2024 Spain Part 7

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• Sun 18th Feb
  I suggested we go straight to Toledo, there is not much of interest in Ciudad Real. Sue agreed, albeit reluctantly, saying she is bored of sitting for hours in the passenger seat staring out of the windscreen. So I adjusted the SatNav from shortest route to quickest route, saving an hours driving time. As we went onto the motorway, Sue said she would rather not go on the motorway. Seemed I was not going to win that one…….
  Now arrived in Toledo, hot and sunny. The assault up the hill is for tomorrow. We have been here before, on the way back from Portugal, but didn’t stay long, and I have always wanted to come back. When we were here before, there was a frost……
• Mon 19th Feb

  Our second visit to Toledo. We re visited the attractions we saw a few years ago, starting with the vast cathedral.

  

  All those huge columns, something totally absent here in Spain, flying buttresses, and I do like a good flying buttress. Supports the walls, transfers the weight sideways and downwards, and enables the interior stonework to be less massive, and have much bigger windows, hence more light inside.
  Other views from inside.

  

  Difficult to see, but statues of people climbing up around the window. Wannabe saints? Or just trying to avoid purgatory? Whatever, quite spectacular.

  

  Painted ceiling in the sacristy.

  

  And an adjoining room.

  

• Toledo cont’d
  The synagogue. A very old building, dated from late 11th or early 12th century, so Moorish, and repurposed. Synagogues usually have a separate gallery for women but the Moors forgot to build this in.

  

  Monasterio de San De los Rayes.
  The cloisters.

  

  

  The church

  An unusual view, from an elevated balcony.

• Tue 20th Feb

  Continuing our retracing of places already visited, we went to El Escorial, a huge mausoleum. Built between 1563 and 1584, and described as the largest renaissance building in the world. Actually, much more than a mausoleum, according to Google, monastery, basilica, royal palace, pantheon, library, university, school and hospital. Didn’t pick all those things up when going round, but goodness it is huge and confusing inside. Vast number of staircases to go up and down. And I’m not sure how much we were not allowed to see.
  Half the front, camera not big enough to get it all in…..

  

  One of many corridors.

  

  

   

  

  After going through nine mausoleum rooms, lined with coffins, we came to this long staircase leading to the mausoleum where all the kings of Spain since the 1560’s are buried.

  

  Sue at the top of the staircase didn’t have the umph to go down and back up again.

  At the bottom, circular room lined with coffins.

  

  Then to another long gallery, the gallery of battles.

  

  Huge! Just a sample of the detailed painting lining this gallery, at the far end are naval battles.

  

  

  A room in the kings apartment.

  

  A notable carved door.
  

  There are a huge number of paintings and tapestrys throughout the palace, including many by Titian, El Grego, Velasquez, and Goya.

• Segovia
  A convenient place to stop on our journey north, and happy to revisit the superbly preserved Roman aqueduct.

  

  Sue and Josie dwarfed.

  

  Continuing up the side of the valley, now hemmed in by modern roads.

  

  And this is what it was all about, the surprisingly small water channel carrying water for 17kms.

  

  Apparently, it was in use until 1973.

• Wed 21st Feb
  Disturbed night. Someone drove round and round the Aire at 2.00 am, continually honking their horn. I’m sure it was a very nice person…….
  Drove this morning to Aranda de Duero, the centre of the Tempranillo wine growing area, although we did nor see many vineyards driving here. Apparently the centre of town is riddled with tunnels for storing the wine. We found an organic bodega on line, and set off. It had a comprehensive looking website, all in Spanish of course, but when we arrived, it wasn’t there, now some sort of clothing shop.
  We repaired to another bodega, this time one with a modest tunnel, which we explored.

  

  

  

  Very dark!

  By buying a bottle (well, two) in the bodega, we were able to find a local producer, about 6kms away. What a pleasant place, very helpful pair who both spoke English, so that’s tonight’s wine sorted!
  The area outside the bodega had some grape trees. Grape trees? Is there such a thing?

  

  Those look awfully like grapes.
  And this looks awfully like a tree.

  

• Thu 22nd Feb
  Set off for Biarritz. Whilst driving through some very rugged countryside, emerging from a tunnel, we were suddenly buffeted by very violent wind, which continued to thrash us round in a most alarming fashion. We pulled off into a motorway service station as soon as we could, and sat out the worst of the wind, setting off an hour and a half later. Except, the SatNav didn’t switch on. And wouldn’t. So Sue had to navigate from MapsMe. Then, it started really chucking it down with rain, so much so we had difficulty reading direction signs. With the uncanny ability of the Spanish to make junctions as convoluted and complicated as possible, it is a wonder that we didn’t go wrong. Now parked up at Biarritz, and an evening of rain, now thankfully stopped(9.45). Good practice, this weather, for our return.
  Still no sign of life from our SatNav, navigating through Bayonne to the end of the peage motorway is going to be a challenge.
• Fri 23rd Feb
  A long drive through rain. Fortunately, I looked up replacing the SatNav battery, and found instructions on resetting it. And it worked! Made navigating the complicated intricacies of Bayonne much easier than MapsMe, avoiding the succession of peage tolls.
  Weather brightened up this afternoon, only to find me now sitting in the vehicle in Angouleme in yet more rain. But, we did find time before we set off for a BioCoop visit. Goodness, I wish they would spread to Brighton, so much better than anything we have ever come across.
• Sat 24th Feb
  Drove to a nearby vet, arrived just before it opened at 9.00am, hoping to have Josie pilled for returning to UK. 9.20am, all done! That was fortunate, now booked our shuttle crossing for Tuesday morning.
  Set off for Chartres, a favourite stopping off point. Afternoon, drove through a filthy downpour, several bridges crossing the river Loire, and other smaller rivers, all overflowing their banks. Water everywhere. We decided to take a peage section of motorway, a one hour drive, cost €21.00.
  Just off the end of the motorway, we past a car blazing fiercely. No emergency services, but two women looking unhappy.
  Had a nice long walk with Josie along the river that skirts Chartres . River very swollen, but still within its banks. Just. Rain threatened, but fortunately only a few dribbles.
• Sun 25th Feb
  Woke to a grey and dreary day. Sometimes difficult to understand why we have left the blue skies and sunshine behind.
  Set off to visit the last attraction of this trip, Chateau de Maintenon. Madam Maintenon was the second wife of Louis XIV, the self styled Sun King.
  Could only visit the upper floor, which was the living quarter. The rooms were large, but decidedly comfortable, especially with a (probably very expensive) modern heating system.

  

  

  

  

  Not all the rooms were small!

  

  What was very surprising, to get to the upper floor, we entered through a small door, and up a narrow staircase. Exit was via a narrow stone spiral staircase. No sign of a “normal” staircase, let alone anything grand.
  The outside.

  

  And, in the village, the river and bridge suffering from all the rain.
  

  The grey and dreary day morphed into a grey, dreary, windy and wet day. This evening, it is dark dreary and wet. Wind has gone, rain has stayed.

• Mon 26th Feb
  Windy, wet. Drove to Calais ready for tomorrows Le Shuttle crossing. Really really windy. Relieved we are not using a ferry, although I think they are still operating.
• Tue 27th Feb

  Early from the Coquilles aire to Le Shuttle dog control. Ah, said the lady, your vet has made a mistake…..

  The tapeworm treatment, always required for re entry to UK has been entered on the wrong page.

  It seems, when we came back from Portugal last May, after collecting Josie, the vet then entered onto the wrong page, and the this time vet followed that entry. This wasn’t picked up in May, but I was given a stern warning that, although it will be accepted this time, if this happens again, Josie will need another tapeworm treatment, and we would have to wait 24 hours before crossing. There then followed photocopying her passport, and copious notes into a computer. All this bureaucracy is always worrying.

  Anyway, with relief, we were allowed on, straight onto a train, no waiting. I doubt the train was even a quarter full.

  An easy drive home, a mild and mostly sunny day, made The Big Unload easy.

  Winter holiday over.

  Fin