Wednesday, 14 March 2012

Madrid to Castille y Leon - now getting pretty & relaxing

8/3 a day in, doing school, washing, reading, exercise, skating and had drinks in the evening with Dieter and Anne-Katerina, lovely retired German couple in a mega van.

9/3/11 MADRID
fast train in from Toledo, about 30min. Queued for entry to Museo de Prado, took an hour to get in, started off enthusiastically but after some 3-4 hours, we were all trotting for the finish line and wide open plazas outside. Don’t reckon we’ll linger much more in these sorts of galleries - collectively we seem to enjoy the modern galleries more.  Prado is full of 15th - 19th century Renaissance stuff mostly religious themed (some gory, some grotesque, some quite lewd), the rest portraits of rich people - suppose only the church and nobility could afford it back then.  Was a great collection of Roam sculptures as well.

Wandered around from grand street with decorated skyline, to manicured gardens adorned with statues (the most impressive being the one Wil lead us to of Don Quixote and Sanco Panza astride their mounts) to incredibly pleasant wide open plazas packed with busking entertainers, and finally to coffee and tapas before fast train back to Toledo.


dice roll
Wil (best saying) “quixotic” - meaning impractical, idealistic and silly
Kel (worst part) waiting in line at the Prado  - I had to use the toilet really badly.
Jeff (best part) relaxed open and airy plazas every few metres





Jen (best taste) strong coffee with tapas
10/3 Toward Segovia

we left Castilla - La Mancha , arriving in Castilla y Leon after travelling through a 3km tunnel. Surprisingly (not) the only campsite in town is closed (the intercom button at the gait fell on the ground when pressed) and there are no others in Segovia. We jumped out beneath the surreal aqueduct, to marvel at its grandeur, get some info at the turismo office and then drove to the outskirts of town, free-camping with a view of the snow capped mountains at sunset.


Jen awake until 0400 writing volumous e-mails in her head to people she’s thinking about; getting quizzical about how life will be when we return and realizing with a thud that it is middle March!
11/3 SEGOVIA
Into the old city for the day and made for coffee in the sun first up. Thoroughly enjoyable day meandering the streets of this UNESCO listed town with it’s World Heritage listed Aqueduct all gloriously framed by snowy sierra.
Noticing our “Oz” definition of the Mediterranean diet (nuts, olive oil, pulses, greens, ish) being in contrast to the majority fare here (salty, oily jamon, cheese, white bread only, and fish and nuts....all started & finished with a cigarette).

Wil’s job - to explore all things to do with the aqueduct.

Kel’s job  - to photograph as many different sgraffito walls as we see


our job - hang, mooch, 2 coffees, chats alongside playgrounds as kids frolic.


Drove for an hour and parked in supermarket carpark for the night. On the way to  ‘postcard perfect‘ Spanish town tomorrow.

12/3 Covarrubias
surprisingly quiet night. Maths test morning!  Kel smashed hers in 10 mins - need to set longer and harder next time.  Mama set way too much for Wil - bring this back a bit next time.
Nice drive to farming town past flocks merino sheep, small market gardens marked off by low pretty stone walls, the start of vineyard country and occasional nags (Spain is home to both merino sheep & the Andalusian - horse which we saw many more of along the gorgeous costal farms of Costa de Luz). Large white storks adorn the tallest building & spires.Jeff & I laughing about elocution phrase, “the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain” as we’ve not had a drop of rain since arriving.  All our days so far have been presented beneath wonderful clear blue skies.
Parked up alongside a bubbling river across a pretty stone bridge for school,coffee and come what may. 

Step back in time - old bridge, old people tilling small market gardens in old tractors, very quiet. 

THIS is what we love. 
Kids played all afternoon with cork boats (building materials collected from around picnic tables - evidence of a great community weekend scene) in the river.


Mum’s paella - almost right - underestimated the saltiness of the dried fish. Will have it nailed with left overs tomorrow night.  A few more mushrooms, tomato, capsicum, shrimps & peas me thinks. Think we’ll stay the night as still the only ones here.



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