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| Alcazar in Segovia |
We boarded a ferry to travel from Plymouth, England all the way to Santander, Spain. We’d read this crossing could be rough but since we had seen such poor weather forecasting we decided we’d just have to cross our fingers and hope for calm in the Bay of Biscay. It was pretty rocky but we tried to distract ourselves by planning our next few days armed with our Rick Steves Spain book on Kindle. Despite some rocking and rolling we managed to hold it all together and even slept a good part of the night. Ferry food is okay but next time we’ll try to remember to bring water with us as there are no water fountains and each bottle was 2 pounds.
We arrived in Santander, hit the road and arrived in Salamanca in the early evening. After checking in to a fairly small campground called “Camping Ruta de la Plata,” we went in search of food very late (for us) but right on time for Spain. Our Garmin didn’t have the latest road closures so we weren’t successful and we ate sandwiches in the camper that night.
Salamanca
The next day we took the bus in to Salamanca and learned that Google Maps did not provide public transit information here. That’s worrying as we’ve come to rely on it a great deal! Salamanca has what has been described as the best plaza in Spain. It’s a large, open space that’s ringed with a beautiful building with restaurants and shops and people of every age just enjoying themselves. The atmosphere is wonderful and we had dinner there after a walk through the city with so much history. Many of the buildings have absolutely beautifully carved stone facades. The history of this area is very interesting and you can see Moorish influences in the architecture. There’s also a first century Roman bridge that is now a pedestrian walk.
Avila
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| Avila |
Next we drove towards El Escorial with a stop in Avila - which is famed as the birthplace of St. Teresa and for the beautiful wall that rings the city. Built from around 1,100 on even more ancient remains it is the oldest, and best preserved wall in Spain. The audioguide explained the history. It was fun to climb up into each turret but also a bit tiring!
El Escorial
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| Inside El Escorial |
We arrived late in the day and walked all over the sprawling “Camping Resort El Escorial” trying to find a place to do laundry with a dryer (hard to come by in Europe generally) as the wind blew in the rain. There were extensive recreational facilities and tons of kids and teenagers. We had dinner here and went exploring the next morning.
El Escorial is notable for the massive “Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial.” We took a guided tour in English but photos are not allowed inside and it's very hard to find a website that gives you a feel for it - here's the best I found:
Besides some beautiful art, the library was my favorite with its notable works and colorful ceiling that reminded me of the Sistine Chapel. I became so interested in why Spain was ruled by the Habsburgs and Bourbons that I did a lot more reading on it that night. The problems that came with the in-breeding of the royals made for some fascinating reading too.
Segovia
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| Panorama of Aqueduct (its not really bowed) |
We drove to Segovia and arrived at Camping Acueducto on Thursday. We headed into town that night but again, the Garmin didn’t have the latest road closures and there were even more due to the festivities that night. Everyone seemed to be heading in towards the aqueduct. Driving down tight roads in a camper van is challenging enough without extra road closures for we headed back to camp and ate some local specialties at a restaurant within walking distance. The next morning was Good Friday and we planned to see the main sights: the aqueduct, cathedral and the Alcazar. Stopping for some lunch, we started hearing drums and music and then a saw procession. This is not just any procession so I’ll put in a link below. We followed the procession into the cathedral and then witnessed as more and more arrived. Holy week in Segovia
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| Good Friday Procession to the Catedral |
Don't get freaked out by the hoods - this has nothing to do with the KKK.
General notes:
We landed in Spain on the Monday before Easter this meant extra festivities and also many business closures.
Our stomachs aren't in sync with Spanish meal times. We're far too early!
Iberian ham is everywhere and it's tasty. It would be very difficult to be a vegetarian in Spain.
If you visit Spain, make sure to bring toilet paper with you as it seems to be in very short supply. When I told a staff member at a nice restaurant that the ladies room was out, he handed me some paper napkins and shrugged.
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