It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I assure any readers (are there any readers?!) that I have been busy with some plans. In addition I’ve been doing my daily walks (Sunday being my day of rest so I rarely walk then), and most of my walks are with my sister, which is a real joy. I’m blessed to have her so nearby. Never did I think I wanted to walk with someone else, but she and I seem to be a pretty good team!
I’m also trying to get my oboe playing “chops” back in gear. I took a hard fall a week ago, but I finally attempted to play yesterday and I’m able to do that with no issues, aside from sounding awful because I’m out of shape. (Side note: NEVER pull out your phone to read and continue walking. Uneven sidewalks can be a very dangerous thing!) But I must get my playing back in gear since I really do have to work this coming season. (Is it horrible of me to say I was sort of hoping I could not play so I could claim disability? Yeah, that’s probably not a good thing to say. So never mind that.)
But here’s a bit of travel news:
We have a wedding to attend in September. Initially we thought we’d also incorporate a visit to the east coast for fall colors but, alas, we decided money wasn’t there for such a trip. We are blessed to be able to take the trips we do, and I work hard at not being envious of those with the finances to do more — we can do SO much more than many of the people I know. NO complaining from me allowed! But the fall colors trip was tabled. So it’s a weekend wedding in Vermont and a short visit to Boston — a place we’ve not been yet and figured we’d see since we have to pay for flights back east anyway.
We also have a Chicago trip planned because my “Germany brother and sister-in-law” Greg and Jan (to distinguish between them and my “Brooklyn brother and sister-in-law” Timothy and Margaret) are going to be there and when Greg suggested a meet up there was no way I was going to say no!
And, finally, we are going to do another walk! This time it will be a Cotswold walk, and Greg and Jan are joining us. That trip will involve more planning, and I’ve yet to figure it all out, but since it is not until the spring of 2026 I have a lot of time to get that one figured out. Some things are already on the calendar (and partially paid for with no refunds allowed … eek!). We opted to go with a company for the walk, just as we did for the Great Glen Way in Scotland and the Douro walk in Portugal. I think, though, that I should maybe get my act together and schedule the next walk on my own, should there be one. I’m sure I could manage now that I see how all that works, and I know it would save money. At least I think it would.
All that being said, I also know plans can change. I make these plans realizing that they may not happen: life can be altered in a blink of an eye. God willing, we will travel more. I know, though, that nothing is guaranteed. I truly believe what I’ve often said and repeat to myself a lot, “God is good, but life is hard. These two things I know.”
Okay. Enough of me. Over ’n out.
Have a photo for managing to survive reading my ramble:
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”.)
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.
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 wastremendously 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.
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.
