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Snowbirds Tackle Europe

December 2017 - April 2024
An open-ended adventure by Betty Read more
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  • TravelerSnowbirds Tackle Europe
    1
    Day 7

    Travel Day - Segovia to Madrid - Brrrrrr

    January 6, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 3 °C

    When I looked out the window this morning, there was a lot of snow out there.....20 cm to be exact. After breakfast I spoke to the front desk clerk and learned that no buses or taxis were running. She said this was not normal as they occasionally get only 2-3 cm of snow. We decided to store our luggage and headed out once again to see another highlight of Segovia, the Alcazar, a Middle Ages fortified palace which is now a museum. It is one of 3 European castles that the Disney World castle is modelled after. It was a 20 minute walk only to find that it was closed. Very few people were out and definitely no cars as they were buried in snow. It appeared that no one owned a shovel as they were using a piece of wood, a dust pan, or broom to clear the snow.

    We returned to the hotel wet and cold at 2 pm and found out that the buses were running but no taxis. Since we had a non-refundable apartment reservation in Madrid we decided to make our way to the bus stop 1.8 km away. Tire tracks through the snow looked like it might be doable, but they were too narrow to be of any help. It was a real struggle for both of us. When we finally got to the airport by bus I discovered that all trains were sold out for the day! No!!! Travellers who couldn’t get to the station for the earlier trains had rebooked for the later ones. I had checked online in the morning and could have bought tickets but at that time we weren’t sure if we would be able to get to the train station. For the next 3 hours we sat in an unheated train station and I kept checking the train website to see if any tickets would come available. And they eventually did so we were happy. But awhile later I realized that our tickets weren’t jiving with the posted schedules. I spoke to an employee who informed me that our train left from the old train station in the centre of town! No!!! A well-dressed man overheard our conversation and approached me with an offer to join him on his train. I was puzzled until he revealed his identity....”Supervisor”.

    I thought our luck had changed but because of the snow our train was delayed nearly 2 hours. With wet feet, no heating, and an outdoor temperature of -3, I felt I was getting hypothermia as I couldn’t stop shivering. When we finally boarded the train there were no seats available so the Supervisor told us we could stand at the back. Thankfully it was a high speed train that only took 27 minutes and it was warm! I yelled “Muchas Gracias” to the Supervisor and he reassured me this was not normal and we had to return again to Segovia. A pretty city, but not likely to make a return visit in winter. I took a wrong turn coming out of the railway station in Madrid so our 10 minute walk to the apartment was more like 30 minutes at John’s pace. We made it “home” at 11 pm.

    Travel days are a bitch!    Read more

  • TravelerSnowbirds Tackle Europe
    Day 9

    Madrid - City of Parks and Museums

    January 8, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 4 °C

    Madrid is a huge city with a population of 3 million (6 million in greater Madrid). It is very busy and doesn’t seem to have the same vibrancy as Barcelona. We have a one bedroom apartment in a working class neighbourhood on the fringe of the central area. The weather was a cool 6 degrees but sunny when we slowly made our way to Buen Retiro Park, a 600 acre green space in the core of the city. In the centre of the park is the Palacio de Cristal built in 1887 of glass and iron. It was intended as a greenhouse but is used for contemporary art exhibits. On the floor of the Palace the artist engraved in stone the names of all those who have drowned in the Mediterranean and Atlantic over the last 20 years in an attempt for a better life with greater freedoms. We had to wear booties over our shoes to protect the artwork. Using a complex hydraulic water system, drops of water form the names temporarily and intermittently. It was very creative but we didn’t understand it fully until I researched it afterwards.

    From the park we walked to a tapas restaurant and had a much needed break. The tapas and wine were excellent. Wine is the same price as Coke, tea, or coffee and slightly more than bottled water. So naturally I’ve been enjoying several Spanish wines that would be very expensive at home. Our next stop was the Prado Museum that has the greatest collection of paintings by the European masters, over 3000 canvases. The building was enormous and we only saw a very small portion of it, narrowing in on the more famous Spanish painters that we had read about....Goya and Velazquez. Admission was free for the last two hours before closing and that was enough time for us. Madrid has several famous museums but we only made it to this one.

    It was a long, slow walk back to the apartment. Overall we did nearly 15,000 steps or 10 km. John thought I was trying to kill him. He hates taking pills but eagerly took the Tylenol that I offered him. We stopped at a supermarket on the way home and made use of the well stocked kitchen in our apartment that evening. We bought a convenient package of fresh root vegetables that made a hearty stew. The lentils were from Canada. For about $7 we had two meals. Eating out every day is certainly a budget-killer!    Read more

  • TravelerSnowbirds Tackle Europe
    1
    Day 10

    Madrid - Home of Spanish Royalty

    January 9, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 3 °C

    I decided to give the old guy a break and planned our day using the Metro. Our destination....the Royal Palace in central Madrid, considered one of the top three in Europe. It was built in 1683 and has been expanded by each king trying to outdo his predecessor. It now has 2300 opulent rooms but the current royal family live in a mansion a few miles away and only use the palace for state receptions and royal weddings. No photos were allowed beyond the grand staircase. It certainly made me feel like a commoner.

    When we left the palace it started to rain so we stopped at a restaurant for a light lunch. We ordered one vegetarian paella to share and got two. John ordered a “cold beer” and of course was served the most costly one on the menu. I hate that we are being targeted as tourists almost on a daily basis and we just have to be more savvy when we place our order. On our way to the Metro we passed by a panaderia that was calling our names and we couldn’t resist the sweet treats. We also walked through a market that had the best selection of olives (Spain is the world’s largest producer of olives and olive oil).

    We managed to survive Spain’s two biggest cities without getting pickpocketed, but I will continue to be hyper-alert as this is a major problem throughout Europe but Spain in particular.

    We ended our day doing something necessary but not too exciting....laundry! It’s always a challenge to figure out how to use European appliances as the washer and dryer are all in one unit so there are a lot of settings and it can take two hours or more to do one load.    Read more

  • TravelerSnowbirds Tackle Europe
    Day 11

    Travel Day - Madrid to Cordoba

    January 10, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Yay!! We finally had an uneventful travel day. This time around, it was an easy 10 minute walk to the Madrid train station. It’s surprising how quick things go when you know where you are going. I even had time to go back to Customer Service to see if they had found John’s e-reader and there it was! We had a 10 am ticket for our journey to Córdoba, 400 km south, which took us 1 3/4 hours on the speedy train. Our first impressions of Córdoba were positive as we walked along streets lined with orange trees, what looked like maple trees, and palm trees. It was sunny and 14 degrees. Our hotel, the Eurostars Palace, was a 20 minute walk and conveniently located to all the sites. It wasn’t a palace at all but a very modern 4* hotel with an unusual glass shower and tub combo (2 shower heads and the water just drained through the floor).

    We went across the street to the old town, entering through a gate in the wall built by the Romans in the 12th century. We had the best tapa lunch at Casa Rubio where we discovered our new favourite tapa, lightly battered aubergine deep fried and drizzled with cane syrup, a Córdoban specialty. John was tired and went back to the hotel to rest. I explored the old town, the new town, and the Jewish Quarter. It was all very fascinating with narrow streets and hordes of people. This city is known for it’s patios, where the homeowner will leave their heavy wooden entrance door ajar so that you can enter to admire their landscaped patio. Before heading back to the hotel I decided to find a supermarket so that I could pick up wine, water and Coke Zero for John, all the essential food groups. Afterwards I got disoriented with all the twists and turns I encountered in the old town as it definitely was not built on a traditional grid system. My map app was useless so it took me nearly an hour to find my way through the maze to the gate, one of 7, where we had entered. It was very frustrating as my shopping bag was heavy, it was dark, and it had started to rain. My fitness tracker reported that I had walked over 10,000 steps or nearly 10 km. Now I needed a nap!

    We had a light dinner at a nearby place called Victoria Mercado. It was similar to the food booth area at the Forks, only larger, with a good variety of restaurants to choose from. Although it was late on a Wednesday evening the place was packed with locals. The Spanish people seem to love eating, drinking and having a good time with friends or family, any day of the week.    Read more

  • TravelerSnowbirds Tackle Europe
    Day 12

    Cordoba - Home to the Mezquita

    January 11, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Today we saw one of the most fascinating places we have ever seen, the Mezquita. It is a well-preserved mosque that dates from A.D. 784 and was once the centre of Islam. You enter a dark area of more than 800 columns, built from marble, granite and alabaster recycled from ancient Roman ruins and churches, topped with red and white stone arches. The Mihrab is the mosque equivalent of a church’s high alter and was built in the mid-10th century of multicoloured glass and enamel mosaics. In 1236 a Spanish King conquered the city and 300 years later Cordoba’s bishop proposed building this grand church in the Mezquita’s centre. 70% of the mosque remains. At the back of the altar there is a blend of Christian and Islamic architecture that is found nowhere else in the world. We spent about 2 hours here and were awestruck.

    We meandered through the narrow streets and found this area of the old town to be way too touristy, filled with tacky souvenir shops. We did manage to find a popular tapas restaurant to have a break and ponder what we had just seen in the Mezquita.

    Too tired to find our way to a restaurant for dinner, we decided to go to a nearby supermarket to buy food for a light dinner in our room. I knew the store would be closing within 15 minutes so on our way there I gave John the directions then ran ahead to get there on time. Someone didn’t listen and ended up in a patio bar having a beer, supposedly waiting for me, but in the wrong place! I returned to the hotel on my own when I couldn’t find him. I was going to send out a search party if he didn’t return by midnight but he showed up within the hour.    Read more

  • TravelerSnowbirds Tackle Europe
    2
    Day 12

    Cordoba - A Beautiful City

    January 11, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Cordoba’s population is 328,000 (bigger than Regina). We really enjoyed our 2 days here and could only imagine how beautiful it would be in March when the orange trees were in blossom with aromatic white blooms. The people were friendly and we never felt cheated as tourists in any way. I took so many photos and had to add this extra page to include my favourites.Read more

  • TravelerSnowbirds Tackle Europe
    Day 12

    A Typical Spanish Breakfast

    January 11, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Our rate at the Eurostars Palace in Córdoba was 67 euros, approximately $100. This included breakfast every morning. In addition to these two main breakfast buffets, there was also made-to-order omelettes, a tea/coffee/espresso bar, a fresh juice bar, and wine or cava. A common breakfast item is crushed fresh tomatoes on toast and it tasted very good. Europeans must be shocked when they come to Canada and discover what a meagre breakfast is offered at our hotels!Read more

  • TravelerSnowbirds Tackle Europe
    Day 13

    Travel Day - Cordoba to Sevilla

    January 12, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    A quick walk to the train station and we were on our way to Sevilla,120 km SW and a mere 45 minutes on the high speed train. I haven’t been able to take any photos of the countryside because they are a blur at 300 km/h. So far the land has been flat and winter brown. Now that we are heading south it is greener, more hills, and dotted with olive and orange groves.

    On arrival in Sevilla we took a public bus to the central area 20 minutes from the train station. Here we had a short 10 minute walk to our Airbnb one bedroom apartment. The owner, Esperanza, spoke some English and was very helpful with tips on her apartment and city. The apartment was spotless, had everything we needed, and was charmingly Spanish. It was conveniently located to all the shopping and sites. There was a large department store, El Corte Ingles, that had a great supermarket where I was able to stock up on some staples as we would be spending 5 days in Sevilla. It reminded me of the old Eatons downtown store where my Mom would do her grocery shopping.

    Sevilla has a population similar to Winnipeg yet everything was so centralized. There is only one skyscraper that wasn’t a hit with the people when it was built. Since there are no shopping malls, the downtown (Centro) is a maze of shops, restaurants and bars that extends for many kilometres. Armed with a better map app I was able to mostly figure out where we were going but the streets and lanes have no symmetry. In Spain there is a custom called Paseo where the locals go out and walk between 7 and 9 before their late dinner. The narrow streets, flanked with shops on either side, were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people. Many were shopping as in January and February there is a government law that all stores must reduce their prices in order to make room for the new inventory. Spain is my kind of place, although I was only window shopping and people watching. Paseo is supposed to be very interesting in the warmer months as the people dress up in their finest and latest fashion wear.    Read more

  • TravelerSnowbirds Tackle Europe
    Day 15

    Sevilla Cathedral

    January 14, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Yesterday was an R&R day, mostly for the old guy. I took a long, meandering walk just enjoying the sunny day and my beautiful surroundings. Today John stubbornly wanted to navigate the old-fashioned way, with a paper map, but the cockeyed streets are a challenge and we got totally lost. Map app to the rescue. Our destination was the Sevilla Cathedral, the 3rd largest after St. Peter’s at the Vatican and St. Paul’s in London and the largest Gothic church anywhere. It took about 100 years to build, starting in 1401 when the Christians tore down the mosque that was on the site. We felt so tiny in that massive space and are always amazed at the talent of the builders so long ago.

    We are trying to get back on budget and have been eating in. John hasn’t complained yet about my vegetarian creations.    Read more

  • TravelerSnowbirds Tackle Europe
    13
    Day 16

    Royal Alcazar

    January 15, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Now that we had a better idea of the lay of the land, it was just a 20 minute walk to this 10th century building that still functions as a royal palace. The residence was a separate fee so we didn’t see that section. All of the sites we have been to offer a significant “pensioners discount”. In this case, for example, we paid €4 instead of €9,50. Once again, this palace was decorated in the Mudejar style...a mix of Islamic and Christian. It was beautiful and ornate. The royal gardens were dormant but I can only imagine how beautiful they would be in bloom. This is actually a public garden and free to locals since it was once owned by the citizens when the king was exiled in 1931.

    We then walked to the bus station to buy the bus tickets for our next destination. From all my research, it is possible to arrive an hour early and buy same-day bus and train tickets. But I learned my lesson in Segovia and don’t want to risk a sell-out!    Read more

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