DAY EIGHTEEN 2 NOVEMBER 2019 (NEXT TO LAST DAY IN SPAIN IN ALCALA DE HENARES)

Breakfast at the Parador is the first order of business, we walk into the breakfast room and were greeted by the blond Miriam who remembered us from our July visit with Ian, Cathie and Zoey, and then we see the tiny spark plug- -Veronica! Hugs all around and how is everyone doing, long time no see, etc…. and how is the boss lady Lourdes. Lourdes, we find out, has had a new hip surgery but doing well and should return to work at the beginning of 2020. She is scheduled to retire mid-summer 2020.

We headed out to enjoy our last day, no real target destination just a lazy meandering day that at the end we will need to gas up the rental car before turn in on Sunday. This VW Golf Station Wagon with excellent luggage capacity has given us approximately 48 miles to the gallon on unleaded gas NOT diesel.

Iglesia Concatedral de Santa Maria la Mayor, Guadalajara

First stop as we headed NE away from Madrid was the village of Los Santos de Humosa the tiny village up on the plateau above the high plains of Madrid province. This time Paul drove all around the village to try and pinpoint where the American comm-uncations site had been on the SW side of town we came across the abandoned area still behind locked chain link fencing. 3 brick buildings still remain each is a deteriorated state with broken windows and doors loose on their hinges. One satcom antenna was still there locked in the not in use horizontal position. There was various piles of concrete and brick rubble with waist high weeds. The old site is an absolute eyesore and should be cleaned up to a natural state. It is an ugly scar on the landscape next to the small village.

We hit the cross country farm road to Guadalajara Spain versus backtracking down to the high speed A2 motorway. In Guadalajara it was time for a leg stretch and coffee. Paul found a parking spot next to the Concatedral de Santa Maria which dates from the 13th century. It is really interesting as it preserves a lot of its primitive construction. There are three main styles, Mudejar (Moorish) Renaissance and Baroque. As there was a play going on in front of the cathedral, we couldn’t really get inside to explore. A group of actors, in glorious costumes, were enacting a play about Don Juan Tenorio, using as scenery the buildings built by the Tenorio family in Guadalajara in the 15^th and 16^th centuries.  We arrived too late to make much sense of it, but it looked like fun, the audience seated around seemed enthusiastic! I do know that the men’s costumes were much more colorful and elaborate than the womens!  We popped across the road to the nearest bar for a bitter kas, as did the troop of actors and actresses!  We took photos of the troop of actors then back into the car.

east side of our building

We headed back towards Alcala and Madrid when Paul decided to visit the old apartment area in Torrejon de Ardoz where we had lived from 1978 to 1981. A stroll around the grounds to view the apartment building now complete with enclosed livingroom area balconies. The small trees planted in the mid 1970s are now as tall as the 9 story building. The park around the building was quite simple when we lived there and Martin the portero used to chase the kids off the grass! In all fairness, Madrid is very dry and grass will not last long if a bunch of kids are stampeding over it and there was a play area for the children. Now it is a lot bigger with a nice playground for the kids and a fitness area and lots of benches and shade. I also noticed that many apartments now had A/C units. None of that fancy stuff when we lived there! 

Front (south) side of building

Off we went to find lunch, we ended up at Las Moreras restaurant a busy hive of activity on this holiday weekend. We lucked out and got a table for two without a reservation and sat down to order our usual simple salad and grilled milk lamb chops. It was just delightful. It is one of our favorite places, we have been going there for over 48 years. In fact, we ate there the day before I had Alison!

On the way back to the Parador we gassed up at the huge El Campo discount gas station to save nearly 10cents per liter!

We were so full from lunch that we stayed at the Parador for lite bar snacks after our afternoon siesta/rest and packing of luggage for tomorrow’s plane ride home. We have a wake-up call at 6am, the bags are all ready to go.

EPILOG:

We debated doing an entry for our last day which is travel back across the pond to Florida; but as the entry would be a summary of, if it can go wrong while traveling, it sure as hell did go wrong for us that particular day. Veronica in the breakfast room had coffee for us and even offered us breakfast but it was too early and we were anxious to hit the road.  What with construction in the Barajas airport (meaning all 2 miles of moving sidewalks were stationary) to the fact none of the Delta agents explained the early gate reporting was necessary to accommodate the passengers walking down to the parking apron, loading onto a bus for a bus ride to the lower 40  where the Delta Boeing 767-300 was parked awaiting its passengers, nor the fact the once all were aboard the loading door closed, we sat a FULL hour waiting for maintenance to sign off their actions and to clear the plane for departure. I do not drink champagne in the morning but let me tell you that 2 mimosas went a long way to soothing my disgruntled soul! It was not even 10.30 in the morning and we had already walked 0ver 6,000 steps!

This fall trip was unlike the others we have enjoyed coming to Spain. It certainly was the same relaxation for sure, we had great food, outstanding wines, good times with friends and our Spanish family members. But for some unknown reason it felt a tad different too, can we put our fingers on the differences, no - - not really but it was different nonetheless. Burgos was unexpected, the cathedral was stunning! The evening paseo seemed the same, families out walking, having a glass of beer, children on little bikes and scooters, but it felt different too. Go figure!

We usually, or rather I, usually explore many cathedrals and castles to discover the history of all the people that have conquered this land and contributed their lifestyles. The Phoenicians, Romans, Moors oh, and the Visigoths were in there somewhere too! Then came Los Reyes Catolicos who unified the country with the Reconquista. It is a hugely diverse country from landscapes to lifestyles, from mountains to high barren plains, rich farming and beautiful beaches. Each region retains its food, customs, wines, dances and four official languages. We saw at least 3 different places not previously explored: Zaragoza, Calatayud, and Burgos We enjoyed new Spanish dishes too, such as Lomo cooked in a Wok with Asian spices in an off the beaten path restaurant, we had two unique versions of the famous tortilla de patatas, (1) with caramelized onions added and (2) another which had goat cheese added into the mix. Actually, for certain purists, this is practically sacrilege. Even adding onions is a no-no! 

While we were there, there were riots in Barcelona over Independence for Cataluna, I make no judgement or comment on that! Except, destroying your own city seems pretty damn stupid to me! Franco was disinterred and moved from La Valle de Los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen, from the civil war, built by slave labor) to the Franco family cemetery, I do have an opinion on that, just ask me! We have previously been in Spain when King Juan Carlos abdicated to his son, Felipe so the “upheaval” over digging up Franco did not seem out of place for us. 

We celebrated my birthday and our 49^th wedding anniversary. Maite insists that we return next year and have a gathering in the Parador at Lerma with a host of Spanish friends to celebrate our Golden Anniversary!

We have been back for 5 days and my brain is still mid Atlantic somewhere! I miss it already but damn I’m still tired from that trip home.

NOTE: Since our return we have talked with friends and family alike who say that even though they had signed up and verified that they wanted email alerts, NOONE has said they received ANY emails at all.....something wrong with Blogger/blogspot for sure!!!

DAY SEVENTEEN 1 NOVEMBER FRIDAY TRAVEL DAY FROM BURGOS TO ALCALA DE HENARES

Friday began with mostly cloudy skies and approximately 58 F. At breakfast still no sign of the 70 or so bus tour, they must be off doing their own thing in Burgos. The Hotel Abba Burgos is merely their place to crash for the night. Burgos has a different vibe than most of the cities we have visited. Cannot put my finger on it but when I have more time I will mull it over!

Another hearty buffet breakfast before loading up the car for our 2.5 hr drive south. We stopped once for coffee and to stretch, it was a highway service plaza with gas station and shop/restaurant. The over flowing trash bins out front should have given us a clue. Cleanliness was not a high priority for these owners. In the coffee shop the floors needed mopping and were sticky.

Back on the road and it continued to intermittently spit spot with the rain, again the change in the terrain is noticeable. We are driving through some high plains areas and the lovely green of the north is giving way to dry rocky country. Paul wanted to stop for lunch along the way but the M50 by pass around Madrid offered very little in the way of options. We ended up at the Parador and put the car into the garage and checked in. It was quiet walk on this holiday into town, there are a lot of people about for a Friday afternoon but it is a college town and this is when most Spaniards go back to their pueblos to honor their dead. Kind of like Día de Los Muertos in Mexico but without the fiesta feel to it. We had passed lots of people in Burgos carrying flower arrangements.

We ate at Lizarran, the chain for the home of the pintxo in Spain. Huevos rotos with Iberico ham and a solomillo steak satisfied our hunger pangs. Siesta time. It had been quite long drive and I guess we are feeling a bit off, we are really winding down from our trip. It’s a strange I wanna go home and a I’m not ready to go  home! In the evening we walked to the bar one street over from the Parador, it looks like a large plaza but is the top of the Parking garage and for tapas we had their tortilla de patatas with goat cheese added. Great!!

We had to find replacement Hair combs for Mackenzie’s flamenco dress outfit. Of all the places we tried in Alcala (selection was limited with holiday closures) We found them in the Chinese Bazar (that eliminates the potential drive to Toledo on Saturday. Tomorrow is our last day in country and I’m not sure what we are going to do!

Here endeth Day 17, and so to bed!