The Playa de Santa Marina is located in the mucnicipality of Ribadesella, in the northen coast of Spain. A Km long, it is surrounded by the beautiful modernist houses at the seafront.
Every Easter a horse race is celebrated, weather permitting.You have some videos in Youtube
Horse race at Ribadesella
La Playa de Santa Marina está situado en Ribadesella, en Asturias. De un km de largo, está rodeada por casas de estilo modernista a lo largo del paseo marítimo. Todos los años, en Semana Santa, y si el tiempo lo permite, se celebra una carrera de caballos, hay varios vídeos en youtube.
Horse race at Ribadesella
In the cliffs nearby you can see real dinosaurs' prints. Check the tide schedule at the tourist office before you try to get to them. En los acantilados de los alrededores puedes ver huellas de dinosaurio de verdad. Comprueba antes los horarios de las mareas en la oficia de turismo antes de intentar bajar a verlas.
So, once we have left Pienza, we drive towards ournext destination, S. Quirico d'Orcia, a lovely walled village. In my opinion, it is the village as a whole what is more interesting, just stroll its peaceful streets imagining what it would have been like centuries ago... before you see what comes next...
Sant Antimo Abbey
The gorgeous Sant' Antimo Abbey, located in the countryside, a beautiful example of the Tuscan Romanesque. As you can imagine, this is a perfect place for choirs, Gregorian chant and concerts so it is worth visiting their website before to check if it is possible to make your visit coincide with some performance.
View form the Abbey
To end your day you can go to Montalcino. Again I have no visit in particular to highlight, but the village as a whole, and of course, its famous Brunello wine... and its views. This was the light of sunset from Montalcino:
Sunset from Montalcino
If after all this, you still have time -though I don't think so- here you have some more options:
Bagno Vignoni Castiglione d'Orcia Abadía de Monte Oliveto Maggiore
Today is going to be quite intense, and you will drive a bit further than the day before, specially if you have decided to stay at Colle di Val d'Elsa. This is our route: Montepulciano, Pienza, S. Quirico d'Orcia, Sant'Antimo Abbey and Montacilno.
Of course, this can be also great for a two day itinerary of you prefer so :)
Palazzo Comunale, Montepulciano
The distance between Colle di val d’Elsa and Montepulciano is around 87 Km. Montepulciano is a gorgeous medieval town with a long slope up a hill, quite famous also because of its wine. Its fortress has been destroyed and rebuilt several times and it was one of the main locations of war between Sienna and Florence. No very long ago, it was shown, featuring as Volterra, in one of the Twilight movies, New Moon. Make sure you go up the main street up to the Cathedral or Duomo. You will be in the middle of a square with a well, the cathedral and the city hall, the Palazzo Comunale. You can go up the tower and the views are really worth it.
In the cathedral you can admire on of the master pieces of the SieneseSchool, Assumption of the Virgin, by Taddeo di Bartolo, 1401. There are many other churches and palazzos, so you can stroll around and end up having lunch in of the restaurants. Don’t forget to taste the area’s wine, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
Views, Montepulciano
When leaving Montepulciano and at the start of your way to Pienza –only 13 Km- stop at the Temple of San Biagio, a church from the Cinquecento. It is worth it both because of the church and because of the views of Montepulciano.
Views of Montepulciano and San Biagio
Our next stop is Pienza, its centre was designed by erudite Pope Pius II, who was born there and tried to adapt it to the Renaissance ideas. It used to be called Corsignano. Bernardo Rossellino was in charge of the catedral, the pope’s palace and the city hall. The project was never completed as a whole. Visit Palazzo Piccolomini if you have the time. By the way. This is where the famous cheese Pecorino, about which I was talking about in another post, comes from. So, is there any better time to taste it or to buy some than while visiting Pienza? Views from town are also gorgeous. And with those views I am finishing this post so that it is not too long. To be continued in a few days…
Siena: Leaving the car outside the city is a good idea. There are some park sites where you can leave it and from them the center is in walking distance.
Beautiful Siena
On your way to the center, stop at the Chapel of Santa Caterina di Siena inside the Basilica di Santo Domenico and enjoy the medieval ambience by strolling its streets.
You will eventually end up in one of the most beautiful squares in Italy, the famous Piazza del Campo, where the Palio (the horse race) takes place twice a year- 2 July and 16 August if you are interested- Watch this presentation by Andrew, who was so lucky to see it this summer, that you can also check in his youtube channel.
At the Piazza del Campo make sure you don't miss the Gaia fountain -actually a 19th century copy f the original one from the 15th century by Jacopo della Quercia- and the Loggia della Mercanzia before you give your whole attention to the imposing city hall, il Palazzo Pubblico -built from 1297 to 1342- and its tower, La Torre del Mangia -1348. You may want to go up, it seems the views are amazing, though I can not tell by myself as my fear of heights proved itself stronger than usual. When I was there I was told that the tower -102 m high- has this name due to its first bellringer, known as "mangiaguadagni" (literally "the one eating profits" because he was very lazy. The wikipedia gives a slightly different version.
Palazzo Pubblico and Torre del Mangia
And you can not leave Siena without visiting its cathedral and its museum, by now you will have probably been seeing it all day among the roofs.
Monteriggioni. After Siena make sure you don't miss a visit to this charming walled town on the top of a hill, impossible to get lost as you will spot it from far away on the road! You may find interesting that Dante used Monteriggioni as a symbol in the Divina Commedia. Monteriggioni celebrates a medieval festa in July. Have any of you been there? I would like to read some opinions on it.
Watch this wonderful pictures presentation by Giorgio to see what it's like
Ever dreamt as a child -or as an adult ;)- with a fairy tale castle with cake-like towers? That is what I used to think of whenever I saw this cathedral on TV as a child. Saint Basil's Cathedral won't dissapoint your chilhood imagination when you actually get to see it.
St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow
¿Alguna vez has soñado cuando eras niño -o adulto ;)- con castillos de cuentos de hadas que tuvieran torres que parecieran tartas? Eso es lo que yo solía pensar cuando de pequeña veía la Catedral de San Basilio en la tele. No decepcionará vuestra imaginación de niño si la visitáis.
If you are thinking of visiting Oxford please go check my former post for practical infomation and a day itinerary.
These are some of the things I loved about Oxford:
- Feel like you have suddenly travelled in time to the middle ages when you are inside one of the wonderful colleges' cathedrals
- Imagine you are Harry Potter on his first arrival at Hogwarts when getting to the staircase with the marvelous vaulted ceiling at Christ Church.
-Find out more about the real Alice that inspired Lewis Carroll to write his well known works while watching the tree where the Cheshire Cat sat from inside the Cathedral at Christ Church
Yes! It is possible to actually get a good impression from Oxford in just one day. However, if possible I would recommend to stay at least one night to be able to see more colleges and enjoy the student atmosphere.
ITINERARY FOR A DAY VISIT:
As an itinerary for a winter day I would suggest this -check colleges visit times before as they may vary and you might need to change the order of visits-:
In this itinerary I followed the Lonely Planet Guide to England's advise: to visit three colleges, Christ Chruch, New and Magadalen.
Start your day by visiting Christ Chruch College. If you are a Harry Potter fan you will love to see the Great Hall, which was replicated to represent the one at Hogwarts, and the staircase... This is also the college where Lewis Carroll spent many years.
Christ Church, Oxford
Next, you can go up the street and take a look of Oxford from the top of Carfax Tower. Find a place for lunch -not a problem in a university city, perhaps you can have lunch at some of the places of the covered market- and continue to New College.
On the way, make sure you visit the Bodleian Library and see the Hetford Bridge, aka Bridge of sighs because of its resemblance to... actually, not the Bridge of Sighs in Venice but the Rialto Bridge :)
Bridge of Sighs
After New College you can go and visit the last college and last sight for the day: Magdalen. If you still have some time you can enjoy a walk along Cornmarket Street.
TRANSPORTATION:
From London you can get to Oxford by bus -check the OxfordTube site, this is the one I have travelled with- and train. It is worth checking both options as the one more suitable for you might depend on a series of factors, among them where in London you are staying.
