Parauta and beyond (May 12 - 18/HOME)

May 12 -- Parauta -- Day 2 -- Headed off for a hike after breakfast. Took the trail to Cartayima -- and we had no idea what we were in for. It started off fairly cool and heated up as the sun rose and came over the mountain. We could have used more water as about 65% of the hike was uphill. But, at the bottom was a nice creek -- and Dodie was smart and took off her shoes and waded through. The last hour of our 1:45 minute hike was uphill -- we kept looking for the town around the next bend...the scenery, different flowers and trees gave us many opportunities to stop, look and sometimes take some photos. Once we got to Cartayima, we asked a woman, donde esta restaurante? -- She pointed up over the hill, on the other side of the church. And after walking about for 10-15 minutes, we found ourselves back where we started. Dodie then asked a man where was the restaurant and he pointed the way. We followed his directions and when we got about where we thought we should be, we saw another man and asked, donde esta restaurante? He looked at us like we were strange, raised his arm and shrugged -- so I asked again -- he raised his arm again and shrugged -- then we turned and saw that we were right in front of the restaurant, but had missed the table and chairs that sat just outside the door -- crazy Americans! -- After a cerveza, 2 waters and a pit stop, we headed back to Parauta -- and made it back 15 minutes sooner because so much of the trail was downhill. Stopped at creek and stuck our feet in....it felt soooo good! When we arrived back in Parauta, we were exhausted but happy that we made the trek. Of course, we stopped at the pub and had another cerveza and agua to celebrate. We had a big dinner -- and there was no way we could have eaten all the points we earned on that hike!

May 13 -- Parauta am / Ronda pm -- We hiked along the trail to another town in the morning -- but ran out of trail just about the same time we needed to head back, as we needed to check out and go back to Ronda -- Seems we made a bit of a mistake on the train tickets and had too go back to Ronda to change them -- but happy to say this was our only transportation mis-step. We had a great walk -- down to the valley and up again -- and wished we had time to go to the next town and back. Packed up, called a taxi -- and while we waited, the woman gave us a flower and showed us a lookout on a patio above the hotel reception area.. WOW, what a view! We then headed for Ronda to exchange our train tickets and find an internet cafe so we could check in with our 'home girls' -- who no doubt missed us and our Skype/e-mails.

May 14 -- Ronda AM -- Ciudad Real PM -- We spent the morning touring Ronda and then headed to Ciudad Real. In Ronda, we walked across the bridge, separating the new from the old city, and into the NE side of town, known as the San Francisco area. Much of our walk took us through the residential area, which allowed us to see what most tourists do not, like a water cistern (see photo) that was a couple of centuries old and many family run shops with friendly service and excellent prices...like a $2.75 bottle of wine, which was actually pretty good! We didn't get to drink it until our last night in Spain, but it was worth hauling around and glad it made it all the way to Madrid. In the PM, we headed to Ciudad Real -- Of course, David was there to pick us up and after dropping off our luggage, we headed out for tapas -- of course. David had a paddle match, so we were on our own. Yes, we got lost yet again while trying to find the square -- Judy was sure she could find it. But, after 3 attempts that all ended back where we started, we opted to have dinner where we had tapas a couple of hours prior. Fortunately, the waiter took a liking to us and we had a very nice dinner.

May 15 -- Ciudad Real am / Madrid PM-- David picked us up and we walked to the 'square' -- the one we were in search of the night before. We walked in, through and around the square, met up with Cruces and then had lunch at the University of La Mancha -- Then, David dropped us off at the train. Walked from the train station to our hotel, which nearly killed us...not too far, but we had all our luggage in tow. This served to confirm a taxi ride to the airport, rather than taking the Metro. We got to Madrid early enough to the Prado Museum, one of the world's great -- museums. We saw many works by velazquez, Francisco de Goya, El Greco, Bosch and many others -- most of which we had never heard of, but it was interesting -- We read a lot of titles, listened to the self-guided tour recording -- and although we would flunk a quiz, we did enjoy seeing so many great artists. After 2 hours, we were done so we headed back & got up later to enjoy a good meal at a vegetarian restaurant a block from our hotel.

May 16 -- Madrid -- We still can't believe that we are in Madrid, Spain. COOL!! Today we are heading to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum -- which has an outstanding Impressionist collection -- The highlight was Picasso's Guernica -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_(painting) -- We also so many other artists, but really enjoyed Picasso and Dali -- After a siesta, we headed to a vegetarian restaurant recommended in one of our guide books. It took a bit of doing and walking to find it, and when we did it was not yet open. We headed to the Puerta del Sol to do some shopping. What we didn't anticipate were the thousands of people who would also be there. We did a bit of shopping and strolled through the sleezier district -- where prostitutes and sex shops were prevalent -- and we were considerably under-dressed. The restaurant was good, though a bit pricey, and we had a long walk home. We ended the day with over 37,000 steps.

May 17 -- Madrid -- Our last day, and we wanted to make the most of it. We headed for the Palace -- walking through the Plaza Mayor (square built in 1619) on the way -- We were able to only 15 rooms, but that was enough to get the idea... A little Baroque, which may be a contradiction in terms -- but we enjoyed seeing and hearing about the history of the Palace and those who lived there. We then did some shopping -- but was a bit of a challenge since it was Sunday. We found a Midieval street fair, where Judy ate meat (hopefully it was not from the midieval times) and Dodie did some shopping. Although we were way across town, we relied on our map skills and perserverance and made our way home -- not without a couple of stops for cerveza and ice cream -- Justifiable consumption! -- After a siesta, we headed out for dinner -- We ended uup at a local pub, had some pub grup, but a really good time. We enjoyed the experience and toasted to our last night in Madrid, Spain!!! Pinch, pinch; Dorothy, we are not in Kansas any more.

May 18 -- Madrid AM -- USA PM -- Taxi to the airport, duty free store stop, and nice flight home. We both had to forfiet our wine -- as we had to go through security once again in Newark. However, we both made it home -- safe and sound -- and can't wait to return to Spain. Hasta la vista!

So behind, but what an adventure! May 5 - May 11

May 5 After breakfast, we met Eric (our young, fringe-hippie, English speaking tour guide) at the Plaza Nueva and went on a 'walking tour' -- Learned mucho -- mucho -- Eric was a great find as it was the first person since our arrival that spoke 'American' -- He was knowledgeable and just geeky enough to give the group a good and entertaining tour. He recommended a visit to the Gypsy (now called Roma) caves, which were a few kilometers east of the hotel. We decided to walk, but missed the sign and increased the length of our journey by at least 2k. This would not have been too bad if it were flat and cool, rather than hilly and 90 degrees. Nevertheless, we found the museum of Roma caves high atop the mountain. See photos -- the Roma lived in these caves -- and some still do -- which had 2-3 rooms as well as rooms for cattle, storage, etc. -- They were cool in summer and warm in winter, which meant no utilities...and they were allowed to live there free. Now, many of these caves are inhabited by Spanish hippies -- yes, we felt like we were back in the 70's, live and let live. Fortunately, the bus was coming when we were leaving the caves, saving our soles for another day. We ended our day with tapas and cerveza at a square just meters from our hotel. OLE!!

May 6The bus to Cordoba took longer than expected, but we needed a rest from all our walking. Checked in at the Hotel Cordoba Center -- very swanky -- and headed for the old city of Cordoba. It being 4:30, there was little to nothing open -- so we had beer, tomato salad, and potato salad (which Dodie ordered but because it came with tuna, Judy 'had' to eat it)...then we headed out to see what we could see. It is now the Festival of Patios where many decorate their patios with flowers and pottery -- (see photo) and they have a contest for the best patio. We've seen about 6, and hopefully will see more tomorrow. We took the 'long' route back to the hotel and as always, we managed to find our way to our destination. After a rather dodgy dinner, we called it a night!

May 7 Up a bit early -- 9:30 -- and heading to the sites before the crowds get too grande. We first visited the Mezquita, which is well worth the visit to Cordoba. (See photo) We probably need to put a link on our blog (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezquita) so you can see and learn more. What an amazing place. We then went to Alcazar, which are Roman baths with beautiful gardens. We ate lunch at a local restaurant, returned to Alcazar and then headed to the hotel for a siesta. Also: We are having some difficulty translating to restaurant staff that Dodie is vegetarian, so today we looked up the word for allergic (alergico -- pronounced 'ah LEHR hee koh') in hopes it will encourage the cook to not add ham or tuna as a topping -- Tonight we are going to visit more patios and find a good restaurant! Tomorrow we travel to Sevilla...

May 8 Bus to Sevilla, then taxi to the Hotel Lars -- 2 stars down from our last, a bit older, but clean -- while Dodie took a short siesta, Judy went to look for a laundry and get some info -- after cerveza and a mushroom tapa, the dry cleaner was located...they do not have Laundromats in Spain...However, we did find some laundry soap...so we can continue without smelling like the hippies we left behind in Cordoba

May 9- In Sevilla, we continued to perfect our ability of getting lost in the maze of tiny, winding streets. After giving ourselves plenty of time to meet with our tour guide, we just barely got there in time. She was delightful, and we left with lots of little tidbits about life in Seville. She told us where thee best Flamenco show was, for the least money, so after several circles around the neighborhood, we found it, bought tickets, and feeling that we now knew every street in that part of the city, headed to our hotel, only to find ourselves exactly back where started. We did get better after that, and returned that evening for a very interesting program, and no, we have no intention of giving you a show when we get back. After the show, we were able to walk directly to our hotel -- no detours or side trails!

May 10 - Tiring of cities, tourists, cars, buses, cathedrals, and skinny, twisted streets, we headed for Ronda. Ronda is a small 'white town' on the edge of a gorge and surrounded by mountains. We arrived in time for a parade, which appeared to celebrate about 15 nono and nina's first communion (see video). It was fun to watch all the people -- many in traditional dress -- over 90% of the Spanish population is Catholic, thus most events/celebrations involve the entire community -- this was no exception.

May 11 - Wanting to hike at a 'Natural Park,' we headed to Parauta by taxi (10km) -- Parauta is a small 'white town' with about 300 people, one hotel, one restaurant (owned by the hotel), a pub and a church. Our cottage/cabin-like accommodations were atop a mountain and needless to say, the views were incredible. We wandered around town (which took about 10 minutes), then went to 'the' restaurant. When Dodie tried to order vegetarian, the waitress went inside and out came Veronica (aka the Dutchess -- our nickname for her) who spoke perfect English, and therefore she served as our translator. From our brief conversation, we learned that she had worked for Egypt Airlines and was living alone and trying desperately to lead a solitary life. Also an artist, we found that she had painted post cards and many small paintings that were scattered about Parauta and Cartajima (see tomorrows blog). Very interesting...and she was able to tell us where to hike...and where to get some food. Answer: At the restaurant, where we go lunch (with dos cervesa- of course), a loaf of bread, liter of olive oil, a bottle of wine, and 1/4 wedge of moncheago cheese for 32 Euro. OLE! We downloaded our groceries and headed for a trail outside of town...where we walked for about an hour among the sweet chestnut, olive, cork oak and other assorted trees. After dinner, at 'the' restaurant,' we opened the windows (something we were unable to do at our 'city' hotels), buried ourselves under the quilts and slept like bears in hibernation.

April 30- May 4th

April 30 Dodie arrives in Madrid
David and I picked up Dodie from the airport - "OLE!!" -- and drove to Toledo. We had lunch with Luis and David from .University of Castile de La Mancha. Dodie took a long-needed nap and Judy did her last presentation to some Ph.D. students and a few teachers. We then picked up Dodie and saw a bit of Toledo, with David as our guide, and Dodie had her first creveza with tapas (this time it was olives). Later we met up with two teachers (friends of David's) for some more tapas (shrimp, cheese, stuffed red peppers) -- One bar had a glass floor with an underground limestone cave exposed...very cool...we went to another bar for more tapas, before heading back to the hotel...which by the way was very old, castle like, with a beautiful garden.

May 1 -- We met David at 9:30 for a walk around Toledo -- so much quieter than the evening before, when there were literally hundreds of people walking through the streets -- about 11am more people came out -- there was a festival and holiday and everyone was out.Some were camping just outside Toledo, up on a mountain -- After going to an overlook for a final look at Toledo, we headed to Ciudad Real. On the way we went to see some windmills -- like those slain by Don Quixote -- had lunch with Cruces, David, and Elena. In the evening we went to a 'Natural' park to see some birds -- most water birds -- and many different types of ducks...then went back to David and Cruces' for dinner...and some laundry

May 2 David and Cruces took us to a winery for a tour and of course a taste test -- emmmmmm -- They took us to lunch at a vegeterian restaurant -- YUM -- Later we went to a handball game..Ciudad Real (the home team) against a German team -- close match and the home team won!!We then went for tapas (of course), before calling it a day.

May 3 Traveled to Granada by train -- very different landscape, mountains and thousands of olive trees. Train was easy, but we had to wait 45 minutes for a taxi when we arrived -- Festival of Crosses (Cruses) was in full force and not many taxi's -- but we got to our hotel (which used to be a convent) -- very cool -- old Spanish style hotel in the middle of Albaicin -- the heart of old Granada. Of course, we headed out with thousands of others to enjoy the Festival -- Visited flowered crosses along the way and spent most of our time walking around the Cathedral Iglesia Del Sagrario Capilla Real -- very old and beautiful, but the highlight was the concert (see photo) -- where we heard many traditional songs, sung by singers in traditional dress -- and walked among many families with children dressed in traditional dressas well...wow, what an experience.

May 4We started the day by walking around the narrow streets in our hotel's neighborhood. It was authentic old Spain, with churches,cats lounging in the shade, the smell of mock orange blossoms and Spanish cooking, old ladies in cotton dresses, slowly walking the steep cobblestone streets, aided with double canes. We had tickets for a guided tour of the palace of Alhambra, a huge ancient moorish, then catholic fortress. It takes several hours to see the entire fortress, and we had been warned to be at the palace on or before 6, and we had a feeling that something dreadful would befall us, if we didn't make it. Perhaps it was our fear of hanging, our our shameful knowledge of Spanish, or our general daft natures, but our trip to Alahandra, looked more like an episode of the three stooges. We got on the bus with plenty of time to spare, but as the bus neared the fortress, we realized our tickets were still in our room, so we stayed on the bus until it went all the way around to our hotel again. After getting our tickets, we caught the bus again, this time arriving at Alhambra with a little time to spare. We showed our tickets to a couple of ticket takers who assured us were headed in the right direction to eventually reach the palacio. So we wandered about the gardens, admiring the roses, the perfumed air, and the water fountains and flowing aqua ducts everywhere, which was a sign of power for the sultans. To us, it was a sign of our lunchtime beers and aging bladders, and we soon found ourselves looking not at the views, but for a bathroom. There were none. Eventually, that problem was resoved, but we wondered why nobody was gathering at the palace, so we found yet another guard, who told us we were on the opposite side, away from the Palacio. Okay, so I don't run any more, but I am sure my walking pace was much faster than my old jogging pace, or perhaps the 80 degree weather made it seem so. We arrived at the palacio in plenty of time, as there were at least 75 visitors, half who hadn't arrived yet. Then we were let into the opulent, exquiste building, with guides here in there, all explaing the place in languages we didn't understand. So we just admired the intricate carvings and awesome views, and thought of the hundreds of lives long gone who created the masterpiece. It wasn' a totally successful day, but our mantra is que sera, sera. We just go with the flow.

May 5 Tales of a walking tour ... w/photos...hasta manana!

way behind, I know, I know

Yes, I am way behind but my hosts are keeping me busy. I just finished my 5th presentation...just one more to go. David, Crucis and Elena toured me around all weekend...and I am posting a couple of photos...Yes, photos...of their family and some of the places we have visited. We have cafe three times a day, which I have determined to be the basis of my sleepless nights. Currently I am in Albecete -- and returning to Ciudad Real tomorrow...and then going to Madrid to pick up Dodie (Thursday) then going to Toledo for my final presentation and some touring. Gotta go...it is 8:50 and time to go to dinner...yes, dinner. More later...

Day 2 in Ciudad Real

Ahhh, another day in sunny Spain. Yesterday I went to the university to do a presentation to his ´Game Performance´class. The students were much like ours, shy at first and attentive until the 2nd hour when the warm classroom and spring air got to them. I enjoyed it and I think they did to. David then took me to a pub adjacent to campus and we had a short beer (just like me) and they came with a small plate of food, which they call tappas...eggs, potatoes, onions, and peppers all fried up together...OMG...delicious. In the evening we played ´paddle´which is a combination of racketball and tennis. I was aweful but he and his friends adjusted the game so I could play...they wore me out. We ate dinner very late, 11pm, we then cleaned up and went to bed. Today the conference starts...where everyone will present in Spanish. This is going to be interesting! Adios, until tomorrow. TSO

OK, so getting here wasn´t the easiest thing. Missed my flight in Cleveland, which caused me to miss my flight to Madrid. Although I got here without my luggage, I was able to find David and get to Ciudad Real. There are more grapevines here than you could imagine, and hope to get some photos in the next couple of days. Then, there are windmills every where -- and castles -- grapevines older than the USA. The food here is to die for. We had ham, cheese, wine and bread for lunch and then David made me an omlette for dinner. We had to eat the leftovers of ham, cheese, bread and wine along with the omlette, but I managed to get through it. The fact that I am still awake is surprising, but now that I have posted my first blog from Spain I will go to bed. More tomorrow, along with some photos! Adiose, amigas (and amigos) XOXO TSO

One more sleep

Packing...