I confess that when I planned this trip, I wasn’t quite sure how to spend the time between leaving the coast and getting to Madrid to fly home. León was such a pleasant surprise it raised my expectations for our final stop: Segovia. We awoke in our hi-tech teak-and-glass hotel room and made our way down to breakfast. The hotel had my request for GF options on the booking and I was promptly presented with a plate containing multiple GF pastry products straight from the oven.

Oviedo continues to taunt us with grey skies that hint at sunshine. We finish our breakfast foods and tidy up the apartment before hitting the road south to León. Instead of taking the motorway, we opt to meander through the mountains, considering a possible stop at a system of caves in the Reserva de la Biosfera de Los Argüellos. And are we glad we did!

A non- driving day with no rain means we get to just hang out and enjoy Oviedo. Breakfast was light - yogurt and fruit and GF muffins - a nice change from our previous hotel breakfasts. Then we went out into some temperamental sunshine (in our freshly laundered garb!) to experience Oviedo on a Saturday morning. The old town was wall to wall with market stalls and people drinking coffee (and the local cider!).

The mountains were a bit gloomy this morning and we prepared for more weather challenges on our trip back along the coast. After breakfast we took the time to visit the Torre del Infantado - a medieval tower in the centre of town that houses an exhibit on Beato de Liébana, an 8th century monk with a thing for the book of Revelations.

Today we bid adios to Bilbao and head along the coast before wandering into the Picos de Europa - the large mountainous national forest that I have imagined being the Spanish equivalent of the Cairngorms or Adirondacks. The day was still grey but dry as we head west on the coast road. We were leaving Basque Country which meant no more street signs in multiple languages with lists of k’s and x’s.

Well we knew it could happen and if it did, the north coast would be the place. We awoke to a lowering sky and no sunshine in sight. But we are adaptable so we had breakfast, grabbed our rain jackets and headed out into the city. We started with La Ribiera market, a large indoor food market similar to Pike Place in Seattle but much more modern, all gleaming steel and glass.

Our last morning in tiny picturesque Laguardia. We had another scrumptious brekkie before heading north again. Today’s destination: San Sebastián- a name that brought smiles to everyone we mentioned it to. Apparently all of Spain loves the beach there so we must investigate. The drive to the coast was beautiful- the scenery was much greener than we had previously seen and there were LOTS of mountains.

The abundant air conditioning in our room made for a very good night’s sleep. We enjoyed a lovely breakfast - including yummy GF bread! - to start our day. Today’s big event: wine tasting! Our guide, Martin, collected us at 10.00 and we climbed into the air conditioned van for our first winery stop. Javier San Pedro Ortega is a relatively new winery where we tasted one white and three reds.

Our quick stop in Burgos had come to and end. We breakfasted and thought we’d take a quick walk through what would surely be quiet streets after the night’s revelries. But there was no quiet here. By 10am the bands were back out playing and bars were beginning to open (on a Sunday no less!) so it was time to move on.

Today we say adios to Madrid and start our trek north. A taxi to the airport car rental company then half an hour of waiting and paperwork and we were ready to head out of the city in our Fiat 500 convertible. Tiny car, no roof. That’s how we roll. And we were rolling with no sunscreen because it turns out that was left behind in the hotel in Madrid.

The first day is always the fairly boring travel day. And this trip was no exception. We were lucky enough to have a reasonable flight out of Aberdeen too Madrid through Amsterdam. And of course since the reason for the trip initially was business, I got to fly business class. So to be the nice spouse, we got Frank business class too.

Okay team - this is a test post to prepare for the upcoming road trip to Northern Spain. Watch this space for more fun and games (and lots of bad Spanish!) 🙂

The end of marking coursework is always a time to celebrate and this year we decided to do it in style. We booked a "cheap" trip to Gdansk on Wizz Air - a budget Hungarian airline - and a hotel in the old town. Why Gdansk? Because we could fly there directly from Aberdeen for next to nothing and it purportedly has one of the best Christmas markets in Europe.