VISIT THE COUNCIL OF GRADO - ASTURIAS (ESPAÑA - SPAIN)
The Council and town of Grado are situated at the centre of Asturias and is well located being just 15 minutes from the city of Oviedo and less than 30 minutes from Asturias airport and also some very fine beaches.
The Council represents the starting point (or finishing point) of the Camino Real de la Mesa (Royal Route of the |Table). This pre-Romanic route was one of the busiest routes between Asturias and the central plateau of Spain and serviced the community up to the 19th century. There are still traces of the Roman roads winding through the hills, meadows and along the River Nalon.
Grado has a commercial tradition from medieval times which still remains to this day. The town hosts the very popular country market on Wednesdays and especially on Sundays when farmers, craftsman and other providers sell their products in the centre of the village in a very nice, colourful and picturesque market experience.
The town of Grado is built around a historic centre with monuments such as the Palace of Miranda Valdecarzana from the 18th century or the Baroque chapel of Los Dolores. Grado also has some very fine houses and palaces designed in “Indiano”or south Americian architecture. There was large scale emigration from Asturias at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twenty to the Americas, especially Cuba, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela and the US. The emigrants brought back a very cosmopolitan and American styled architecture which can be seen throughout the region.
Grado is also a part of the Primitive Route of the Route of Santiago which starts in Oviedo and passes through the town offering a great place for pilgrims to stock up on essentials or take a rest bite from walking A few short kilometres away from Grado are the towns of San Juan de Villapañada and Cabruñana where you will find a Pilgrim hostel which is an ideal location to rest up for the night. As you enter Grado from Oviedo you will find the village of Peñaflor where you can see the Church of San Roman with original Romanic features and the picturesque 12th century bridge crossing the river Nalon.
Retiro Park in Madrid part 1 of 2
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Buen Retiro Park (Parque del Buen Retiro) is a large and popular 140 hectare park at the edge of the city centre, very close to the Puerta de Alcalá and not far from the Prado Museum. A magnificent park, filled with beautiful sculpture and monuments, galleries, a peaceful lake and host to a variety of events, it is one of Madrid's premier attractions.
King Philip II (r. 15561598) moved the Spanish court to Madrid in 1561. Philip had the Retiro enlarged by his architect Juan Bautista de Toledo, and formal avenues of trees were laid out.
The gardens were extended in the 1620s, when Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, Philip IV's powerful favourite, gave the king several tracts of land in the vicinity for the Court's recreational use. Olivares determined to build, in a place that the king liked, a royal house which should be superior to those villas that Roman nobles had been setting up in the hilly outskirts of Rome during the previous century. Although this second royal residence was to be built in what were then outlying areas of Madrid, it was actually not far from the existing Alcázar or fortress residence, and the location in a cool, wooded area proved to be ideal.
In the 1630s, under the supervision of architects Giovanni Battista Crescenzi and Alonso Carbonell, several building were erected in great haste, two of which are still standing: the Casón del Buen Retiro which served as a ballroom, and the building that today houses the military museum, the Museo del Ejército, which includes the grand entrance hall, the Salón de Reinos (Hall of Kingdoms), its wall decorated with paintings by Velázquez and Zurbarán and frescoes by Luca Giordano.
The Count-Duke of Olivares commissioned the park in the 1630s, worked on by Cosimo Lotti, a garden designer who had worked under Bernardo Buontalenti on the layout of the Boboli Gardens for Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Water was a distinguishing trait of the garden from the outset: the great pond, Estanque del Retiro, which served as the setting for mock naval battles and other aquatic displays, the great canal, the narrow channel, the chamfered or bellflower pond, created —along with the chapels— the basic layout of the gardens. Buen Retiro was described as The world art wonder of the time, probably the last great creation of the Renaissance in Spain. Buen Retiro became the center of Habsburg court life at a time when Spain was the foremost power in the world.
The gardens were neglected after the death of Philip IV in 1665, but have been restored and changed on many occasions, notably after being opened to the public in 1767 and becoming the property of the municipality in 1868
Philip V (17001746) ordered the creation of a parterre, the only French-style garden in the complex.
The Buen Retiro Palace was used until the era of Charles III. Most of the palace was destroyed during the Peninsular War (18071814) with the First French Empire.
The reign of Queen Isabella II saw profound changes in the Retiro. During the queen's minority, the gardens enjoyed a particularly prosperous period, with the planting of shade and fruit trees, and previously unplanted areas like the Campo Grande, were landscaped as well. The gardens eventually passed to public ownership in 1868, at the time of the overthrow of Queen Isabella.
El Retiro gradually became the green heart of the city. At the beginning of the 20th century, the monument to Alfonso XII was erected next to the pond. Countless statues, fountains and commemorative monuments have filled the park and converted it into an open-air sculpture museum.
The nineteen-thirties and forties witnessed the creation of new gardens attributed to Chief Gardener Cecilio Rodriguez who designed and built the rose bed and the gardens that have been named to honor him.
Close to the northern entrance of the park is the Estanque del Retiro (Retiro Pond), a large artificial pond. Next to it is the monument to King Alfonso XII, featuring a semicircular colonnade and an equestrian statue of the monarch on the top of a tall central core.
The Rosaleda rose garden. Among the many rose bushes of all kinds stands the Fountain of the Falling Angel, erected in 1922, whose main sculpture El Angel Caído (at the top) is a work by Ricardo Bellver (18451924) inspired by a passage from John Milton's Paradise Lost [3], which represents Lucifer falling from Heaven. It is claimed that this statue is the only known public monument of the devil.
Since assuming its role as a public park the late 19th century, the Parque del Retiro has been used as avenue for various international exhibitions.
Monterey, California: Aventuras Inolvidables en el Acuario y Ciudades Costeras
En el Condado de Monterey, California, tendrás aventuras familiares inolvidables explorando el fascinante Acuario y las increíbles ciudades costeras.
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Bienvenido al canal oficial de turismo de los Estados Unidos. Nuestro objetivo es inspirar a personas alrededor del mundo para que exploren todas las increibles posibilidades de viaje en los Estados Unidos. Mira nuestros videos y descubre este territorio como nunca antes visto.
Germany & Spain 2015
Visiting family & friends in Europe over the summer.
Madrid sights
Plaza Mayor
Casa de la Panadería
Puerta de Alcalá
Plaza de Cibeles
Gran Via
Edificio Metrópolis
Edificio de Las Cariátides
Jardines del Buen Retiro
Palacio de Comunicaciones
Banco de España
Jardines del Buen Retiro
Monument to Alfonso XII
Palacio de Cristal
Diverbo - Noxsoma Life Camp Day 750
As true followers will know, I've fallen behind on my video productions due to volunteering. In this episode, we start the program with a walk to the pick up location... the bus ride and some interesting sights. Enjoy the show.
Travel Vlog: La Alberca, Spain & Madrid, Spain
Hey guys so I recently travled to Spain. You can read more about this on my blog at sashaowens.com/blog. You can also view pictures on my instagram at instagram.com/sashaowens.
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Spanish fiestas and Andalucia life
El Papa gives his papel blessing to the fiesta in the village of Villanueva del Trabuco which is in the Malaga province of Andalucia, Spain. Also paying a welcome visit is Fidel Castro, looking as well as ever.
Everyone was waiting for the main parade and all were having a good time, none more than himself.
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Video by Doylie45 MMVII
home. // feeltoep Travel Film Germany
After traveling to several countries over the last 10 years, me and my friend Basti noticed, there are foreign countries we know even better than our own. So we did research on places of beautiful German nature, national parks and cities and decided to take a road trip through our native country. The result?! We don't necessarily have to take 12 hour flights to find beauty in nature...sometimes you can find right in front of your door.
#discoveryourcountry
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Starring: @basti_the_second_male (IG)
aerial shots by: Maarten
Shot on Sony A7III
#travel #germany
Music: Arise by Tristan Barton
Meet my city best photos of Guadalajara Jalisco- Mejores fotos de Guadalajara Jalisco
Guadalajara is Mexico's second biggest city, and in many respects can be considered the quintessential Mexican destination. This is the birthplace of mariachi music and tequila, but also one of the country’s industrial and business centers, sometimes referred to as Mexico's Silicon Valley. Unlike many colonial cities that maintain their original town plan, in the 1950s Guadalajara underwent a major project that changed the face of the city. Older buildings were razed to allow for wide avenues with new constructions, underground parking lots and shopping centers. Fortunately, the most beautiful older buildings were left intact.
A stroll through Guadalajara will give you an appreciation for the green spaces and public art in the city’s many parks and plazas. At the heart of Guadalajara is the cathedral. With its twin pointed towers and central dome, it is the most recognizable landmark on the Guadalajara skyline. The Cathedral is surrounded on all four sides by plazas. Plaza Guadalajara faces the church. Its central fountain depicts two lions with their paws resting on the trunk of a tree, the city's coat of arms. To the south is the Plaza de Armas with its art nouveau bandstand and matching lampposts. The adjacent Government Palace has a lovely baroque facade and a spectacular mural in the interior main staircase, which was painted by Jose Clemente Orozco. To the north of the Cathedral is the Rotondo de los Jaliscienses Ilustres. This green space has a central circular monument with seventeen ribbed columns; the statues surrounding it represent Jalisco's illustrious sons (and one daughter), people from Jalisco who have made notable contributions in arts, science and politics.
Behind the Cathedral is the large Plaza de la Liberacion, so named to commemorate Miguel Hidalgo’s abolishment of slavery. A statue of Miguel Hidalgo holding a broken chain commemorates the event. The Teatro Degollado is at the far east end of the plaza. Guadalajara's Ballet Folclorico performs here in this beautiful neoclassical building dating to 1856. Walk around to the back of the theater to see a fountain depicting the Guadalajara city founders. The Plaza Tapatio begins here and stretches over half a mile to the Hospicio Cabanas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As you stroll along you'll pass picturesque arcades and promenades, bubbling fountains, charming restored colonial buildings and modern sculptures. Nearby, the Plaza de los Mariachis offers a space to have a drink and listen to the mariachis play, a fitting end to a full day of sightseeing in Mexico's second city.
Whether you choose to explore the city by foot, double decker bus or calandria (horse-drawn carriage), you'll find that Guadalajara's numerous plazas, colonial architecture and modern conveniences make this a delightful city to visit.