On the road again

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The last chapter of our travel adventure finished with our plans in disarray. We left Italy in a hurry to get back to Leanne’s dad who was critically ill. Sadly he passed away soon after, but at least Leanne was able to see him before he passed and be around her mum when she needed her. Then there were funeral arrangements to be made and the many things that need to be done to organise affairs as people who have been in this situation will know. Sadly, Leanne's Aunt (Leanne's Mum's sister) also died whilst we were in Australia which made the trip even sadder for us all. In all we spent nearly four weeks back in Oz and Leanne felt as though she'd been hit by a bus.

We thought all of the bad luck for 2015 should be behind us by now and were expecting to be upgraded to business class for our flights to Madrid. Strangely, that didn’t occur, but we got the top story apartment for the price of the regular room at our hostel for the first two nights back in Europe.

My first impression of Madrid (this trip) was the food and drinks. We ate at a market style tapas hang out with dozens of vendors selling seafood delights, cured meats, paella, cheese, olives, pastries and beer and wine to wash it all down. I was hanging out for this sort of experience and my tastebuds were not disappointed. Then there are the carnecarias. In Madrid you can typically see at least five of them at any time, where you can buy Jamon Iberico bocadillos for as little as a Euro. Tasty and cheap are the key elements of Spanish cuisine!

We did the touristy hop-on-hop-off bus and were glad to see and hear about some of the sights of Madrid. Nathan's obsession for all forms of transport has not abated and a double decker bus with no roof was the highlight of the day for him. On this day I found the best fruit shop I have ever seen. The produce looked so good that it didn’t seem real. It looked artificial to me and the strawberries were delicious. Madrid has a Royal Palace to match most other royal palaces and I had a visit by myself. Hundreds of extravagant rooms, thousands of expensive art works and views over the enormous parklands to the west. A few days later when Leanne went it was not possible to go inside because there was a ceremony to induct some foreign ambassadors. I think this is the king’s most important job in the 21^st century. Instead she saw some soldiers on horseback in parade uniforms and a horse drawn carriage … then went shopping.

We then ventured off to Avila, which has extremely well preserved walls from medieval times. I know you have heard me say this many times before, but I rate this one highly, up with Dubrovnik, for impressive old fortifications. It also has a Cathedral, which is part of the walls. At one end its walls are about 4 metres thick. Like everywhere else in Europe, centuries ago they must have devoted most of their resources to building bigger and taller churches. I’m sure God would have been impressed with this one! From Avila we also visited Salamanca, a university town with another giant church. But we didn’t drag Nathan around the inside of this one, just appreciated it from the outside.

Whist in Avila I noticed a sign for a half marathon which was on the day that we were due to leave. So we caught a later train back to Madrid and I got to run through the town and around the old walls with hundreds of like-minded (mental I’m told) people. There was a real buzz in the atmosphere as I ran along streets lined by locals cheering on their friends and everyone else including one Australian, “Vamos, Chico, vamos”. Then the 1 hour 45 pace marker caught up to me as we approached the main gates. He stirred up the runners and the supporters to generate more noise, “Arriba, arriba, arriba”, and causing the few remaining hairs on my scalp to rise due to the frenzy of excitement. I have felt this in other races, but not to the same extent.

In Madrid again, Nathan started by falling down a moving escalator and banging his head hard enough to draw blood. Leanne and I feared another visit to a hospital, but this one was not as serious and Nathan has now developed his escalator riding technique to a more proficient standard. At night we caught up with a friend Leanne met at a conference in Sydney last year. He, his wife and kids were most hospitable to us and we were treated to some fantastic Spanish cuisine including the cured meats I love so much, a cold orange coloured soup that had a mild taste like Worcester sauce and a thicker consistency, olives of all descriptions, Spanish omelette and a home cooked paella. Yum!!!!!! For our last full day in Spain we visited Toledo and again were wowed by views over a medieval town with old buildings including a giant cathedral of course.

The trains in Spain are awesome compared to those in Romania and our journeys between Madrid, Avila, Salamanca and Toledo went at high speeds and without a hitch. Then there are the trains going under ground, moving people all over Madrid. The bigger ones are 10 carriages long and the caverns chiseled out to make the stations are amazing in size. I guess in 30 years, when the trains don’t work properly any more, they will be sent to Romania, where all defunct rolling stock spend their twilight years.

We are finished with Europe for now and you will hear something of South America next.

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Photos

Monument to Alfonso XII
In Parque de El Retiro, Madrid.

Tall buildings lining the streets of Mardid
On the roofless double decker.

Riot police in Plaza Mayor
The visiting football fans spend a few hours here before the game to drink, sing, kick footballs and light flares. The riot police anxiously watch on.

Old fashioned elevator
These are common in the old buildings we stay in. Two different hostels in Madrid had this type.

Avila
City walls encircle the old town.

Avila
The walls at night time.

Salamanca
From the top of the university tower.

Salamanca
View from one end of the 1st century Roman bridge towards the new cathedral. (Not very new though)

Carnaval
In Avila there was a carnaval at night and Nathan had a ball on the many rides here.

Half marathon
about 9 km mark. My time was 1:45:22. Well below my usual, but with little training and more hills than normal.

Horse parade in Madrid
Immediately after the horses passed a street sweeper came through to wash away all of the poo!

Toledo
From one of the great views over the river looking at the old town.

Comments

[Nina]

Welcome back v2
Love reading your blogs, Jon! Glad to see you guys back on the road again and looking forward to hearing more about South America. Safe travels!

[Brian & Margaret Rogers]

Wow!
Once again your blog was very interesting to read. Sad to read of your father passing - our most sincere condolences. Isn't Spain great?! We had a wonderful time there; your blog brought back fond memories. Thanks and continue to travel safely. As for running a marathon while you're on holiday, absolute madness. B xx