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 4th 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.
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