The minute my eyes rest on the cobblestone streets of Santillana del Mar, I think I’ve been transported into a set of a Grimm’s fairytale. The medieval Spanish village is picture-book perfect.

Stone buildings house old-fashioned shops that sell hand-made leather handbags, rugs, souvenir brass keys, painted china plates, wooden clogs and fine lace shawls.

Santillana del Mar

Delis are jam-packed with bottles of local liqueurs, canned anchovies, cider, cheese, chocolate, home-made jam and bags of nuts.

Flowers hang from balcony planter-boxes, brightening up the stone with splashes of vermillion and canary yellow.

Old vines twine around creaky iron gates that lead into lush green gardens. Beans lay drying out in the sun, slowly turning a light shade of brown.

Everywhere I look, Santillan

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