Category Archives: Spain

Goodbye Bilbao … Hello …

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Today was definitely a very late start day. The locals were eating when we went out, which hasn’t been the norm. Maybe we are learning to relax a bit? Heh.

We wound up at the Plaza Nueva, and enjoyed our coffees and choices of breakfast food. I’ve no clue what Dan had, but my croissant was so large he had to do me a favor and finish it for me. (But the angle from which this is taken makes his treat look rather small and it really wasn’t quite like that. Honest!)

We had asked the desk if we could have a late checkout due to our later, 16:55 flight, but that was denied, but they told us they could hold our luggage for us, so that worked too. Up to our room we went, and did a variety of wasting time kind of things, and packing (but hey, I had already done that … some other person had to do a lot more. Hah!) before we went downstairs prior the checkout time of noon. We got to the desk at 11:58. No one was there. Okay, can’t be our fault if it’s after noon, but yours truly always gets uptight about time. When someone finally showed up she immediately knew our room number. I have a feeling she had us pegged for annoying tourists or something, but who knows?

Then we took a walk in a direction we had yet to go, and ended up climbing up a hill for a pretty good view! We spotted the funicular we took the other day (final photo).

Then back to the hotel. We figured we could eat at the airport lounge, saving a bit of money as well. We collected our luggage, grabbed a taxi (not literally), and took a short but somewhat costly ride to the airport. (I do wonder if Uber would have been less, and we knew we could take a train and then a bus but we went for simple and easy.)

We checked our larger bags (required not only because of our trekking poles but because this plane said we wouldn’t be allowed as much carryon luggage), and went through security in pretty much no time, even while we had to take all electronic devices and cameras out of our bags and I had to remove my sweater and scarf. But hey, shoes could stay on.

Up to the lounge we went, and food was had. Even the lounge had 0.0% beer. It appears it’s everywhere.

We had gotten to the airport with a lot of time to spare, so that meant blogging, resting, and time for coffee and sweets too.

Finally on to the plane we went. And oh my, the woman to my left, who spoke English much better than we could speak French, had a long story to tell about her car rental and getting charged for damage. She was a character, for sure.

The flight was non-eventful, and since I was in the middle seat I didn’t get photos, aside from before the woman arrived and when she went back to talk to her partner.

We landed, got out of the plane, bought an expensive bottle over water (nearly $4!), and … hello Brussels! But not for long. We had a long walk to the baggage area, collected our bags eventually, and walked to the train we needed to take. With help from a very kind young man we got tickets, first to the south Brussels station and eventually to our next destination. Oh … and three of the photos below (the last three) are of bikes … like SO many bikes. I am not sure if you can see them, but I’m hoping you can make them out. This was at the train station in Ghent, I think.

Hello Bruges!

We took a cab to our hotel, and then … hooray … after getting to our room we met up with Jan and Greg (for those who don’t know, my sister-in-law and my brother). Let the fun begin! Sadly I didn’t even think to take a photo of them or our room, but after getting to our room, the “upgraded executive room” or so we were told, we went to theirs. Now wait a minute! Theirs is much, much larger than ours! What is it? The presidential room or something?! Hmmm.

We enjoyed glasses of wine, some chips, and devoured the remainder of Greg’s breakfast sweet since we hadn’t managed to get any dinner. (Thanks, Greg!)

Now, back in our room, it is late and we are ready for bed. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. (Internet is extremely sketchy here, so I can’t promise posts will get through … time will tell.)

Welterusten!

Final Full Day in Bilbao

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We woke at our rather typical late time. It’s so funny, because Dan simply can’t sleep in at home (I can) but here? No problem! He did a bit of laundry and I contemplated my luggage: aside from two very small items I purchased there is nothing new, yet the bag is more packed than ever. I think I need to take everything out and redo it all before our flight tomorrow.

Yes. Flight. Stay tuned for our next, and final, European destination!

Once Dan was done with laundry and all we went out to get breakfast. (I wonder if I’ll feel the need for breakfast when we get back home: I really prefer to wait and eat after my walk, but is this becoming a habit?)

Breakfast was in the same place as yesterday. We found it, but only after Dan got 45 degrees off and I came to the rescue. I get a bit gleeful when Mr. Direction gets off and I figure things out! No chocolate croissant this time, but this other delight, full of butter. Not just plain old butter, as it turned out, but very, very sweet butter. Oh … and this little bird was there, as it was yesterday. Maybe a resident? (Sure, might be a different bird, but I prefer to think this is its home.)

Back to our hotel, we then packed up our cameras and readied ourselves to walk to the not-the-Getty, or “Gettyheim”, or maybe (could it be?!), the Guggenheim. (And don’t laugh, but I wanted to type Gettysburg at first. Okay. Go ahead. Laugh!)

We had an hour before out 11:30 entrance, so we didn’t exactly hurry over, and we did take some photos. The first thing we encountered were these bikes and I just think this is lovely. (Well, except some goof got her finger in the first photo!)

And the more photos … that tube like think takes you down to the Metro, I think. (We’ve not used it, but what else would it be?)

This building intrigued us and I would love to know more about it:

And more walking which did take us to the Guggenheim.

The above is for you, Lisa! 🤣

Mostly, for the interior, I’ll let photos tell the story. In the past I’ve not shared photos of artwork, as it never does it justice, but since many might not get to Bilbao, I will do so this time. I did limit myself, though, so there aren’t a zillion photos.

I really am now a fan of Helen Frankenthaler and I’m embarrassed to admit I’d not heard of her before.

Next up was the Richard Serra The Matter Of Time installation. The first one you go through is a rather lengthy bit of traveling yet when you reach the center it’s a large space. Nearly everyone I saw enter after I reached the center had a smile of surprise — it was fun to see. Others were tighter spaces all the way through, and I thought it was not only about the structures, but about the comfort or discomfort of passing by other people. Light and shadow were also fascinating.

Maybe all of that isn’t as interesting if you haven’t experienced them live and in person … I wonder! There was also a room with photos of other installations and … wait!? … on in the Bronx? It just looked like something in the street, but now I’m curious.

Okay, I’ll stop with those now (although there was another image and the info said that it was destroyed by the US government which I wondered about.)

Then we moved on to another installation. I sat down and watched. Eventually Dan went behind it and, as it turned out, he started a new trend. No one knew you could do that! (Later, when we saw it again, no one was behind it any longer. I don’t think people realize you can do that. They need a Dan to help them out!)

From there it was time for lunch. Museum lunch. That means it’s not cheap, but we did manage to avoid the more costly restaurant there and instead did the bistro. (They have a very expensive restaurant on the outside of the museum as well. Think we’ll skip that, too!)

Back out for more …

Rooms with art by Tarsila Do Amaral:

Then a Sol Lewitt which always makes me think of our daughter-in-law Lia Lowenthal, a fine artist herself, and do check out her jewelry.

Now not all art appeals to everyone, and we did enter a pop art room that just wasn’t something that grabbed me. But hey, I don’t like the Franck d minor either, so whatever. Maybe I’m clueless!

The next exhibit was a 1 minute light show in a small room.

But now I’ll just post the small remainder of what I shot inside.

Yep, that was it. We also went outside at just the moment some fog or some such thing was billowing out from underneath the sidewalk. Shortly after it stopped. I didn’t see any write-up about it, though, so I’m not sure what it was about and I’m too lazy to google it at the moment.

Side note: google … what a funny thing that it has become a verb. I just think of, “Barney Google, with his goo goo googly eyes.” I suppose I’m showing my age to some but, trust me, that song is much older than old me!

After 5 1/2 hours at the not-the-Getty, aka the Guggenheim, we then walked back to our hotel.

And a fun thing to see —

When we got back to our hotel we didn’t nap, but we relaxed and started our writing. Meanwhile, beneath us, it sounds like a saxophonist is practicing. Poorly. Some buskers are pretty good. This one? Nope. Nope. Nope. It’s rather painful, to be honest. But at least I can recognize most of the tunes. Sort of. Maybe. And to think they made the bassoonist leave. It’s not fair!

Finally … dinner! We went first to the breakfast spot and had some pintxos there. A nice place, friendly people who put up with our attempts at Spanish, and good food.

Then, to do things the proper Spanish pintxos way, we went to another place to finish up. Another big yum! Dan has been so cooperative with my photo taking and I’m grateful. Notice his exciting 0.0% beer. Again. He’s being a very good boy.

Then back to our hotel we went. (Okay, truth be told another gelato was enjoyed, but I’m not going to tell you that. Got it?)

I leave you with a goodnight photo from our little balcony.

Or make that two:

Adios!

Monday’s Story

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A full night’s sleep is never a guarantee even at home, but on trips I might sleep straight through maybe once or twice. I recall being awake an entire night once in London, in fact. I’m used to it, so it certainly doesn’t stress me out. This past night I thought to get up and look out the window for a night view of our little part of Bilbao. A much quieter scene out there! And it had rained.

When I woke up “for reals” (does every kid say that?) and we got dressed we went out to see what we could find for breakfast.

Several places, including yesterday’s spot, weren’t yet opened: seems that before 9:00 not all places are up and running. No surprise to me, since I’d read about that. I did a google search on “coffee” though, and yes, just down the street was a place that would work. So we had our coffees and, this time, chocolate croissants. Then it was back to our room to ready ourselves for a little train ride.

Yep, heading out for a day trip. I had read about a fishing town that might be a pleasant trip, so for 7€ we got on the train and had about 1 1/2 hours to sit and relax.

Our destination was the last spot our train would stop, so there we were … hello Bermeo!

Never heard of it? Same here. But I just searched on, “What to do while in Bilbao” and it was one of the suggestions.

We got off the train, fortunately having saved our ticket since we needed it to exit the station (this is common, but something I have a tendency to forget on occasion). Then we walked.

Eventually we walked along the jetty. Now you know me — fear of heights and all that! — so with no railing at the edge I stayed close to the wall. I also didn’t go up the stairs that would put us even higher. (Dan later went up and said it really wasn’t worth it, so I’ll take him at his word.) It looked like walking the jetty back and forth a number of times is a popular thing to do in Bermeo. We saw a number of people doing that. Lazy us only walked to and fro once. But it was lovely. It was also warm, since it shielded us from any wind and the sun, even with some clouds in the sky, was hitting the wall and making it even warmer. I had been prepared for wind and rain!

After that outing we went back to look for lunch. And yes, it took us a while. We just weren’t sure what was open, what had food rather than just a bar, and whether any English would be spoken at all so we were hoping for a menu. The first place we finally thought would work turned out to be closed just then. So on we went.

Eventually we found a place. No English, no menu, but we know how to point and we know how to say “dos”, and we also know how to ask for beers. So we were set.

As we ate the TV was playing (without sound) some sort of game show. What a mystery it is when a show is in (silent) Spanish! We pulled ourselves away from the mystery of a game show eventually, and headed out to explore more. Maybe I’ll let the pictures tell the story as I so frequently do.

We had a bit of a climb (and I must say I so enjoy these climbs now!), and there was a lovely view.

Also at the top there was a wall full of text and photos about the whale industry. I shot photos of the whole thing, but I’ll just share a few here. I was hoping that, at the end, we’d see something that explained that whaling isn’t as popular now and why, but nope. Just the wonder of whaling. (The one that said “Whales never abandon their calves. This is an advantage for whalers,” was rather sad in my opinion.)

Then back down the hill we went.

And back to the train for our ride back. We weren’t quite sure how to buy the tickets (not sure why it was more confusing than the other station), so a man who spoke no English who worked there helped us. Sort of. He had us buy the card that will then allow more trips if we load money on it. It cost is a whopping 22 cents more than the first ride! No biggie, but it did seem funny to me. Both of us fell asleep on the train at some point — trains do that to me a lot of the time. No need for a siesta back in our room, I suppose! I only took a few photos from the train.

We exited the train station and, because we were so well behaved, we treated ourselves to gelato. I’m sorry but we have no photos for you: we gobbled it all up!

Then, as we were walking back to our hotel, Dan heard music and started to say something which I missed but I suspect was something like, “Am I really hearing a bassoon?” And yes, in fact, he was. I tried to take a video but as I was starting to do so the police drove by and the bassoonist had to stop to talk to them. We are guessing he didn’t have a busker license because he then began to pack up. Too bad, but as Dan said, “Play a bassoon, go to jail.”

And finally, back in our room we went. For quiet time … except I opened the balcony door and a busker was singing (amplified) and eventually Dan had had enough and closed the door. Of course we could still hear him, but it was much more subdued.

It was nearing 20:00, so we went out to see about dinner. We first passed a place right next to our hotel that Dan said got stellar reviews. We thought we’d try to get reservations for tomorrow. No dice: we were told they weren’t open tomorrow. So we asked about tonight. Only outside seating was available, and the street wasn’t one on which we’d like to sit for a meal with their prices. So off to the Plaza we went, and for under $30 (yes, dollars … I get notifications from our card and they translate into dollars) we had ourselves some pintxos and drinks.

After that we ambled a bit and … uh-oh … we wound up at “A Slice of San Sebastián”. Oops. That was really going a bit too far, considering the gelato from earlier. But I took one for the team and ate most my slice. Dan, being the kind man that he is, helped finish mine for me. He is such a giver!

Then back to our hotel, and on the early side! As I type this it is only 9:43. Amazing. Tomorrow the <strike>Getty</strike> Guggenheim awaits! (The Getty/Guggenheim thing has now become a bit of a joke since I tend to use the G names interchangeably. No clue why.)

Ciao for now!

Today’s Adventures

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Woke up on the later side today, and after doing my ever-important Wordle (the streak continues!), shower, and a bit of laundry, it was breakfast time. Since we opted to skip the 10€ each breakfast here at the hotel we went to the place about 30 seconds away and had our coffees and croissants for less than 10€ total (to be specific in dollars, it came to $9.67). Yes, sometimes we are thrifty that way.

Then back to our room we went, to decide what today should bring. It was much quieter outside, but still there is a bit more noise than in any other city we’ve visited. (The music in our breakfast spot was rather loud. Of course, typical of me, I didn’t recognize songs at all, so I googled one. Heh. Serena Gomez. We’ve seen her on Only Murders in the Building but, while I knew she was a pop singer, I’d never heard anything of hers before. Quite different than her morose character on OMitB.)

Dan checked out ideas and we settled on things and went out the door. The timing was perfect, as there was a little parade out front!

Then we followed a similar but not identical route, because we had already decided where we’d get lunch. (Sure, we didn’t eat breakfast that long before, but we only had coffee and a croissant so why not? Besides, we are in Bilbao and PINXTOS!

I took some photos as we walked, of course. This time that included a menu we saw that was of interest to us.

And then we ran across this. I don’t know what kind of weight lifting event this is, but the woman was clearly able to lift the thing multiple times. I didn’t even record the whole thing!

More walking to our destination, so a few more photos.

And then, where are we, you ask? Well, we went to the same place we had pintxos yesterday. I have to laugh at us sometimes: there are a zillion possibilities and we end up at the same place. Still, we did order from a different place, and that counts for something, I think. Oh … and we’ve noticed the use of “collaboration” several times now. So I think it means more than I think it means. Or something.

After our lunch (which, honestly, was quite light), we walked up the “not a river” for a time. And yours truly figured out she had north and south completely switched around. As always. We reached a place where there was selling going on. I saw coins, books, DVDs, and at the next stand, plants.

This man caught my eye because he was holding a clock and eyeing it the whole time.

More walking, including the Zubizuri bridge, some team that walked by (CCF?), a quick view of the Guggenheim Bilbao, and then to the Funicular de Artxanda or Artxnada ko Funicular, you choose.

We had read that the views at the top would be good. We read correctly!

We did a little walking then, and noticed so many playgrounds. I should have taken photos, I suppose, but you’ll have to trust me: we saw a good number. I did shoot graffiti, though. Go figure.

We took the funicular back down, and then made our way to Guggenheim.

This time we did go over the Zubizuri bridge which took us over “not a river”.

Okay, to explain about “not a river”. I had been calling it a river, and then Dan read that it was an estuary. I prefer calling it “not a river”, but the funny thing was that when I took the video neither of us came up with the correct name!

This is a sculpture called Las Sirgueras (The Rope Girls) and is by Dora Salazar. The rope girls used only ropes to pull vessels full of iron down the “not a river”.

We didn’t go in to the museum (we have tickets for another day), but we spent some time taking photos.

I loved seeing Jeff Koons “Puppy”.

More walking …

Then back to our hotel we went, for a brief siesta or blogging session. I wonder who did what?! But, well, someone might not have napped after all because we opened the balcony door to let fresh air. It’s much quieter here today, but then … ta-da! … an accordion arrived. We now know, since we walked by the sax player yesterday on our way to dinner, that the buskers are pretty much right below our room. We are on the second floor, so we are above them, but boy does that sound travel. (When we went up near the Guggenheim (thank you for the alert, Lisa!) we saw another hotel we had considered. It was very quiet, but we agreed we are enjoying being in the middle of it all!)

And why do I know this tune so well? Someone know?

As a sort of off topic aside, as most people know I’ve pretty much lost my hearing in my left ear. It happened shortly before our 2023 ten week trip and I’m pretty much used to it now. When we were on that long trip, I’d sometimes ask Dan, “Do you hear some sort of faint Gregorian chant or something?” He never did. My ears were playing tricks with me: when there is a lot of noise I can’t hear clearly, and somehow my brain turns the noise into the faint sound of shingling. Sometimes it’s all men. Sometimes not. It’s always some sort of chant, though. That just happened here, as the sounds down below, now sans accordion, meshed together and I heard men singing. It’s not all together bad: I do love a good Gregorian chant now and then. Later tonight it was a men’s group singing a drinking song. Yes. Really. Am I crazy? Well, of course. Am I crazier than I thought. Um … don’t answer that!

But I ramble …

Finally, dinner! Let the dinner search — a comedy, really — begin. We started out looking at a few places we saw earlier in the day, along with some I saw online that got good reviews. But no, we can’t just settle that quickly. So we walk some more. And more. And then we end up where we began, at a place I’d just seen with good reviews. (At least we got more walking in, right? But still my Apple Watch is not impressed.) There were instruments on the wall. A good omen?

When we went in we were seated, looked at the menu, and had a question about the monk fish since it looked like it was at market price. We asked our waiter. Both of us heard “fifteen” and assumed it was 15€ per some sort of weight. Fine! I’ll get that, thank you very much. Dan ordered the cod. We also got “natural asparagus”. And OH the yum factor was very, very high.

Then the bill came. My fish wasn’t 15€ per something, but it was 50€ total! Eek! Well, this has turned into the most expensive dinner on the trip. Go figure. But still, it was delicious, and in our neck ‘o the woods it probably would have cost us a total that was twice as much. Still, I think we need to be more careful and ask for clarification on things sometimes.

Once dinner was done (after 22:00), we went outside and headed back to our hotel. Sort of. Someone (I won’t name him) got turned 90° off once we entered the Plaza Nueva. Someone else (I won’t name her either) was correct in her directions. No need, though, to point out who was wrong or who was right, yes?

And now goodnight. We’ll see what excitement tomorrow brings. I’m hoping it’s not the 50€ sort of excitement, but you never know !

On The Track Again

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… and the road as well, of course.

We were up before 6:00 to be sure and get ready to catch our taxi to the train station. We weren’t able to take advantage of the breakfast today, and this is a note to myself to remember that buying breakfast at a hotel might not be the wisest move. Check your train schedule first! The station (Segovia Guiomar) is a bit of a drive outside the city of Segovia. When we arrived at the station the meter said 15€, which was more than our drive to the city. Then when he plugged in the fee on the device for using a card he put in 16.40€. Heh. I guess he gave himself a tip.

We were there plenty of early: security wasn’t even open. But that gave us a lot of time for our breakfast and then just sitting around. Looking at the board we saw our train would be late in arriving. I checked the Renfe site and if a train is 15 minutes late I think we get 25% of our payment back. I’m hoping so, since I paid far too much for this train. We aren’t on the high speed Ave train, but the slightly slower Tren Alvia. If I’m remembering correctly it can go on the high speed track but also the other, which is why we needed it, I guess.

When we finally boarded our car was at the far end … of course! According to the schedule we had one minute to get on, but there were people working on the train who were standing outside and I’m certain they were watching to be sure we all got on. It turned out Dan and I are sitting behind each other. Hm. My mistake? I really don’t believe so, but who knows. There was a man in Dan’s seat, but he quickly moved.

This is not a fancy train. The seats are in somewhat tattered condition, and it’s just less slick than the Ave, but it is a step up from some of the trains we’ve been in (and even more than a step with some in the past!). We stopped at two stations before we reached the one that is the end of the train line for us when we had to transfer to a bus.

I was checking the real time schedule and it was kind of funny: they updated the delayed train times, listing our arrival at 10:37, but still had the originally scheduled bus time up of 10:30. Believe it or not I wasn’t at all worried, though. (Just a bit miffed we had to move to a bus!)

When the train stopped in Miranda de Ebro we were all instructed to disembark so we could take the bus.

Everyone congregated near the train exit, and eventually we all walked around the block to the buses. No instructions were given so we just went to one, I got on to secure seats together and Dan put the backpacks where luggage is stored. While we sat there Dan suddenly thought to go ask and make sure we were on a bus to Bilbao. Turns out the other two buses would have gone directly, while ours was stopping in Llodio, but at that point there were no spaces on the direct buses. I watched as he talked (and laughed) with one of the train people. Turns out she has relatives in Santa Clara so he said she should visit. Apparently she replied, “Maybe in four years!” Gee, I wonder why?! (Sigh.)

The bus was a typical bus — very little room and of course no food services, but who would expect that, right? But here’s the thing: we all were in the same situation, but some of us paid for the most expensive train seats while others did not. Turns out we really should have gone cheap on this particular trip; I think this was one of the most expensive trains we had! (And of course I should probably have canceled and purchased cheap seats when we were told we’d have to take the bus. Hindsight is so darn useful, right?

And then we were off. Slower than a train, but faster by far than walking so whatever! I only snapped a few photos, as it wasn’t all that easy to shoot because of the freeway (if they call it that here) was in the photos.

We arrived in our next, and final, Spain city …

Hello Bilbao!

Getting out to the bus we managed to find our way to our hotel, a whopping seven minutes away. We couldn’t get into our room yet, but we could check in and drop off our luggage.

Then we walked to a square called Nueva Plaza. It was full of people. The center, which was blocked off by tape, was holding a “Free Palestine” event. We sat on the outside of that area and ordered pintxos and drinks. It was crazy noisy, but it was Bilbao and we were happy to be in the city. Dan had had a hankering for a Gilda (a particular favorite pintxo of his), and it was fun to finally have one.

I’m not sure what this small parade was about …

After sitting for a good amount of time we walked a bit since it still was too early to get into our room (we had to wait until 15:00). Because we had to use up more time we had to get gelato. Makes sense, yes?

And then we could get in so we went to the hotel and got our key. We went up to our room, and the housekeeper was still at work! Thankfully there were chairs by the door and we just waited there until she finished.

Then we went to get into the room. Neither of our key cards worked! Dan went back downstairs to the front desk, and I watched our luggage. Then the housekeeper saw me there and when she realized I couldn’t get in she gave me a key that did get me in. By the time Dan got back upstairs I’d gotten the luggage in the room, but we did verify the keys he brought back did actually work.

The room is large and will be just fine.

We are above a spot where there are crowds and when I opened the window it was very noisy, but when I closed it it was amazingly quiet. Good thing, since we were both pretty tired and needed short naps!

A bit later I would feel like I had to take the “amazingly quiet” bit back because suddenly some sort of music was playing and it was quite loud, as I think this video will show. And SO many people. It’s quite the lively place!

Ah … but, as it turned out, I hadn’t closed the door completely, thus it was noisier. That was a relief to realize.

After resting a bit, writing more of this entry, and hanging out a bit, we went to explore. The crowds, to be honest, are a bit of a shock after the other places we’ve been on this trip. Maybe it’s just because it’s Saturday, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings. We walked a while, just checking things out.

Right near the last photo was a building that housed a number of pintxos restaurants (if that’s what they call these little spots), and we ordered a few and enjoyed them with our first vermut. (Who knows, could be our last as well, as we are limiting alcohol consumption more than we used to.) Another Gilda was enjoyed, along with a few other things.

We did more walking, leaving the old part of the city, eventually entering an area with a lot of popular brand name stores. We were looking for a place to eat a bit more for our dinner, but weren’t having much luck, but the crowds, again, were really something else.

(The second to last photo above is of our hotel.)

But wouldn’t you know it … we ended up at the same square where we had lunch. This time we ate inside a place (yes, noisy!), and just had a few more things and our 0.0% alcohol beers.

Getting back to our hotel Dan opened the door to let some fresh air in. It was about 21:30 and the noise outside was still wild and crazy. I wonder if they have rules about how long it can go on. I’m guessing so. But I’m going to bet it’s not 20:00 when it has to stop!

But thus ends our very long day. I’m not sure, at this point, what tomorrow will bring. We have a few things on the list, but we’ve yet to decide what we’ll do. Stay tuned!

Gau on! (Basque for goodnight, I hope. I’ve read two different suggestions. “Gau on” and “Gabon”.)

Another Day in Segovia

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You know the story: first we eat breakfast. We are predictable that way. Once breakfast was eaten it was back to our room. I think Dan was writing more in his journal. I was just hanging out and wasting time.

Then a lot of bell ringing took place. And then more bell ringing. It didn’t seem to be signaling the time, though.

When we finally went out the door and crossed the street a hearse went by. Ahhh … perhaps that was the bell ringing reason?

Cities (and towns and villages) usually have graffiti. In Santiago de Compostela we noticed it was quickly covered over in the old part of the town, and I think it’s very similar here. Walls show evidence of paint. But it appears it’s not easy to keep up with. (And doors are another story: I suppose that might be up to the owner of the door, maybe …?)

Again with the stairs. I’m happy to do them, but sadly my pants are still too tight. Maybe I should have sent Dan on his way and done them a few times. Or not.

Today was our Alcázar day, so we had that specific location to aim for. Up to Plaza Mayor, past the cathedral, a quick shot of another wall since I’m rather enamored of them, and we were there.

I noticed some other tourists looking up at a tree and of course I had to look as well. And how about that. A number of stork nests. I even saw some young’uns up there.

We purchased our tickets and walked around a bit. I must have been using my Fuji camera because the two photos below are all I have, other than the birds.

The time passed quickly and in we went. It’s quite a place. (Rather cold, though, so we’ll skip moving in.) We did most of the rooms, up until our time for the tower arrived.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with the tower. With my fear of heights some towers are a big issue. This one had a good number of stairs (and my pants are still too tight), with a spiral staircase nearer the top. When we finished the climb I found out I could handle the height problem pretty well, as there was more room than many towers have.

I stayed up for longer than my normal, “I gotta get down” time. Dan stayed longer. On the way down we went by a room that we were told had been a prison for important people. No, they didn’t ask me to stay.

Another level down and I was closer to my comfort zone.

I waited for Dan down below and when he arrived we finished off the rest of the palace tour. (We had purchased the audio guide.) Then we left the grounds and walked toward the Plaza Mayor via a different route.

We found a lunch spot, and sat down and did a bit of people watching. Young people, that is. They looked to be university age, and many were speaking English. The outside area was primarily of them, and the few tables in the back — the ones in the shade — was mainly older people. Go figure! We assumed school had let out early since it was Friday, and the place we chose to eat must be their hangout. We ordered our food and sat for a good amount of time.

From there we decided to find the other end of the aqueduct, heading a different way than we had been before. We did manage to find the aqueduct. I continue to be rather astounded by it! Again I was challenged, due to the height of the viewpoints where we stopped. I did my best, but eventually had to go into a safe corner while Dan continued to make photos.

(And no, Dan wasn’t eyeing that young woman in the dress! Really. I just wanted to get a photo of her and he happened to be in front of me.

Finally it was time to head back to the hotel. Passing by a few places that caught my interest — or caught my iPhone’s interest.

From above I heard some singing. I hope it can be heard on the video.

We walked down to the base of the aqueduct and took a different route to the hotel, just to see what we might find. The church looked to be abandoned. Oh … and the photo on the shopping street has the iris store. Have you seen those? You can get a “family photo” by having everyone in the family get a shot of their iris. We’ve seen these stores in nearly every city as well. Between that and ALE-HOP I think we humans are rather odd!

We arrived before 17:00, and had a fair amount of time to waste since dinner probably can’t be until 20:00 again. I worked on this entry, slept, and enjoyed a cup of coffee. The last I did while sitting at a little table in our room, with the door to the very tiny balcony open, so we had fresh air and I could hear the sounds of the city.

And then I received a reminder message from Renfe, the train company for which we have tickets tomorrow. Part of our trip will be via bus, it seems, because the track (or something) is being worked on. I have no idea what to expect or how long it will take. I’ve always been a huge fan of trains, but this particular trip has had a few problems. I dare not complain, however … we are very fortunate to get to do what we do!

Eventually it was time to do a dinner search. I had hoped to maybe find something on the earlier side, but it is pretty difficult to eat before 20:00. We walked up the non-stair way. I’m not sure why we usually went with the stair option, but there you go. There were tons of people strolling along, similar to the Italian passagiata (sp?). LOTS of college age people, so now I want to read up on the university here.

And then we were surprised. The carousel we’d seen on other walks was now up and running. And it was just the best carousel ever! Steam punk good. I hope this video will show you that. I took a longer one, but this is probably easier to load.

From there we ended up walking up to the Plaza Mayor again. It seems we are destined to eat there! And yes, dinner it was. The server we first had didn’t speak a word of English and we were having a rather funny time communicating until he called for “Mikey”. He had a bit more English. So we figured out our order … sort of. I had ordered some croquettes as a main, and a cheese dish for the two of us to share, while Dan ordered some pork. But they didn’t understand how we wanted things brought out (our fault for not explaining) and the croquettes came out first, as an appetizer. So we shared those. Then the cheese (incredibly yummy) came out so again we shared. Finally Dan’s pork came out and I had nothing left so I ordered some scallops. Truth is, I shouldn’t have: we had plenty of food. Dan said what with our difficulty in communicating and all, he saw the servers laughing about it all. Heck, we laughed too! But the food was good and it was nice time.

Oh … and it looked like another stag party was taking place. I wish I’d gotten the guys bearded face, but this will have to do.

Then it was back down “our” stairs and to the hotel. We had contemplated getting gelato, but we didn’t need it, it was getting cold, and we have a very early morning wake-up call.

Buenas noches!

First Full Day in Segovia

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Breakfast wasn’t until 9:00 today, so we could really take it easy. I did hear some sort of pounding noise around 8:00 (if not earlier) and finally went to open the window. Then it was tremendously loud! A man was working below us on a stone wall. I’ve no clue what he was doing, but I was then very thankful for the double paned windows here!

Breakfast was downstairs. I can’t remember now, but I must have gotten a good price to have paid for this (just like Santiago de Compostela). I think it’s the breakfast that wins the “most selections” prize. For me that doesn’t make a whole lot of difference: I simply don’t eat much for breakfast since I don’t eat any breakfast when we are at home.

Going out our hotel door we saw this scary creature.

From the hotel we went back up those wonderful stairs. (I’m hoping they help with all the food I’ve eaten!) Time to get up to Plaza Major again!

We had planned on going into the cathedral but when we reached the Plaza Major there was a small market so we first went around that. It’s fun to see all the food, even while we can’t purchase anything at the moment.

Then we did finally go into the cathedral (having purchased tickets on our walk there: gotta love the handiness of purchasing online while walking to a place!). The cathedral was huge, and I took a lot of photos. I won’t be explaining any of it (hardly needs it, really), but I will post a ton of photos now.

Out the door we reached the cloisters.

There were rooms with tapestries as well. (I had to zoom in on the flute and bass players!)

I find the art and the building so amazing. We Protestants seem to have rejected all of that when we rejected Catholicism. I’m embarrassed sometimes by our lack of taste and beauty! But that’s all I’ll write about that — you don’t have to listen to me whine!

Our cathedral ticket also included the Episcopal Palace (because of course a Bishop needs a palace!). So we walked a whopping three minutes to get there. Okay, four probably, because I first walked right by the alley where we were supposed to turn.

Most of it wasn’t of great interest to me: I’m really not into fancy silver and gold “stuff”. But still I managed to take some photos.

But really? An escape room in the palace? Okay, then.

Soon it was lunch time, and we ended up back at the plaza to have that. I would have written “to have a light lunch” but nothing seems to be light here! But hey, at least we had “cerveza sin alcohol”. (In other words alcohol free beer.)

Next up was a walk to the aqueduct. And yes, there is an ALE-HOP here. What a relief. Or not.

Finally, just WOW! The aqueduct is astounding. (Also below are a few non-aqueduct photos.) How in the world they built that thing is mind boggling. And it goes on and on. We walked one direction, up until it stopped. Perhaps tomorrow we’ll go the other way.

After that it was time for our little siesta. Or blogging. Or both. And more — I made reservations for a restaurant nearby. We’ve learned that if we can do that it’s a safer way to go. It’s supposed to be a “Castilian restaurant with a twist.”

Now that reservation wasn’t until 20:00, so we still had time to do more. Seemed as good a time as any for a shower and a wee bit of laundry.

And then it was time. We aimed toward the restaurant. It was only four minutes away, and when we got there (six minutes before our reservation time) it wasn’t yet opened. A woman sitting nearby asked us if we were waiting for it (in Spanish, but we could figure it out) and we said yes. We surmised she was doing the same. Since it wasn’t yet opened after we waiting until 20:00, we went up to the next level, took a photo or two, and waited. Nothing. And more nothing. Finally we decided to walk back and try the door. Nope. Locked. And then we saw a car pull up, a guy get out, and run up with a key. The woman who had been waiting went toward him, as did another woman. Just putting two and two together, we figured both of them worked there. Okay, then. Still nothing was happening.

And then we gave up. There was a restaurant up the stairs we had also considered, so we went there, we were told we could get right in, and I canceled the first place.

Now, for those of you who are anti-meat, skip this next part, please.

I had read that one must order the suckling pig in Segovia. I’m not normally a pig eater (I do fish and poultry), but I try to experience the flavors of a place, so we went for it.

First we had soup, which was delicious.

Don’t look at the photo if you are opposed! They first show you the thing whole, and then take it away and cut it up like this.


We also had delicious potatoes because, of course, potatoes! Spain loves their potatoes.

We also had lovely desserts. (And the price of all this was probably about half of what we’d pay in our neighborhood.)

Final thoughts: I doubt I’d order suckling pig again. Just not really my cuppa, although it wasn’t awful. But I am glad I tried it. I like to experience food of the culture!

We walked back to our hotel then, and I typed the rest of this up while Dan read up on sausages (I’ll leave that story for another time).

Now to bed with us. It’s late. We’re tired, and gosh, we have to wake up for an 8:30 AM breakfast. The horrors! Excuse any typos and silly or poorly worded sentences. It’s late (20:41 here) and my brain is rather fried.

Adios!

Moving On …

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We woke on the early side (for us), so we could pack. I was finished by 8:10. Dan … well, he finishes up after breakfast. We both have our systems!

Then off to breakfast for our final time here. I’ve really enjoyed this hotel, as well as this wonderful city, and I do want to investigate doing a Camino at some point.

Dan opted to go for a sweet treat at breakfast! (After having his more healthy options, of course.) Hm … he doesn’t look to happy about it! Or perhaps he’s growing weary of me taking photos of him with food. Hah!

After checking out of the hotel we waited outside for our taxi. He arrived a bit after we got out — enough time so that I of course wondered what was up. Once we got in the car he drove past places we had visited and eventually out of the historical part of the city. Suddenly graffiti appeared. I think I neglected to mention earlier that any graffiti inside the old section is obviously painted over very quickly. You can see things on doors, but never on walls. The traffic to get to the train station was heavier than when we arrived, but we got to the station just fine.

And then there was a line. For the first time on this trip we had to go through security at a train station. Portugal doesn’t have that — at least not at the stations we used — but I had read about the security lines in Madrid so I wasn’t surprised that there was one in Santiago de Compostela as well.

We got into our car, and attempted to log into their free wifi. Nope. Not happening. I think they must have had some sort of internet issue. The info that told us our speed was clearly not working either, and for the entire trip the next station was listed as one that was, I think, the stop before we got on.

We were served lunch at about 11:15. We both ordered the 0.0% beer, but I guess we weren’t clear about that because we were given regular beers. Ah well. We’ll suffer and drink those instead.

I loved looking out the window and seeing how green everything is. (Well, except when we are in tunnels, and those are frequent.)

Later we were higher and at times could see bits of snow in the mountains. And poppies … lots and lots of red poppies! I don’t think I managed to shoot those, though.

Eventually we arrived at our transfer train station.

Hello Madrid-Chamartin-Clara Campoamor train station. We’ve been to the Atocha station, but this one was new to us. It was a bit of a confusing place, and we had to ask for assistance. I sure wish we could speak Spanish, but thankfully a man could manage to help us, although he said he only spoke a bit of English (better than our zero Spanish!). Turned out we had to go out an exit, walk a bit to the main station, and re-enter, going again through security. (I do wonder if we could have taken an escalator up to the station and avoided the security lines, but he suggested that wasn’t possible so we took him at his word. Still, I saw an escalator right out of the train and it appeared to go where we needed to go. But who knows?!)

Once we got through security I looked around, hoping to see the lounge. I was rather sure I had looked it up and that there was one there. No dice in finding it, though, so Dan went and asked at the info desk. That didn’t get us anywhere, so we just stayed in the big room with everyone, waiting for our track number to appear. Back when we were downstairs I could have sworn I saw departing trains listed, including ours, with track 25 listed for us. Hmm. It wasn’t up on the board. Yet.

Until it was. And it was (ta-da!) track 25. Go figure.

So goodbye Madrid. It was strange to be there, but not really.

Our next train — another fast one — was, for us, very short. The next stop was ours. So, as Dan said, we really did have a “short ride in a fast machine”! (If you don’t get the reference you will have to do your homework and google that.

Just a bit about the tunnels: they can be very long. And there are a lot of them. Rather than go around a mountain, they just go right through. It’s quite something.

And now where are we?

HELLO SEGOVIA!

This is our first visit here, and as we drove in (via taxi), I was surprised to see all the bricks. Not our typical sized red bricks, really, but lots of them on nearly every building on the newer parts of the city. The older part is a different story.

We first got into our room and put our feet up a while. Somehow a train trip like ours can kind of zap one’s energy. Possibly partially because of the unknown, since we hadn’t done this trip before, and certainly because of lugging our backpacks and other bags around. I told Dan that I actually would have liked a roller suitcase because then nothing would be around my neck. (I should have him take a photo of me: I have the backpack on my bag and my other smaller pack — the one I carried on our Douro walk — around my neck, but hanging in front of me. It’s awkward and heavy!)

Our room is nice, quite large, and I’m sure we’ll be quite comfortable here.

After a time of rest we went out to see what we could find. Segovia was a place we really knew very little about. I had opted to come here because, for one thing, Jameson and Meghan (our younger son and daughter-in-law) had considered it when we all met up a few years back. But also it was the way we could get to our next destination in a rather easy way. (When I reveal that location you might scratch your heads a bit!) So off we went, and up a lot of stairs we went. I didn’t realize the hotel I chose wasn’t in the old part of the city, but just outside it. Ah well. I guess I didn’t research well enough on this one. But hey, we’ll get our stairs and our iPhones will rejoice, I’m sure.

After reaching the Plaza Major we felt the need for some ice cream. Go figure. The cathedral, which is just off the plaza, is really amazing. We checked it out, but didn’t go inside yet, and continued our walk.

As I wrote earlier, there are bricks here. I think what sets them apart from the ones in our area is that they tend to be longer and thinner. Some of them are also a different color. But once we started walking we noticed a different exterior wall treatment that is very common. I found it rather fascinating, having never seen this look before.

We saw some plaques in the ground that I later learned are about the aqueduct. I read that it was built around 50 BC, and the plaques show where it was … I’d explain more but I’m weary and you can research it if you’d like!

We checked out a little bit of the Jewish Quarter, and if I understand what I read they have a Camino as well. (But I could be wrong and, again, I’m too weary to check at the moment!)

Our walk continued …

And this was the first of these we found. I hadn’t realized they were in Spain as well. They are painful to read, but important to remember.

We then reached the Alcazar. Again, we didn’t go in, but we spent a good amount of time outside making photos.

Back to the plaza we went, passing by the cathedral first.

Another reminder of an awful time …

And then dinner. It was a rather odd combo I had, but tasted good. Maybe eggs, chicken, and shoestring (or whatever these are called) potatoes are a common dish here. Dunno! Dan had a fave of his: the patatas.

Then it was time to walk back to our hotel.

And now I must say buenas noches. I’m tired!

Final Full Day in Santiago de Compostela

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Morning: breakfast. Of course. Showers were taken. Figuring out how showers work sometimes can be a challenge. I know it’s silly, but honestly, it takes me a while to figure out how to move from the hand held sprayer thingamagiggy (the technical name) to the overhead shower. This was one of those times.

After we got our things together we went down to the main square (Praza do Obradoro) to meet a tour guide. I signed up (just this morning) for a “free tour”. If you’ve traveled you’ve probably seen them. We were to look for the blue umbrella (I also saw orange and red). When we all had assembled our tour guide handed out the headsets so we could hear her. She was informative and fun. We saw many of the places we’d already visited, but she gave us new information. One bit was that Rúa do Franco wasn’t named after the dictator. Yesterday we had puzzled over the name, so we were happy to hear that bit. We went to all the squares we saw yesterday, plus a few new spots, and she took us back to the park we visited as well.

Our final stop was in front of a church which is now an Episcopal church. Funny story: the patron who paid for this church is included in the scene above the door of Mary, Jesus, Joseph, and the three wise men. Gotta love what money can buy!

Our guide said the doors aren’t frequently open but they were today, so before going to the market she pointed out we went inside the church.

Then we walked to the market.

Since we didn’t see anything at the market we would want to have for lunch, we opted instead to find our way to a place that sold empanadas. We took our time getting there, though. It wasn’t really lunch time in any case.

Even when we did get lunch it wasn’t quite lunchtime on the Spanish clock, but whatever. We eat when we eat (and you can quote me on that).

Then more rambling. That rambling included seeing this photo. If you look back at my park photos you see these two women there as well. Apparently they became rather popular and now if there’s a meet up and people say to meet at las dos Marías everyone knows just where to go. (The park, not this photo below!) You can read about them here.

In some cities I’ve marveled at the fabulous fabric stores. It’s so sad that they are disappearing in California. I wish I had an extra suitcase to fill with fabric!

More wandering took place (along with a stop to get coffee and the wonderful Tarta de Santiago. It’s an almond cake (and gluten free, actually). Quite tasty. I didn’t do a lot more photography: I suppose I was running out of steam since, aside from the coffee stop, we’d been on our feet since we went out the hotel door.

Back to our room we went. Siesta time!

And then we went back out … and so much happened!

First, we walked a new direction (funny that we really thought we’d seem a ton already!) ending up back at the church we saw yesterday. We went inside, but it turned out you needed a ticket and you couldn’t get it there. Such a shame since it seemed really wonderful from our brief look. Then we headed the other direction to look for a spot to catch a drink because … well … we needed to spend some cash to get change to tip the housekeeping for tomorrow! Yes, that would be the only reason to get a drink (and, as it turned out, some padrón peppers). Oh … and you can see pilgrims in identical shirts: that is rather common, although not every group does that. (I did tell Dan that if we do a Camino I think we should have matching shirts … I’m not sure he’s buying it!)

Photos up until then:

And then a wonderful thing happened. The two women next to us started talking to us. They had just done the Camino. It was so great to hear about their walks, and I just enjoyed their company tremendously. This is one of the joys of traveling: you run across people that are just so fun to talk to, and it just makes my heart happy. I do hope that Kathy and Shane look at this blog sometime so I can thank them for the great conversation! (And yes, I did ask permission to post their photo!) You two are fabulous, and maybe we’ll even see you on the train tomorrow since it appears we are going on the same one!

After spending a good amount of time in conversation they departed and soon after we did as well. It was time to wander and see if we could find a place for dinner.

We passed last night’s dinner location, and … well … the “obo” part … had to post a photo of that, right? I’m sure it was about the OBOE, after all. (Did I post one yesterday? Who knows? I’m too lazy to check!)

We found a place nearby that could take us even while we had no reservation. Whew! Food was great, and then we met another couple who had done the Camino as well. At this point I’m just so completely humbled, but also wanting to do a Camino! Maybe we oldsters could manage … time will tell! Anyway, conversation was fun, but the noise in the restaurant was so loud, and with my bad ear I was starting to feel a bit ill: noise seems to do that to me for some reason. But food was delicious so there’s that.

Every time we get back in our room and put a key in the slot that turns on the power the TV comes on. We are not TV people when we are on a trip: we never turn it on, in fact (even when it’s in English). Somehow TV just seems so unpleasant to us when we are out and about. But tonight I share this with you. Just because!

Then it was back to the hotel. Even late at night (22:00!) it’s still not completely dark, and it was quite pleasant out.

Oh … that man in the right hand photo about … he was working when we went by at 9:50 in the morning. He was still there at nearly 22:00 (10:00 PM). (Maybe he takes a long siesta, or maybe he just works very long days?!)

When we are on trips the TV never goes on, but at this particular hotel it goes on whether we like it or not: the minute our key card goes in the slot that turns on the power, on goes the TV. I quickly turn it off. But tonight I share this with you — I know my Spanish speaking friends will know what is being said. I sure didn’t!

And with that I say buenas noches or boa noite. You choose. Tomorrow we have a couple of train trips to our next city. Stay tuned!

Monday in Santiago de Compostela

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We woke for our “early” (heh, at home this would be late) breakfast at 8:00. They provide tasty options and made Dan his espresso and me my cappuccino. The photo I am sharing is of one portion of our food choices, in another area there were artisan breads and a few cereal options, including Sugar Pops. Hm. I can’t remember the last time I had those, but I do believe it has to be over fifty years ago! (And no, I didn’t opt for them. I always choose the scrambled eggs because if I have too much sugar in the morning I eventually get the shakes. Yes, information you didn’t need, but hey, I’m a sharer! 🤣)

Then it was time to go back to the room and Dan did some writing while I goofed off a bit. Eventually (we move slowly) it was time to walk out of the hotel and do more exploring.

We went first toward the Cathedral, but of course were waylaid so I could pose (I was trying to look like a thinker but somehow that just doesn’t come across with my face. Go figure.), and then I took a few shots as well.

While Dan continued to shoot in the courtyard where my “thoughtful” photo was shot, I went around the corner and noticed that a line had formed for the cathedral entrance so I got in that line. Dan eventually came around the corner as well and I, being the gracious person that I am (HAH!) allowed him to join me. Then into the cathedral we went. It was quite beautiful and the organ … just wow!

Then the organist began to play …

From there we walked to the supposed tomb of St. James. Is it true? I sure wouldn’t know: one site I read suggested it was highly unlikely. But down we went. You file through a narrow way and see a very ornate coffin.

From there you really have no choice but to follow the line taking you up some stairs and from what I surmised there is a large stature (icon?) that looks rather gold but who knows that some will then put their hands on a pray. (They do suggest not kissing it for hygienic reasons!) I walked on by. Maybe it’s a huge meaningful moment for some Catholics, but for this Protestant it is not. (No photos were allowed.)

Then back down the stairs we went. By this time the cathedral was getting pretty full and the tours were in full swing. (Dan had to skip making one photo because what he wanted to shoot never did have a time that worked without the tour groups.)

And then I filmed some more as the organist continued playing.

After exiting the cathedral we walked down through the old part of the city.

Then we crossed a street and entered a park.

We went to the top of the park and a crew was setting up carnival rides. Some were already pretty much set, but there were two guys setting up the Ferris wheel, and some others looked to be testing a ride.

This truck … well … just strange so I had to shoot it!

Workers in action:

From there we made our way back to the old part of town. The crosswalk with the green man was fun … he goes faster when time is running out. (I really should hold the phone the other direction … oops!)

We had a nice lunch. I think, though, that I need to brave it and speak more Spanish (I have to look things up, but at least I know how to pronounce things, contrary to Portuguese.) I think the server was a bit frustrated with us. I could be imagining it, but … well … it wouldn’t hurt to try and speak in Spanish more than the “ola”, “gracias”, “por favor”, and “adios”, right?

More walking transpired. There is so much to see.

And yes, there are the sad things too: there are beggars, some of whom are on their knees with heads bowed, a sign in front of them asking for money. Others sitting (frequently with a dog, it seems). And in some areas there is a distinct smell of urine. City life. We have it. They have it. But here, unlike some cities, no one has come directly up to us and even followed us as we’ve had in some places.

Eventually we had to try come churros. I don’t mean to say we wanted to. We had to. It was the right thing to do and we like to be right!

More walking. I was pleased that I guess that the guy on the top of the pillar pictured below was Cervantes.

You find this shell embedded in the walkway … it’s the sign of the Camino.

You also see signs of protest now and again.

This old church (in the photos below) designed in 1590 had the coolest series of stairs going down to the doors. We walked down but someone was standing in front of the doors so either we weren’t allowed to enter at all, or a mass was taking place and then one has to wait to enter. We decided to just go back up and head to our hotel.

And then I got my directions wrong and our hotel was behind me when I thought it would be in front. So much for my sense of direction! But we got back to our room and started our writing and various other things.

Next up: dinner search!

No, these two photos aren’t of dinner. The fabric store caught my eye, as did the play on The Ramones. I guess I’m easily entertained.

It’s so strange to go outside after 19:30 (see how very cosmopolitan I can be?) and it’s still light outside. But there we were, and there was the light. And where was dinner? We walked to three places: the first was a tapas place, the second a more expensive place that had no openings for the night (we’d been warned about that), and the third wasn’t open at all. So we walked a small amount, found a place that could take us in 15 minutes or so, and waited in the bar area. Soon we were seated. Soon we ate too much food (no, no photos for you), and not soon we left … we do take our time when we are eating!

The walk home was nice. Perfect temperature, and hey, I even found our place while Dan turned the wrong way. So there’s that.

Now we have to attempt to sleep after eating dinner so late. We’ll see how that goes!

Adios!