Supraśl, Podlasie, Poland.

There is a pretty little town in Podlasie, it is right next to the capital of the region Białystok, it is called Supraśl (pron. soo-pra-shal). One of the main reasons I like this town other than the oak walk, the pretty buildings and the general idyllic scenery, is the shocked monastery.... shocked monastery? Scroll down, you'll see what I mean. Anthropomorphism at its peak :D

A normal every day style church.

What I call the surprised monastery, surely it is saying "OH!", no?

In this photo it looks like its hands are raised, maybe it is being held up for all its money.

I do like paint peeling.

This is a school, if you can believe it.... compared to some of the state schools we see this is darned impressive.

The lady of the school.

A tough looking walrus.

Being out east the town has some more Orthodox influence.

Eaglet

Street side houses.

The cinema and a nice little restaurant.

Signals for the oak walk where you can follow the trail of some really old beautiful oaks.

A local version of Kiszka ziemniaczana or potato sausage

Ribeira Sacra, Galicia, Spain.

The Ribeira Sacra translates as the "Sacred Shore". This related to the vineyards which are planted on the steep slopes of the valleys and canyons of the rivers Miño and Sil. It is some of the most beautiful, heart breaking, densely forested, precipitous areas I have seen, and nothing like anyone would expect coming from Spain. Dense forests of chestnut, oak, with rocks and vineyards scattered throughout. 

The authorised white varieties are: Albariño, Godello, Treixadura, Loureira, Torrontés and Dona Branca, though the first three are the most predominant. The authorised red varieties are: Mencía, Grand noir, Brancellao and Merenzao.

The roads are narrow, windy and beautiful, but probably a little scary in bad weather.

The houses are mostly made of stone, some from centuries old, many remain in tact.

We drove and then walked to a nearly dead village to a beautiful view point. The river is dark and moody here.

This hasn't been photoshopped it just has these amazing shadows and shades.

In winter you could imagine it is quite wet and cool here, the moss and lichens suggest it too.

The path from the lookout back to the village

Galicia is home of many dying villages, the most dead villages in all of the Spanish states. This village was just like the rest. You would find buildings in many states of death.

Left by families when older relatives died, there still remains morsels of their past.

Without maintenance the roofs often cave in.

As there are so many monasteries we landed upon this one. Santa Cristina De Ribas De Sil.

Canón do Sil, Galicia, Spain.

I really had no idea what to call this section, so I went with the "Canón de Sil, Galicia, Spain". It is a combination of quite a few places with some driving in between. We were staying in an agrotourismo location just outside Luintra not far from the junction of the Miño and the Sil rivers. The weather is notably different here, with even some fog in the mornings and it was a lot crisper in the evenings. I even needed a jacket and a blanket on the bed at night!

Our host directed us to a couple of interesting places around there area, and here they are. First stop was the breath taking San Pedro De Las Rocas. It isn't a beautiful and intact kind of palatial monastery but in such amazing surroundings. You can only imagine the work it took to build it and how it may have looked when it was in its prime.

Nature never lets anyone rest.

The rule with chestnuts is "Do I need it? Yes- then pick it up. No - then pick it up." They are just too smooth.

Then a short drive a few valleys away.

This is the Parador de Santo Estevo which is a spa, conference location. It was once a functioning monastery then a school which later fell into disrepair and now has been renovated to become a luxury location.

I love this rock work.

I thought it was a black cat that meant death.....

I like it when the church flies the rainbow flag inside.... ok it was just the light through a window.

Each cloister is finished in a different way.

Is that Rapunzel?

Ok let's get out of here and get something to eat!

The statue in the centre of Luintra, just in front of our restaurant Os Corzos which you can order some amazing food if you plan the day before. Like baby goat or suckling pig.