![\"Guernica\"](\"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Guernica.jpg\")
<\/a> ![\"BarcelonaGaudiParkGuelleExterior01\"](\"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/BarcelonaGaudiParkGuelleExterior01.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFrom Asturias, one can also go by car or train to Bilbao and San Sebasti\u00e1n in the heart of the Basque Country or Santiago de Compostela and A Coru\u00f1a in Galicia in under four hours. Here, the wonders of the Spanish north coast are on permanent display. Sweeping vistas, great seafood, even a bit of Barcelona design and Madrid art are in one place in Bilbao\u2019s sublime Guggenheim. But, for now, Spain\u2019s two biggest cities.<\/p>\n
Madrid<\/b><\/p>\n
Most visitors come to Madrid by plane, arriving to the simple splendour of Richard Roger\u2019s Terminal 4 in Barajas. A half-an-hour subway trip on the spanking clean Madrid Metro and you\u2019re in the middle of the capital, just minutes from El Prado<\/a>, the Thyssen<\/a>, and the Reina Sof\u00eda<\/a>. You can get a group ticket for all three to save money.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss Francisco de Goya in El Prado (literally, the meadow), especially his two ceiling-high May 2 and May 3, 1808 masterpieces, commemorating the local resistance to Napoleon\u2019s entry into Madrid on May 2 and the excessive French response the next day. Plenty of art and history in one room. There\u2019s also a room dedicated to his black paintings (pinturas negras<\/i>), his view of the world as he lost his sanity. And don\u2019t miss his portraits of The Maja<\/a>, one clothed and the other naked, where he plays artistic peek-a-boo with our thoughts. They\u2019re tucked away at the back of the second floor.<\/p>\n The highlight of course is Picasso\u2019s Guernica* in the Reina Sof\u00eda. There are two long rooms dedicated to Picasso\u2019s iconic 20th-century work, showing the stages in its creation for the 1937 Paris Exhibition and some of his early sketches. Guernica itself is beyond words. One just stands and marvels at the madness of the twentieth century and the tyranny of war.<\/p>\n Food is easy to be had near La Puerta de Sol, sadly renamed now after a mobile phone company. Is that why they won\u2019t allow protests? The Occupy movement began here on May 15** (called 15-M), but has been sold to the highest bidder. Again. I wonder how Picasso would commemorate that slander.<\/p>\n Check out the Sunday flea market El Rastro. It starts at Tirso de Molina metro and ends a few hours later. Ramble and enjoy. Look also for Cervantes\u2019s house in Calle de las Huertas.<\/p>\n Madrid<\/i><\/b>: An hour by plane, 5 hours by car, or 5 and a half hours on the Alvia train from Gij\u00f3n to Atocha (stopping in Oviedo, Le\u00f3n, Vallodolid), leaving every day from the main Gijon Adif Train Station<\/a>. If by plane, take the Metro to the center of Madrid for about \u20ac6 return.<\/i><\/p>\n Barcelona<\/b><\/p>\n Although the largest city on the Mediterranean, Barcelona has a sumptuous small-town feel, surprising for such a diverse and international capital. From atop its sloping Tibidabo hill to the coast, one sees a vast city in easy shimmering vistas. From Park G\u00fcell to Port Vell, from the forum to the stadia (Camp Nou and Olympic) and all diagonal points in between, Barcelona is instantly accessible to the first-time visitor.<\/p>\n Not all the splendour is Gaud\u00ed\u2019s, although his Sagrada Familia, Park G\u00fcell, La Casa Batll\u00f3, and La Pedrera are exquisite. I have never seen so many people taking photos in one place. I had to force myself to stop clicking and enjoy the beauty at a more leisurely, non-consuming pace. Of course, every Gaud\u00ed building costs to enter, but you can skip the \u20ac8 fee into Park G\u00fcell by walking around the queues and making your own way to the top. The views are just as stunning for free.<\/p>\n In the heart of Barcelona, the Gothic quarter is a peaceful antidote to the frenzied photographic pace of los<\/i> edificios<\/i> de<\/i> Gaud\u00ed, a wonder of narrow pedestrian alleyways, bringing one to a new mystery with every turn. The cathedral itself may be a bit of a letdown after all the walking, but there\u2019s plenty of shopping to be had, some of it reasonably priced.<\/p>\n Be sure to check out La Boquer\u00eda (La Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boquer\u00eda), the oldest of the old among the newest of the new, as you ramble down the Rambla and find your way in and out the narrowest of sidestreets. Barcelona is a bit expensive and I wasn\u2019t impressed by the food, but there is no doubting its endless charm.<\/p>\n Barcelona<\/i><\/b>: 90 minutes by plane or 12 hours by car from Gij\u00f3n. If by plane, take the A1 bus from the indoor airport terminal at the bottom of the escalator. It\u2019s half an hour into the city for about \u20ac10 return.<\/i><\/p>\n Bilbao, San Sebasti\u00e1n, Santiago de Compostela, A Coru\u00f1a<\/b><\/p>\n There are many other short hops from Gij\u00f3n by car \u2013 Cand\u00e1s and its quiet fishing village, Ribadesella and its pristine beach. Further east along the coast (via the Autov\u00eda del Cant\u00e1brico) brings one to Santander, Bilbao, and San Sebasti\u00e1n. West is the Way of St. James, along the famed Camino, where pilgrims have been walking for centuries. You\u2019ll see a few on the sides of the roads, but most don\u2019t pass through Gij\u00f3n.<\/p>\n Now that a new ferry*** has been announced for Gij\u00f3n \u2013 weekly from Ireland and England along with the existing ferry from Nantes \u2013 the north coast will be opened to many more English-speaking travellers. More to come on the north coast in another caracola!<\/p>\n If Madrid is a city of art, then Barcelona is a city of architecture, even its modern buildings not designed by Antoni Gaud\u00ed. In Madrid, Goya, Vel\u00e1zquez, Picasso, Dal\u00ed, Mir\u00f3, and El Greco are on display in three great museums; … Continue reading <\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n* Guernica: The biography of a twentieth-century icon<\/i><\/a> by Gijs van Hensbergen, London: Bloomsbury (2005)<\/h5>\n
** \u201cThe \u2018Occupy\u2019 movement’s Spanish roots<\/a>,\u201d Ryan Gallagher, The New Statesmen<\/i>, October 25, 2011<\/h5>\n
*** \u201cEl Musel tendr\u00e1 l\u00ednea de ferry con Inglaterra e Irlanda a partir de enero<\/a>,\u201d El Comercio, October 12, 2013<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"