The point of travel is to immerse yourself in the sensory energy of a new place, but on day three of my holiday to Asturias in northern Spain, one of our group fell sick, and I decided to stay with her while everyone else left to explore Oviedo and Gijón. We were staying in Palacio de Figueras , a 16th-century palace on a hill looking out over the Eo estuary. The beautiful 11-bedroom estate has been restored over a decade by the Spanish owners of the Vestige Collection, and I wanted more time to sit still and savour it.
Outside, it drizzled, the breeze knocking at the large windows as I woke up lazily, moving from the bed to the sofa in my room and reading the news by the fireplace over two cups of coffee. This part of Spain feels almost Scottish, with its grey skies, big landscapes and wild beaches, and it was a respite from the heat I’d escaped in Portugal . Then I went downstairs in my pyjamas and made us pan con tomate, committing sacrilege by topping it with fresh chillies.
I had a long soak in the free-standing bathtub, staring at the chandelier on the bathroom ceiling and curtains the perfect shade of dusty pink, taking notes for my future dream house. I went downstairs to make lunch and discovered a professional-grade kitchen with staff kind enough to show me how to use the state-of-the-art equipment – I decided to cook risotto rice to whip up a traditional rice-and-lentil khichdi, my ultimate comfort food. Then I chose a living area with beautiful white sofas, .