Gary Snapper

Bilbao Bloggings

The rain in Spain is mainly in Bilbao

www.gabrielsnapper.co.uk/bilbao-bloggings
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The Almond, The White Virgin and a Game of Mus: Basque Cities 2 - Visiting Vitoria

5/5/2013

 
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I think most people in Britain have never heard of Vitoria. I certainly hadn´t. Which is a shame, because it´s a nice city – a place that was very important in medieval times but went into a bit of a decline for centuries, didn´t grow much beyond its medieval bounds, and is now full of picturesque and often rather faded medieval corners.
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Vitoria (‘Gasteiz’ in Basque) is in the province of Araba (‘Alava’ in Basque), the southern (non-coastal) one of the three provinces of Euskadi. Alava is the most rural, least populated and least industrialised of the three provinces, and the one-hour journey south from Bilbao is beautiful, through many unspoilt valleys with wonderful mountain views.

Vitoria’s decline was halted in the 70s and 80s, after Franco´s demise, by significant industrial growth and the building of substantial new suburbs – and by the decision to make the city the capital of Euskadi rather than Bilbao or San Sebastian. The modest parliament building is here in Vitoria, and it´s where the President (the ‘Lehendakari’) lives. Tourists do come here, but not that many.

You can see why Vitoria might be more appropriate as the capital than the other two cities. Its old town is certainly the most interesting of the three, and it has a genteel hill-town charm that the others don´t really have.

The entrance to the old town is the beautiful square of the White Virgin (Plaza di Virgen Blanca), lined with cafes below classic northern-style ‘miradors’ (enclosed balconies), and with a huge memorial to the Battle of Vitoria in the middle….

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At the tapered end, steps go up the hill to the church of the White Virgin and a variety of other medieval buildings:

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Behind this is the Almendra (‘the Almond’), the almond-shaped old town, a lovely network of old streets, many lined by the inevitable huge numbers of bars. These streets are packed with people drinking and eating pintxos each afternoon and evening.

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At the heart of the old town is the cathedral, a fine Gothic building (replacing a previous Romanesque one) perched on the edge of a cliff in a highly defensive position. The cathedral, which had got into a bit of a state thanks to neglect and the gradual subsidence of the medieval foundations down the hill, has been under restoration for over a decade, a huge project which has involved building massive new foundations to stabilise the whole thing. The restoration team give regular tours of the building:

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Next to the cathedral are some fine medieval buildings:

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At the edge of the old town, there’s the usual 18th century arcaded square (Plaza Mayor)

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… and a variety of pretty 18th and 19th century buildings…

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as well as the modern art and fine arts museums mentioned in a previous post. It’s also one of the greenest cities in Spain, with lots of parks and an Edwardian garden city. In 2012 it was the Green Capital of Europe.
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One of the old palaces in the old town has been turned into a great museum complex, comprising a superbly designed history and archaeology museum…

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… and a fascinating playing card museum. I know it sounds unlikely, but it really is an amazing collection of cards from all over the world, many incredibly beautiful and interesting, going back to medieval times. It’s here because all of Spain’s playing cards are and always have been made here by the firm Fournier.

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We bought a pack of Fournier cards and had a go at playing the Basque card game ‘Mus’, popular all over Spain:

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Gill Woodland
5/5/2013 10:55:21 pm

Looks like a fab place to visit. Great photos and info.

cheap resume writing services link
15/1/2018 09:04:38 am

There are so many places that I want to go to that people have not heard of yet. Do not get me wrong, famous places are indeed beautiful and breathtaking. But I just feel like we are sleeping on so many beautiful places that people are ignoring. I want to be able to discover places that people will soon want to visit. I want to see places that no one has seen yet because I want to have a special connection in those places.

Vicky Richardson
30/10/2014 01:28:13 pm

Hi Gary,
Love your photography! I found your Mus cards on Wikipedia.
I am putting together a book about our experience in Basque Country and our family geneology for family, friends and those interested in the Ayala family. May I use your pictures of the cards in my book, Basque Country, Discovery and Connection. I will be happy to send you a copy of the pages for your approval and I have given you credit for the pictures of the cards in the Bibliography section.

Hope to hear from you soon.
Vicky Richardson

Gary Snapper
30/10/2014 07:22:53 pm

Hi Vicky. Thanks. Although all the other photos on this post are mine, the photos of the cards were from Wikipedia, so not mine to give permission for! Gary

Vicky Richardson
9/1/2015 11:46:09 am

Thank you for answering. I finished my book. The proofing and editing seems unending!

I will soon have a web site to exhibit some of my Basque photography. I will let you know as soon as it is up and running.
:) Vicky Richardson

vicky Ayala (Aiara) Richardson link
23/7/2015 08:58:20 am

Hi! I have started a site for my book! It is still in progress. I hope to have excerpts from book on my site soon.
Just wanted you to know I was inspired to work on my project because of your wonderful video and blog. :) Vicky

vicky Ayala (Aiara) Richardson link
24/7/2015 03:35:58 pm

Hi Again!
I forgot to give you the name of my Basque Country site!

www.vickyarichardsonbasquecountry.com
Next week I should have excerpts from my book on my site!
Oh Happy Day!

Gary
26/7/2015 07:51:56 pm

Thanks - looks great!

vicky Ayala (Aiara) Richardson link
13/8/2015 02:17:22 pm

I wanted to let you know I didn't give you credit for the Mus cards in my book; however, I did include your web site as a resource. I will link your website to my site - Would love everyone to see your wonderful images and your fun imaginative video. I hope to also add a dvd to my book. So much I would like to do - to share wonderful Basque Country.

Gary
13/8/2015 07:46:54 pm

Many thanks!


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