Short History Of Spain

GO ADVICE: From taking a bicycle on the Camino to keeping costs down in Jordan ...

GO ADVICE:  From taking a bicycle on the Camino to keeping costs down in Jordan, JOAN SCALES  answers your travel questions

In the saddle on the Camino  

I am hoping to take the Camino trail. However, I am disabled and cannot walk more than 500m. The plan is to take a car to northern Spain and use bicycles as I can cycle. I have a friend who is going with me. Is this feasible and is there a ferry from Ireland to Spain?  

RB, Cork  

Plans for a ferry from Cork to Spain have not yet come to fruition. You can take Brittany Ferries (brittanyferries.com), which operates a weekly service from Cork to France, and then drive.

Or you could take a flight with Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com) to Bilbao, then the train to Pontferrada and fly back from Santiago. Train timetables are available on renfe.com.

It is possible to cycle the Camino de Santiago and there are a number of self-guided and guided cycle trips. The cycle trips cover about 250-300kms in a week and cost between €550-€780pps, which includes cycle hire, accommodation, meals on some trips and luggage transfers.

The most popular route is the French Way and the final leg of the journey would take you from Pontferrada to Santiago. These two companies offer the cycling trips, caminoways.com, 01-5252886 and followthecamino.ie, 01-4433972.

Voucher time is running out  

I got a Christmas present of a voucher for Aer Lingus which I must use by December. I can’t really afford to go anywhere but, as the saying goes, life is too short. I am over 55 – but a very young for my age – and the advantage of that is that there might be some discounts.  

I want to go to Venice but that might be mad. Other options are Seville, but I don’t see it on the Aer Lingus website. Bordeaux or Bologna are a maybe, and I have never been to Majorca, so Palma might be an option. I would envisage going around late September or early October. I won’t be able to take on the expense of car hire. I like a bit of history and art and, of course, food and wine, preferably sun baked . . .  

EF, Wexford  

It would be a pity to waste the voucher. However, you can only use it for flights and not for hotel accommodation. Flights are always better value midweek rather than at weekends and hotels can also be cheaper then. Aer Lingus does not fly to Seville, but does have a good selection of warm and sunny destinations in September/October. Prices are keener in October.

Chancel Choir in Spain: A Short History of Spanish Art

Our visit to Madrid included a brief tour of the Museo Del Prado, one of the most important art museums in Europe. Our guide, Gema Gonazalez Gal, who's first name translates to "precious stone" turned out to be a real gem. She gave us a background of spanish art from the 16th century to the modern era using three period artists. We first learned about El Greco, who was born in Greece but moved to Spain where he painted his most important work. El Greco is really a nickname as he was born Doménikos Theotokópoulos which the spaniards had trouble saying so since he was from Greece he was called El Greco, The Greek. His paintings represent the mystics or the spirituality of the time. As Gema pointed out, the bodies are drawn thinly, to represent ascension. The colors are vivid, but not realistic helping the painting transmit the "life to come" rather than the reality of the time. El Greco died in 1614 so his work is representative of the Spanish Renaissance. Velazquez picked up where El Greco left off. One of his final works is his masterpiece Les Meninas which as Gema explained is a "snapshot" of the royal court. Velazquez learned a great deal about geometric perspective and the piece catches a glimpse as if you were the royal couple looking into his art studio as he was painting "Les Meninas." Velazquez himself is in the painting and as you step back he creates a three dimensional impression of the room. The third painter Gema identified as one of the truly great spanish masters is Goya. He is remembered for looking at some of the darker situations in life. He captures on canvass two historical dates, May 3 and May 8, 1808 when the Spanish were fighting Napoleon. You can see the atrocities being committed by the French troops in a scene depicting a firing squad. The white shirt denoting innocence while the troops who's faces are not shown because war is anonymous.

A short history of Spain

A short history of Spain

A short history of Spain

A short history of Spain

A short history of Spain