Federico García Lorca, the poet, playwright and a member of the Generation of 27, was undoubtedly one of the leading figures of 20th-century Spanish literature with worldwide acclaim. He is the artificer of such magnificent works as Gypsy Ballads, Poet in New York, Blood Wedding, The House of Bernarda Alba and Yerma, among others. The biography of Federico García Lorca is closely linked to the city of Granada and to some villages in the surrounding Vega of Granada. Just as these lands left their mark on his work, so has Lorca’s influence lingered there over time. We now retrace the footprints of this magnanimous artist.

The Lorca route sets out from Fuente Vaqueros, a small town on the Vega de Granada where the poet was born. The house where he was born, located at 4 Calle García Lorca, which has been turned into a museum, provides visitors with an idea of his first steps in life.

Near Fuente Vaqueros lies the town of Valderrubio. Apart from being the first place to grow Virginia tobacco brought from the Americas, it was here that Lorca spent his holidays during his infancy. Prominent places of interest include the house of Bernarda Alba, on the Calle de la Iglesia, which was next door to García Lorca’s family home. As you may have gathered, it was the source of inspiration for one of his most widely acclaimed stage plays, The House of Bernarda Alba, with its mordant portrayal of life in the Spanish heartland. The old family abode has been turned into a House Museum, with some of the poet’s personal belongings on display.

In 1909, the Lorca family moved to Granada, where our route continues. His first home in this city was at 50 Calle Acera del Darro and the second, at 31 Acera del Casino. In 1914 he started a degree in Law and Arts at Granada University. During that period, he began to frequent what was one of the most celebrated meeting places of young intellectuals, the Café Alameda, which is now the Restaurante Chikito. That what where the conversational circle known as “El Rinconcillo” used to meet. The group was made up of artists of different disciplines whose common aim it was to promote cultural renewal in the city. The Centro Artístico y Literario de Granada (CALC) and El Polinario – also a famous flamenco tablao– were other spots frequented by Lorca.

An upshot of these gatherings was that Lorca struck up a friendship with Manuel de Falla, also a member of “El Rinconcillo”. Together they organised the first Cante Jondo de Granada contest – also a first in the whole of Spain – which was held in the Plaza de los Aljibes at the Alhambra.

The second-last stopover on our itinerary, just two kilometres from Granada, is the town of Huerta de San Vicente, the family’s summer residence from 1926 to 1936. Set in a beautiful park, it became a retreat for Lorca and it was there that he was able to relax, and draw inspiration to write. It was also the place where he spent the last few days of his life. The home has now been turned into the Federico García Lorca House-Museum, with furniture, personal objects and photographs of Lorca on display.

When the Spanish Civil War broke out in the summer of 1936, Lorca was forced to seek refuge in the family home of the poet, Luis Rosales, although this did not prevent him from being arrested on 16 August 1936. Our final stop on this itinerary through Lorca’s haunts in Granada is an olive grove located between Vízcar and Alfacar, where Federico García Lorca was executed by firing squad in the morning of 18 August. This subsequently became a park named after the poet. In it stands a monolith in memory of the victims of the Francoist repression during the Civil War.

Good reason to book your Vueling to Granada and follow the Lorca trail through Granada.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Alfons Hoogervorst, John Levin

If you have the chance to go to Dublin, we recommend you set aside a few extra days to go on some outings in its environs, where magnificent scenery and picturesque villages await you. While a few posts ago we recommended taking the DART, the rapid rail transit system which plies the Dublin coast, to visit some of the beautiful villages there, today we propose a getaway to County Wicklow, which lies south of the Irish capital. You may well wonder what is so special about this region that you ought to extend your stay and devote some extra time to it. Well – nature walks, Celtic legends, lakes, waterfalls, mansions, historic heritage and a large dose of magic. How do you feel about that? Well worth it, isn’t it? Here, then, are some pointers to touring the area and a rundown of the venues you shouldn’t miss.

The Garden of Ireland

The splendid Wicklow Mountains National Park is one of the county’s major attractions. Situated just 30 kilometres from Dublin, it contains an area of approximately 20,000 hectares. Known as the “Garden of Ireland” for its size, variety and beautiful plant life, it is the favourite getaway destination for weekend trippers from Dublin, who go there to enjoy its natural surroundings or to do sport, such as trekking, cycling, fishing and white-water rafting.

The standout feature of this nature reserve are the Wicklow Mountains, which traverse it from north to south. The highest peak is Lugnaquilla, which rises to 925 metres, followed by Mullaghcleevaun at 847 metres and Kippure at 757 metres. Other landmarks include the river Slaney, which runs through the mountain range for a distance of 72 kilometres, and lakes like Lough Tay – also known as Guinness – as a stretch of its shoreline forms part of an estate belonging to the family that make the popular beverage.

The best way to enjoy this lovely park is to venture along the roads that cross it as they will lead you to the multi-faceted slopes carved out by nature here. It is a veritable gift on the eyes and one of the best ways to discover the Irish countryside.

Historical Attractions

One of the highlights of touring this area is discovering some of its historical vestiges – like Glendalough, a monastic settlement located in the Wicklow Mountains. Founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, and built mainly in the 8th and 9th centuries, it has endured until the present despite assaults by the Vikings and having been sacked by the English. As its name indicates, Glendalough – meaning “Valley of Two Lakes” in Gaelic – is a historical complex located in a valley with two lakes. The area around the Upper Lake features most of the surviving buildings, while the Lower Lake area has fewer remains. They are, however, older and are all related in some way to the life of St Kevin. The way the stone constructions – often in a state of ruin – are set in the natural surroundings is really stunning and makes an excursion to the site well worth your while.

Other interesting sights in County Wicklow are some of the stately mansions, such as Avondale House, the birthplace and home of Charles Stewart Parnell, and Powerscourt House with its magnificent gardens, completed between 1858 and 1875, which are among the finest gardens in Ireland.

Be amazed by the magic of this marvellous Irish county located less than hour from Dublin – book your Vueling now!

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Claire Gribbin

Old, new, designer, romantic, cold, practical, beautiful, iron, ornamented… these are some ways of describing the thirty-seven bridges that span the river Seine on its passage through Paris. Any visit to the French capital that excludes this beautiful river and these priceless engineering works would be tantamount to missing part of its soul. This is no overstatement. For starters, the banks of the Seine and the monuments sited there were included in UNESCO’s 1991 World Heritage listing. A stroll along those shores is a walk through centuries of history – and art – which we constantly encounter along the way: Notre Dame, the Sainte-Chapelle, the Orsay Museum, the Tuileries Garden, Place de la Concordia, the Grand Palais, the Petit Palais, the Eiffel Tower, to name but a few.

Another highlight you are likely to come across on your walk are the magnificent bridges. Apart from conveying you from one side of the river to the other, they afford the best views of the city. Following is our selection of four of the most popular bridges, which are bound to end up in your photos during your tour of Paris, help you cross the Seine in search of some landmark or provide the backdrop to you stealing a kiss from your beloved.

Pont Neuf

Despite its name (meaning New Bridge), it happens to have the honour of being the oldest and longest bridge in the city. In 1578, work commenced on what was to become the first stone bridge built across the river Seine, as until then the bridges had all been wooden – hence the name. Located at one end of the Ile de la Cité, it has two spans – one connecting the left bank to the Ile de la Cité and the other linking up with the right bank. It is the classical bridge one takes when going on the essential visits to Notre Dame Cathedral and the Sainte-Chapelle.

Pont des Arts

The Pont des Arts, also known as the Passerelle des Arts, located in the 6th Arrondissement, was built between 1801 and 1804 and was the first iron bridge in Paris. What visitors will see today, however, is a replica of the original construction, built from 1981 to 1984, as the original was severely damaged during the two World Wars. The views it affords of the Ile de la Cité make it one of the most frequently visited spots by sightseers and also artists, who tend to come here in search of the best picture-postcard view of the city. In recent years it has also become a place of pilgrimage for young couples seeking to seal their love by placing a padlock on the railing.

Pont d’Alma

Located alongside Alma Square, which features a replica of the Flame in Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty, it was commissioned by Napoleon III in 1854 to commemorate the Battle of Alma during the Crimean War. In previous times, the Zouave statue – one of the four statues adorning it – was used to measure water levels in times of flooding. Nowadays it has become a place of pilgrimage to pay tribute to Princess Diana, as the tunnel situated behind this bridge is where she died in a car accident in August 1997.

Pont Alexandre III

This elegant bridge, classified as a French “historic monument”, was built for the Exposition Universelle in 1900 and dedicated to Tsar Alexander III of Russia. Construction on the bridge got under way in 1896 in the Beaux Arts style of the Third Republic. Sited between the 7th and 8th Arrondissement, it links the Invalides to the Grand Palais des Beaux-Arts and the Petit Palais. A stroll across the bridge provides a magnificent panoramic view of the area, with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Book your Vueling to Paris and roam the banks of the Seine in search of some of its magnificent bridges and beautiful views.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by stanze, Bruno Pereira, Yann Caradec, Barry

Those roving travellers who, on a visit to the capital of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, are unsated by delving into its past in the streets of Vieux Lyon, rambling through the bohemian district of La Croix-Rousse – which once hosted the silk workshops that earned the city fame and identity – or visiting the Institut Lumière, where the seventh art took its first tentative steps, and would instead like to discover the Lyon of the future, should make a point of heading for the Lyon Confluence.

At the tip of the peninsula where the Rhône and Saône rivers meet on their passage through Lyon lies the city’s most avant-garde district, the site of state-of-the-art architectural structures designed by a host of national and international architectural studios.

In its beginnings, the Confluence was an industrial precinct with numerous warehouses which gradually fell derelict. Over the last few years, this neighbourhood has been redeveloped, becoming what is now the apple of Lyon’s eye. This has been achieved by implementing a large-scale urban renewal project which has become a new focus of interest for both the Lyonese and tourists alike. Guided by the precepts of sustainability and creativity, the project features some highly interesting constructions and the district has taken on a markedly new lease of life, attracting businesses, restaurants and the odd hotel, and the project still has a long way to go.

Le Cube Orange is one of the icons of the district and one of the first surprises to hit newcomers to the area. The work of French architects Jakob + Macfarlane Architects, this huge building has a giant, cone-shaped hole gouged out of it, its function being both aesthetic and to provide light and ventilation. Another landmark and sequel to the Cube Orange, as it is designed by the same architects, is the Euronews HQ, although here one’s attention is struck by its loud green colour and this time the building’s rectangular facade is pierced by two holes. Another construction which made an impression on us during our stroll through La Confluence was Dark Point, the work of French architect Odile Decq, where the structure seemingly reaches out to embrace the river.

La Sucriére acts as a counterpoint to the aforementioned shot of cutting-edge architecture. Once a factory warehouse for storing sugar, it has now been refurbished and converted into an exhibition space for mainly art and creative works in general.

The itinerary culminates in the Musée des Confluences, unveiled in December 2014 and housed in a building characterised by the deconstructivist architectural style of the Austrian Coop Himmelb(l)au. Shaped to resemble a cloud, the museum is dedicated to natural history and societies. The permanent collection comes from the Museum of Lyon and features exhibits ranging from ethnographic artefacts to natural science objects.

And, if all that hasn’t quite quenched your sightseeing thirst, you can always go on a heady shopping spree in the district’s emblematic shopping complex – the largest in Lyon – namely the Pôle de Commerces et Loisirs Confluence which, apart from countless stores, is also the site of numerous restaurants, cinemas, gyms, etc.

Now that you know about Lyon’s most avant-garde neighbourhood, book your Vueling here and discover it for yourself.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, Anthony V.