Iberian Adventures – Take One

Greetings friends and family!

I will edit when I get home, but I have been meaning to post something! 

I left Saturday to start my Iberian adventure. This year, I am traveling to Spain and Portugal.

Many thanks to Diane for taking me to the airport! “What had happened was” I thought my flight was leaving later in the day. Imagine my surprise when I got a “check in” email from Delta at 7:00 a.m. I about hit the floor and truthfully flights only look good as you are booking them. Nevertheless, Diane was willing to pick me up bright and early Saturday morning. Thanks, dude!

The trip started out great. I was able to fly through TSA with a TSA pre-check.

I was drifting in and out during the Seattle to JFK portion of the flight. I was sitting next to two ladies (sister-in-laws), who were planning one the women’s wedding. Anyway, we did a little chatting. The women were going to NYC for the first time. When they found out I was going to Spain, they asked where. So long story short, the engaged woman was getting married to a man she met in Valencia. The hoot of the story is that they were both living in Seattle at the times, but they just happened to meet in Valencia. I take that as a sign. LOL! I’m actually in Valencia right now for the night.

I did manage to sleep on the JFK to Madrid portion of the flight. It was scheduled to be 6.5 hours, but we were 45 minutes early.

So I got to my hotel, and I met my roommate for the trip, Leslie. She’s from Texas and like me is a single lady who likes to travel. We ended up catching the 27 bus and going for a walk. We went to a couple of Plazas (Mayor and Santa Ana), and we walked around until the monsoons came. 

Luckily, I got a really good night's sleep last night. I am catching a cold so that is part of it.

Spent the first night in Madrid and will return at the end for three nights. My goal is to hit up a few of the museums (Prado, which has some Edvard Munch so maybe the Scream will be there, and Reina Sofia), go to the Palace, Puerta del Sol, and of course spend more time in the old town.

My first impression of Madrid is that it reminds me of Athens. Crazy and chaotic but very vibrant! There are 3.3M people who live in Madrid and about 6.6M in the greater Madrid area. Back in the medieval days it was located between Aragon and Castile. Then enter the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, so there you go.

Today has been a travel day on the way to Sevilla to spend three nights there. Tomorrow night will be in Granada. I am so looking forward to seeing the Palace of Alhambra. It’s somewhere I have always wanted to see. So much amazing history there, and I look forward to seeing the Moorish influence in Spain.

So on the way to Valencia from Madrid there was a stop at this town called Cuenca. It was pretty cool. There are some “hanging houses” that are built on the edge of cliffs that are over a valley. It was impressive to say the least. They are not sure when they were built but it may have been around 1520. Amazing. There was also a nice Cathedral, Cathedral De Cuenca, that I had to rush through. But nice ceilings, ornate decorations, and pretty stain-glassed windows. There was this wooden bridge I had to walk over. I just had to not look down.

In Valencia, which is the third largest city in Spain, I spent some time walking in the Old Town (Plaza de la Reina) area. I love the Old Towns and plazas the most while traveling. So much amazing history, and I like imagining how many people have trod there through the ages. And it’s a great place to have dinner and people watch. There is this park that is built where a river bed used to be. I think its 10 km long. Anyway, there are toys, a soccer field, walking/jogging paths, etc. And there are a series of bridges that are there from the time when there was water. Imagine a park in London or Paris where the Thames or Seine used to be. The Cathedral in Valencia is home to what many believe is the cup from the Last Supper. It would have been cool to see…maybe next trip.

After settling in our hotel room, Leslie and I went back to the Old Town to attempt to see the cup, but alas, it was too late but we did go in the church, which was nice.

We ended up having dinner in the square. We met and ate with a man from Canada who spent 35 days doing the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Pretty cool. Add that to the bucket list. He was very interesting and is an energy therapist, which sounds pretty interesting. He mentioned the works of Saint Theresa of Avila, which I need to look up.

 

A lot of people here smoke. Yuck and yuck.

 

It's been pretty amazing so far, but the trip is already moving way too fast. Besides being behind in blogging, I have not had a chance to journal to contemplate my life or read any of the novels I added to my Kindle before leaving.

 

Alas, off to bed for me.

 

Please pray for me as I travel. What I really need is clear signs, open doors, and less pretty objects distracting to me. I'm trying to answer the question of what I want to do/be when I grow up!

 

Love. Hug. xoxo

 

LTB