Lansers on the Loose ...

We were up extra early because we were off on an excursion to Avila and Segovia today. We had to be at the meeting point by 8:30am and the meeting point is about 20 minutes walk away. We took a practice run yesterday ... so we would not be stressed. It was a bit challenging, because for one reason or another, the signal kept cutting in and out. We made it in about 25 minutes.

We felt confident we could get there this morning without stress. However, when we keyed our destination into Google Maps to direct us ... she had the audacity to tell us to go in a different direction!!!!!

Well, the old boy was going to follow her NEW path but I was having none of that nonsense!! I did the practice run to avoid all of the uncertainty. I was not about it invite it into my world then. So, we went down the road we both knew we took yesterday and when we came to a junction, she told us to go right. The old boy wasn't sure, but I felt like I KNEW we went left yesterday ... so ... I courageously(?) ... cavalierly(?) ... overconfidently(?) overrode her directions. I was nervous to be so dang contentious with Google, but ... I do have a pretty good sense of direction! 😉

Well, I am really glad I dared to take issue with her ... because ... I actually did remember the way! And, I got us there in 17 minutes. Which was good ... because there was already a crowd building! We were lucky to get 8th and 9th spot in line out of the 80 people who were taking our double decker Viator bus.

Whilst waiting in line, we had a lovely conversation with an engineer who was originally from Brazil but has been working in Norway for the last 13 years. We picked his brain for ideas for when we should go when we get there ourselves. He was a wealth of information and also showed us how to switch to satellite mode on Google Maps. So much nicer ...... 🙌

The countryside changed so much along the journey that it is hard to describe. The most notable thing along the way, for us, was all the boulders and rocks that litter the fields! And, interestingly, many of them are marble! Fences are made of stone, castles are made of stone, churches are made of stone ... even the roads are made of stone. And, still, there seems to be no shortage of stones from what we could see.

Avila was our first stop. This small but impressive village is home to 40 palaces and 40 churches. It is surrounded by an incredible medieval wall that was built in the 5th century ... pre-roman times. Apparently about 2400 people still live inside the walls.

It was super interesting to learn that there are 4 "ways of the pilgrims" leading to the "Camino de Santiago" that go through Avila. The 'ways' are marked in the concrete for pilgrims to ensure they are following the right "rutas". I can't remember which 'ways' went through it ... the French way, the Portueguese way, the English way, the Primitive path ... but it was cool to see the differing markers in the road.

It is also the town that Orsen Wells chose to make his home. It was lovely to walk around and take it all in ... imagining days gone by ... centuries ago. It makes you really wonder what a day in the life of those folks might have been like???

I took so many pictures, but do to space here, will only post a few. A light lunch of an egg and potato omelet was provided with our tour, but I was afraid that would never be enough to nourish our 'walking' bodies so we ordered some scrambled eggs with shrimp to top off our lunch! It was a delicious combination! the old boy also indulged himself in 4 pieces of the pork belly cracklings! Of course, they were "the best [he] has ever had!!" Good thing we added those extra calories, because we logged 16, 303 steps today!!

Segovia was our next stop and was the capital of Spain before Madrid! They are both very ancient towns ... with oodles of castles and churches and cathedrals and palaces. The old boy suggested this tour because Segovia also has an incredible aqueduct system that was built by the Romans when they conquered Segovia.

The source of water for this remarkable construct is 17kms away from the cities fountains. However, most unfortunately, the water it brings to the community is only for the rich/religious upper class. The peasants and commoners still had to get their water from the rivers. Apparently, the river water was like sloughs. The aqueduct has 167 arches in it and is 28.5 meters high at the tallest part of it. In total, it is 728 meters long on a 1 percent grade. It is built with entirely UNMORTERED granite blocks. Oh ... and ... the aqueduct is marked on the roads by insignias ... just like the camino ones ... but... indicating the "way of the water".

Segovia has been conquered numerous times. First by the Muslims and then by the Arabs and then by the Christians. They initially built the Alcazar to the north to protect from the invasion of the Christians. There are 12 different districts within Segovia ... and ... 12 different churches. We learned that the area that was inhabited by the religious upper crust would not let "pretty" women into the district. It was forbidden lest they tempt the men. Guess you decided if you were pretty or not? The priest. Eeek. The roots of patriarchy run so deep don't they? Wait ... the old boy reminded me that women being held responsible for men's actions actually started with 'Eve'. Gah ... enough said about that.🥴

We toured the largest cathedral in Segovia ... as well as ... the Alcazar. The grandeur, majesty and opulence reminded us so much of the Vatican in Rome. It was absolutely magnificent ... and ... absolutely unsettling to think of all the money that went into constructing these buildings. They even erected bars within the structures to make sure that the commoners and religious elite were separated ... but, enough said about all that too.

Once again ... due to space limitations, I can only post a wee smattering of the pictures we took. It was such an interesting tour of these incredible places. There is so much character and history in these remarkable spaces. It is humbling and really reminds me how fleeting and miniscule we all really are in relation to all of the history of our humanity. We are but a blink, aren't we?

We found a lovely restaurant on the walk home called La Tagliatella. We had intended to have a meal there when we were in Malaga but did not have time. It was an absolutely delightful Mothers Day Dinner!! I hope you all have a wonderful meal in honor of this special day of celebrating 'moms' too!!

And, now, we are back home. We have one last day here in Madrid tomorrow. I am not sure what we will do with our time, but we will let our hearts lead the way.

Once again, Happy Mother's Day to one and all!

Much love, k&j ❤️Read more