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Ireland, Portugal and Spain
  • John Hadfield
Oct – Nov 2018

Ireland, Portugal and Spain

We are travelling for six weeks, starting in Dublin and ending in Barcelona. Read more
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  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    NRMA equivalent, equipped to tow!
    The dock and Pont 25 de AbrilLovely Band rotundaOut to dinner at 22 Rue BempostinhaGoats cheese and honey mustard on breadThe little restaurant at 22 Rue BempostinhaThe little restaurant at 22 Rue BempostinhaThe owner

    Our last day in Lisbon

    October 26, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    After our walking tour, we went for a long walk, mainly along the river heading for the ocean. It is quite a big river, and has a working port. After going as far as the big new bridge, Pont 25 de April, we turned north and wended our way up the hill, through quiet neighbourhoods and parks.

    We finished the day off with a lovely meal in the little cafe just around the corner at 22 Rue Bempostinha (we were staying at No 7). The menu changes from day to day, and you get what you are given. Today was watercress soup followed by bread with goats cheese and honey mustard. It was just delicious, and of course it was washed down with house red and white. We even had dessert. We chatted to the owner for a little while, a lovely young lady. She really regards this place as her living room which she shares with her neighbours and people like us. A lovely way to finish our time in Lisbon.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Robyn outside our apartment for the week

    Time to move down to Tavira

    October 27, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    It really doesn’t take long to pack up and move if you are organised, and so it was that we left our little apartment in Lisbon fairly early. Using the parking station (14 euro/day) was expensive, but at least the car was safe.

    Once out of the car park though it became really, really difficult. Because so many of the streets are close together it becomes difficult to know which one the GPS is telling you to take, and so we went round and round a few times. In the end, at one intersection, I looked and looked and pretty well closed my eyes and put the foot down and hoped for the best!

    Eventually we ended up on the A2 and things calmed down. The drivers here are pretty good, and much better mannered than Australians. However, they do drive much faster. On the freeway, signposted to 120 kph, I had to put cruise control on to 135 kph before other cars only passed me slowly. At 120 kph they flew past, and quite a few of them had to have been doing 160 kph. Interestingly we didn’t see ONE equivalent of our Highway Patrol or roadside radar, and only one time when there might have been an accident.

    Tavira was 300 kms down the road, and about 230 of those kilometres were on the tollway. Ouch! $32 later we were free to travel on the local roads, only to find that they photographed your number plate and indicated that a toll was due. Because we don’t have an e-tag and have a Spanish registered hire car we have no idea what will happen because there is nowhere to pay.

    We arrived in Tavira and found that the streets where we had to go are really, really narrow, and the GPS struggled. Eventually, by reversing back up a one-way street I was able to turn into our little one. I nearly took the side of the car out though, and it was only because Robyn saw it happening and screamed that we avoided an expensive sound.

    We were really early, so headed down to the riverside for a coffee and sent a text to Carla letting her know we were here and would meet her there at her convenience. 20 minutes later we met her at the apartment.

    The place has been well renovated/built, and is very tidy and well equipped, but soooo small! The main point is that it has a conservatory, which is accessed via an external spiral staircase, and we were bemused by it. It is almost pointless, unless you are having a fight and want to spend time apart!

    Anyway, we unpacked, went and bought some groceries, and settled in for the night.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Rio Gilao
    Our little kitchen

    Sunday in Tavira

    October 28, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    While having breakfast I noticed that the time on my phone was an hour earlier than my watch. It took a few minutes to work it out, but Dr Google of course was able to advise that daylight saving had ended early this morning. We are now 11 hours behind NSW and 10 hours behind Queensland (I think).

    Tavira is a mixed sort of place. Where we are is obviously fairly old, while a few blocks away you can see quite modern blocks of apartments. One travel guide said that it had a population of around around 11,000, while Wikipedia said it was around 25,000. After a walk around we tend to think that the latter is nearer the mark, as there are quite a few residential areas of significant size. Alas, some of them look destined to be the slums of the future.

    We headed over the river first for our morning coffee (for those who know me, this is code for one coffee and one hot chocolate). It was quite cool in the shade so we found a sunny cafe and sat down. Just after ordering, another couple came along and as all other tables were taken we invited them to join us. It turned out to be the best thing we did all day. They were Canadians who are in Portugal for a while, staying a few kilometres away and day tripping to Tavira. They were so interesting to talk to. He is retired, and doesn’t look a day over 50, but when he said that he had been a portfolio manager for high net worth individuals it made sense! Furthermore, his wife had not worked while raising their two children. In many ways we had quite a lot in common and it would have been nice to see more of them, but such is the way with holidays. They even paid for our drinks, a nice gesture.

    Our walk pretty much ended our day, with reading, Scrabble, grocery shopping and generally doing nothing the order of the rest of the day. I managed to cook omelettes this evening in our “galley” with some success, only because I am not too tall.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Sleepy rural road outside Tavira
    2000 year old olive treeVery flash holiday resortWater wheel2Lovely flowers on a fenceRiver Gileo by dayRiver Gileo by nightTavira town squareNow that's a wood fired oven!Pizza in Tavira

    Monday in Tavira

    October 29, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We were up relatively early this morning so that we could get a good walk in before lunch.

    We headed out, at first looking for a French bread shop that we saw on Saturday on our way in, and soon found it. Naturally it was closed until Tuesday, but at least we know where it is now.

    After following the main road out of town for a few minutes we turned north and headed through another residential area. This soon petered out into a gravel road through agricultural land, which was very picturesque. While we had no real idea of where we were in general, we were headed towards the ocean. The soil here is very fertile and, as we found elsewhere, the Portuguese like to grow things. We counted 12 different crops: potatoes, pomegranate, oranges, limes, lemons, chokos, passion fruit, beans, olives, peppers, avocados and grapes.

    Eventually we came to a sealed road that went to our left and which wandered through a huge holiday villa complex. It made anything we have stayed at look positively small by comparison. Being the end of the season there was not much activity there but it was well kept. Amazingly, there was a plaque next to an olive tree, claiming that the tree was at least 2000 years old, and it had been kept as part of the development.

    To get to the beach you have to walk along a path, over a bridge, and then for quite some distance. We decided that this was not necessary for Australians so we turned left instead and headed back towards Tavira, through the village of Santa Luzia. This little village is apparently the octopus capital of the world although how you would know that, and where they get them from, is anybody’s guess.

    By the time we arrived back home we had done around 12 kms, a fair effort, and one that needed rewarding with a coffee and pastry.

    When in a foreign country it is usual to try the local cuisine, but ... as seafood features highly in that list we have tended to eat plain fare. So it was this evening that we had a pleasant time at a little pizza place where we enjoyed the food and the wine. Our waitress for the evening was a Bulgarian wrestler, and looked as though she could handle herself very well!    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Shrines are not common in Portugal
    Octopus CapitalSanta LuziaBarril BeachBarril Beach signBarril Beach - not too bad actuallyAnchor CemeteryTourist train to the beachAccess to Birrel BeachCarmen's Street in Tavira

    Tuesday in Tavira

    October 30, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    It was slightly cooler this morning when we headed out for a walk. Being very original in planning our walks, this time we decided to do yesterday’s walk in reverse.

    Santa Luzia was pretty much the same as it was yesterday, very attractive on the building side of the street and very unattractive on the river side with the tide out. We kept going until we reached the walkway, walk bridge and railway line to Praia Do Barril, or Barril Beach. Unlike yesterday, when we decided that we didn’t need to see a beach, this time we decided to go in. It was about a 20 minute walk to get to the beach and associated restaurants. Originally it was a tuna fishing village, or community, inhabited for about four or five months of the year. This ended up being uneconomic so it fell into disrepair for a while until revitalised as a tourist spot. The beach is nice, and there is plenty of opportunity to eat. It must be busy in the summer season but was pretty dead today.

    On the sand dunes is an Anchor Cemetery, where old anchors used in the tuna fishing business were laid to rest.

    I mentioned the train line earlier. For those less inclined to walk all the way to the beach there is the opportunity to take a little train, saving about 15 minutes walking. This train also doubles as a freight train because there is no road to the beach and its buildings.

    The return trip was slightly different to yesterday, but still included a long walk along gravel laneways with fruit and veggie gardens either side. Because of our trip to the beach we ended up doing about 13.5 kilometres, quite a good effort, and we were rewarded with coffee and waffles.

    Our evening was very quiet, with dinner and an episode of “Vera” on British TV.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Police Band in Tavira
    Police Band in full flight

    A wet day in Tavira

    October 31, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    After four weeks of almost faultless weather we finally had a day of rain - all day. Given the size of our apartment that presented a bit of a problem, because there is so little room to do anything other than read (or play Scrabble).

    Nevertheless, we did manage to get out twice, once for coffee and the second to buy supplies for dinner for the next two nights.

    On our first foray we could hear music, band music. Naturally I headed in that direction and we found that the Police Concert Band was playing in the big covered area on the river promenade. I don’t know whether it was a state-based band or more local, but they were very good. They were playing mainly to a lot of primary school children. For the past two days we have seen an increased police presence, with cars, vans, taped off areas, and personnel, so I assume that they were on a big PR exercise.

    We finished the day with toasted sandwiches, wine and Scrabble.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Marina in Faro
    Arco da Vila, or Town ArchSorry - museum closed for the dayKing Alfonso 1210 - 1276Cemetery private boxes in FaroAn aquaduct in disrepair near LuzTavira town square at nightAudi plice chase car. Sounded lovely!

    Thursday in Tavira

    November 1, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    After yesterday’s rain and generally overcast weather we woke up to bright sunshine, a good day for a drive.

    We picked up our car from the public car park where it had been parked for the last four days and headed north to Faro. This is the capital of the region and has a long history, as does everywhere here I might add.

    After parking the car out of town we headed in to the Old Town. We had been alerted by Carla that today was a public holiday. She said it was a Bank Holiday, but we think it was more to do with All Saints' Day, an important day in the Catholic calendar. Whatever, every church we went to was closed, and the main museum in Faro was also closed.

    We walked around, looked at was to be seen, had a coffee and then headed out of the Old Town to the more modern area. One thing we wanted to see was Igreja do Carmo / Capela dos Ossos, or the Carmo Church / Chapel of Bones. It was closed because of All Saints' Day. While we could hear an organist rehearsing we were told that there would be nothing on until 9pm on Friday evening, so sadly we didn’t get to see all the bones of the old monks.

    After leaving the Chapel of Bones, we meandered around to the local cemetery. What was really, really interesting was (a) the number of people there, and (b) the recent headstones. It appears that they “recycle” their grave sites, because we saw a whole section in this old cemetery with headstones from 2013 to 2017. Their family mausoleums were interesting too. We saw one that was open, being tendered to by an older couple. We could see four normal sized coffins and two little ones. How sad! It seems that on All Saints' Day, people go to cemeteries to put flowers on their loved ones' graves, clean the headstones, etc. We saw this at two other places as well.

    Then it was back to Tavira where we didn’t do a great deal until we went out for a drink before dinner. The bar was almost empty but those who were there were from England. There is something funny about being in a Portuguese bar listening to Elton John and Poms!    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    View of the sea behind Luz
    Window in TaviraBuilding in TaviraDoor in TaviraJazz busking group

    Our last day in Tavira

    November 2, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    We are sad that we are to leave Tavira tomorrow, but we have done pretty well everything we would like to do here. Walking around the town, walking in the countryside and wandering around the bars, cafes, restaurants and shops have filled our time in.

    Today was one for a big walk, and we did over 13kms, mainly on rural gravel roads where things were very quiet.

    Yesterday Robyn had seen a poster that caught her eye. It was part of a series of doors in and around Tavira, capturing their beauty and uniqueness. I suggested that we try and find some and photo them and see if we could replicate them, but this afternoon we walked and took photos but could not do as well. This is pretty natural, given that the person who took the photos Robyn saw knew what she was doing. We ended up buying one and have it in a tube and hope it will get home okay.

    We had decided some days ago that Friday evening would be the night we go out to dinner, after days of self-catering. It was to a plain cafe that we went, where we had already had a few coffees. It was really nice and quiet and we had a nice meal. The young lass serving us knew very little English so there was a mixup in wine orders. Anyway, after a chat to the main waiter we ended up with a memorable evening.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Olive trees as far as the eye could see
    Wind turbines on the horizon at sunsetSunset at ValdepenasLocal produce - yummy!

    Going to Spain

    November 3, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Being very organised people, we were on the road at 9.40 am, heading for a town called Valdepeñas which happens to be about 200 kms from Madrid. Rather than do a 600 km drive to Madrid in one go we thought it made sense to break the back of the journey, have a restful night, and then drive in to Madrid. There we had to hand in our car and catch the AVE, or high speed train, to Segovia from Madrid’s Chamartin station.

    Booking.com found a reasonably priced hotel just out of Valdepeñas which was very easy to find, being at the 194km turnoff from the A4. Only thing is, there is more than one Valdepeñas in Spain and our GPS, although heading us in the right direction to start with, then told us to turn off the A4 and go onto a regional backroad. After 6kms we just knew that this was not right. After a look at Google maps, and whatever we had to hand, we backtracked and hit the A4 again. Just as well we did, because the Valdepeñas we had been going to was nowhere near where we wanted to go. A loss of 12 kms is neither here nor there in the greater scheme of things, and so we kept going toward the REAL Valdepeñas.

    The thing that was most noticeable during our drive was the huge number of olive trees. We saw millions of them, and probably another million or so of fresh plantings. We wonder just how much olive oil and olives the planet needs!

    The hotel near Valdepeñas is one of those places that would have been built 30 years ago, and was at the time a pretty good show. The rooms were huge, everything was as good as you could ask for, and the staff were so very helpful.

    Robyn had not slept well the last few nights so she had a kip while I went for a 4km walk up through vineyards. It was dark when I returned, but so peaceful.

    The restaurant was very, very quiet, although we were eating early for them, but we enjoyed our meal, and the helpful staff. Local wine, local olive oil, local bread, and local menu added up to a nice experience.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    High speed to Segovia
    View from our windowDistant view of Segovia Cathedral

    Welcome to Segovia

    November 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Today was one we had been dreading, because handing back the car with damage can cost quite a bit of money, with no comeback. We had 1400 Euro excess and the damage I found on the left back panel just after we had picked it up could easily cost quite a bit, if they hadn’t picked it up beforehand. Then I found that I had actually done a little damage on the right back door when I turned too sharply in a lane in Tavira, PLUS there was a small bumper scratch that I had not seen before, no doubt inflicted in a car park while we had it parked there for a few days.

    At least we had a hearty breakfast waiting for us. We were the only customers who had booked breakfast as part of their package, and there on a table was our room number reservation. Quite quaint really! It was the usual sort of European continental breakfast, with toast, ham, other meats, cheese, yoghurt, fruit, etc, with juice, tea and coffee. By the time we had finished we were really ready for the road.

    We had 200 kms to go to Madrid and all went well until Robyn misunderstood the GPS and sent me, urgently, up the wrong street. It took about 15 minutes to get back and around, and then ... when we arrived at Chamartin station there was a group of signs for hire car - Avis, Sixt, Thrifty etc. Nowhere, and I mean nowhere, was there an arrow pointing to their drop off points. We drove through the station, and ended up going away from it. A good old traditional Aussie U-turn and we were back at the station, but still with absolutely no idea where to go. I “parked” while Robyn went looking and asking. Ages later she came back and pointed to the area we had to go to. We had drive past it, but it was tucked away before the aforementioned signs! Another U-turn and we were illegally parked in front of the Avis office. After only a few minutes the chap I was dealing with came out, asked how we liked the car, walked around it, and hopped in and checked the fuel and mileage. He then gave me the key and pointed to an area in the paid parking lot and asked me to take it over there and bring the key back. I left Robyn with all our luggage in the office and did so. When I came back he told me we would get our fuel money back and that was all there was to it, handing me back my contract. Whew! I am still not sure we will get away with it, but if our luck holds as well as it has so far, we should be right.

    We lined up for tickets at the office and asked for two tickets to Segovia on the AVE, or high speed train. The lady said she couldn’t understand why so many people were going to Segovia for the weekend, but the next two trains were full. We would have to wait until 3.40pm, a 2.5 hour wait. Even on the slower trains there were so few spare seats that we would have been in different carriages. We waited as we had no choice, and eventually, at 3.41 pm the train pulled out. We did hit 250 kph at one stage during the half hour journey, and while it was much better than anything Australia has to offer, it was not up to the Japanese standard.

    On arrival we took a taxi to our accommodation, Hotel La Casa Mudejar. What a pleasant surprise it was! It was in a really old building but was lovingly renovated and of quite a high standard. We went for a brief walk before dark and then headed out for something to eat and drink. The Hotel restaurant opens at 8.30 pm, much too late for us under the circumstances, so we had tapas and wine in one small place, and then more drinks in another one just around the corner. Nice way to finish the day.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Roman aqueduct C1st AD
    Roman aqueduct C1st ADStreet in SegoviaOne of many Chapels in Segovia's CathedralTower of Segovia's CathedralCloister in CathedralView across to ZamarramalaAlcazar fortressVera Cruz church

    Rain in Segovia City

    November 5, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 4 °C

    The weather forecast was quite certain for Segovia and district. It was to rain on Monday with light showers on Wednesday. So far it has been 100% correct. We had quite a bit of rain during the night, but it had virtually stopped by the time we were up.

    Breakfast made yesterday’s look parsimonious, and that’s saying something. The selection of meats and sweets was huge, with cereals, bread, fruit and cheese in abundance. This style of breakfast is daunting if you are a tea and toast sort of person, or cereal and tea, which we are. Nevertheless we did our best, and managed to work our way through many of the things presented.

    Just after we headed out the door it started to rain again, so we had to look for umbrellas AND raincoats. We have known for weeks that we would need raincoats, probably for Ireland, and definitely for Spain, but had never quite got around to finding any. Raincoats are not always easy to find, but nevertheless we now have to have them as the forecast is for rain on Wednesday and possibly some light rain on Tuesday.

    Umbrellas were fairly easy to find, but then the search began for raincoats. We found one for me at the Visitor Information Centre at the base of the aqueduct but Robyn wanted something more stylish. We saw quite a few but of course they were not available in Small, so in desperation we looked in children's clothing shops. Strangely, there were as many good clothes for boys and for girls, and many of the girls' coats were in stylish colours, not pink, or pink, or pink. We ended up buying a boy’s coat which is not quite waterproof but is knee length and will do the trick.

    Using our guidebook from the walking group, we started walking around Segovia. Trying to follow the detailed instructions and match them to the VIC map proved time consuming, so we ended up just walking around a bit more and then checking out the Cathedral. What a magnificent structure it is.

    Heading back towards the castle, or Alcazar fortress, we stopped to look across the valley at the village of Zamarramala. Why not walk across there we thought? We headed off and found ourselves there in no time. It looked a long way off, across the valley, but in reality was not so far. While we were walking around it started to rain. By the time we had returned to our hotel we were fairly wet, but it was good fun anyway. At least we did a decent hour of walking.

    One problem we will continue to have in Spain is their late dinner times. At home we often don’t eat until after 9 pm, because there are always so many things to do. Here the restaurants don’t open until 8.30 pm and before that you can get a drink and some finger food, but that leaves us with quite a bit of spare time.

    Our first port of all was a little place just around the corner from the hotel where we had a drink and small finger food. The food was not warm enough and we didn’t feel like staying there so we went walking out of the main plaza, down towards the aqueduct and chanced upon a little shop that is part deli, part cafe, part bar. That was good enough for us. We enjoyed a small meal there of toast with tomato and meat and a plate of goats cheese, washed down with local wine.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Last breakfast at Hotel La Casa Mudejar
    River EresmaRiver EresmaRiver EresmaUnexpected waterfallWaterfall into Eresma RiverStone bridge over Eresma RiverSome occupants of the Valsain CommonPuente de los Canales - Valsain Palace's water supplyDinner at Miami restaurant

    San Ildefonso, Segovia

    November 6, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    We were up bright and early so we could have breakfast and be packed up, ready to be picked up at 9.30 am by Jorge from Senderos y Pueblos, the company that is organising our trip around Segovia.

    It was a great relief when Jorge arrived, right on time. He packed us into his station wagon and we headed out to San Ildefonso where we are to be based for the next two days. It is not a busy time here so we were able to check straight in to the Hotel Roma.

    Then it was off for our first walk. Jorge gave us a GPS which makes it easier to follow the track. A map is nice, a written description is nice, but the GPS stops you from wandering far off the intended track. It really makes it foolproof.

    Our first walk was to the village of Valsain. From there we had the option of returning via a different track, giving us a total of about 10 kms, OR we could continue and end up doing 17.3 kms. Naturally we opted for the latter, notwithstanding the rain we encountered. It was raining when we left San Ildefonso but stopped after about 1 km. We thought we might get away with it from then on, but just after halfway it started drizzling again, and it continued most of the way home. Notwithstanding the weather we had a great time, and saw some lovely countryside.

    Dinner was a problem again, finding some place open early enough for us. First up was a drink and some nibblies at the Half Moon, where there was a documentary on northern Australia! It was a bit loud there so we then found the Miami which had a nice menu and there we stayed. It was a lovely place, quiet with a most attentive, and interesting, man behind the counter. The highlight for me was the Russian salad, whilst Robyn really enjoyed her lamb cutlets. All in all, a good day.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Robyn at a little stream on the to El Chorro Falls
    El Chorro Falls in the mistSnow at the top of El Chorro FallsSnow and mistLovel avenue of trees near the Palace EstateLovely autumn coloursRelaxing after a hard day's walk in the rain

    El Chorro Waterfalls

    November 7, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 3 °C

    We had been expecting rain today as it had been forecast, but why did it have to rain up until we finished our walk?

    Today’s goal was to do a circular walk up to El Chorro Waterfall, a 10 km trip. There was some pretty hard climbing as we approached the bottom of the falls, and in the rain and mist we took what was a pretty silly decision to press on. After a while, about 350 m into the final 550 m we actually became lost, not a nice situation. Robyn slipped on a huge granite boulder and thought she was going to slide a long way down, and the GPS was not lighting up the screen enough to see clearly. We backtracked, found our place, and headed up again. This time we were successful, but the fog or misty rain was too thick to really see the falls. We did, however, see the remnants of the snow fall from last weekend, so it was pretty cold.

    The trip back was okay, but the mist made it impossible to see the views over the town and the Palace and Gardens. This was a great pity because it was easy to imagine how good the view would have been on a fine day. Part of our track took us along two walls of the Palace estate. We were amazed at just how big the estate was, being approximately 1 square kilometre. That’s a lot of garden and forest to enjoy.

    As Hotel Roma is not opening the restaurant at this time of year, except on weekends, we were once again forced to look elsewhere. However, before that we enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine and a game of Scrabble in the bar of the hotel, where we enjoyed the company and interest of the barman /concierge / owner(?). He was very helpful with advice, we enjoyed discussing such things as speed limits and police cars, cycling and the weather. He suggested three different restaurants for us to consider.

    The first one was closed, the second one was not doing meals that night, the third one was not yet ready for dinner, and we were hungry. Any port in a storm, and it just so happened that there was a pizzeria ready, willing and able to help us. It wasn’t too bad, and it was nice being in a place frequented by the locals.

    To finish the night we had more wine back at the Hotel Roma bar, this time sitting in front of the fire. The barman had nobody else to look after at that time, so we talked a little more. He is in the middle of reading a book by Catherine McCulloch, and was quite knowledgeable about her writing. You just never know where a little bit of Australia is going to pop up.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    View from the foothills
    Unusual tye of juniper treeOne of many new trails organised as part of ecotourismPart of the trailOne of many green gates we went throughCows and cloudThe cloud never quite got to usEquivalent of a strainer postStream just before we came into GallegosRobyn on a manmade bridge

    Pradena to Gallegos

    November 8, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

    Day three of our Segovia walking tour and it isn’t raining! Jamie, the owner of Senderos y Pueblos, picked us up from our hotel right on 9.30 am. It seems that his company has a policy of being on time.

    During the drive to Prádena he told us about his company and how it was started. It was an interesting story, and he is obviously passionate about the environment. He trained as a biologist in Edinburgh and took to the wild parts of northern Scotland. After marrying a local lady and having a couple of children he persuaded her to move to Spain, his home country, to commence a business that has now grown, after 12 years, into a successful operation. It runs walking, cycling, donkey and family tours, and only operates around the region of Segovia.

    Anyway, as planned, he dropped us off at the edge of Prádena and pointed us south. I am fairly sure he thought that we were underprepared, with only two small backpacks, but wished us well.

    It was very cold and windy to start with, so we were rugged up. The rain held off all day and in fact it was almost sunny when we finished. We were following the foothills, so there was a bit of ascending and descending, but we were on a pretty straight run. At one stage we were heading uphill towards the spoils of a former mining site and the wind was so strong that it almost blew Robyn backwards! Thereafter it settled down a little, to just strong. Whenever we crested a hill, or had a paddock on our left that was unprotected, the wind picked up. We watched the clouds whip over the mountains towards us, but never quite reaching us.

    The track was actually quite easy and following our notes, and occasionally the GPS, meant that we were never in trouble. The highest part of the path was around 1310 m and it was 15.8 kms in total. We felt pleased with our achievement and it was nice to end up ringing the bell at our hotel, Posada De Gallegos, the best and only hotel in Gallegos.

    Posada De Gallegos is a very nicely restored house, well set up as a guest house. They have obviously spent a great deal of time, thought and money into making it a very comfortable place. The sitting room and dining room were well set up, and our room was quite comfortable, with UNDERFLOOR heating! They also had a lift, ensuring that mobility challenged people can enjoy their hospitality. The only question we have is how, out in the sticks, they attract enough custom to make it worthwhile.

    After settling in and generally finding our way around, we took a stroll around the village. There are some quite nicely restored places, and some new ones, of course, but it it is not a bustling metropolis. We found two bars, which was the point of our strolling, and there ordered a coffee and a beer. They had absolutely no English and we ended up with two coffees, one short and strong and the other with more milk. This made sense when you consider how Robyn tried to order her coffee, but where my beer went is anybody’s guess. It was soon sorted out, with more hot milk to weaken Robyn’s strong coffee and a nice cold beer for me.

    We were the only guests at the hotel this evening. Later we found out that we were the last walkers for the season for Senderos y Pueblos. They advertise walking trips up to the end of October but when I enquired about early November they replied that would be fine. Nobody else bothered it would seem, and given the weather, fair enough!

    This left us in the peculiar situation of having the restaurant to ourselves. They were very friendly, with, I think Theresa’s husband being the front of house while she ran the kitchen. What do you order when they provide you with a Menu of the Day plus an a la carte option? It was not a difficult decision to take the Menu of the Day, because the two options for the entree and main gave us enough choice. Robyn had a very nice creamy zucchini and bacon soup, while I had a salad with walnuts and goats cheese. For the main we both chose the roast piglet and potato, and dessert was no option but very nice. The local Verdejo was again very drinkable and we finished our second bottle in front of the fire in the sitting room.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Our AVE or high speed train
    Puerta Del SolCathedral of MadridBells ringing at the CathedralProcession towards the CathedralProcession towards the CathedralProcession into the CathedralBand and bells as the procession moved into the CathedralRose petals being thrown onto the crowdThe garden lookng at the side of the Palace

    Off to Madrid

    November 9, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    As per dinner last night, we were the only guests for breakfast. There was enough food there for a dozen people so we had to do our best to make it worthwhile for Theresa.

    Jorge picked us up just before 9.30 am and we headed off to the railway station at Segovia. He told us quite a bit about his family, all musicians, and also the company. As I mentioned earlier we were the last of the walkers for 2018! His car showed that it was 2.5 degrees outside and we ran into quite a bit of fog on the way. Nevertheless it was an uneventful trip to the station and we arrived in plenty of time to catch the 10.12 train to Madrid.

    Such an early start meant that we were very early to our hotel, Hotel Cortezo, just a few minutes away from Plaza Mayor, or the centre of old Madrid, at around 11.30 am. Our taxi driver spoke virtually no English (fair enough) so it was a fairly quiet trip.

    Arriving at the hotel we fronted the desk, hoping that at least we could leave our luggage there until a room became available, but luck was with us as usual, and there was a room ready. Off we went, up the lift, went to our room, and found it was a twin room. Oh well, better that than having to worry about finding another one, or leaving our luggage there.

    Being so early meant that we had virtually three days in Madrid, a real bonus. Being so close to Plaza Mayor we headed there, but it seemed that half of Madrid had the same idea. As we got closer we could hear singing, and I don’t mean rock and roll. It turned out that we arrived on the day of the patronage festival of San Isidro, the patron saint of Madrid. The Plaza was packed and the Archbishop was in the middle of saying Mass. There was no room so we headed back towards our hotel area. Puerta Del Sol seemed a pretty good place to go, so we walked there, not far, and had a look around. The place was infested with shoe shops, and as Robyn has wanted to buy a new set of boots we started looking. Two shops later she found a lovely pair, in her size, so this was a great relief to me. Not only were they made in Spain, but we found them quickly and that meant that there was no more shoe shopping to be done!

    We stopped for a coffee in Puerta Del Sol and then went back to Plaza Mayor where things seemed to have quietened down. Actually they had all made their way to the Cathedral, so we followed. We found the bells ringing (or is that clanging) seriously as the procession made its way towards the entrance to the Cathedral. We settled ourselves into a position near the entrance and watched as the procession made its way, led by the local brass band to the big ramp into the Cathedral. It was an amazing experience being surrounded by thousands of locals, many of whom were obviously quite religious, as they performed their annual ritual.

    When it was over we went for a long walk to get the feel of the place, and picked up information about the Madrid Red Bus tours. We will definitely do this tour tomorrow, being recent converts to this activity.

    During the afternoon we had been looking at restaurants in the local area, focusing on tapas. Pete said a few days ago that one of his regrets is that he never had time in Madrid, the tapas capital of the world. Well, we are trying to make up for that, and we found a nice place about a hundred metres down the road. It was an experience, although a bit touristy, but we enjoyed it immensely.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Just an ordinary building in Madrid
    Looking down the Gran ViaFuente De NeptunoAvenue in Paseo Del PradoReal Jardon BotanicoReal Jardin BotanicoPuerta de AlcalaTapas take 2

    Madrid - a beautiful city

    November 10, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Our plan for the day was to catch a Red Bus early on and go around both of the routes on offer. One route concentrates more on the old part of Madrid while the other goes a bit further afield.

    Now that we are of a certain age it is remarkable how much you can save when buying tickets. Our one day pass was 10 Euro each, a veritable bargain. We lined up and bought our tickets and waited for a bus. Unfortunately the place is full of tourists at the moment so it took us a while to get on a bus. The audio was not so good on the first route and it was quite cold up the top, although it didn’t really rain. However, the second one was much better and we gained a better understanding of the places and buildings we went past. In fact, it was so interesting that when we had finished we went and walked nearly half of the second route, just so we could get better photos and have a better look.

    We had not realised just how beautiful Madrid is. Lonely Planet can give you an idea I suppose, but it isn’t until you walk the streets and see the workmanship, the design, the beauty of everyday buildings, that you gain a true appreciation of the city. We particularly enjoyed walking through the Real Jardin Botanico. It is such a beautiful, peaceful place and absolutely full of plants of all kinds. We even found a good old Australian eucalypt there.

    Sunset beat us in the end, however, so we headed back to our hotel, looking all the while for a suitable place to have dinner. Back at the hotel we still had not found anything that really took our fancy so we walked a little bit past it, down off the main road, and there we found a nice looking place with an interesting menu.

    An hour later we were back, refreshed and ready for dinner. We walked straight in to the last table for two inside (it was starting to drizzle) and within minutes had placed our order. The food was fresh and hot and the service excellent. We weren’t too adventurous, trying just a couple of tapas and then a paella.

    The hotel has a lounge area next to the restaurant and there is a bar there as well. However, they don’t do evening meals and if you want something from the bar you have to ring reception. I understand that most people just want to be out and about, so there is not much use manning the bar for perhaps a couple of people. That gave us a nice quiet place to drink our wine, read, check and send emails and update this blog.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Exhibition electric vehiclesPart of Paseo Del Prado closed offFuent De CibelesA lovely buildingPalacio De Cibiles CentrocentroRecord cover and concert poster exhibitionRecord cover and concert poster exhibitionTemplo De DebodSign for Patronal Festival event at Cathedral

    Our last day in Madrid Pt 1

    November 11, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Our plan is to leave Madrid by AVE tomorrow and go to Barcelona. Well, that requires train tickets and the on-line booking option was not a good one for us, for a variety of reasons - no access to a printer, language and not having an Apple or Android phone. So, off we went to Atocha railway station, which was only a short walk from our hotel.

    Atocha is a big station but we soon found an information desk. The response was underwhelming - a shrug and pointed in the direction of the ticket office. There we met with even worse. No English at all and no offer of help, while one of them was doing a Find-a-Word. Fortunately a young couple with Spanish were also able to speak English and they had a dismal response too, but at least they were told to go to another area. We followed them and we ended up in the AVE ticket and information area where it was not quite bedlam, but very disorganised. Due to some troubles AVE tickets were not able to be booked at a booth and certain lines HAD to be booked at certain ticket offices. Even Spanish speaking people were having problems!

    Nevertheless we ended up with a very helpful lady who was able to help us register for a Seniors Card and then book us tickets for tomorrow. The 40% saving off the ticket price was much, much more than the price of the Seniors Card, so we did well there.

    We backtracked and started following the Red Bus route as per yesterday. One of our goals was to go up to the top of the Branco de España building at Calla Alcala. It was 4 Euro to take the lift up, or for another Euro you could go to the current exhibition. We had no idea what the exhibition was, but why not? The view from the rooftop was great and gave us good photo opportunities of several icons that were difficult to film from street level. The coffee though was way overpriced.

    Nearly every day we come across a gem, and today it was the exhibition. It was all about record covers (remember them?) and concert posters, starting around 1963. All the big bands from that era, and the individuals such as Joni Mitchell, were there, with a strong contingent from Europe too. It was a stroll down memory lane in so many ways.

    One of my goals was to see the Templo De Debod, a reconstructed Egyptian temple from the area now covered by the Aswan Dam. Before the dam flooded important historical monuments, they were dismantled and rebuilt elsewhere (I am a bit hazy about the details) and because Spain helped, it were given a temple. Just awesome to look at something in the middle of a park in Madrid that was built in Egypt over two thousand years ago. Unfortunately it was closed to the public but we still admired it.

    A long stroll down to the Cathedral was next. This amazing structure is the result of both religious and secular funding and was only consecrated in June 1993 by Pope John Paul II. It had been started well over a century ago and the history of the statue associated with it, Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena, is extraordinary. Well worth a visit, even if they don’t have real candles to light.

    By this time it was getting late so we went back to our hotel, showered and changed and headed out for dinner. Not far from Puerta Del Sol we turned down a side street and stumbled upon a tapas bar that just appealed to us. We sat outside and had a lovely dinner. People are the most important thing when travelling, in our opinion, and we struck up a conversation with a young couple from Panama who had a friend currently living in Australia. A photo of a kangaroo was pulled up on her phone, and we had a great chat about travel.

    Earlier in the day we had found the food market, Mercado De San Miguel and after dinner we headed there again. That warranted a second posting for the day!    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler

    Mercado De San Miguel

    November 11, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Mercado De San Miguel was just astounding. Robyn said it was a bit like a market she visited in Barcelona some years ago, but I had certainly never seen anything quite like it. The range of food types was huge and the opportunity to buy or taste things was there for the more adventurous but we still enjoyed it. Mumm champagne jostled with local wines, ugly looking fish were next to a huge display of fruit, sweets and meat cuts (didn’t see any kangaroo) vied with nuts and pastries, and we even saw some “crisps” which appealed to an English lady walking past.

    We tried a few different wines and ended up with a dessert to share. What a lovely day it was.    Read more

    See translation
  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Spanish countryside
    Spanish cuntrysideSpanish countrysideJust touching 300kphMore Spanish countrysidePalau de la Musica CatalanaPalau de la Musica CatalanaPalau de la Musica Catalana

    Barcelona

    November 12, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Our hotel in Madrid was only a ten minute walk from Atocha station and we had planned to walk down this morning. Thinking about it though I imagined one of our suitcase wheels breaking or perhaps the footpath would be crowded with people going to work. It just wasn’t worth the risk so we booked out and at the same time ordered a taxi. There was a 15 minute delay, and then the traffic was so heavy we were hardly moving. This caused a little bit of stress but we made it to the station in plenty of time.

    The AVE only had one stop between Madrid and Barcelona and cruised at just under 300 kph. Now if we had a high speed rail link between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne it would stop half the planes that currently fly those routes. No need for a second airport perhaps?

    Our apartment at CASP 74 is a real find. We were upgraded to a two bedroom apartment and we have heaps of room, but far more importantly it has a washing machine. The FIRST thing we did on arrival was start washing. We have not had anywhere to wash for over a week and were really getting to the bottom of our wardrobes!

    We have been culturally backward these holidays, with no concerts and few museums so we thought we would look something up while here. I found a really good looking concert for Wednesday and we thought we would go and see if we could get tickets. Fronting up at Palau De La Musico we couldn’t see the desired concert, but there was something else on that looked good this evening so we bought tickets.

    Then we headed off to Las Ramblas and walked the length of it twice. It is an interesting place, but it really is overrun with tourist shops and eating places. We will go back tomorrow and have another look, plus some other things nearby.

    Dinner was a simple repast in our apartment before we togged up in our finest (not) and headed to the Palau. It is a magnificent building in every way. How it could have been designed without CAD and then built is almost incomprehensible. The concert was Barcelona Guitar Trio and Dance, and was a tribute to Paço de Lucia. The guitarists were world class, and funny as well, but the dancers ... they were superb athletes and musicians, helping with the rhythm section by very complex clapping and tapping at times. We are so glad that we saw a little bit of the true Spanish, or is that Catalonian, culture.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler

    Barcelona and Gaudi

    November 13, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Very few visitors would come to Barcelona without trying to see a little of Antoni Gaudi’s architecture, but in reality there is much, much more to see. In our Eyewitness Travel book for Spain there was mention of the Museu d’Historia. It was claimed to contain the most extensive subterranean Roman ruins in the world. This piqued our interest so we found it down a small side street near the main Cathedral.

    What a wonderful museum it was! It was excavated in the mid to late 20th century, underneath parts of the Cathedral and associated buildings, and gives you a truly amazing look at what a Roman village would have looked like. So much of it has been preserved and documented that you can see the public baths, the laundry of a big house, a dye shop, another that made fish sauces and preserved fish, and a winery where wine was made and stored. There were examples of mosaics in situ that were works of art. Remains of murals were there on walls. The sewer system left London in the 1700s for dead, as well as the water supply. The ticket seller said that they see quite a few Australians so it is good to know we are an interested lot.

    Backtracking along Via Laietana we headed off to see one of Gaudi’s masterpieces - CasaMila or “La Pedrera”. It is such an amazing building to look at, once you look behind the flowing lines and see the intricate work necessary to carve the blocks to his design. The ticket price was pure extortion, and as Robyn had already seen this we headed up the road to see the Basilica De La Sagrada Familia.

    Words cannot convey the sheer beauty of this building. That one man could conceptualise it, draft the plans for it and follow its construction until his death, is truly a wonder. Getting in was a challenge but soon we had tickets to enter (on the other side).

    The audio guide was a bit gushing and sometimes hard to follow, but we generally followed its drift. It is still being built with plans to have it completed in 2026, the centenary of Gaudi’s death. Personally I don’t think they have a ghost’s chance, with many more spires, including the biggest one, yet to be built.

    The light coming in through the stained glass windows made it seem light and airy, but when you look at the size of the columns that support the existing building and have yet to carry the weight of the biggest tower it is a marvel that it is so light. The height of the ceiling helps and the colour of the materials used also creates a sense of space. It must have been an out-of-this-world experience to have been there with a 700 strong choir for the consecration in 2010. We hope to go there again when we have more time and just sit in awe.

    Dinner was a simple meal prepared back at our apartment. We have been trying not to eat out every night and avoid the weight gain usually associated with a long holiday.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler
    Arc de Triomf
    View throungh Arc de TriomfOrnate street lightsEl BornInside El Born showing remainsMonument to Christopher ColumbusA beautiful selection of peppersMercat St Josef La BoqueriaOur last dinner in Barcelona

    Last day in Barcelona

    November 14, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    When Robyn was here with Carmen and Pete around 7 years ago, she went to a shop that sold home and kitchenware, much of which was local content, and she wanted to find it again to buy a few things for home. It was in the travel guide, but not on the web, and when we arrived at the address we found it was no longer there. However, nearby was another fantastic archeological museum, El Born CCM, or Centrede Cultura Memoria. El Born was a market, built on an earlier part of the city, dating from the 1600s. The current building was erected in the late 1800s and nearly pulled down in the 1970s and replaced with a library. However, when they started excavations they found a wonderfully preserved section of the earlier town, and good sense prevailed. The building now provides shelter to the diggings which have been well presented to visitors. The funny part of it all was that the remains from around 1700 look quite similar to the Roman ruins of 2000 years ago.

    Before the El Born museum we called in to see the Arc de Triomf, erected to welcome visitors to the 1888 Exhibition. The Arch and the avenue that led from it down towards the sea were quite something to see. The street lights there were works of art, and the whole thing was very stylish. There were quite a few tourists there of course, and it was here that we decided to do our “tourist shopping” for things to take home.

    Our map showed a huge space called Mercat De La Barcelona and we thought that it might be a market, to make up for what we had not found earlier. While we found the space there was not a proper market there. Instead we found dozens of people trying to sell the usual tacky stuff - sunglasses, handbags, Gucci T-shirts, Rolex watches etc. It is really quite sad to see so many people trying to make a living in such a demoralising way and we wondered about the social security system in this country. Many of them may well have been illegal immigrants and outside the social security system but we will never know.

    After sitting on the beach for a while, watching a windsurfer and a few peddlers, La Rambla beckoned to Robyn again, this time to see what it was like earlier in the day, and to (perhaps) do a little shopping. We walked along for a while until we came to Mercat St Josef La Boqueria, a huge food market. For produce it outdid Madrid but had less opportunity to eat and drink. Even though it was not quite wine o’clock we stopped for a while and had a local wine, after walking up and down most of the rows. If we were staying in Barcelona again, hopefully for more than three days, we would shop there every day and cook at home, using the wonderful local produce.

    Robyn did find a pair of trousers and a bowl, so shopping is now done and dusted.

    To finish our time in Barcelona we went to a rather nice restaurant just a few blocks away from our apartment. We enjoyed goats cheese with quince and raspberry, caramelised artichoke, oven baked capsicum and tomato rubbed into toast, followed by dessert. It was such a nice way to end our holiday.    Read more

  • John HadfieldIreland, Portugal and SpainTraveler

    Leaving on a Jet Plane

    November 15, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 16 °C

    All good things, especially holidays, must come to an end and so it was that a taxi picked us up at 5.15 am to take us to Barcelona Airport. The driver had us worried, as he was doing up to 130 kmh in the rain.

    Boarding was no problem and before long we were on the 8 hour leg to Doha. There we had a 4 hour stopover before boarding our flight to Sydney. It was around 8 pm Friday 16 when we touched down in Sydney. A short taxi ride took us to Susan's place in Erskineville.

    Susan took us to the airport to catch our 8.20 am flight to Armidale the next morning. It is always good to be home after such a long time away but now we have to plan our next trip!    Read more

    Trip end
    November 16, 2018
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