Day 20: Segovia, Spain

Today is our last day in Spain and for the first time since arriving we woke up to SUN in Spain. It's still a little cool, but it isn't raining and it is sunny. Throughout the trip, we have alternated roomies. It has helped keep things on an even keel since you don't really have enough time to get tired of anyone. Shirley and I are back together in room 212 while Peggy and Clarita are in 216. We rose at 7:30 and were ready for breakfast by 8; Peggy and Clarita opted to sleep in a little so Shirley and I went down for coffee. Sadly, I didn't check out the breakfast area before dragging Shirley down a short flight and up another so we went too far and had to backtrack up again. Not good for her knee at all. I have learned one important thing this trip – European hotels are not conducive to anyone with a handicap, regardless of how minor it might be. The rooms are not handicap friendly at all – no handrails, no easily accessible ramps, walk-in showers, etc. The one good thing is that most towns have an aging population and you can get medical equipment at the local farmacia.

After breakfast in the hotel, Shirley decided to rest in the room while Peggy, Clarita, and I went to look at the Alcazar. Construction began in the 12^th century and was continued throughout the late 16^th century. When the Spanish court moved to Madrid, the Alcazar ceased being used as a Royal Residence and became a state prison for two centuries. The rooms have been maintained and most have been restored to their original beauty. Part of the tour included a climb up the 184 steps of the tower which, of course, I felt obligated to walk. After huffing and puffing my way up the narrow, one person circular staircase, I was rewarded at the top with a spectacular panoramic view of the city. Coming down was a little more intimidating than going up, but I took my time and luckily met no one going up. I met up with Peggy and Clarita and we went in search of coffee/tea. Sometime between the time we left our hotel and finished our tour, the Japanese arrived. I'm guessing there must have been at least 3 busloads of them. Anyway, coffee/tea was out of the question – every place was full so we went back to the hotel to check on Shirley and rest before our afternoon meal.

For lunch today, we decided we needed to have the Roast Suckling Pig, a specialty in Segovia. We weren't exactly sure what we would get so we each decided to order something different and then share it all. We had a plate of grilled veggies, two salads, and the Roast Suckling Pig "Segovia Style" or its back leg served with french fries. It was plenty of food for us to share. Porky was tender and succulent, but a little on the greasy side. I would have hated to come to Segovia and not had the local specialty.

Since we were on that side of the plaza, we decided to visit the new Cathedral of Segovia, originally called Santa Maria. Santa Maria was destroyed in 1521 and the "new" cathedral was begun in 1525. The edifice is a great example of a Gothic cathedral although it has many features associated with Renaissance aesthetics. In case many of you are thinking that I am an expert on the periods of architecture, let me assure you that I am not – I read this in the pamphlet I got in the Cathedral for my 3€ entrance fee. We did find out that Saint Frutos is the patron saint of Segovia which might explain the "fruit rule".

Clarita and Peggy dropped by our room a little while ago and we sat around talking about the trip. We each identified the highlight of the trip – for Clarita it was the beach town of Nazare; Shirley liked O Ceibrio, the little Irish Portuguese town in the mountains near the Iron Cross; Peggy liked Bilbao one of our first towns in Spain; and I liked Tomar the town with the Knights Templar. Throughout the trip, we have lit enough candles to start a small bonfire, we've counted Pilgrims, consumed a lot of tea, coffee, and other beverages; visited numerous cathedrals, and had a lot of laughs as well as tense driving conditions. We've maintained our sanity (if we ever had that to begin with) in spite of the rain and cold. Our little Spanish made Peugot has been a dream car – serving as our chariot through muddy, off road lanes; up treacherous mountain passes; through narrow city streets; and down highways that aren't open to the public yet.

Eventually, we sent Clarita and Peggy out to scrounge up a meal for the evening. We thought about oranges from our new favorite fruiteria, but she was closed for Labor Day. Instead, they brought back a variety of pastries and coke light. A perfect light meal after our heavy greased pig lunch.

We're ordered our car for 8 in the morning and will set off for the Madrid airport as soon as we load up. Clarity, Peggy, and Shirley have a noon flight to Texas via Philly. I have a 8 pm flight to Germany where I'll stay with friends for a week. All in all, this has been a wonderful trip. As Shirley remarked earlier, we have done our own type of Pilgrimage and each faced obstacles or challenges along the way. Perhaps not the same type we might encounter if we had walked the Camino de Santiago. This experience will make our lives richer and more meaningful in some way – even if we don't know the outcome yet.

Unspoken Rules

It's amazing what one learns about a country in three weeks. Some of the lessons we learned have not been published in any of our tour books; we've had to learn them the hard way. We read early on about the "can't eat before 9 pm rule" and have been very good about following it – sometimes not by choice!

Yesterday we learned about the "don't touch the fruit" rule. Stopped at the local fruiteria to pick up some oranges. Peggy had her hand out ready to pluck an orange out of the crate, when the proprietress came running out. "No, no, no!" she yelled. Peggy pulled her hand away as if she had been hit. Inside the store, signs were posted in multiple languages telling you not to touch the fruit. It seems like the sign would have posted outside with the fruit as well as inside. Once we got over the almost social faux pas, the proprietress was very pleasant and picked out some good fruit for us.

We've also learned about the "you can only eat snacks at bare table" rule. Yesterday on the drive in, we stopped at a service station with a food bar and sat down at tables with tablecloths. The female bartender asked us in Spanish what we wanted and when Clarita told her snacks, she made us move to a bare table. At the time, we thought it was only that the bartender didn't like us. However, today we went in a bar/restaurant for tea/coffee, and received the same treatment. There are perfectly good tables with tablecloths sitting empty while every other table in the place is full, but we can only sit at the bar.

Then there is the "women can only have small beer" rule. One day one of us who shall remain unnamed was going to buy beer for two young German pilgrims. When she went in to buy the beer, the man at the bar refused to sell her the large ones. Instead he gave her the ones designated for women. Wine is a different matter – you can drink as much wine as you want with your meal and size hasn't been an issue.

On the tourist trains, you can't shut your own door. That job is restricted to the driver of the train and if you do shut your own door, the driver will open it and shut it again.

My favorite rule is "you cannot pump your own gas". This is a rule I willingly went along with and in the one gas station I stopped where the rule was not enforced, I left. I wish we would go back to that rule at home – I kind of miss the days when service stations would not only gas up your car, but check your fluids and clean your windshields!

Spanish Labor Day

This blog has been interrupted by breaking news – outside our balcony a demonstration is taking place. From what we can gather, today is Labor Day and the local communists are demonstrating for Work, Dignity, and Rights. It looks like the entire town has turned out for this. Speakers on the gazebo have been shouting stirring sentiments to the people. Occasionally the crowd will applaud and blow horns. Police are milling around the crowds and there are dogs which look like mean police dogs. The speeches seem to be over and music is being played.

Day 19: Segovia, Spain (by Shirley)

9:36 am and we're off to Segovia by way of Avila. The Catalonia provided good accommodations and excellent breakfast buffet. The Gringuitas had an old fashioned gab session last night trying to digest all the wonders we have seen since Day 1. Lots of laughs remembering! The blog has been a source of great entertainment for us as well as beneficial for recalling our pilgrimage through Spain and Portugal. After 13 different hotels, it has become difficult to recall particular details about each one. Some (like the car garage) stand out more than others.

Driving through the maesata or high mesa towards Avila lies a vast farmland. Some fields are brilliant green wheat; others are brown, plowed fields being prepared for new seeds. Rape also grows here – bright yellow flowers which will become saffron. Stopped in Bracamonte for diesel – this is only the 4^th time we've filled up - 76€ @ 1.4€ per liter or $8 per gallon. As we leave the maesata, climbing into low hills the vegetation turns to scrub oak trees on escarpment and rack fences – and of course, the rain.

The wall (not Roman) around Avila, built around 1100, is the oldest, best preserved, and most complete in Spain. A portion of a different leg of the Camino de Santiago goes through here – we've seen a few pilgrims! We parked in a convenient pull over to take pictures even though the rain was peppering down. Then we drove alongside the wall into the modern city below. The little tourist train was full and a bus deposited a large load of tourists at the gates of the walled city – all with umbrellas and ponchos. Avila is certainly a place where one could spend several days - after all Ste. Teresa of Avila was born here and is rumored to have her little finger entombed in the cathedral. Born in 1515, Ste Teresa founded the Carmelite Nuns, a strict order who apparently never bathed – at least this is the story told to us by Mamasita.

Cold (3 degrees C or 36FF) and rainy, we passed on lingering and drove on to Segovia into a mountainous terrain. Crossing the mountains, Segovia is located in a rolling plain with fields of green interspersed with dry, rocky areas and arroyos. We drove to a turn out where we could take pictures of the Alcazar (fortified palace of Segovia). Of fine Moorish décor, it burned in 1862 and has been completely restored. During the middle ages it was a favorite residence of monarchs of Castile.

Fannette maneuvered through crowded, narrow streets to the Plaza Mayor and our Hotel Infanta Isabel. Wonder of wonders – valet parking is available. Pleasant accommodations in an older, refined hotel right on the plaza near the Cathedral inside the walled city. What more can you ask for?! Lunch was the Menu del Dia (menu of the day) at the Meson Mayor, a very nice restaurant across the plaza from our hotel. We had various dishes – paellas, soup, and mixed salad for starters; pollo and veal for entrees; and ice cream and cheesecake for dessert. Peggy and Fannette chose to look in the shops while Clarita and Shirley sat in the Plaza a while. As we took our siesta, we noticed our rooms were very, very cold. Clarita went to reception to talk about the heat situation and the lady at the desk pushed a button and voila – we had heat. We had pushed every button possible in the rooms to no avail. The lady with the magic touch made all the difference in the world.

Mas tarde, Peggy, Clarita, and Fannette went to stroll around town and maybe find a snack. The weather had improved – warmed up some and quit raining. Several families are in the plaza and a group of young children are playing soccer. Not being very hungry (can you believe that?), purchases of fruit, pastries, and soft drinks were made and brought to the room for a picnic with Shirley. The Chitlins were not a big hit; the oranges and chocolate pastries were!

Emails and blog entries were reviewed. We were "warmed" by the news of the heat wave in West Texas (Abilene 105; Segovia 36) while we shivered in our room. No longer Boa Noite; we are back to Buenos Noches.

Various Pictures of Portugal



Caldo da Reinha Modern Art



Obidos

Fatima

Convent of the Christ (Knights Templar)

Nazare, Portugal

Sunrise @ Narare

City of Nazare

Ascender/Funicular

Day 18: Salamanca, Spain (by: Shirley)

Following breakfast while overlooking the sun shine down on brilliant seas, we left Nazare to drive back towards Spain and Salamanca, the destination for today. The three nurse maids helped Shirley with her luggage and made her comfortable in the car with ice on her knee. As we ride north, we listened to a CD Clarita bought in O Cereiba – kind of Irish Portuguese, very interesting.

It seems we are almost the only vehicle on the road today – IC9 cuts through the forests and is a toll road. After we exit the toll road, we pick up a smaller highway that has more cars. Numerous flooded, or partially flooded fields cover the flatlands – are they rice fields? Cranberry bogs? And needless to say, as we progress inland towards the mountains in Spain, it has begun to rain. We continue to be amazed with the smoothly operated, efficient road system – and where is the trash along the highways and roads? There is none.

Stopped at a roadside rest stop – whoops – it is a hole and footprint facility; no bueno for old people! We're heading for a service station. Before we got there we went through a construction zone on a bridge over a pristine, sparkling blue mountain lake.

We are traveling through the mountains on a two lane road. The area is very scenic – vineyards, orange trees, smoke emerging from chimneys atop those red tiled roofs. And of course, the continuous forest of various types of trees. For you "House Hunters International" fans, there are numerous fixer-uppers in some of these villages of Portugal. As we go around the city of Guarda, Portugal, and descend toward the border of Spain, the terrain reminds one of the area around Carlsbad, New Mexico, but hillier.

We passed through what was once a border crossing into Spain. The custom buildings are empty. The time changed back to one hour later than it was in Portugal (now 1 instead of 12). Since the creation of the European Union, one does not need a passport to travel between countries and of course, the monetary unit is the Euro (€). Driving towards Salamanca, Spain; the terrain begins to look like the Texas Hill Country and then central Texas – low scrub trees opening up to pastoral areas. Passed by Ciudad Rodrigo, which looks like it must have been a walled city at one time. Got off highway near Bocacara at a truck stop for tea and snacks. Sat at a table with a cloth and silver and were informed that we had to move to the back of the room with bare tabletops since we were only having snacks.

As we near Salamanca, the high mesa is very green with fields of green and pastures of sheep and cattle. We again see grain elevators. Salamanca, seen from afar, is an imposing, beautiful sight – exactly what one would envision a city in Spain would look like. But again, narrow streets to get around. Parked the car, packed our backpacks for the night, and took a taxi to the Catalonia. Nice place; good rooms. Got settled and Clarita, Peggy, and Fannette went to the Plaza Mayer to sightsee and eat. Shirley (handicapped physically) stayed in the room and ordered from a Telepizza place. She thinks it will be a salad, drink, and bread, but we will see (handicapped linguistically). Shirley thinks it will be delivered at six, but she is not sure about that either. Also, the TV does not turn on with the power button – it turns on with 1 or 2 and turns off with the power button. Yes! Some cute little guy with a motorcycle helmet delivered Shirley's supper to room 012 (1^st floor) at six and it is exactly what she ordered.

Peggy, Clarita, and Fannette return from their jaunt; it's cold out there. They stopped at Plaza Mayer for a bite to eat and then walked by the cathedrals (old and new); then by the University to see the main door. Clarita asks a young man a question and he launches into a long explanation about the history of the university. Good explanation, but of course, he wants a tip. According to the young man, this is the third oldest university in Europe. Salamanca is a beautiful, old city and well worth the stop.