECIAL PLACES IN SPAIN - Help me, Ronda – features Oviedo
My Top 25 Places To Visit In Andalucía – mentions Nerja
Nerja - a little gem
Photos:
A un clic de la Aventura, Catalunya Turisme, Expedia.es, Google, rumbo, Spain.info,
Acknowledgements:
The Olive Press, Wikipedia, www.help-me-ronda.com, Yzabelle Bostyn
Tags:
2000 silver wedding anniversary tour of Andalucía, Amy, Andalucía, Asturias, A un clic de la Aventura, Barcelona, Bianca, bodega, Canary Islands, Canary Islands archipelago, Catalunya, Catalunya Turisme, Cider, coach trip, dry sherry, English, European Study Visit, European Union, Expedia.es, Felix, ferry, fino, Forget the Hotspots, Gaudí, German headteacher, Germany, Gijón, Gonzalez Byass, Google, Google Maps, Granada, group of friends, home of sherry, husband Carlo, Jakob, Julia, Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera, Jerez old town, Jerez Riding School, Jeryl, La Gomera, “liaison”, Madrid, Málaga, Merseyside, Montejaque, my daughter Amy, no airport, on holiday in Tenerife, Oviedo, Paula, Playa de Los Ingleses, Reus, Rita, Rita’s niece, road signs are non-existent, rumbo, Ryanair, Salou, Sefton, Senior Adviser for MFL, Sevilla, Socrates, Spain.info, study a foreign language from age three, “Teaching a modern foreign language from early ages”, The Olive Press, The Spanish Fly, Tom, UK, Valencia, Yzabelle Bostyn