Visiting Castilla-León (Spain): Going back in time 7 comments

30 Sep 2006 @ 22:27, by Silvia M.S I would like to talk you today about my trip to Castilla-León, a region located in the north centre of Spain and divided in nine provinces. I've visited three of them in this trip: Avila, Segovia and Salamanca. Castilla-León has plenty of cities where you can walk surrounded by old walls that in the past were a great defense against invasions. You can also see old churches, Moorish castles, inmense valleys... Let's open a little window in your screen to have a look at this beautiful land :-) To enjoy my last week of summer holidays I found a wonderful rural house in the mountains of Avila, where I could spend some time in close contact with nature. On our way there we visited Segovia. I was amazed at the huge roman aqueduct from year 50 AD, the old monasteries and the espectacular "alcazar", built by the Moors in the XII century. It looked like a magic place, as if time had decided to stop there many centuries ago. Then we arrived to the cozy rural house in the province of Avila, in a little village named Vallehondo ("deep valley"), that has around 20 inhabitants. It's close to the "Sierra de Gredos", a mountain range with beautiful valleys and clean rivers. I especially liked to walk by narrow paths through the mountains to enjoy solitude with nature and breathe fresh air. And there I've ridden a horse for the first time in my life!! What an experience!! It was a female horse named April, she was soooo lovely! I still remember her turning her face towards me from time to time to know who was riding her hehehe. Driving towards east from Villahondo, you arrive to the city of Avila, the highest capital of Spain, located at 1,117m above sea level. It's surrounded by a huge wall, that has 88 towers and nine gateways. There are stairs to go up to the wall and see the city from there. When I was sitting down up there I imagined the pressure that many people felt lots of years back, while defending their city and their lives from the invaders. In a village close to Vallehondo they were celebrating their local holidays, and there was a foam party in the plaza. It was fun to observe the kids playing there! :-) On our way back home we stopped at Salamanca, a city that has the oldest university in Spain, started in the XIII century. And there were charming little villages along the way, not touristy at all, with wonderful views and a rich gastronomy. I especially enjoyed the "gambas al ajillo" ("prawns with garlic") showed in the photo below, though actually all the dishes were delicious! In summary, it was a great trip through the old land of Spain, away from tourists and noise; through little villages where people still let nature to shine. A great way to say goodbye to my summer holidays!

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