Santander, Cantabria, Spain.

The very last of our Galicia and Asturias odyssey. Yes, of course we popped into Castilla y Leoń and finished up in Cantabria, but the main focus for us were the big two here. We adored this part of Spain, and the people we met along the way were fabulous as well. A huge thank you to our friend Jorge from Santiago de Compostela who gave us some great hints and tips for locations and food in the areas we passed.

Now, to the last stop we made which was Santander, no not the bank, but home of the bank.

The Granny patrol.

The internal ceiling of the Main Post Office, just before I was very politely, and with a smile, told by the guard not to take photographs.

This is the central post office outside.

Simplicity.

The bank headquarters.

The tiles under an art gallery by the sea, quite something, no?

But is it better in black and white?

Look a crane! Not that one, that is a seagull.

Waterfront statues.

Dive on in to Santander!

There is a really cool eclectic mix of building styles along the waterfront.

With little invasions of nature.

Always nice to get a big chair and some sun with a view.

Palacio de la Magdalena.

Faro de la Isla de Mouro

The Sawa sister.

Blowing her own trumpet, too, by the looks of things.

I have started to fall for tiles again, the Moorish culture of parts of Spain do that to me every time.

Even when on a grand scale.

Honestly, over the planning of this trip I never thought I would love it this much. The question is how can I live everywhere. I love Warsaw, when it isn't polluted, and many of the people in it. But, when you go to somewhere like Galicia or Asturias, you just think "How can I not live here?" It is beautiful, it is motivating, it is something I never thought I'd find in Europe. Rugged, civilised, traditional, modern but dying. I have a saviour complex in the sense that I want to make everything and everyone better. I want Galicia to be a thriving place, full of good positive energy and happiness. I want Warsaw to be inhabited by people who want to make the city itself better. I want to make myself better, but at the end of the day all I will do is write about it and sit on the couch pondering my futile existence in this crazy game called life. Maybe time to play Football Manager to make a small village team a European Champion.....

Łaziekni Gardens at night.

So in Summer, the Łazienki Gardens opened a new Chinese pavillion and garden that was in part donated by the Chinese government and was used to recreate the feeling a previous king had desired as he also had a Chinese garden at one stage.

We just had photos of the gardens in the day, so let's see some on the opening night of the garden. Also, a big thank you to all the mosquitoes for turning out on mass. They really celebrated the night hard. I am sure they had some intense blood hangovers the next morning.

So after all the mosquitoes, there there was a ghoul about! Time to run home!

Łazienki gardens day time

The days have been leaving me without much time, as they are getting shorter. So to remember the beautiful things sun can bring, here are some photos around Łazienki Gardens in Autumn to feel at least a little warmer than the -10C from yesterday.

These are all from the last Chopin concert of the season.

Ahhhh memories.