By Mariana Calleja from TravelThirst | Illustration & Photography by Federico Rojas

Of course there is a lot about Florence. Such a rich city with tons of art, scenery, history and more to be seen and learned. But this time, we decided to go into a secret Florence within the same streets we all have visited some time.

Maybe you have done this before but there is always some more to discover. So take your map down and take this secret guide in hand, as you know you are already curious and going into this secret Florence we were able to find and sense for you.

1. Traces of a Roman Amphitheater

There a particular little street where you can sense a prominent curve, where buildings and homes are sitting today. But what it’s not known and told, even within its walls, is how this curve represents the place where an amphitheater was located back in Roman times!

Walking straight from Piazza Santa Croce, taking the narrow street called Via Torta. Keep walking until you surround it all! You will be able to notice and even imagine where this roman structure used to be located. No walls remain today.

2. Florence’s Floods

Arno River is a big part of Florence’s soul. Even though it seems steady nowadays, it wasn’t always like that. Did you know this river flooded up the city 3 different times in the past? Once even taking down the well known Ponte Vecchio back in 1333. Fortunately it was rebuilt and still standing.

But what travelers, locals or any curious person don’t get to know is that there are a few traces of these floods around town. And as an important part of history as it is, we want to share this tip with you.

The largest flood came in 1966, not long ago, when it reached 5 meters height. You can see commemorative plaques on this corner, recalling and remembering lost souls to the flood.

3. Thunderstorm Hits to the Duomo

In June 17th, 1600, Florence suffered a terrible thunderstorm, which had one lightning striking directly the copper-gold ball on the Brunelleschi’s cupola. It made the ball fall down hardly to the ground and fortunately not harming anyone. There was just a big hole in the ground which is featured today over a white circle on the same spot where the ball landed.

4. Bees of Ferdinand

At the Piazza Annunziata, there is a magnificent statue of Ferdinand di Medici, which if you get closer, you will see a large swarm of bees gathering around the queen bee,symbolizing Ferdinando’s coat of arms and the peaceful living they had at the time. It is said that bees are uncountable…but I believe that is untrue! We dare you to go count them. We got 91 bees!

5. San Zanobi’s Tree

Right on one side of the Baptistery in Florence, you can see a column standing all alone. Well, attached to this column there is a nice story of a very beloved bishop and the first one of the city of Florence.

One day San Zanobi passed away so the entire city threw a parade in his honor and buried him at San Lorenzo’s church. After a few years, they decided to move him to the ancient cathedral of Santa Reparata.

It was January on a dark winter day when the parade was held again. They took his body into the new location and it is said that when they passed by the Baptistery, the bishop’s bier brushed against the leafless branches of an elm tree, making it bloom right away. It was miraculous and beautiful as it is told.

In order to celebrate this, Florentines built up a column right on this spot, with a small iron detail of a tree full of leaves representing San Zanobi’s miracle. And it is celebrated every January on the 27th.

6. The Mysterious Portrait of Michelangelo

On a corner right next to Palazzo Vecchio’s main entrance, you can get to see a very small face carved into the same wall stone.

Exactly on the corner between Via della Nina and Piazzale degli Ufizzi, you will notice if you get close enough, a small carving the resembles a human face.

It is said it was sculpted by Michelangelo, maybe on a boring moment or on a rivalry moment. Legend says how Michelangelo might have been challenged by a sculptor friend mentioning how he was slow with his own works. Michelangelo, while listening and heading his back towards the wall, sculpted this face to prove his colleague wrong.

But another legend says instead, how Michelangelo was on the street when we has caught on a boring conversation with someone who approached him. In his boredom and once again, heading his back to the wall, he carved this figure on the corner stone.

Which one do you believe it was?

7. Former Jail and Today’s Apartment Building

At the Via Gibhellina, there is the Monastery delle Murate, best known for holding an important jail during 500 years. After it was closed and transferred to a new location, the infrastructure was used as a restaurant and recreational park for long time, until the 20th century. In this moment, a social project rescuing old structures for a better living, took this area in order to build a whole apartment and lifestyle project. Nowadays, you can still see and even visit the place, grab a coffee or just sit down on a bench and admire the incredible passing of time while whispering a story to your ear.

Inspiring and exemplar is what this is. One more great achievement of the city of Florence, moving towards better times and a better quality of life.

By Mariana Calleja from TravelThirst | Illustration & Photography by Federico Rojas

A place well worth discovering! Check out our flights here.

Brussels is the heart of Europe, the birthplace of Art Nouveau, the comic capital of the world and the headquarters for numerous EU institutions. A stroll around Brussels will enable us to discover its marvellous architecture, enchanting nooks and crannies and the typical gastronomical delights from the city, such as the chocolate, the beer or the mussels.

The centre of Brussels is home to two charming taverns that can be found on side streets off the busy Rue du Marché aux Herbes. The first is À l’image de Notre Dame, a place with traditional décor and a cosy ‘popular beer bar’ atmosphere that will transport you back in time.

Another of the taverns to be found near the Marché aux Herbes is the Toone Marionette Theater, a place full of history and owned by a popular puppet master dynasty. It comprises a typical tavern, a puppet museum and a small theatre with shows that are as popular with the locals as with the tourists.

The Saint Hubert Galleries link the area around the Monnaie Theatre with the Grand Place. They are a passageway between two worlds, linking a more modern Brussels to the most historical Brussels. The place is home to luxurious boutiques, traditional sweet shops, magnificent bookshops, avant-garde galleries and cafés.

Right next to the exit from the Galeries Royales, we will find the À La Mort Subite restaurant – a place with hundreds of years of history where one can enjoy the namesake beer as well as many others. The name comes from a 19th Century game of dice that the employees used to play during their break. This is one of the most traditional places in the city with long wooden benches, high ceilings and a collection of old mirrors. The thing to do here is try the Cherry or Kirk beers with a bit of cheese or one of their toasted snacks.

Steering clear of the bars around the edge of the Grand Place (which are mainly focused on tourist hunting and where the waiters try to catch you on the fly so you sit down to enjoy their typical and expensive mussels with chips), you will soon arrive at the Impasse de la Fidélité – the side street where you’ll findDelirium Tremens, one of the most famous places in Brussels and a paradise for all beer lovers. It is an enormous underground basement that is decorated in a very rustic fashion with barrels and flags on the ceilings. They serve hundreds and hundreds of different brands, which come in all different colours, aromas and flavours, each one served in a different glass that is especially designed to enhance the beer in question.

When leaving, don’t forget to visit the Jeanneke Pis fountain (Peeing Girl) at the end of the street. This is the female equivalent of the Manneken Pis, the most representative symbol of the city.

The time has come to visit the Grand Place, the main square in Brussels and considered one of the most beautiful in the world. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998 and houses a large number of historic buildings, such as the Town Hall (Gothic in style and situated in the middle), the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula and the Royal Castle of Laeken (with its large greenhouses). Around the square, it is possible to see traces of the old city and an architectural style known locally as the ‘Spanish style’ due to the fact that the main historic buildings in the Flemish style date back to a time when what is now Belgium (then Flanders) was one of the provinces controlled by the empire ruled by Carlos V.

Moving on, we come to Le Roi des Belges, a modern café at 34 Rue Jules Van Praet where having a quick breakfast or lunch becomes a delightful experience. Pleasant music at the right volume, meticulous service and a selection of delicious and healthy dishes, such as salads, quiches and lasagne, make it the perfect place to stop for a bite to eat.

However, one of the most popular and central places in Brussels for enjoying small fish dishes is Mer du Nord. A few tall tables where you can stand up to eat in the square, just behind the Saint Catherine Church, mean you can stop and try the typical baby prawn croquettes, the delicious fish soup or the typical mussels. Did you know that the best mussels are eaten during those months that contain the letter ‘R’, such as December, January, February and March?

Surrounded by the exclusive shellfish restaurants of the Santa Catherine district a delicious gourmet hamburger restaurant called Ellis Gourmet Burger can be found.

These shellfish restaurants fill up with both locals and tourists at dinner time for a meal of exquisite quality. But if your budget won’t stretch to a table on one of their terraces, one of these enormous hamburgers will fill you up for between € 8 and € 10. You also have the option to order a trio of mini-hamburgers for € 13 in order to try the various specialities all in one sitting.

If you keep walking through the Place Sainte Catherine, you’ll find the Micro Market Marché culture centre and a bar-restaurant inside called Via Via Café where they serve international food and organic drinks. This centre organises parties, DJ sessions, concerts, screenings and seasonal exhibitions. It is a meeting place for young creators and lovers of more alternative art.

And if you prefer somewhere with more of a rock music atmosphere and American-style meat dishes, Le Corbeau is the place for you. Located on Rue Saint-Michel, it can be found in what was once one of the oldest breweries in Brussels.

One of the greatest attractions in Brussels are the journeys to be had along the side streets full of comic wall art. Brussels is the comic capital of the world and is the birthplace of such legendary characters as Tintin, Lucky Luke, Spirou and the Smurfs. One of the more fun activities to be enjoyed in Belgium is to discover the large-scale reproductions of elements and pages from comics that you can find on any street corner. The idea began in 1991 as a way to renovate old buildings but has now become an identifying symbol of the city.

We took it as a bit of fun and took photographs of the ones we encountered on our visit but there is an entire route to be followed that should not be missed by any lover of Art Nouveau.

Finally, we recommend you take the train to Gantes for a day trip. Gantes is the Flemish city with the largest number of historic buildings, a strong cultural vibe and a privileged location between Bruges and Brussels – 50 km from each. The city has five abbeys, three convents and eighteen museums, as well as numerous other attractions that are all concentrated in the central district.

Makes you want to go, right? Do it! Check out our prices here!

Just mentioning that you are travelling to Lille [Lil] will provoke the inevitable question of ‘where is it’?. Close to the Belgian border, it couldn’t have better communications: 20 minutes from Belgium, 1 hour from Paris and 1 hour 20 minutes from London, Lille is the perfect union of the French and the Flemmish.

Arras

We’d been travelling for 3 days and had time to visit Arras. We arrived on a Tuesday and we were taken directly (thanks to a kamikaze driver that drove faster than Fernando Alonso) to Arras. A city (a small one) that over 4 years was destroyed by the war (as in the rest of the north and border country) and which has been entirely rebuilt. We were taken through the tunnels that been home to thousands of soldiers and to the museum that houses the carriages of the Palace of Versailles… Ohhh, they were spectacular (the rich, although this was 600 years ago, already living like real and privileged kings of the 21st Century).

The carriages will be at the Fine Arts Museum of Arrasuntil November: traps sculpted into the shape of animals, sedan chairs and horse harnesses, including the coaches from the wedding procession of Napoleon I, the coronation carriage of Charles X and the impressive funeral carriage of Luis XVIII. Literally impressive: we were taking pictures of the biggest carriage in the museum (they had to bring it in piece by piece) and we turned around and saw the funeral carriage. We were amazed. Was it a curiosity? The children’s’ carriages were pulled by… ponies?? No. By goats. An incredible exhibition that we can’t recommend too highly.

The bell tower of the City Hall is part of the national UNESCO heritage. And it comes as no surprise. You just can’t resist going up it and, apart from enjoying the view, touching the bell and its enormous clock. If you are lucky enough for the bells to chime just as you are descending the spiral staircase, you’ll see how intensive and deafening it is. It is here where the soldiers hid inside these stone tunnels. The most interesting aspect is its history and this place simply breathes it.

To see all this, you will have passed through the Grande Place. Destroyed in the First World War, this square built in a Flemmish-Baroque style is an architectural marvel. Every Wednesday and Saturday morning you can enjoy its market and in addition, if it rains, there’s no problem as the arches that encircle the square mean that the market can be moved to a covered area.

The most interesting aspect is that it is not only the exterior of the square attracts your attention. It also has underground walkways that were, in their day, first reserved for the carriages, but secondly, they were used as store rooms, refuges and hospitals during the 1944 bombardments.
5 hours is enough, don’t you think?

Transportation

The following day we awoke in Lille at dawn. The city has two metro lines. Don’t take them as there’s no need. Walk through the streets to start with and enjoy its architecture. Don’t waste your time and money on the metro. You can see they have a community bicycle system or “bicing”, just like in many other cities. We’d recommend you hire one rather than use your own as it’s much, much cheaper.

If anyone feels like taking the tour bus, it’s best they don’t. It takes almost 1 hour in which you see everything, but from a long way away. But walking around for the morning, you can enjoy every corner. We were able to see just how patient the residents of Lille are: a lorry unloading at 10:15 in the morning and after almost 15 minutes not one car had hooted, not even a gentle beep, nothing. Amazing patience.

Going out (eating and drinking)

It’s not easy to eat out well and cheaply in Lille. The best option is to go to one of its typical taverns that provide meals for the workers and where each tavern makes its own beer. Do you like beer? If so, you’ll love the Lille taverns.

Estaminet is an example of a good, nice and cheap tavern. What about salads? Just one serving can feed 3. And what’s the typical dish? Meat cooked in its own homemade beer with potatoes is a delicacy to be enjoyed by people with a healthy appetite. In addition, there is one cold dish they serve in gelatine (even today): with different types of meat, this is a dish that will definitely rekindle your energy. For dessert, as in any restaurant in the city (something to remember), either ask for a coffee or a gourmet coffee: they will serve you your coffee together with a board with 4 mini desserts on it. Yummy… This is something we should definitely import ipso facto.

Chicorée is the ideal place to have a beer and try its crème brûlée. Delicious.

If your gourmet coffee hasn’t filled you up enough, go straight along to Meert: one of the oldest patisseries in the country that has been in business since 1761 to make everything you see before you irresistible. You can’t see them, but inside there are two dining rooms where you can sit and enjoy their pastry delights at any hour of the day. What’s the most typical? Their vanilla and caramel waffle. But be warned these are not like the waffles we know in Spain but are thinner and with two together make a vanilla and caramel sandwich.

The rue Solferino is the street where you can find most of Lille’s pubs and discos. Taking a walk through the Vieux district without having a beer somewhere along the line is almost impossible.

Visits

As regards what you should not miss and what is an example of how to make the best use of space is Le Piscine. A swimming pool that was going to be demolished, transformed into a museum: sculpture, painting and clothes collections are organised and structured with a logical order that is breath-taking. A place that, even if it hadn’t been converted into a museum, is worthy of a visit: with its huge swimming pool, the men’s and women’s changing rooms, the first jacuzzi and the shower rooms exude the history of everything that took place within. Marvellous.

The best thing of all is that, in the centre, you can find: the Opera House, the Stock Exchange, French and Flemmish architecture (you will be able to identify it because of its typical colours, gilded with red brick) its fountain and the statue of the woman that looks over the square.

Before you reach the Museum of the Comtesse de Lille Hospice (a hospice and orphanage dating from the 15th Century), an intact building and one we recommend you arrive at 1 hour before it closes (if not, they get upset and only let you visit two rooms), we’d advise you to go inside the cathedral Notre-Dame de la Treille: situated in the old heart of Lille, the main facade is the least attractive we have seen for a long time. Certainly it would put you off going in. Bad idea. The interior of the cathedral hides a view of the facade that we are not going to reveal to you here. It’s so worthwhile having a look. You’ll be astonished at how a facade that looks as though it belongs to a factory can hide away so many surprises.

Shopping and markets (the biggest in Europe)

In the Grande Place, you will find Furet du Nord, the biggest bookshop in Europe. This is a talking point. You’ll find it hard not to come across a book that you didn’t even know existed.

Ombre Portées is a very special perfumery. For expert noses of scents, this is the most exclusive perfumery in the north of France: everything that is not found on the commercial circuit, they have here. Personal service and a selection of scents and perfumes that, if you like this sort of thing, you just have to go in and ask. You won’t be disappointed.

Philippe Olivier is a cheese shop that you barely notice as you walk by. 30 seconds away from the Meert Patisserie, in a tiny street, means that you might pass right by without even seeing it. Small but with the best selection of cheeses in Lille, you have to go in, listen to the recommendations and walkout with a delicious cheese.

In the Place du Concert, you can enjoy a typical regional market every Sunday morning.
It’s a university city in winter, and if everything we’ve explained here is not enough for you, during the first weekend in September, Lille hosts the biggest market in Europe. Yes it does. It’s 100 kilometres in length with 10,000 vendors and one tradition: eating mussels and chips. Without a shadow of a doubt, we’ll be back in September.

By Elisa G Martin

We’re going so why don’t you come along too Have a look at our flights here.

Asturias has numerous villages and hamlets which are the stuff of dreams. Indeed, they have long inspired fantastic tales – and continue to do so – a blend of reality, dreams and a thousand wonders. Some cling to a hillside; others are set in valleys, on a riverbank or next to a dam, looking out over both the sea and the mountains. Still others are clustered at the foot of lofty peaks, dotted with dozens of hórreos and paneras,or bathed by the intense, huge breakers of the Cantabrian Sea.

These villages make up an inspirational Asturias which beckons us to experience the honeyed, full-bodied thrill of the landscape and its inhabitants, in a land that brings out the artistic, somewhat bohemian streak in people and makes us explorers of space and time.

Tanes – the Secrets of Water

Once upon a time there was a village that adapted its appearance and lifestyle to the presence of a dam, without in any way shedding its beauty and primeval essence. There was once a village that gave its name to a dam, and the dam gave water and life to the whole central region of Asturias – a village which preserves its charm intact and which goes by the name of Tanes.

Tanes lies in the municipality of Caso, in the east central section of Asturias, and is part of the Biosphere Reserve Network. This natural habitat breathes tranquility, enhanced by the friendliness of its people.

Wildlife, indigenous flora, the power of its reservoir and the murmuring river Nalón make Tanes a storied, legendary place. And, as befits this magical enclave, the village outskirts are home to the collegiate church of Santa María la Real. As if clinging to the shores of the dam, the slender silhouette of this church towers in all its Renaissance splendour over the waters which mirror all the greenery of Tanes.

Villar de Gallegos, with Coal in its Entrails

In Asturias, stories are sometimes written in black and green, the colour of its coal and forests. Indeed, some fairy-tale villages lie in the mining heart of Asturias’ Montaña Central. One such example is Villar de Gallegos, in the municipality of Mieres.

This authentic hamlet, where rural life seems to stand still, is set against a mountain backdrop and is noteworthy for its scenic and geological value, as well as for its outlying areas, with itineraries which retrace the erstwhile activity of the coal and mercury mines.

The surrounding heights provide exceptional viewpoints over the Sierra del Aramo, Las Ubiñas-La Mesa Nature Reserve, the Pajares area and the Cordal de La Carisa – part of the Nature Reserve Network – and, on clear days, the Picos de Europa National Park as well.

Bandujo – the Sleepy Hamlet

Set between mountains and valleys in central Asturias, as if by magic the Middle Ages comes out to meet you at the village of Bandujo, one of the best preserved medieval precincts in the Asturian countryside.

A lot of history and numerous passing travellers have set eyes on its walls and stones, on the Tuñón Tower and the Church of Santa María. Once a hub of intense activity for centuries, it is now suddenly silenced, gripped by an eternal hush and an all-embracing peace.

Bandujo is now seemingly asleep in an endless medieval slumber. This is the feeling that washes over you when you get to the village and observe it, whether close-up or from afar. Set within a huge green frame, unique in Asturias, it wears its historical background in total calm.

Pumares – Water, Slate and Stone

In the middle of a tract of hydraulic devices, fire and iron, the greenest footpaths and the highest waterfall in Asturias, you suddenly catch sight of it, as if snatched from some fantasy ornament – the village of Pumares, in Santa Eulalia de Oscos.

Pumares is like a dream of stone, black slate and water. It is a corner where the river gurgles sweetly and the starting point of the route to the famous, all-powerful Seimeira waterfall.

You will come to grips with the land of ferreiros (blacksmiths) and forests, of water mills, fulling mills, fulling hammers and iron craftsmen, in a hushed, multi-coloured natural setting.

Tuña – the Spirit of General Riego Lives On

Once upon a time all the gold from western Asturias passed through a village in the municipality of Tineo. It was mined by the Romans from the entrails of Asturias to sustain one of the greatest empires of ancient times.

There was once a village in Tineo which gifted history and humanity with stalwart fighters for social justice like General Riego.

The whole of Tuña is now seemingly imbued with the spirit of General Riego. You can still see the house where he was born, as well as a bust and the odd mural which honour his memory.

Tuña will take you back in time, led by its Roman bridge and palaces, its tranquility and its friendly people.

Viavélez – Gentle Sailing in a Cantabrian Harbour

Wind and brackish waters, waves and foam, a jetty and a lighthouse, a small harbour that seems to leap out of a fairy-tale. This is Viavélez, one of the most secluded and surprising spots on the west coast of Asturias, situated in the municipality of El Franco.

A safe haven for seamen and fishermen, sea lovers, writers and artists, seafood connoisseurs, merchants, travellers and pilgrims, Viavélez is a veritable gift of nature.

Whether the sea is calm or rough, the sight of Viavélez is always stunning.

Riodeporcos – Far From the Daily Grind

What a great privilege it is to arrive in Riodeporcos! There where the Navia flows into a sort of meander and its sheet of water glistens in the sun lies Riodeporcos, by way of some divine creation.

The footbridge linking this hamlet in Ibias to the rest of the world provides a sort of bygone, romantic way of accessing the hamlet which – be warned – you cannot get to by car.

Far from the daily grind and swathed in nature, a stopover in Riodeporcos will make any notion of stress smack of urban legend.

Espinaréu – Finding the Key to the Hórreo

Can you imagine a spot which is the kingdom of hórreos, those granaries built on stilts? That place is not just in your imagination, it actually exists. It lies in Asturias and is a hamlet called Espinaredo or Espinaréu, in the municipality of Piloña.

You will be amazed by the approach to Espinaréu – and not just because of the profusion of hórreos and paneras (fulling mills) – but because they look bright and shiny and still operate as they have done for centuries, intimately linked to the harvest and, therefore, to human survival.

Espinaréu is a homely village, traversed by the river of the same name, where the hórreos have a life of their own with their variegated ornamentation and wood carvings, some of them polychromed. It is like travelling to an ethnographic paradise where the mark of time is broad and intense.

Bulnes, Where the Picos de Europa Come to Embrace You

You can get to Bulnes either along a highland canal or by funicular railway. On landing at an altitude of a thousand metres, dwarfed by summits that come to embrace you, your reaction is one of amazement and you feel you have just crossed a frontier.

A frontier which thousands of mountaineers and rock climbers have crossed for over a century of exploration, adventure and effort. A frontier which hundreds of inhabitants of the Picos de Europa have traversed all their lives, in a supreme exercise of survival in raw nature.

This is Bulnes, in the heart of the Central Massif of the Picos de Europa, in the municipality of Cabrales. Here you will come across idyllic scenery, the unique Cabrales cheese, an upper quarter with panoramic views and a way of life that is dying out. Living testimony to the harshness of this lifestyle in former times is evinced in the austere – formerly roofed – cemetery at the entrance to the village.

Gobiendes – the Best Sea and Mountain Viewpoint from the pre-Romanesque

How about a vantage point looking out over the sea from a pre-Romanesque church? Gobiendes regales you with this experience in its pre-Romanesque Church of Santiago. Sited atop a cliff overlooking the sea, Gobiendes faces the Cantabrian on one side and, on the other, Mount Sueve, the first mountain which seamen catch sight of when approaching the Asturian coastline.

With its Palace and its meticulously maintained houses, Gobiendes, in the municipality of Colunga, is a peaceful backwater where you can feel the unique combination of sea breeze and mountain wind.

What’s more, you are smack in the middle of the Coastal Road To Santiago, the oldest existing approach route to the Cathedral of San Salvador!

Text and images by Turismo de Asturias