One Down, Three to Go

We awoke to cool cloudy weather and a light rain. Unfortunately, Christine was a little under the weather too.....we diagnosed too many spicy peppers. A quiet morning didn’t improve her health but she insisted the rest of us should continue as planned: a visit to the nearby “most visited” town in the province, Guadalest. It was about a 35 minute drive, mostly up the surrounding mountains. Once out of town there was virtually no traffic and we were able to stop frequently for pictures of the stunning countryside. We parked in the town and wended our way up a wide, well worn stone path to Casa Orduna. The grand house was built after the earthquake of 1644 which devastated the region. The house was burnt down in 1708 and rebuilt years later. It’s 4 levels are well preserved and now are a museum that reflect the “aesthetic taste of the bourgeoisie of the 19th century”.
Above the house, steps lead to the Castle of San Jose. The two old men dutifully (and slowly) followed Tory to the very top of the ramparts where we were met with spectacular views only marred by the recurrence of wind and rain. We bade a hasty retreat to the first restaurant we encountered and warmed and rewarded ourselves with coffee and dessert.Read more