NORTHERN SPAIN & PORTUGAL BILBAO TO LISBON SEPTEMBER 18 – OCTOBER 6, 2020 TOUR LEADER: DR JENI RYDE NORTHERN SPAIN Overview & PORTUGAL Northern Spain feels like a country apart, and in many ways, it has been. BILBAO TO LISBON In this region, the presence of the Moors, who influenced Spain for eight centuries, was significantly shorter and some regions, like Asturias, were never conquered at all. As a result, most of the cultural influences are Tour dates: September 18 – October 6, 2020 Northern European and some of the finest and best-preserved pre- Tour leader: Dr Jeni Ryde Romanesque, Romanesque and Gothic art and architecture can be found here. We see churches and monasteries inspired by the monks of Cluny Tour Price: $9,820 per person, twin share and influenced by the thousands of pilgrims who came south to walk the Camino Francés to Santiago de Compostela, the final resting place of St Single Supplement: $2,295 for sole use of James, the ‘Moor Slayer’. Spain’s close neighbour, Portugal, a separate double room nation since the twelfth century, provides an interesting study in similarity and contrast. With a language very similar to that of Galicia but a rich Booking deposit: $500 per person culture that has influence from the Moors, the Age of Discovery and Recommended airline: Emirates Imperial wealth, Lisbon provides us with a smorgasbord of art, architecture and culture to finish our journey. Maximum places: 20 Our 19-day tour travels from East to West in Spain, roughly adhering to the Pilgrim’s route: from the forward-thinking port city of Bilbao in the Itinerary: Bilbao (3 nights), Burgos (2 nights), Basque country, to the inland cities of Burgos and León high on the plains Leon (2 nights), Oviedo (2 nights), Santiago (3 of Castile. We cross the mountains outside picturesque Oviedo and travel nights), Porto (2 night), Lisbon (4 nights) on to the Atlantic via the green fields of Celtic Galicia, finishing our stay in Date published: January 7, 2020 Spain in the celebrated city of Santiago de Compostela, with its splendid Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque architecture. From here we leave Galicia and journey south via the UNESCO world heritage listed city of Porto with its stately bridges and fine port wine, to Portugal’s fascinating and often overlooked capital, Lisbon. Your tour leader Dr Jeni Ryde is a former Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Sydney, where she completed her PhD focusing on the Renaissance, heritage tourism and museology. She has a wide-ranging knowledge of European history, art and architecture, and has travelled extensively through Spain and Portugal. Jeni holds two undergraduate degrees with majors in Anthropology and French and Interpreting and Translation with NAATI qualifications, two Masters degrees in Italian Linguistics and TESOL and a cross disciplinary PhD in Renaissance Art History, Tourism and Museum Management. Enquiries 'Northern Spain is special for me not least because it is less travelled in these times of mass tourism. Highlights are luscious green and bookings landscapes, spectacular mountain ranges, dramatic architecture and outstanding art galleries. Add exceptional food and wine and an unhurried For further information and to lifestyle to these gems and you have a perfect counterpoint to Spain’s secure a place on this tour busier regions’ please contact Hannah Kleboe at Academy Travel on “This was my third tour with Jeni and she continues to amaze 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 and inspire with the passion she demonstrates for making the tours (outside Sydney) or email memorable for her tour participants. The mix of art, architecture, history, [email protected]. food, wine and fun was perfect.” au – Feedback from Northern Spain & Portugal, May 2019. Tour Highlights GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM, BILBAO In 1991, the Basque government commissioned Canadian- American architect, Frank Gehry, to build a work to enliven Bilbao’s decrepit port area. The result was a gallery of contemporary art that has been celebrated by critics and the public alike. The huge exhibition space boasts a permanent and a rotating exhibit collection, but the real draw is the building itself, with its now famous titanium curves. THE BODEGA YSIOS WINERY In the world-renowned Rioja wine region, the Bodega Ysios is a ‘temple dedicated to wine’. The only winery to be designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, it has an aluminium wave of a roof, inspired by Gaudí. The building has the rugged Sierra de Cantabria as a backdrop and compliments the scenery perfectly, creating a dialogue between the construction and nature. THE PILGRIMS TRAIL Our itinerary loosely follows the second half of the Camino Francés, which ends at the burial place of the apostle St James, Santiago de Compostela. The cities of Burgos and León feature churches, monasteries and cathedrals which sprung up in the Middle Ages to service the pilgrims. Close to Santiago we walk a section of the trail and meet pilgrims who are close to completing a trek of some 800kms. PRE-ROMANESQUE CHURCHES The term Pre-Romanesque refers to the architecture of Spain and Portugal after the Classical age and before the Romanesque. On the outskirts of Oviedo, we visit three well preserved churches, dating from the 9th Century, which tell of over a millennium of worship. Set at the foot of the Naranco mountain, the countryside sets off their simplicity and austere design. PORTUGESE AZULEJOS As far back as the 13th Century, the Portugese developed the art of using tin-glazed ceramic tilework to decorate their buildings. These exquisite tiles, or azulejos, painted predominantly in a blue hue, are a memorable feature of cities like Lisbon, Porto and Sintra. In Lisbon, we visit the National Tile Museum and can admire a work of some 1300 tiles which depicts the city of Lisbon prior to the 1755 earthquake. Detailed itinerary Included meals are shown with the symbols B, L and D. Tour start & finish time The tour begins on Friday September 18, 2020, at 7.30pm in the lobby of the NH Ría de Bilbao Hotel, Bilbao. The tour ends on Tuesday October 6, 2020, after breakfast at the Bessa Hotel Liberdade, Lisbon. FRIDAY September 18 Bilbao Our tour starts in Bilbao today. We recommend taking an early evening flight from Barcelona to Bilbao with Vueling airlines which connects with flights arriving from Australia. The group airport transfer will coincide with this flight. If you wish to arrive prior to the tour to recover from jetlag, we recommend a few nights in Barcelona. After settling in to our hotel across the river from the Guggenheim, we meet for a welcome drink in hotel reception and then walk to dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight Bilbao (B, D) Above: Louise Bourgeois' Spider, Maman, stands greets visitors to Saturday September 19 the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao; and the beautiful resort town of Guggenheim and casco viejo San Sebastián Today we explore the striking Guggenheim museum by Frank Gehry. In 1991 the Basque government commissioned Gehry to build a work to enliven Bilbao’s decrepit port area and the result Below: wine barrels in the extraordinary Bodega Ysios winery was a work that has been celebrated by critics and the general public alike. We also pay a visit to Bilbao’s renowned Museum of Fine Arts (Bellas Artes), before a mid-afternoon walking tour along the Nervión river to the Casco Viejo (old heart of the city) via the famous Calatrava bridge. Overnight Bilbao (B) Sunday September 20 San Sebastián This morning we take a full day excursion by coach to discover the picturesque resort town of San Sebastián. We sample some of the famed local tapas and Txakoli wine before exploring the centre on foot with a local guide. After some free time to walk along the waterfront of the famed Bahia de la Concha, we join our coach trip back to Bilbao admiring the sculpture of Eduardo Chillida on the way. Overnight Bilbao (B, Tapas) Monday September 21 La Rioja - To Castilla-Leon Departing the Basque country, we head by coach to the wine growing region of La Rioja. We stop in Laguardia for coffee, a medieval walled city perched on a rocky outcrop and have time to explore here before a visit to the contemporary architect Santiago Calatrava’s extraordinary Bodega Ysios winery. This impressive building, with its Gaudí inspired roof and superb mountain backdrop, is an excellent location for our wine tasting. Lunch will be a typical bodega (winery) lunch at a smaller more intimate family owned vineyard. We arrive at Burgos in the late afternoon, our destination for the next two nights. Overnight Burgos (B, L) Tuesday September 22 Explore Burgos We set off on foot to explore the historic centre of a city at the heart of Spain’s history and a principle crossroads of the Camino de Santiago. Amongst other sites we pause outside the Casa del Cordόn, where Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille, the ‘Catholic Monarchs’, met with Colombus and endorsed his voyages to the New World, and the world heritage Gothic cathedral, built on the pilgrim’s route and inspired by the cathedrals of Paris and Reims. In the afternoon, we pay a visit to the Abbey of Las Huelgas, a beautiful Cistercian monastery just outside the city centre. In the evening, after a talk in the hotel, you might like to sample the hearty local specialty, “Lechazo”, suckling lamb- ask the tour leader for a restaurant recommendation. Overnight Burgos. (B) Wednesday September 23 pilgrim Route and roman mosaics Departing Burgos for Leόn we witness sections of the Camino from our coach, passing pilgrims with their iconic staffs and scallop shells tied to their packs.