journeywithmadonna

……was unbelievable in how beautiful the architecture was and how it changed with time.

……a nightmare actually and you were all in it as well as the guy in the photo and the three and a half million people in Madrid!    I dreamt we were running around in circles, and into people, and it was one of those dreams that makes absolutely no sense but is quite bothersome at the time you are into it, the dream I mean.    In the morning when I tried to explain to Jim and Marilyn how I had tossed and turned and was tired from my dream they just looked at me and said you’re not making any sense, and of course I knew I wasn’t, so that didn’t help!   After a little quiet time, and a couple of cups of that great Spanish coffee(without the alcohol) I realized I was anxious about driving, or rather Jim driving, into Madrid.  So what a great surprise it was when our Saint GPS brought us off the motorway and within ten easy minutes we were in front of our air bnb apartment and, voila, underground parking.     We are off to a great start in Madrid  and our apartment is a two minute walk from Parque del Retiro which is massive, and beautiful,  and already I have forgotten how many hectares.  From here it is a 15-20 minute walk into Old Madrid and we are headed there in the morning so I will fill you in later on that excursion.   Hope you sleep well tonight……me too!

………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.

……..in Spain have, on occasion, been great but at other times have been disappointing.  Just noticed that this picture is a little fuzzy and not sure if it’s because we drank too much wine or because the young man at the next table courting the young German girl we’ve been chatting with has had too much wine.    Anyway they were lovely and speaking of wine it has never been disappointing and we are beginning to wonder if there are any ‘bad’ Spanish wines or are we just ‘winos’………..don’t answer that!  The first thing to note is the price; you can get a good bottle of red for between 3-4 Euros, a half decent bottle for just less than 3 euros and we had a great bottle that costs 7 euros……….basically everything was between 5-10 Canadian dollars.  We have tried to stick to wines from the region that we are in and it’s usually reds although Marilyn occasionally has a glass of  white.  The most popular thus far have been Rioja and Tempranilla from Valdepenas.  One of these nights I am going to go all out and spend ten euros on a bottle………Hey Big Spender!

We’re not hungry but we haven’t been overly thrilled with the food up until now.   No doubt the pastries, fresh bread, cheese and Serrano ham have been great, as have the supplies of fresh vegetables and fruit which we pick up at the market on a regular basis.  Eating in restaurants, mainly for suppers, has been a little disappointing so we are really trying to pay more attention to what we order.  Needless to say the olives are great and plentiful and one night we had some great fish, another day excellent empanadas, and just yesterday we had a local dish that was like a stew that was very tasty……….but we haven’t found anything yet that says “Ah, that’s just what we’ve been looking for!   Can’t wait to have it again.”   In the picture above we had just finished paella in Valencia where it’s supposed to be the best, none of us raved about it and it wasn’t  until the next day when we admitted to each other it was disappointing.   We tried it again a few days later at another restaurant, it was better but not great.   So we’re still on the hunt for that great Spanish meal!

The people, for the most part, have been wonderful – very accommodating and always willing to help when we’re lost or wondering what something is……..or where we are!  They are also not put out by our lack of Spanish and often will have a quiet giggle as we struggle to say something sensible.  The other evening Marilyn and I were talking to a few  ‘young’ women our age about food at the restaurant and because they couldn’t understand us one of the women pointed to what looked like her daughter’s I-phone.     Her daughter was telling me to speak into it, which I did, slowly I might add, and voila it translated what I was saying into Spanish and I guess it was an ‘app’ ….gotta get one!

So far the  accommodations we have found through air bnb have been excellent, except for one which was good with no major complaints, and we are continuing to book as we leave one place and move on to the next – so far, so good!   Usually they are a two bedroom apartment with kitchen, living room and one or two bathrooms and usually have everything you need including a dishwasher and washer.    On occasion we have had to spend a night in a hotel and that also has worked great.

Driving hasn’t been too bad but, then again, I have never been behind the wheel and won’t be says Jim…….fine with me!   We are mainly using main highways and secondary roads and trying to stay off the super duper toll roads where you don’t see anything.  That part of the driving is fine…..but in the cities, it’s crazy and we thank God for the GPS even though you often lose the signal in the walled cities.   For those of you who have travelled by car in Europe you know what I mean when you’re shocked to see a car coming towards you.  That’s because you were sure it was one way so all of a sudden I have to roll down my window and pull in the mirror so we don’t scrape the walls.  You hardly ever see a car without scrapes in the paint or dents in the bumpers and we’re all working hard hoping not to have to pay for a paint job for our rental when we leave Spain!  So far, so good and Jim  doesn’t seem to mind but he has had his quiet, stressful moments when he’s needed a little space……….and so have I!   Parking at hotels and at most of our accomodation has been a nightmare in terms of trying to find a place.  When you do, the cost to leave the car is usually 25 euros and occasionally 20 euros per day.   That ads about $30-40 per day to your accommodation but we’re so happy to dump it by then we almost run away!    Of course in Halifax you pay to park your car and recently we stayed at The Lord Nelson where valet parking was $30 and park it yourself was $20…….guess which one we used?Speaking of carparks we’re getting ready to pick ours up and  leave Toledo and heading towards Cuenca….more about that later.

………Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Toledo and this picture was taken because they sell Guinness and he’s wearing a green hat! We spent two nights in Toledo, a wonderful little city that has a population of approx. 83,000 and is situated on a hill above the River Tagus, part of which we hiked today. Once again it has oodles of history dating back to before the 6th century when the Visigoths made Toledo their capital and left behind several churches. During the Middle Ages, however, Toledo was a melting pot of Christian, Muslim and Jewish cultures and it was during this period that the city’s most outstanding monument was built…….the Cathedral! It was built on the site of a 7th century church and work began in 1226 and spanned three centuries with the last vault being completed in 1493. Our air bnb apartment is literally around the corner, and down the cobblestone street,  and  our host told us it was free on Sundays.  Since we arrived in the middle of the afternoon we thought “let’s save eight euros each and get it done today!” When we arrived,  there was a long lineup but it didn’t take too long to get through because, since no one was paying, it moved quickly. They stopped us, however, and informed us it was free only for Spanish Citizens and it was blatantly obvious we weren’t. So out comes the wallet and off we go to tour this magnificent Cathedral along with half of Spain!!!! My God, it was busy, but absolutely stunning, so much so that I didn’t take any pictures because they wouldn’t have done it any justice anyway. On Sunday evening we were at a cafe chatting it up and just as we were ready to leave a young man at the next table said I know one of you must be from Ottawa as I heard you talking and there’s definitely a Newfoundlander there too as  I recognize the accent!  Turns out he’s from Nova Scotia but currently living in Ottawa working for the NDP party so we had another glass of wine as we chatted with him……small world it is as he’s about Andrea’s age and knows a friend of hers from high school.
Monday was a beautiful day and since many of the tourist sites, including El Greco Museum, were closed we decided to hike the path around the old walled city as well as the camino along the River Tagus.  As we passed the cathedral, which was open,  there was hardly a soul except a few tour groups and we thought this would have been a much better day to visit as the Spanish were no where to be seen.   The walk along the river was really quite beautiful,  very peaceful, and was called the archaeological walk because of the many ruins.   Next we strolled through the old walled city, got a little lost, sat and had a cold beer as we toasted St. Patrick and made plans for supper……life is good!

Too stunning to capture!

……..looking toward the new part of the city. Our air bnb host said he would never live in the old town again as it’s just way too busy with tourists, especially on the weekend. He lives 50km away and we enjoyed his Toledo apartment.

………seen behind/below us in this photo was a easy place to visit for a few days. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and spent most of the next day, Friday, exploring Alhambra and taking in its beauty. Several times we remarked on how exquisite the area, especially Alhambra, must be in the summer because everything would be in full bloom and there were so many gardens. On Friday after our morning coffee and breakfast at the apartment we decided to walk/hike around the many districts/hills of the city because it was a beautiful day and the temperature was supposed to reach 20 degrees. We had experienced a couple of cold days and were seeking sunshine and warmth! We left around ten a.m. and it was fairly quiet but with each passing hour it became increasingly busier and noisier. By 4pm we felt like we had been invaded! The streets were crowded and all the restaurants and bars were overflowing into the streets and only then did we realize it was Saturday and were wondering if this is what happens in Granada on the weekends. We checked our guidebook and there didn’t seem to be a public holiday and then wondered if, like Valencia, Granada had its own festival of sorts. There was music in the streets by street performers and we would see people dressed in costumes and groups dressed in silly outfits. We never did figure out what the fuss was about but when we went out to supper to a restaurant once again recommended by our air bnb host and trip advisor we were amazed at the crowds, the noise and disappointed by the food we were served in a over-packed restaurant! We had thought of taking in some flamenco dancing but it was clear that tonight was not the night to do that. So off we go to our apartment and plan where we are going next…..stay tuned and do add Granada to your list for when you come to Spain!

……..from outside our apartment and down the street. From our bedroom windows you could see it lit up at night……quite the view!