The end
And this is the end of our Spanish adventure.
Our first stop of the day was the Monasterio de Yuste where emperor Carlos V retired (and died), following his abdication.
We then drove further up the valley to the village of Garganta la Olla with its characteristic houses.
This house is painted in blue because it used to be a brothel.
Here we visited the church escorted by an old lady who pointed out a few interesting bits.
During this holiday when undecided on whether to visit a particular monument or church we often said ‘Let’s do it as we’ll probably never come here again’.
We dithered about driving to Guadalupe as it was a fair distance but we stuck to our holiday mantra.
Guadalupe is a town in Extremadura famous for the statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe and its church/monastery, and has given its name also to the famous icon in Mexico.
So really this is where all the Guadalupes in world are named after.
On the way we stopped at some Roman ruins by a reservoir
before the long drive in the mountains
The monastery was quite stunning to look at but the place was mobbed! It was Sunday afternoon and it felt that most of the Catholic youth of Spain was there on a day trip.
We took shelter in the local parador for a drink to run away from the noise and crowds,
but on the way back we have to drive very, very slowly through a river of people (I guess that they were all going back to their coaches).
The drive back was quite eventful in a way. As we didn’t want to retrace our steps completely we decided to go on a different road. Well, the first 15 miles were hell-ish. The road was down to a single track and very windy. Luckily we only came across another 3 cars in the opposite direction and in places which were large enough for both. Phew!
Our last night was spent at the Parador of Oropesa, a Renaissance palace next to the castle. Another rather fabulous place!
The following morning we drove straight to Madrid airport and a few hours later we were back home!
Our first stop of the day was the Monasterio de Yuste where emperor Carlos V retired (and died), following his abdication.
We then drove further up the valley to the village of Garganta la Olla with its characteristic houses.
This house is painted in blue because it used to be a brothel.
Here we visited the church escorted by an old lady who pointed out a few interesting bits.
During this holiday when undecided on whether to visit a particular monument or church we often said ‘Let’s do it as we’ll probably never come here again’.
We dithered about driving to Guadalupe as it was a fair distance but we stuck to our holiday mantra.
Guadalupe is a town in Extremadura famous for the statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe and its church/monastery, and has given its name also to the famous icon in Mexico.
So really this is where all the Guadalupes in world are named after.
On the way we stopped at some Roman ruins by a reservoir
before the long drive in the mountains
The monastery was quite stunning to look at but the place was mobbed! It was Sunday afternoon and it felt that most of the Catholic youth of Spain was there on a day trip.
We took shelter in the local parador for a drink to run away from the noise and crowds,
but on the way back we have to drive very, very slowly through a river of people (I guess that they were all going back to their coaches).
The drive back was quite eventful in a way. As we didn’t want to retrace our steps completely we decided to go on a different road. Well, the first 15 miles were hell-ish. The road was down to a single track and very windy. Luckily we only came across another 3 cars in the opposite direction and in places which were large enough for both. Phew!
Our last night was spent at the Parador of Oropesa, a Renaissance palace next to the castle. Another rather fabulous place!
The following morning we drove straight to Madrid airport and a few hours later we were back home!