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Skiing CerlerSkiing in Aragon, Spain Cerler is a cracking little resort tucked away in what's known as the 'hidden valley'. It is the only valley in the Spanish Pyrenees without access from France which means that it is a long dead-end and therefore very quiet.
The resort itself is of a very good standard - 71km of runs with 18 modern lifts. Best for beginners up to upper intermediate. Experts will probably have to head off piste for their thrills.
This is the highest resort in the Pyrenees and the one with the greatest vertical drop. So, those are the headlines...what makes it special?
Well, Cerler is really a village with a ski resort attached. The people who first put the lifts in still live in the village. Everyone there has a stake in the success of the resort and that means that they like having you visit.
Within about a day of being there you will realise that your ski instructor also works behind the village bar in the evening or that the reception staff from your hotel also work in the restaurant half way up the slopes. It just means that within a short while you feel very much at home.
Here's a story from 2007. A client of ours drops his passport high on the slopes without realising. Someone picks it up and sees that it's a UK passport. They ask around, the only Brits who come to Cerler come with Pura Aventura so their guide will be Jaime Lahoz. The passport is given to the woman behind the counter in the cafe. She hands it to Jaime when he comes in a few minutes later. Jaime gives it back to the client. The whole process took less than 15 minutes and the client knew nothing about it. Until he got his passport back he didn't know it was missing. This particular client lives in Chamonix and was particularly astounded.
The pistes are not crowded - in fact, as of 2008 if you stand in a queue for more than 5 minutes you get your lift pass refunded for the day. I don't know anyone who has yet managed to get past 2 minutes.
There really are no queues, there is nobody buzzing past you being aggressive, it's just people enjoying the snow and everyone's welcome - the good, the bad and the ugly.
It's Spain so not only is the food really good, you don't get ripped off either. Even in the cafe half way up, a good sandwich and drink for lunch will set you back around €4.
At night, eating in the village is a joy - there are three or four restaurants in the old medieval part of the village which serve really high quality food at sensible prices.
So, that's it. Great resort, friendly people, no aggressive prats, delicious food and pretty much nobody speaks English.
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Review by Photo by Pura Aventura |
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Trek across the PyreneesTrekking in Catalunya, Spain A trek along this mountain range is more than just a hike; it’s part pilgrimage, part culinary and wine adventure, and certainly the best way to straddle the two countries of France and Spain from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea. A 7-day moderate to strenuous trek starting in the Basque country in Spain, through high pastures and jagged rocky peaks, then traverses a lunar landscape to the highest peak, Mount Aneto, and ends in Monserrat, near Barcelona. Inhabited since Neolithic times, these mountain areas have witnesses the crossing of Moorish armies, heretic persecutions, pilgrimages, and more recently a revival of their cultural heritages and traditions. Definitely a must do trek! June to September are the best months for this trip.
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Review by Photo by Mike Lyvers |
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Works of Antoni GaudíContemporary Architecture in Barcelona, Spain 'Seven properties built by the architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) in or near Barcelona testify to Gaudí’s exceptional creative contribution to the development of architecture and building technology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These monuments represent an eclectic, as well as a very personal, style which was given free reign in the design of gardens, sculpture and all decorative arts, as well as architecture. The seven buildings are: Casa Vicens; Gaudí’s work on the Nativity façade and Crypt of La Sagrada Familia; Casa Batlló; Crypt in Colonia Güell.'
Copyright © UNESCO/World Heritage Centre. All rights reserved.
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Review by Photo by flickr user Jaume Meneses |
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Seville CathedralChurches & Abbeys in Seville, Spain This is the largest church in the world, built on the site of an old mosque, and dominates the Seville skyline like a glorious Gothic mountain, with a dizzyingly tall bell tower marking its peak. In comparison to the richly ornamented exterior, the piers and ceilings are relatively uncomplicated, providing an almost unbroken, vertigo-inducing view of the 42-metre high nave. The eye is drawn to the collection of 45 carved, painted scenes from Christ’s life by Pierre Dancart, which is the largest altarpiece in the world, as well as a fine collection of paintings, sculptures and religious jewellery. The tomb of Christopher Columbus is also to be found here.
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Review by Photo by flickr user revertebrate |
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Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada FamiliaContemporary Architecture in Barcelona, Spain Gaudí’s phenomenal neogothic masterpiece (‘the last great sanctuary of Christendom’), although yet incomplete, contains his greatest discovery, ‘Gaudí’s Column’. Based on the prevalence of vertical lines, filled with beautiful hyperboloid structures and exquisite blending of structure with decoration, the temple is Gaudí’s resting place. Defined principally by 18 spindle-shaped towers with interior spiral staircases, representing the 12 Apostles, Mary, the 4 Evangelists and Christ himself (in order of height). There are 3 Façades, each with 4 100m bell-towers; Nativity to the East, Passion to the West and Glory to the south (awaiting completion). The exterior cloister circumnavigates the apse and sacristies, shielding the inside from the city’s noise.
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Review by Photo by amunguy |
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