Day 4 Sunday 28 October Parador Gredos (Anniversary day)

Day 4 Sunday 28 October Parador Gredos (Anniversary day)

Every day starts with a Parador hearty buffet breakfast. As today marks our 48^th wedding anniversary, Paul brought 4 flutes of champagne to the table to toast his bride and UK friends. Only at a Parador breakfast buffet do they include Cava!!   Overnight there has been a very wet snowfall of about 4-6 inches covering everything. There were breaks in the clouds allowing patches of deep blue clear pockets of sky to shine through and illustrate the 6 inches of ‘New’ white stuff covering everything. It was a wet snow so the youngsters at the Parador had built a small snow bunny next the Parador placard.

Forgot to mention that on Saturday we had passed a small mini-van bus with about 25 hikers each with a 2 quart wooden woven basket for collecting the mountain mushrooms in the near hillsides around the Gredos national park. The privately held fields had signs posted to the mushroom hunters to enjoy themselves and hoping them a plentiful harvest but keep the area unspoiled during their ramblings, please. There have been loads of hikers setting off from the Parador parking lot. No wonder Spain is now # 1 worldwide in life expectancy! All that fresh food and exercise must be doing something.

Sat around the lounge before setting out to a fancier place for Menu of the Day at 15 euros a person. Oddly enough there were no others in the dining room, most unusual for a Sunday lunchtime. After lunch we went back to see the mountain goats at the Plataforma de Gredos, part of the Parque Regional de La Sierra de Gredos. There are mountain walks and for all levels which I declined to participate in, as I had left my hiking boots at home and because it was so damn cold that my poor feet, which are numb anyway, were like blocks of ice! My companions used my excuses as their own but that’s ok because we are too old to go hiking down icy mountains in an early snow storm anyway!

What a surprise, because of the fresh snowfall and artic winds, the herd was down the hills on the roadway and the park’s parking lot, many were licking the salt from the blacktop’s surface. The snowplows had put grit on the road along with salt. Dave took a couple hundred photos and everyone felt the blast of cold air each time we stopped for someone to exit for that final pic! It really was an amazing sight. Huge males with magnificent curved horns keeping an eye on the youngsters and the ladies. Youngsters playing and butting heads and leaping from rock to rock and virtually paying no attention to all the humans gawking at them. Stupid people moving up close to get pictures on their cell phones and scattering the whole herd. (it is a herd isn’t it? I’ll have to check on that).  It proved that persistence pays off. It is magnificent country which would be better enjoyed warmer!

Off we went back to the Parador to thaw out, to sit and talk and reminisce and drink wine. We have not run out of things to talk about, perhaps that is encroaching age or just being with people you truly love and do not see often enough. Whenever we meet we pick up where we left off and our friendship strengthens.

Because of our anniversary we decided that Sunday evening meal would be in the Pardor restaurant proper. We had the place to ourselves as most hotel guests had packed up returned to the warmth drier climbs in Madrid.

Day ONE, TWO, and THREE 25 October thru 27 October

DAY 1 Cocoa Beach to Parador Gredos

Bright and sunny 78F in Cocoa Beach High NOON departure and to Melbourne Airport with our Uber Driver – Cathie. Right we loaded the suitcases into the Honda and the puppy into the second row to nap as the new adventure trying to jump onto tall suitcases.  Anyway, the short trip took hardly anytime before we were off loading and hugging curbside for Delta airlines.

Sunset from Parador Gredos

Jane commented that it felt weird flying up to Atlanta as all the window shades were down to block out the sunshine/heat but made it feel like a cave elevator with no view to the outside. The Taxi to the end of runway felt like the pilot actually drove the HUGE distance from Melbourne to Daytona Beach before he stopped and turned onto the active runway. It probably was only a mile or so but with closed window shades you have no way to judge distance.

Smooth sailing up to Atlanta arriving at Terminal D and needing to get over to Terminal E Gate 4 which was the next to last Gate. It was an hour flight to Atlanta, the food was excellent but the soup was Pumpkin Bisque versus the Thai Coconut Shrimp that Paul had dreamed of. We both managed to sleep for a few hours, which is always a plus when you have driving to do when you land.

Hertz did not have our rental ready to pick up (a minor mix up over credit card dates, etc) Seat Alhambra SUV/Van with plenty of luggage capacity. Off to the M-40 Madrid Ring road at rush hour time. Oh my! We had forgotten the aggressiveness of the Spanish driver when he is late for work!  A hectic drive with plenty of stops and merger but after an hour we left the outskirts and began our climb into the mountains west of the city towards Gredos. Not sure what Paul has punched into Garmin but we saw a lot of lovely scenery on the way! Arrived at 2:00PM checked in and wandered away to the nearest village some 7 Km away for a spot of lunch.

National Park of Gredos

We met up with Dave & Joyce at about 5PM and began our catch up on news/happenings from both sides of the Atlantic. For those of you new to our travel blogging, Dave and Joyce are our oldest friends. We have been together from the beginning of this adventure we call marriage and adulthood! Joyce was a teacher at the English school in San Sebastian while Dave, Paul and I were in Gorramendi/Elizondo. We have partied, travelled together, raised our kids and still managed to sustain a close loving friendship across two continents.

Day 2 Friday 26 October:

Friday or Day 2 in Spain was a Parador buffet breakfast and we set out to visit the Parador Jarandilla de la Vera some 102Km away from here. David was navigating and all roads were coded as country roads (white roads and often one lane) with slower speeds and guaranteed curves/switchbacks over the mountain range and down into Valle de La Vera famous for growing the peppers for making paprika powder and cherries! Let us not forget the cherries! We passed the Monasterio De Yuste, where Carlos V died and a cemetery of German sailors from WW2! Now, why German sailors are buried so far from the sea, I don’t know, but there they are!

As always, our ultimate goal is Lunch.
Paul and David are on a permanent quest for the ultimate and cheapest menu del dia! It makes for some interesting meals, I don’t know who is winning but so far 8 euros for a full meal including wine and desert and coffee is holding the lead! A late lavish lunch means a lot of talking, reminiscing and laughter. Just the thing for old friends catching up after a couple of years! The restaurant was one Paul and I have visited before so a good time was had by all.

Losar de la Vera is the next little town and topiaries line both sides of the main highway through town, quite a scene and a labor of love, I think. It began to drizzle so we headed home around 6:00PM to the Parador. It had been a long day so we opted for snacks in the cafeteria of the Parador.

Gredos was the first Parador opened in 1928 by Alfonso 13th and they are proudly celebrating their 90^th birthday this fall 2018.

Day 3 Parador Gredos (Exploring the area)

Saturday,  Parador breakfast buffet to stock up for the day off to see the Mountain Goats of Gredos in the National Park. Paid 3 euros to enter the park ground even with the clouds reaching down to our area of the park. The park’s parking lot was at 5,000ft upon which the clouds soon decended. However, along the way to the parking lot of the Platforma National we saw many wild and domesticated horses, cows but NO long horn goats. After two hours of freezing clouds we ambled back to the town of Hoyas de Pinar for a coffee and likely for lunch. Along the main drag we found a general store which allowed Dave & Joyce to buy edibles for their long drive on Monday up to Parador Olite. The group spotted a collection of BMW motorcyclists who had stopped at the café opposite the General store almost covering the Menu of the Day sign for 8 Euros.

After lunch Paul went back to the Parador for siesta while Dave, Joyce and Jane went back to the National Park determined to see the famous Gredos Long Horned Goats. As luck would have it, a family of about 7 goats appeared high up on the hill, a telephoto lens was needed to view but at least we had seen the goats.

 

INTRODUCTION TO BLOG from Cocoa Beach FL BEFROE Travel Begins!!!

INTRODUCTION TO BLOG from Cocoa Beach FL BEFORE Travel Begins

After a busy and hectic first 10 months of 2018, it is finally time to plan a refreshing respite to our beloved Espaňa. Our normal springtime trip in May/June had been placed on hold until the fall timeframe. Luckily Delta airlines recognized our ticket purchases from late in 2017 and gave us until the end of November to re-book our flights without a reticketing charge. With airlines booked it came time to map out our anticipated route and to maximize our time to re-charge our batteries. As such, we have the following agenda with means we will see our Madrid families (Juanmi/Maite, Alberto/Pablo) Los Tios, Gill Fischer-Groves on the Med, our longtime friends from the UK (Dave & Joyce Murray), Alexis & Guillermo plus the girls in Madrid, and last but not the least, a chance to see the latest (newest) addition to our Spanish family: 'Julia' born in Pamplona 10-15-2018:

  

Parador Gredos                                           Parador Lleida

Vallodolid                                                     El Campello

Puente Viesgo                                             Cartagena

San Sebastian                                             Parador Lorca

Elizondo                                                       Parador Alacón

Zaragoza                                                     Torrejon de Ardóz