Well it's been a week time to get this down before the memories fade. We arrived in Soria after an uneventful flight from Reno and a 2.5 hour bus from MAD. We were immediately pleased on our walk to our hotel. We walked through as nice an urban park as you could ask for, we would stroll through here daily. Soria was a great choice for a couple of days to get into the flow. Soria has a very nice pedestrian zone, a slew of Romanesque architecture, a beautiful walk along the river Duero. It was feast of San Saturius and there were two concerts in Plaza Mayor, one classical and the other an Abba tribute...Linda was thrilled... me not so much. A children's parade the next day. The town is mercifully free of tourist tat For food the pintxo/tapa scene is vibrant and the Menu del dia is alive and well. Soria is truly a hidden gem, off the main tourist track, there are many day trips possible, Roman ruins, castles, hiking.
Highly recommend.
After 3 nites we picked up a car and headed to La Rioja about 2 hours North. We based in La Bastida for 3 nites. Lodging was a little challenging due to Spainsh Independence 3 day weekend but it worked out fine. Bastida turned out to be an ideal base. We visited Haro one day, beautiful city all about wine. Real nice lunch before a drive through the vineyards back to Bastida. Next day it was off to Laguardia. Wow gorgeous little town, bustling on a holiday weekend, pintxos and wine were the order of the day, beer for me..only 1 for the driver. After 3 nites it was off to the coast.
Next stop Poo some say Po, your choice. This is a very small town just south of Llanes. We hiked along the coastal path, to Llanes, amazing views of the Atlantic or turn around and there are the Picos de Europa. Llanes is a charming fishing port, we came upon girls dancing to a bagpipe in the plaza. It’s true what they say about Celtic influence here, I even saw shamrocks. Heading the direction up the coast to Celorio, more dramatic coastline with hidden beaches….magic.
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Part 2
On to Las Arenas, a return to the Picos for us back to Covadonga and up to the lakes always a hoot. Next day the funicular took us to Bulnes a way to cute pueblo only accessible by foot or funicular. Back down a short walk took us to the start of the Cares route, not this time for us but it looks inviting.
Back to the coast, Ribadesella is at the mouth of the Sella River with a fine harbor and a fantastic miles long beach. Surfing is alive and well here with several surf schools and a pretty good looking break. Stunning coastal walks in both directions. An oceanfront room at Hotel Don Pepe really paid off on one rainy afternoon watching the Atlantic.
We still had more work to do in Soria province. We based in Burgo de Osma a surprisingly appealing town. From here we day tripped to San Estiban de Gormaz, Berlanga de Duero, Gormaz, Canyon, Rio Lobo, there are others but time is short.
Returned to Soria dropped off the car (whew) and returned to Madrid for a final nite at the airport Ibis.
Conclusions, this was our 5th trip to Spain there is still so much to see and do. Roads were very good and traffic not an issue. Maps on the iPad and paper map from AAA. Not a lot of English but we managed just fine with translate apps. We were fortunate with only 1 kinda rainy day. Sundays were slow plan for shortened hours.