………is a beautiful old town which sits astride a steeply sided spur which drops on either side to the deep gorges of the Jucar and Huecar rivers.  Marilyn’s friends in Ottawa said it was a ‘must’ on our trip to Spain so we decided we should and what a treat it was.   One of the most spectacular pictures here are of the ‘hanging houses’  which I have tried to capture in the attached photo – they are literally hanging off the cliffs.   They are from the 14th century and were once used as summer residences for the royal family but now one of them houses the Museum of Abstract Art.   The other architectural treat, of course, is  the cathedral which we viewed only from the outside as we have decided to take a break from cathedrals.   On a totally different subject Marilyn has also decided she’s taking a break from jambon, as we’ve also overdone it on the ham!   Anyway, back to Cuenca which we hiked around for about four hours and all got a little sun and a great walk followed by a cold beer.  The following day before heading to Madrid Jim suggested we should visit the Serrania de Cuenca which is a natural park consisting of a mountainous area of forests and pastures dissected by deep gorges.    It was a beautiful and peaceful drive that we thought would be relaxing and help us get ready for the potential chaos of city life in Madrid.