Author: Sharon

“The Lovers of Teruel” is a popular local legend that has given birth to street names, tourist tchotchkes, and even an entire museum attached the glorious church of San Pedro in Teruel.

The story goes like this:

The lovers, Juan Diego de Marcella and Isabel de Segura were living in the city of Teruel. Their early friendship quickly turned to love. Rejected by her family for his lack of wealth, Juan Diego took a post of five years in the army in order to raise his fortune. He left for the war and returned to Teruel when his post ended. Isabel, in the mean time, had married another man from Albarracin. Juan Diego managed to get her alone and begged her for a kiss. Isabel rejected him and the young man died from a broken heart. The following day, the funeral celebrations took place in the church of San Pedro. A woman in mourning moved close to the coffin. It is Isabel who wants to impart that kiss that she had denied him previously. She kisses him and suddenly dies by his side.

In 1555, the buried mummies were (purportedly) found in the Chapel of San Cosme y Damien. According to the testimony of the notary, an old document recording the events was also found.

The museum showcases statues of the lovers that were placed over their mummies. The hands are just out of reach, symbolizing their tragic story.

A contemporary work of art involving the story of the lovers is displayed in the museum.

The Church of San Pedro has undergone several renovations but it still retains Moorish features. It’s a stunning sight.

Teruel was a fun find and was small enough that we could walk everywhere – this viaduct spans across the gorge below.

While we were in Teruel we took a drive to a nearby town – Albarracin. Its streets are laid out with flights of steps, passageways and russet-colored  houses with timber-framed walls.

The guidebook says that the village is “a magnet for lovers of sketching, painting, and photography.” It’s a long climb to the top but interesting architecture and excellent views await.

As much as we’ve enjoyed the small towns we’ve visited in Spain, we were ready to get back to the bright lights of the city. We turned in the rental car a couple of days early and we’re back in Valencia for 2 nights. We’ll take the train to Madrid for 5 nights on Saturday. If you’re still with us, thanks for following along!  Sharon and Larry

We think that Teruel a terrific destination. It’s a small city with a population of about 35,000 people but it has many treasures, a fascinating history, beautiful vistas, great food, and friendly people.

There are ancient archways and towers around every corner.

The Cathedral de Teruel  is stunning,

we were fascinated by the ornate statues inside. We were the only visitors there when we arrived and had quiet visit there.

We’re staying in an apartment near Plaza Del Torico, the main square in town. Torico means “Little Bull” and there is a statue of a miniscule bull on top of a pillar in the middle of the plaza. He’s very popular with locals and tourists too – people were very upset a few months ago when Torico fell off of his perch – he’s been returned to his rightful place in the city.

We found two excellent tapas bars – the flavors are unique, delicious and the cost very inexpensive.

We’ve been busy here and these are just a few of the highlights. Teruel is a lesser known place in Spain that is absolutely worth a visit!

We have reconfigured our itinerary again. Tomorrow we’re heading back to Valencia for 2 nights and then on to Madrid for a 5 night stay.

We left Tarragona and after a couple of missed turns, we were on our way to Teruel.  The terrain is mountainous and rocky but the roads excellent and we enjoyed the drive.

On the way to Teruel we passed through the Matarraña region, which is sometimes called the Tuscany of Spain. The soil and climate in this region is perfect for growing olives and grapes.

We stopped halfway at a rustic cafe in Calaciete for lunch. There was an American Western playing on the TV and the friendly owner wanted to make sure we tried the locally grown olives.

On the table next to us, there was a glass with ice and a bottle…it sat there the whole time we were there and no one touched it. We also enjoyed bocadillos with Spanish ham and Manchego cheese.

We arrived in Teruel and spent today exploring the town – it’s really nice. We found free parking at the Bullring (near the police station) and all is well!

 

Weekends in Spain feel festive! Lazy lunches in the plazas, walks in the parks, markets selling local produce, and people celebrating a birthday (?) by hiring a marching band to lead them in a fun parade.

Markets in the plazas have lots of seasonal produce. The oranges are flavorful and inexpensive!

We opted for a fixed-price Saturday lunch at Restaurant Les Coques in the Old Town of Tarragona. Lunch is late and slow…wine and dessert are included in the price.

The veal with roasted vegetables was delicious,

And a tart topped with a colorful, sweet mandarin orange was a treat.

We are staying in a small two-bedroom apartment that has everything we need. It’s a relaxed place in a great location on the Rambla Nova. It has a washing machine, dishwasher, oven, and a well-equipped kitchen.. plus a terrace. A drying rack is provided so that we could wash our clothes and dry them in the sun on the terrace. The cost of this apartment is about $115.00 U.S. per night.

It’s also laundry day for our neighbors across the way.

Sunday we walked around the harbor…described as a “fishing village”,

But instead of a quaint fishing village, we found a developed waterfront with stores, restaurants, and quite a few huge, decadent yachts.

There is a local tradition in this region of Spain called  a Castel or human tower. Groups of people stand on one another’s shoulders to create a tower. The process of “construction” is complicated and it incorporates measures to keep the participants safe. In Tarragona, there is statue called “Monument to Castellers” not far from where we are staying.

We’ve found plenty to keep us occupied in Tarragona but it’s time move to our next stop tomorrow…we’re on to Teruel about 3.5 hours from here.

After thunderstorms on Wednesday, it was a sunny day when we left town on Thursday morning. We enjoyed our stay here partly because of the beautiful seaside location and also because the hosts at La Plaza Hostal, Chris and Cristina were so kind and helpful. Always offering advice about restaurants, places to visit, and even driving us from the hotel to our car on the day we left so we wouldn’t have to carry our luggage down many, many steps (like the ones below).

It took about one hour and 30 minutes to drive to Tarragona. The roadways are very great and according to Larry, the driving not difficult.

We stopped for gas…this is what gas station coffee looks like…but, it cost 40€ for a half tank of gas.

Larry prepaid for parking in Tarragona to ensure that we could get a space and we were able to check in to our apartment in the city center early.

Tarragona is a nice city with long pedestrian walkway (Rambla Nova) running through the center of town, right to the edge of the sea.

The city is a mix of modern and ancient.

Even older are the Roman Ruins like this theater constructed next to the sea.

We’re having a relaxed stay here… we have a couple more nights before we move to our next town, Teruel, on Monday. Tarragona is a low-key city with good restaurants, and, for us, worth a stop!

It’s Labour Day and a national holiday in Spain. It’s a day off for the general population so banks, the post office and many businesses are closed. There are more tourists milling about in the town and people are enjoying drinks at outside cafes in the Plazas. The mood is festive!

It’s Larry’s birthday and we started the day by celebrating with cake for breakfast. A delicious yellow cake with bits a chocolate and a candied orange slice on top.

To celebrate we walked around the city and spent time in the laundromat. Clean clothes are also something to celebrate!

It’s been threatening rain all day and the skies are cloudy over the lighthouse.

Yesterday when the skies were blue, we got a view of the lighthouse from inside the castle. At night, light from the lighthouse flashes across the town square and the sea.

We got a good walk in before the rain finally started to fall late this afternoon. A stroll along this pier gave us another view of the city with the castle at the top.

A few window boxes around town are decorated with spring flowers.

Its our last full day here and tomorrow we’ll leave the Valenciano region and drive 1.5 hours to our next stop –  Tarragona, the northern most point for this trip. Tarragona is in Catalonia and only a one hour and ten minute train ride from Barcelona, but we probably won’t venture there for this trip.

We’ve had fun exploring this small seaside town! 

It was raining when left Alicante yesterday. Our plan was to walk from our hotel to the train station to pick up our rented car. When we got to the Europcar Rental Desk we learned that we’d actually rented the car from the airport rather than the train station! So we regrouped, grabbed a taxi and headed for the airport. We got a later than expected start but the cab driver was very kind, the rental car agents at the airport friendly, and we finally headed out on the highway.

We we’re impressed with the Alicante Airport!

It was still raining when we arrived in Peñíscola and the hotel was a steep climb  uphill but once we arrived, we were welcomed by the owner Chris and all was well! Peñíscola is a beachy town with a castle (they’re popular here) but a bit dreary on a rainy day. It’s off-season and we learned that we’re the only guests staying in the hotel.

Today it looks like a different city! The sky is blue and there are lots of tourists milling about.

The castle is on top of the biggest rock,

and surrounded by the sea so it was easy to defend from outside invaders (and there were many). The castle was protected by Templars or warrior monks who were young, battle hardened, and super-disciplined.

The Old Town near the castle is small with steep, narrow winding streets.

In contrast, there are many high rise hotels along the beach. It’s quiet now but in the summer months 9,000 residents expands to 50,000.

We’ve enjoyed a couple of delicious seafood meals…the food here has been great.

We have one more day here before we move on the Tarragona. We’ve secured a free parking spot so we’re leaving the car just where it is!

We’ve enjoyed many sunny Spanish days so we were due for a rainy one. It gave us an excuse to rest up a bit – especially since many shops and grocery stores are closed on Sundays. There is a nice cafe on the corner where we’ve been having breakfast. We began our day with a delicious yogurt and fruit bowl.

Yesterday we finally made it to the castle (Castello de Santa Barbara) on the hill. It was hard to find it but there is an underground tunnel that leads to an elevator that goes to the top.

The oldest parts of the castle are from the 9th to 13th centuries. Once at the top, the views are spectacular. We could see the Mediterranean Sea, the city of Alicante, beaches below, and mountains in the distance.

We tried to imagine what it would be like to face one of these guys! We decided that it was time to exit the castle and walked downhill to return to the city center.

There is a tapas bar on every corner and last night we went to one called Boca de Vin with a pretty interior and good food.

The rain today made it a good day to visit the Fine Arts Museum. It was a very nice museum with many large scale works of art and a special exhibition of etchings by Spanish artist Salvador Dalí. In front of some of paintings, actors dressed as subjects in the painting performed a short skit. It was a clever idea!

The weather has been cooler than we expected so we shortened the number of days that we’ll spend in seaside towns and added another city, Tarragona. We will pick up a rental car tomorrow (Monday) and drive north for a three-night stay in the small seaside town of Peñíscola.

We’ve had a good time discovering cities in Spain that are new to us! More adventure awaits!

We’re staying at the Eurostars Centrum located out of the city center but within easy walking distance to everything we want to see.

Alicante is a port city and this walkway called Esplanada, is lined with beautiful date palm trees. The city is just what you’d expect from a Mediterranean city – mild temperatures, sea breezes, and lots of tourists. There are sidewalk restaurants and cafes all along the path. Today there are two large cruise ships in the port .

There is a castle on a hill (the rock in the photo below) but our legs aren’t quite ready to tackle the climb to the top. We’ve heard rumors that there’s an elevator to the top. We’re going to look for it tomorrow.

and an interesting tower.

The city isn’t as grand or as elegant as Valencia but it has lots of charm. There is a huge Central Market with beautiful fruits, veggies, meats and more. The tomatoes are colorful!

There is plenty to do here to keep us busy…and we still have to climb the hill to the castle!

We’ve had a great five night stay here.  The skies are blue, the piazzas bustling and the locals friendly.

Larry found a pleasant coffee shop for our morning pastry. 🥐 This morning we’ve had a big coffee and will be ready to head for the train station soon. Our next stop is Alicante – a two hour ride away.

Yesterday we visited the Cathedral;

and the Botanical Garden filled with more types of succulents than we could imagine.

Spain is known for wines and Vermouth (Vermut in Spain.) This red vermouth with soda became our new favorite Aperitivo.

We are looking forward to checking out a new city…on to Alicante we go!