Arrival in Spain
We had an uneventful flight, departing a few minutes late, arriving on time. Barajas airport is in the middle of major renovations so our nine year old memories weren't particularly helpful. We had a long wait at Hertz for our car, but it was worth it...its a Prius! With gas at many euros per liter that's pleasant. It took a few minutes to figure out the car, how to start it, how to make it go. I was expecting a manual, but it is a continuously variable transmission, so no shifting, just an odd lever on the dash to select forward, reverse or neutral. It has a fun display that shows how much electricity is being generated, which motor is in use, etc. One problem is that you can't hear the engine. Neither can pedestrians. I can't tell if the car is on, and pedistrians don't hear it behind them, so they don't shift out of the way. Since they move for other cars I assume its the car and not me.
Siguenza is a pretty town. We stopped at the Turismo for map, fortified ourselves with some coffee and walked around the sights. A nice cathedral, a massive castle, and several attractive old homes. Since the lack of sleep was catching up with us we drove to Medinacelli to check in. We arrived around 1:00 PM, dropping with fatigue. The clerk looked at us and our reservation form as if he had never heard of our arrival. Our hearts sank, but eventually two keys were produced and we went upstairs for a siesta.
We headed out again around 5:30, much refreshed. The woman at the Turismo gave us several brochures and ideas for our walk and for sites we can visit tomorrow. All in Spanish, so we missed several key details. She was very enthusiastic, it was fun. She suggested a monastery and a paleolithic site nearby for tomorrow.
We walked around the town, which is lovely. A nice Roman arch, an Arabic castle, an interesting church and several attractive plazas. We took several photos, which we can't post right now since I forgot the cable to connect the camera to the computer. And my watch. Oh well. We should be able to get a camera cable in Zaragoza.
Perfect weather. About 85. We just have to wait until 9:00PM for the restaurant to open for dinner. The Spanish timezone setting is at work. Its 7:45 and it looks like the sun will be up another 2-3 hours.
Siguenza is a pretty town. We stopped at the Turismo for map, fortified ourselves with some coffee and walked around the sights. A nice cathedral, a massive castle, and several attractive old homes. Since the lack of sleep was catching up with us we drove to Medinacelli to check in. We arrived around 1:00 PM, dropping with fatigue. The clerk looked at us and our reservation form as if he had never heard of our arrival. Our hearts sank, but eventually two keys were produced and we went upstairs for a siesta.
We headed out again around 5:30, much refreshed. The woman at the Turismo gave us several brochures and ideas for our walk and for sites we can visit tomorrow. All in Spanish, so we missed several key details. She was very enthusiastic, it was fun. She suggested a monastery and a paleolithic site nearby for tomorrow.
We walked around the town, which is lovely. A nice Roman arch, an Arabic castle, an interesting church and several attractive plazas. We took several photos, which we can't post right now since I forgot the cable to connect the camera to the computer. And my watch. Oh well. We should be able to get a camera cable in Zaragoza.
Perfect weather. About 85. We just have to wait until 9:00PM for the restaurant to open for dinner. The Spanish timezone setting is at work. Its 7:45 and it looks like the sun will be up another 2-3 hours.
posted by Jim @ 6:26 PM
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