Monday, Oct 1.
Pinch and a punch for the first of the month.
Drive to Brissie via Nick & Max then over to Margie’s.
Flight at 6.10pm.
Looking forward to the adventure.
Sunday 30 September 2018
Wednesday 9 May 2012
The long haul home
Thursday, 3May, up at 5am to catch the 6.30am bus to Madrid. It was the workers bus as well for those who commute daily to Madrid some 70kms away. Got their in time, you pay the driver but- lo & behold, we only had a 50 euro note and the driver had no change. After a frantic dash by Annette up to the auto estacion where she managed to extract change from the newsagent, a kind lady let us back in the line and we made the bus.
Once in Madrid around 7.40am, we needed to make the trip to Barajas aeropuerto through peak hr traffic. Took an hour, but we made it. Checked our gear in and sat down to a well earned brekkie.
Got away around 10.45am and arrived aT Heathrow after a 2 hour flight.
Jumped on the bullet train to the Terminal 3 and faced a 10 hr wait before we were due to fly out.
Whilst in the English pub bar - The Three Bells - watering and feeding ourselves, the fire alarm rang. After getting us to pay, we were all herded outside to the car park- apparently it was only in the food section, so it was business as normal for the rest of the terminal. 2 fire appliances did arrive as did some police - but after 30 mins or so, we were all allowed back in- some malfunction with the alarm system.Lots of concern however especially with the Olympics not too far away.
Whilst waiting in the departure area, we met up with Sophie & Brian, a couple who did the pilgrimage with us. They then took a week in Ireland followed by another in Greece. Good people.
Finally left for Singapore around 9.45pm on Thu . Got to Singapore 13 hrs later. With the time differences, we got to Singapore at 6.45pm on Fri and flew out to Aust 2 hrs later.
We got into Brisbane at 6.28am on Sat, 5 May!!
What an experience! We need time to digest it all and put the total sum of our experiences into perspective- how will it make a difference to / in our lives.
Missed the boys- Zack & Nick - and all our loved ones family and friends!!
Looking forward to catching up with all!!
Lots of cheers, beers & love!!!
Annette & Steve
Final days
Halo,
Dealing with hordes of people was ok but it was the hills - up & down, up & down - that were starting to where a little thin. The room was great, had its own BIG balcony, and a god bar and restaurante downstairs. The old parT of town was just around the corner but - up the big hill.
We decided to get rid of the car - and that was an adventure in itself; all good in the end.
Toledo was serviced by 2 city tour operators. 1 - an open air double decker London bus and a 4 WD 'train' with 3 carriages. We tried both as the 'must sees' in Toledo are spread. Both the train and bus covered all with commentary - the train was the go!
-
At this point, we both felt a little churched out, but once we saw the cathedral of Toledo and went inside- after paying and getting an audio guide - of course, it was phenomenal. Took a few photos but ended up buying the official video- the art works alone - originals, it was priceless - a museum, art gallery , church all rolled into one.
After a couple of days of Toledo, we were gearing up to face the long haul home!
Adios!
Dealing with hordes of people was ok but it was the hills - up & down, up & down - that were starting to where a little thin. The room was great, had its own BIG balcony, and a god bar and restaurante downstairs. The old parT of town was just around the corner but - up the big hill.
We decided to get rid of the car - and that was an adventure in itself; all good in the end.
Toledo was serviced by 2 city tour operators. 1 - an open air double decker London bus and a 4 WD 'train' with 3 carriages. We tried both as the 'must sees' in Toledo are spread. Both the train and bus covered all with commentary - the train was the go!
-
At this point, we both felt a little churched out, but once we saw the cathedral of Toledo and went inside- after paying and getting an audio guide - of course, it was phenomenal. Took a few photos but ended up buying the official video- the art works alone - originals, it was priceless - a museum, art gallery , church all rolled into one.
After a couple of days of Toledo, we were gearing up to face the long haul home!
Adios!
Location:Toledo, Castile - La Mancha
Monday, 30 April
Buenos dias,
Headed north from Cordoba out of Andalusia and into the province of Castile La Mancha. This only brings one thing to mind but we did not spot these until we reached the far north of the region.Olive trees by the hectare, solar farms and giant wind spires.
-
We travelled through the city of Ciudad Real, up through the national parks of the Cabaneros and Tablas de Daimiel. After driving through some magic countryside, we decided not to head into Toledo but look for something small in the country. This is where we came across Los Yebenes about 30 odd kms from Toledo and slightly off the main road. A small town of approx 6000; we found the Hotel Apelio. A very friendly barman - Fabian, a teacher from Ecuador with some English, looked after us, watered us and above all, opened the restaurant just for us where we had a 3 course a la carte meal. The restaurant was reminiscent of a hunting lodge with deer and wild boar trophies adorning the walls. Apparently the region is very heavily into deer hunting, so - my main course was a serving of ciervo (stag)- with a bottle of a local red- best meal of the trip!!
Next morning we headed off to Toledo after exploring the town -
Outside of town, was another great sight - windmills & Man of La Mancha. Climbed the hill but couldn't find The Don!
After a rest from the climb, Toledo was next on the agenda. In no time at all, we arrived but- unbeknown to us - May 1 was a national 'bank'holiday. Nothing open. Again lost, got on track, people everywhere - finally found a hotel - looked fantastic and booked in for 2 nights.
Headed north from Cordoba out of Andalusia and into the province of Castile La Mancha. This only brings one thing to mind but we did not spot these until we reached the far north of the region.Olive trees by the hectare, solar farms and giant wind spires.
-
We travelled through the city of Ciudad Real, up through the national parks of the Cabaneros and Tablas de Daimiel. After driving through some magic countryside, we decided not to head into Toledo but look for something small in the country. This is where we came across Los Yebenes about 30 odd kms from Toledo and slightly off the main road. A small town of approx 6000; we found the Hotel Apelio. A very friendly barman - Fabian, a teacher from Ecuador with some English, looked after us, watered us and above all, opened the restaurant just for us where we had a 3 course a la carte meal. The restaurant was reminiscent of a hunting lodge with deer and wild boar trophies adorning the walls. Apparently the region is very heavily into deer hunting, so - my main course was a serving of ciervo (stag)- with a bottle of a local red- best meal of the trip!!
Next morning we headed off to Toledo after exploring the town -
Outside of town, was another great sight - windmills & Man of La Mancha. Climbed the hill but couldn't find The Don!
After a rest from the climb, Toledo was next on the agenda. In no time at all, we arrived but- unbeknown to us - May 1 was a national 'bank'holiday. Nothing open. Again lost, got on track, people everywhere - finally found a hotel - looked fantastic and booked in for 2 nights.
Location:Castile - La Mancha
Sunday, 29 April
Halo,
As we left Merida, we continued further down the Via de la Plata route to Zafra - where a historical complex of cultural interest - roman ruins was tone situated. Sunday arvo, cold and wet, most things closed - after 2pm, we managed to find 1 item of cultural interest to me
-Closed!!
No point in hanging around, so we headed south east across into the province of Andalusia to the city of Cordoba. After getting horribly lost due to my non-existent navigation skills and no maps, we finally found and booked into Hotel Maximano.
We found a back street bar where they served terrible whites, good beer and no 'Wodka' as the bar person - Monty- didn't want to see Annette get drunk. Very friendly and wanted us on his Facebook- specimens I suppose!
Next morning we headed off to explore the city - at least the old parts. The amt of walking we did was extraordinary - but how else can one explore. We were really interested to see the Grand Mosque come cathedral. Couldn't use a camera inside but an absolutely breathtaking building with the combined history of the Christian and Muslim influences.
Andalusian horses are very famous and Parts of Cordoba reflected this
Cordoba dates back to at least 206BC when the Romans conquered it. Arab Muslims took over in the 8th century, by the 10th century it was the most populous city in the world. It currently has a population of around 330K. It is a beautiful city and deserves more time exploring it. Unfortunately, we didn't strike the better restaurants there probably due to the lack of them in the vicinity of our hotel. never mind, onwards and upwards!
As we left Merida, we continued further down the Via de la Plata route to Zafra - where a historical complex of cultural interest - roman ruins was tone situated. Sunday arvo, cold and wet, most things closed - after 2pm, we managed to find 1 item of cultural interest to me
-Closed!!
No point in hanging around, so we headed south east across into the province of Andalusia to the city of Cordoba. After getting horribly lost due to my non-existent navigation skills and no maps, we finally found and booked into Hotel Maximano.
We found a back street bar where they served terrible whites, good beer and no 'Wodka' as the bar person - Monty- didn't want to see Annette get drunk. Very friendly and wanted us on his Facebook- specimens I suppose!
Next morning we headed off to explore the city - at least the old parts. The amt of walking we did was extraordinary - but how else can one explore. We were really interested to see the Grand Mosque come cathedral. Couldn't use a camera inside but an absolutely breathtaking building with the combined history of the Christian and Muslim influences.
Andalusian horses are very famous and Parts of Cordoba reflected this
Cordoba dates back to at least 206BC when the Romans conquered it. Arab Muslims took over in the 8th century, by the 10th century it was the most populous city in the world. It currently has a population of around 330K. It is a beautiful city and deserves more time exploring it. Unfortunately, we didn't strike the better restaurants there probably due to the lack of them in the vicinity of our hotel. never mind, onwards and upwards!
Location:Cordoba
Sunday, April 29
Buenos dias,
An early morning start in Augusta Emerita ( as Merida was known), it is the capital of this province and was founded in 25BC. The sense of timelessness is always with you as one views this environment day after day. We had a magnificent group of archaeological conservation sites to visit - some 18 of and 4 museums collections to boot with an overall entrance fee ticket of 12 euros each. One can't it justice in one day!
We started with the Roman Theatre and amphitheatre:
Then the Amphitheatre House where concerts are often held
Particular interest how forward thinking Roman architecture and planning was, check out their waste disposal system then
A short walk around a couple of blocks brought us to the Circus Maximus- I think Benhur was shot here
And the Aqueduct
Over the other side of town we came across Diana's Temple
A fantastic Roman bridge over the River Guadiana
The Moorish
Alcazaba
Finally, back to the Hotel Zeus to pick up the Cit we came across a bullfighting ring - now closed as bullfighting is currently frowned on in Spain although we had missed a big one in Sevilla today.
Just around the next corner was the Mithraeum House site
Even a 10 minute hailstorm didn't dampen the enthusiasm.
With heads spinning and we didn't need the vino we headed off to Cordoba mid afternoon. Keeping in mind that the sun doesn't set until around 9pm. Perfect for traveling .
Adios once again.
Location:Cordoba, Junta de Extremadura
Final week- Sat., April 28
Hi All,
From here on we found solid Internet access very flaky so I cheated somewhat. I kept notes with the idea to post it all to the blog once we got home; my apologies for the lack of spontaneity.
First thing we did was to head across town to near the train estacion and hired a car. In less than a short time, we were heading off out of Salamanca in a Citroen C3 Picasso- a very nifty and roomy LHD car. We headed to Alba de Tormes only some 25kms away where St Teresa was buried.
Once there on a cold and wet arvo, we walked in the old town with the aid of some delightful pastries. We found both the Sepulero and Bascilica Sta. Teresa.
Not sure how far we were heading, we hit the high road through
the Valle del Jerte, an incredible drive through a very picturesque area.
Down on further through Caceres and on to Merida where we booked into the Hotel Zeus for the night.
Their restaurante was 'closed' so we had great pizzas at Cafe Galileo. A fantastic part of Spain.
-Slept well that night with the added responsibility of a car and the nervous tension of actually riding in it. Annette soon became an old hand - I was happy to navigate, I think!
Adios!
From here on we found solid Internet access very flaky so I cheated somewhat. I kept notes with the idea to post it all to the blog once we got home; my apologies for the lack of spontaneity.
First thing we did was to head across town to near the train estacion and hired a car. In less than a short time, we were heading off out of Salamanca in a Citroen C3 Picasso- a very nifty and roomy LHD car. We headed to Alba de Tormes only some 25kms away where St Teresa was buried.
Once there on a cold and wet arvo, we walked in the old town with the aid of some delightful pastries. We found both the Sepulero and Bascilica Sta. Teresa.
Not sure how far we were heading, we hit the high road through
the Valle del Jerte, an incredible drive through a very picturesque area.
Down on further through Caceres and on to Merida where we booked into the Hotel Zeus for the night.
Their restaurante was 'closed' so we had great pizzas at Cafe Galileo. A fantastic part of Spain.
-Slept well that night with the added responsibility of a car and the nervous tension of actually riding in it. Annette soon became an old hand - I was happy to navigate, I think!
Adios!
Location:Merida, Junta de Extremadura
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