A map illustrating the northern section of our journey

We flew from Lisbon to Madrid on 7^th Nov 2015 landing at around 4 pm, hired a car and drove to Segovia, about 90 k’s to the north. We could not find a SIM card at the airport leading to minor panic, as we needed the GPS to get us out of the city. Luckily, our Portugal card still worked so we managed to escape Madrid, to be immediately confronted by the first toll of the Spanish tour - 15 euros! (Very scary not knowing which lane to take and how to pay when all the signs are in Spanish and there are cars building behind you).

The Romans took control of Segovia from the Celts around 75 BC. The city is famous for its historical buildings and for three main landmarks: its midtown Roman aqueduct (thought to be built in 1 AD with unmortared granite blocks):

its cathedral (one of the last Gothic cathedrals to be built in Europe);

and the castle (Alcazar de Segovia), which influenced the creation of Walt Disney's Cinderella Castle.

We stayed two nights in a small hotel in the centre of town. Finding parking in the streets is impossible, so we had to park in an underground parking garage which, if memory serves me correctly, cost us 120 Euros.

Some sights as we wandered around town:

The Monastery Santa Maria del Parral built around 1450

We traveled north from Segovia heading for Lukiano, a small village south of Bilbao, an intrusive wind farm ruining the skyline..

We spent six quiet nights in Lukiano. The view from our accommodation:

There is a lot of air traffic in Europe at dawn!

We celebrated my birthday while here and were very surprised when there was a knock on the door to find that our host's daughter had made me a small birthday cheesecake. Shots taken around the village:

The following day we drove north into the mountains, with the mist still hanging heavy in the autumn tinged valleys, stopping to take pictures as usual.

We parked at the Abadino Monastry in Urkiola and walked up the hill behind it.

As we left the mountains, the mist had lifted

The next day we ventured into the coastal city of Bilbao.

where we discovered the magnificent Spanish version of the Guggenheim Museum.

The other side of the building:

I got stranded on my own for twenty minutes while I tried to negotiate my way back in heavy traffic to where Jenny was waiting at the tourist bureau – I lost a few more grey hairs that day!

From Lukiano we continued on to the small village of LLenin via the interesting shale beds of the Basque coast Geopark east of Bilbao.

Llenin lies between the coast and the Los Picos de Europa National park, a mountain range forming part of the Cantabrian Mountains.

We travelled into the mountains, eventually reaching the Covadonga/Lake Enol Lakes

Stopped off to see some locals

We discovered the Basílica de Santa María la Real de Covadonga at the base of the mountains. There is a small cathedral in a cave nearby that we didn’t know about, so missed it.

A stroll around town in the evening inspired a few photos, the small grain storage hut on legs is a called a horreo.

The inhabitants store dried corn for winter.

After two nights in Llenin we turned south heading for Toledo, famous, since Roman times, for its manufacture of steel swords and knives . We couldn’t do this trip in one day so stayed the night in Salamanca, arriving in Toledo in the afternoon and parking the car for the duration of our visit. The landscape was initially mountainous, then leveled out as we drove south.

Our Airbnb apartment was on the third and top story of a mid-city building with lawyer’s offices and others below us. There was no lift, so suitcases were an effort, but once there it was a modern cosy place to stay. The only problem was the lack of a fire alarm and a fire escape, which makes me a little nervous.

The gothic Toledo Cathedral (construction starting in 1227) reflected in a adjacent pond lined with root like copper strands.

My staple diet in Spain:

Random shots around the city.

The Museum of Santa Cruz.

The Synagogue of El Tránsito is a historic (1356) building in Toledo, Spain. 

The Synagogue of Santa Maria la Blanc

In the Mezquita cristo de la luz, a former mosque:

After leaving Toledo (station below) we headed south to Cordoba.......

.....where our Airbnb host kindly picked us up and took us to our apartment. Cordoba is situated in Andalusia and is best known for La Mezquita, an large mosque dating from 784 A.D.  After it became a Catholic church in 1236, a Renaissance-style nave was added in the 17th century.
At night:

A bridge built by the Romans over the Guadalquivir River, one of Spain’s five main rivers.

Palacio de Viana, a 14th century palace with twelve of the most beautiful courtyards in the city.

We spied a horse drawn carriage with a surprise in the back.

Walk about street scenes