Lleida Castle and Church

We are spending this week on a 750 km loop through the countryside to get from Barcelona to Valencia. Besides wanting to see some real Spain, Valencia has some problems with bush fires (called wild fires here) so having an extra 5 days will hopefully let that situation die down.

Speaking of wild fires in Spain, there are two main areas of concern. The major fires are west of Madrid towards Portugal and outside of Valencia. Both of these areas are well away from us at the moment and we intend to keep it that way. The public information is very good via internet and in English. We are keeping a close watch on these advices. Also we are getting regular updates from the Australian Smart Traveller government service which is great to see. Any way we are being very careful. The main problem we have is the smoke haze wrecking my landscape photos.

Pistachio tree.

Our camp site last night outside of Lleida was well in the country. We took a wrong turn getting into town and had a wonderful drive through a number of farms in the area. There were fields of grapes of course, but this area is doing very well with peaches and plums which we have been consuming daily. However the big surprise was a field of pistachio trees, not having ever seen them before.

The castle and church from the 9th C was our main focus so after parking the motorhome in a big, free lot we hiked into town and up to the castle. In typical Watson style we came in the back door with all the hills and steps and missed the lifts at the front of the castle. Unknown to us Monday was everything is closed day so we only got to see the outside and the views of course.

Looking down on the old town.

Looking very good for its age, I wish we could have seen more. Anyway we took the lifts down to the Old Town which boasts the Longest Shopping Street in Europe. This Collette had to see.

Lleida is a very pretty town, much larger than you would expect.

The main square at the base of the castle and the start of the long shopping street.

And the shopping street begins. All the major names and brands are represented here. Globalisation is in full swing. If you are looking for something uniquely Spanish this is definitely not the place.

Classiest book shop you will ever see.

Wall light in the Town Hall.

There was a relatively plain building with the door open so we went to have a look. What we had stumbled into was the Town Hall, a beautiful old building inside with a very ordinary exterior.

The Town Hall was the best part of this street in my opinion, except for the shirt Collette bought me.

You have to admire the architecture.

Great idea for busking, this girl was dancing all over the place with the poor dummy just being dragged along. She was doing OK but the solo violinist just up the street didn’t stand a chance.

Leaving Lleida and Catalan Provence we headed 120 km west to Hueska, the provincial capital of Aragon Province.

Collette found a stunning camp site with shade, swimming pool, bar, 10 minutes walk to town and 20 Euros.

Huesca has a reputation for food, particularly tapas, and boasting 3 Michelin star restaurants, one of which is the only tapas restaurant to ever achieve that honour. So it’s tapas for dinner tonight.

Probably the closest I will ever get to a bull fight. Apparently it’s non lethal for the bull these days. Don’t know about the matador though.

The path into town takes us through a large park that is just beautifully laid out and maintained. It was also about 5C cooler than the footpath.

We came across this unusual plantation in the park. Turns out to be cork, so Google says.

Into the main square and the first building we see is government headquarters.

Decoration under the eaves.

Every main square has to have a fountain.

The casino that’s not a casino. A landmark in Huesca for its Art Nouveau design this building dates back to the late 1800’s. It was a casino in the days when a casino was more a community centre and gentleman’s club. I am not sure exactly what it does today but there were a lot of old blokes sitting around playing cards and billiards. Beautiful inside.

Marble, timber and luxury.

The ceiling of the staircase.

Main Street of Huesca. We were in search of the best tapas in town but Monday again.

This place was on the list to visit and one of the only ones open. Turned out to be fantastic food very reasonably priced. We left well fed and watered for 40 Euro.

Wandering these streets and enjoying the local food is the real enjoyment we are getting out of Spain. It is a totally different feeling to Barcelona or any of the busy tourist towns. They say the best part of Lleida and Huesca is the tourists don’t know about them. Were totally agree.

Tomorrow we explore a few more country towns and tapas bars.

David & Collette