First Discovery – The Pink City

It was in Toulouse I discovered that dusk can be pink, particularly if you watch it from the banks of the river Garonne. The light can be rather fickle, especially when it strikes from a high or low angle on the marble of the grand edifices which bedeck the city’s historic centre. The Place du Capitole, its daytime beauty matched at night by a lighting display, is the point of departure for any route through this city in the new Languedoc-Roussillon Midi-Pyrénées region. This is where the Capitole building stands, now home to the City Hall and National Theatre. Its eight pink marble columns symbolise the power of the eight districts that made up Toulouse in the 18th century. The square also has some hidden treasures, like the paintings under its colonnade where the city’s history is recounted.

Second Discovery – Home to Carlos Gardel and the Inquisition

In Toulouse I learned that Carlos Gardel was born in France, despite the Uruguayans claiming the king of tango as a fellow countryman, as I did that Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince, had stayed at the Hotel Le Grand Balcon, like all the pilots in the Compagnie Générale Aéropostale. Toulouse is also the birthplace of institutions, as antagonistic as they are important, like the Inquisition – founded to combat the Cathars – the Jeux Floraux, and the Gay Science, dating from the 14th century.

Third Discovery – A Vast Heritage

Toulouse is the site of the largest Romanesque church in the West, the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, also one of the major stopovers on the Road to Santiago on its passage through France. Close by stands the Convent of the Jacobins, a magnificent example of monastic construction and, further along the Garonne, we come across the Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Daurade, consecrated to the Black Madonna, draped in mantles made by great dressmakers.

Fourth Discovery – Pablo Picasso

It was in this city that I realised how passionate Toulousians are about Pablo Picasso. Les Abattoirs Museum, regarded as one of the leading cultural centres in Toulouse, features as an exhibit The Remains of the Minotaur in a Harlequin Costume, the work of the universal artist from Málaga.

Fifth Discovery – Aeroscopia

Toulouse is France’s aerospace capital  – the Airbus factory is located at Blagnac – particularly after the inauguration of the Aeroscopia Museum which, covering an area of 7,000 square metres, houses such legendary aeroplanes as the Concorde and the Super Guppy, the forerunner of the celebrated Beluga.

Sixth Discovery – Its Markets

In Toulouse I discovered that markets have a life of their own in France and that, apart from being venues for shopping, their restaurants attract a host of customers. The Victor Hugo Food Market, the Marché Cristal – where fruit and vegetables are sold in the open air – and the Marché des Carmes are some of the best known ones.

Seventh Discovery – N5 Wine Bar

Here, as in the rest of the country, the wine bar concept is very much in vogue. A fine example of this is the N5 Wine Bar, where you order wine by the glass (choosing both the type and the amount) and your order gets chalked up on a card which keeps track of your consumption. Be sure to try their tapas, such as the culatello di Brozzi, foie gras or Bronat cheeses.

Eighth Discovery – Toulouse Nightlife

Lastly, Toulouse is the French city with the most pronounced Spanish influence. You can tell as soon as you arrive when you start chatting to locals or when you give yourself over to the Toulousian night. In France’s fourth largest city, the people go out onto the street, regardless of the cold, and live it up for as long as they can hold out. Toulouse nightlife draws droves of locals and foreigners, many of them students, who gather at the nightspots on the Rue des Filatiers and the Carmes, Trinité, Wilson and Victor Hugo squares.

Toulouse is the perfect destination for a weekend getaway. Check out your Vueling here.

Text by Tusdestinos.net
Photos by Toulouse Tourism

This time we’re showcasing a more genuine Dublin – a Dubliner’s Dublin. We shall avoid tourist tracks – well covered by umpteen posts in the blogosphere – and provide you with a more contemporary vision.

Getting about the city is very easy as it is well connected, but we propose discovering Ireland’s capital on foot. Most of the spots we’ll be recommending are accessible on a pleasant stroll along the banks of the river Liffey.

Our first stop is a Georgian mansion, the house of Richard Wingfield, Viscount Powerscourt (1730-1788), and his wife, Lady Amelia. It has now been converted into a trendy shopping centre, the Powerscourt Shopping Centre. A gem of past times become contemporary. Under one roof you can see the transition from the Baroque to the Neoclassical. The interior features unique design, fashion, gastronomy and art shops, among others. It also houses six restaurants, notably The Pepper Pot, with its large menu of organic dishes, and Pygmalion, known for its snacks and breakfast based on local produce.

Nearby, along George´s Street, is one of the best gay and lesbian pubs, The George, perfect for listening to live music and having a good pint. Could it be otherwise? On entering, turn around and you will see one of the city’s most beautiful murals, executed by the artist, Joe Caslin. Dublin’s gay district is gradually gaining currency, opening up an alternative avenue in the city and well worth visiting.

On the street that bears the name of the legendary Irish guitarist, musician, composer and producer, Rory Gallagher, lies Meeting House Square. In summer, this square throngs with musical events, while all year around on Saturdays it hosts foodies at a quaint organic market studded with takeaway food stalls offering the best quality. Here you will also come across the Temple Oyster Bar. If you’re a lover of this bivalve shellfish, just do it!

Now that we’re in the heart of the famous Temple Bar area, a short way off the beaten track we come to Essex Street East, home to one of the most delightful men’s fashion shops in all Dublin, Indigo and Cloth.

If you’re a photography enthusiast, make sure you head for The National Centre for Contemporary Photography – their exhibitions are really excellent! You will discover thematic collections of old Dublin, the Irish countryside and remembrances of the Great Famine.

The city also boasts an unusual cinema, a meeting point for Bohemians and lovers of the seventh art, where you can also have the menu of the day; we’re talking about the Irish Film Institute. 

But, if you’re game for a unique extrasensorial gastronomic experience, make sure you book for the city’s on-trend restaurant, Sophie's restaurant, located on the terrace of the newly inaugurated The Dean Hotel. Any description of their service, and the glamorous, stylish decor, is unlikely to do it justice, not to mention the incredible 360-degree views of the city.

Lastly, if you’re sweet-toothed, don’t fail to give yourself a treat at Queen of Tarts, a café and patisserie which was opened in the late-nineties by the Fallon sisters. Among Dubliners, their unbeatable cakes and tarts are an open secret.

If you’ve been following this itinerary, you’ve obviously strayed from the traditional route. But, if you still have the time, we recommend taking a whole day off to see the city in one of the typical Hop on-Hop Off tourist buses. We guarantee that, by the end of the weekend, you will have finished Dublin off!

We’ll be returning to Dublin soon, as this year sees the Irish Design 2015 event,but we’ll get to that in another post… for further information, check out the Tourism Ireland website.

Hurry and book your tickets with Vueling – you’re closer than ever to Dublin!

Text by Tensi Sánchez of actitudesmgz.com

Photography by Verónica García

At noon on 29 July each year, in the small Pontevedran church of San Xosé de Ribarteme, one of the most unusual processions in the world sets out – the Romaxe dos cadaleitos (Procession of the Coffins) of Santa Marta de Ribartemeo. San Xosé de Ribarteme is in the municipality of As Neves, some 30 kilometres from Vigo, which for centuries remained isolated from the influence of traditional, orthodox Catholicism.

The effigy of St Martha is paraded at the procession of Santa Marta de Ribarteme,protectress of the helpless and patroness of lost causes, one of the most devoutly worshipped virgins in the community. She is also the sister of Mary Magdalene and Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Christ after having been dead for three days. Alongside her effigy and the images of St Benedict and the Virgin of Carmen, a funeral cortege comprising open coffins with living people insidefiles past, the coffins held aloft by family and friends. It is a profound act of faith, combining religion and symbology, by which the faithful intend to fulfil a promise they have made to St Martha out of gratitude for having survived some near-death experience. As the cortege files past, the other pilgrims sings the praises of the virgin’s healing powers to the rhythm of drums and the constant pealing of bells.“Virgin St Martha, Star of the North, we bring you those who saw death”.

The enactment breathes spirituality and a devotion typical of the Galician heartland. Visitors may be shocked by the scene, but every year more and more faithful, tourists and passers-by come to this small Galician village to experience this special moment. Galicia is a land of legends in which death and resurrection often play a major role. Stories which unfold across misty landscapes, like the one about the Holy Campaign – a procession of tormented souls who, in their grim wanderings, visit the homes where someone is about to die. This mysticism is part of the land’s charm – to discover the essence of Galicia, one has to come to terms with its ancestral customs.

In the International Limelight

The procession is arousing increasingly more interest among tourists and journalists around the world. It even came to the notice of The Guardian which ranked it the second most unusual festivity in the world, a fact which has increased its fame even further. Other landmarks in the area have also come to the prestigious newspaper’s notice – it has classed Rodas Beach and the Cíes Islands, in the archipelago of the same name in Pontevedra province, as the most beautiful in the world.

The journal, National Geographic, also set its sights on the Rías Baixas in a documentary on cultural traditions and communities around Europe. In the course of its making, the television presenter, Darren McMullen, got heavily involved in the action by climbing into one of the processionary coffins.

«El Concello de As Neves»

The Concello de As Neves municipality, closely linked to the river Miño, which forms the natural border with Portugal along a 10-kilometre stretch, is an ideal spot for delving into the past. This is evident at A Pedra da Moura, in the Taboexa parish district, and Monte das Carboeiras, in Liñares, as well as in the military vestiges at Cividá, Rocha and Altamira. The beautiful landscapes of As Neves can be viewed from several routes skirting the Miño riverbanks, notably the Sendeiro dos Pescadores de As Neves, which winds along the Galician side of the river, and the Ruta do Patrimonio Natural e Histórico-Artístico, a circular route which traverses the thirteen parish districts in the As Neves municipality.

Concello de As Neves also boasts fine cuisine, with such local produce as lamprey, baby eel, game, honey and queixo (cheese) das Neves, ideally washed down with a white wine from the Miño riverbanks such as Condado or Albariño, or the Rubios red.

Come and live out this extraordinary experience. Check out our flights to Vigo here.

Text by Scanner FM

Images by Ricardo Grobas for Vivir Galicia Turismo, Galicia Maxica, Un paseo o una foto

By Oriol Salvador

Nuremberg is one of those cities that allows you to organise an interesting tour through history without leaving town and no need for a time machine. A city that was bombed in 1945 and rebuilt shortly afterwards, its leading role throughout medieval, modern and contemporary history has left it with many historical attractions.

It was the capital of the German Empire between the 11th and 14th Centuries, a key centre during the German Renaissance and the main setting for the Thirty Years War (1632). Thanks to its importance during the imperial époque, Hitler made it the headquarters of the Nazi Party Congress and it was also in Nuremberg where various Nazi war criminals were tried and sentenced in Court Room 600 in the Palace of Justice .

Its history has left the city with many interesting monuments to be visited and Bavarian artists, such as Albercht Dürer have given Nuremberg an artistic heritage not to be missed. This tour offers a route through the city so you can find out all about in just one day.

Nuremberg Palace of Justice (Justizpalast)

Our tour of Nuremberg starts at this seat of judicial power, which today remains fully operational. It was here that the Nuremberg Trials took place that lasted almost one year and where the sentences handed out to some of the heads of the Nazi regime became a landmark in the history of international law.

The Court Room 600, the scene of these historic trials, is still used as a courtroom today and at the weekends, when it is not in use, offers guided tours. As an alternative, if you find the room closed, you can visit the “Memorium Nuremberg Trials” exhibition which can be found in the East Wing of the building.

German National Museum (Germanische Nationalmuseum)

Although this involves a large chunk of time and patience, as you have to queue up to get in, the visit to the German National Museum is well worth it as it is possible to see one of the greatest collections of modern German art to be found in Nuremberg, Germany and the world, all under one roof. Until 2 September, you can see “The Early Dürer”, a retrospective exhibition of the early works of German artist Albercht Dürer, a son of Nuremberg and the greatest exponent of the 16th Century German Renaissance.

On your way in or after your visit, opposite the museum entrance, is the Street of Human Rights , 29 commemorative columns that bear the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . One curious thing, there are 29 columns and 30 articles (in 30 different languages) because the last column, in Spanish, had to be taken away because it was blocking the exit for the fire station. They said they’d replace it but…

Marriage Carousel (Ehekarussell)

Going into the city centre, at the foot of the Weißer Turm (White Tower), you will find a fountain that is not suitable for the recently married: the Marriage Carousel was sculpted in 1984 by Jürgen Weber. Its figures were inspired by the poem “Bittersweet Married Life” by Hans Sachs. The sculptures depict falling in love at the beginning, the routine of living together and ends up with… well, you’ll see for yourself.

Church of St. Lawrence (Lorenzkirche)

The Church of St. Lawrence, built in the 13th Century, is an example of the Hallenkirche (hall churches), the typical German Gothic churches, with three aisles of the same height. Most of it was rebuilt following the Second World War bombardments and among its curious details that catch your attention are the nets that protect the statues in the portico so that birds can’t make their nests there or the Braille information panel we came across at the entrance.

Hospital of the Holy Spirit (Heilig-Geist-Spital)

This is one of the most well-known postcards of the city of Nuremberg, photographed from the bridge opposite. On the banks of the River Pegnitz, the building was constructed between 1332 and 1339. Having fulfilled its duties as a hospital, it is currently a municipal home for the elderly.

Market Square (Hauptmarkt)

Another of the must-see spots you simply must not miss on any tour of Nuremberg, is dominated by the Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche) built in 1358 by order of Emperor Charles IV. Its famous marketplace (particularly well-known for its Christmas Market but also offers a fresh produce and traditional food market during the rest of the year). Here you will find the Beautiful Fountain (Schöner Brunnen) that dates back to the 14th Century . The square is encircled by innumerable souvenir shops and the city tour bus stop is located right beside the historic fountain.

Bratwursthäusle

At this stage in the tour, we suggest a rest and something to fuel the stomach chance by sampling some traditional German food. Opposite the old Town Hall we found the Bratwursthäusle restaurant, where we could try the traditional German bratwurst accompanied by the equally emblematic pretzel. So sit down on the terrace and guten appetit!

Albercht Dürer’s House (Albercht Dürer Haus)

Fed and watered and after a short rest, you will be ready to walk to the highest area of the city. Before you leave the city walls, we recommend a visit to the house-museum that used to be the home of Albercht Dürer that includes in its exhibition, a chance to see the process carried out by Dürer when creating his famous etchings . Interestingly, in the square opposite the house, we discovered a curious sculpture reminiscent of one of the most well-known works by Dürer, the hare.

Imperial Castle of Nuremberg (Kaiserburg)

When you pass through the walls, you might be surprised to see gardens and orchards in the moat. The city hall rented the space out to the citizens of Nuremberg who use it as an urban vegetable patch or garden… Following the wall along for a few metres, we reach the Imperial Castle of Nuremberg from which point you can see the entire city (see the panoramic view at the start of this article). It was the residence of the German emperors from 1050 to 1571 and as well having preserved some of its original living quarters that are open to visitors, many other parts of the castle are still inhabited today.

Zeppelin Field (Zeppelinfeld)

To conclude this tour, we leave the city centre and to do this, if you haven’t done so already, we recommend you use the city’s public transport, specifically, the No. 36 bus route. You have to take this bus from the stop that is fairly near the castle then get off at the last stop on the line, that will leave you right opposite the Documentation Centre , inaugurated in 2000, the former Nazi Party Congress.

The original project for this building was to construct a half section of an amphitheatre in the style of the Roman Coliseum , with a conference auditorium in its centre. Now the building houses an interesting and modern information centre that can be visited, with a permanent exhibition documenting the history of the precinct and the ruthless abuse of power by the Nazi regime.

From there, you have to border the lake to reach the Zeppelinfeld itself: an enormous grandstand inspired by the Pergamon Altar from which Hitler directed the parades and Nazi Party congresses. Today, the area is very run-down and the city of Nuremberg only uses it for a >rock music festival held at the start of June (reminiscent of the 1970s) and a car race that takes place during the first week of July. Strange, isn’t it? Even so, you should pay a visit even if it is only to say “I’ve been there” before you go back into the city. Talking of the return, close to the Zeppelin Field there are two stops for the local train (S2) which will drop you off at Nuremberg’s central station.

Useful information

As regards transport, other than the cases we’ve mentioned, the rest of the tour can be done on foot. However, our advice is to pick up the Nürberg Cardfrom any of the city’s Tourist Offices that, for 21 €, gives you two-day access to all the museums and public transport. Children under 12 can get their card free of charge.

Another option to think about for getting around the city is NorisBike, a public bicycle hire service available to both residents of and visitors to Nuremberg. You can find more information about this service (in German) at aquí.

We’ll be there. If you want to come too, check out our flights here.