Episcopal Palace in Astorga

Weekend Birthday Trip to Astorga and León

---

November 6th 2015
We had a four-day weekend recently, and it happened to fall over my birthday, so a friend and I headed east to the province of León. The border of the province is only about a two-hour train ride from Ourense, but the change in landscape is remarkable. We traveled through green mountains to more reddish-dirt hills, to eventually a relatively flat, drier landscape. Our first stop (about t ... read more

Europe » Spain » Castile & León » León

---

Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in ... ... read more