Caching in Vitoria

Of course no trip away would be complete without a spot of geocaching, so I managed to snaffle a few in Vitoria although Nerea isn’t that keen on caching (any more).  Naturally most of the caches  in the city were small, urban caches which were either too obvious to find during the busy working day or too small to deposit the travel bugs I’d brought over from the UK. Thankfully, despite the challenges, Nerea “allowed” me to find a couple in the glorious, green parks that are so prolific in the city where I could leave some of the TBs 

Public Art in Vitoria

Public art is  celebrated joyfully in Vitoria. Everywhere we visited were installations, murals and sculptures.  The city provides a stunning location to show-case local talent as many of the pieces were created by residents or had a local theme to them.  And what was surprising was that despite the political graffiti that appears on hoardings and walls, none of the art had been damaged.  The residents are rightfully proud of their city and heritage and celebrate it in a stylish way.  There is even a group, IMVG,  that promotes collaboration between professional artists and residents to produce stunning,visual interpretations

Santa Maria Cathedral

The new staircase (and lift) in the tower

At the top of the tower

Ancient graffiti

A view over the city

Restoration works

Evidence of structural damage

Vitoria has its fair share of churches, boasting the two cathedrals of Santa Maria and the newer, Santa Maria Immaculata.   Nerea and I were keen to explore them and so Iratxe organised for us an English language tour of the older cathedral which is undergoing a major restoration.  It seems that in addition to historical structural decay, during the 1960s, someone had a great idea to remove some of the significant architectural features to create a greater gothic impression. Consequently, the structural damage accelerated, leaving the cathedral in a perilous state. However the current restoration project is producing impressive results

Vitoria

My visit to Nerea, in the beautiful city of Vitoria (which, for some moderately explicable reason, always makes me think of The High Chaparral) was all too brief.  The family she lives with were, as expected, very friendly and the residential suburb where she is based felt very safe.  The Old City was a short tram ride away and was blessed with beautiful parks and wonderfully ornate buildings jostling for position in the small narrow streets.  There were large open Plazas too and a relaxed café culture that could easily seep into my being.  I must return and for longer

The Medieval Market in Vitoria

It’s all happening in Vitoria this weekend with the medieval fair and the Padel tennis tournament.  Yesterday, Nerea was able to amble round the market, tasting salamis and looking at the handmade jewellery and leather handbags before going to watch the jousting exhibition.  Yes, jousting, with real horses and everything.  Apparently it was like something out of Merlin!

Today she’s revisiting the fair after she’s been to watch one of the children’s cousins play in a Padel tennis tournament.  Apparently, the game resembles tennis played in a walled (squash type) court and is popular in Spain and Latin American countries

We're so proud of Nerea.....

Nerea, our darling girl, is settling well into her role in Vitoria, looking after Imanol and Jokin.  It’s lovely to video Skype with her as we can imagine she’s in the room with us.  It was evident (and hugely entertaining) from all the head tilting that Kiya and Molly could hear Nerea when she was talking to us through the computer but they weren’t able to work out where she was. Although she’s still adjusting to communicating in a foreign language (Spanish lessons will definitely help), Andy and I are terribly proud of her for taking such a courageous step.