June itinerary in Spain

I can now reveal my movements for the month of June. Hotels are booked, car hired and contacts made with the first few organisations and makers!
I start of in fare Madrid, then head south to Granada, from hence I pick up my steed and head inland through Jaen towards Cordoba where my maternal liniage lies. I have family, too many to mention, who I shall break bread with, but the road trip is packed and I move on swiftly into Extremadura, land of the conquistadores, dry, arid, poor and untouched. The lesser known route to Santiago de Compostella, also know as the 'route of silver':
Merida, Trujillo, Guadalupe and Plasencia:

Plasencia

Plasencia is a walled market city in the province of Cáceres and part of the region of Extremadura (at the Douro's river 'extreme') in Western Spain. Population (±) 41,000 (2006). On the bank of the Jerte River, in the Extremaduran province of Caceres, Plasencia has a historic quarter that is a consequence of the city's strategic location along the Silver Route, or Ruta de la Plata. Since the 15th century, the noblemen of the region began to move to Plasencia, defining its current appearance. Palaces, ancestral homes and significant religious buildings make up a unique old quarter..

You can look up all these towns on wikepedia if you want more information on them.

I then drive into the province of Castilla y León and will see the great cities of Salamanca, Zamora with its 24 Romanesque churches, and the famous gothic cathedral of Leon. Not too much time for sight seeing as I will push on over the Picos de Europa and into Cantabria by the 25th June. I shall stay for a couple of nights just outside Santander in the lovely town of Santillana and then head west along the coast to Gijon and Oviedo in Asturias. My final week is in Galicia, where I shall stay in some amazing Paradors:
Villafranca del Bierzo
Monforte de Lemos
Santo Estevo in Orense
Cambados
Baiona
If you have not heard of the Spanish Paradors, check out the website www.paradores-spain.com to see where they are and what they look like.

The first leg of my journey ends here on the western shores near Vigo. I return to Madrid on the 5th July, but I intend to update this site regularly to share with you the people I meet and things I see.