FUN-travel: Northern Spain – Alcaníz to Barcelona, Spain
July 31, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Northern Spain – Alcaníz to Barcelona, Spain
Day 18 – Friday, July 27 – Alcaníz to Barcelona, Spain
Parador Courtyard
What I LIKE
Church in Parador
- chose Alcaníz stop to shorten drive back to Barcelona
- only 200 kms drive today
- don’t need Garmin & maps for next two weeks!
- breaking up the driving with cruising
- having someone else in charge of where we go
- caught thief attempting to “pinch” the backpack off top of luggage yelled & he dropped it
- got my “wake up call” to never, ever look away from belongings
- get a taxi to ship terminal
- arrive 1:40 pm
What I DON’T LIKE
- takes more time – only 2 lane roads through small towns
More Parador
- not having street signs that match Garmin directions
- a bit difficult finding Hertz in downtown Barcelona
- almost got backpack stolen in front of Hertz – only thing in it were passports
FF (FUN-fact) – Spain is the size of Nevada & Utah combined.
TIRA – (Things I Remembered After)
- San Sebastian has a “mini Rio” feel with statue of Christ high on the hill overlooking the bay & city.
- When ordering Spanish wine the degree of quality ranges from –
- Crianza – then Reserva – then Gran Reserva
- 4 glasses of wine with 8 tapas & water only costs 9 Euro in Sigüenza.
Northern Spain Trip Recap – The major roads were great to drive on and well marked. Everyone is very nice & helpful (especially when we needed directions in town). The cities were clean and well maintained. Food & beverages were very reasonably priced. Pamplona was fabulous with its civilized debauchery – Santiago Cathedral was spectacular – Segovia’s main plaza was magical with the authentic local experience.
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #417: Celebrate
July 31, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #417: Celebrate
Celebrate – to observe an occasion with appropriate ceremony or festivity.
When was the last time you celebrated something? What festivities did you engage in this week?
This week’s WOW comes from one of my long time speaker friends Scott Friedmanwho lives in Colorado.
Scott’s Book
The movie theatre shootings in Aurora, Colorado this past week remind us how fragile life really is. How do we deal with such a tragedy?
We celebrate life’s many blessings every chance we get. We live more vibrantly, more intentionally, more lovingly. We practice random acts of kindness and beauty.
We play harder and longer. We give more hugs. We don’t wait to say, “thank you”, “I love you” or “I truly care.”
We dine with gratitude, we listen to music with greater appreciation, and we live with compassion. We take greater pride in our communities, countries and citizens!
We recognize that the quality of life is determined by the quality of our relationships so we cherish those in our lives and remember never to take them for granted. As Luciano de Crescenzo said, “We are all angels but with only one wing, and only by embracing each other, we fly! Let’s fly higher and more united than ever before! Let’s celebrate life!
This week’s focus is on celebrating. How is your quality of life? When was the last time you practiced a random act of kindness? Who needs a big hug from you?
Reader Responses
“LOVE this … Thanks Susan!” – Christine
FUN-travel: Northern Spain – Sigüenza to Alcaníz, Spain
July 31, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Northern Spain – Sigüenza to Alcaníz, Spain
Day 17 – Thursday, July 26 – Sigüenza to Alcaníz , Spain
Our Parador
What I LIKE
- breaking up the long drive back to Barcelona
- only takes 3 hours
- Garmin still works!
- Parador is at the top of the hill overlooking town
- dinner here is quite good again
What I DON’T LIKE
- kind of on Castle, Palace, Monastery, Church overload
- feeling a bit sequestered up here so don’t venture down to town
FF (FUN-fact) – A cafeteria in Spain is a cafe that serves food all day.
FUN-travel: Northern Spain – Segovia to Sigüenza, Spain
July 27, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Northern Spain – Segovia to Sigüenza, Spain
Day 16 – Wednesday, July 25 – Segovia to Sigüenza , Spain
Segovia
What I LIKE
La Granja
- freedom of having a car
- being able to deviate from plans
- take off instead of staying here 2 nights
- Garmin still works!
- stop @ La Granja Palace – aka “Mini Versailles” – includes palace, gardens and sculptural fountains – incredible amount of art, tapestries, furniture and paintings -painted ceilings with massive gold leaf detail are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen
- arrive 4 pm to yet another cute Parador – old castle sits high atop the hill overlooking the very small town
- 7 pm walk down to town takes 15 minutes – see Plaza Mayor & Church ending up in Alameda Park – where all the action is – several blocks long sitting @ outdoor cafe sipping wine and watching everyone
- thunder in the distance cools the warm night air
- 30 minutes later it’s pouring @ we’ve run across the street to sit in the restaurant
- venture out in the rain to go 1 block down to recommended restaurant
- El Doncel is excellent! – have scallop appetizer, nice mixed salad, & sea bass – more good wine – Carmelo Rodero Crianza
- rain has stopped for walk back to Parador
La Granja
What I DON’T LIKE
La Granja
- can’t think of anything
FF (FUN-fact) – All over Spain when you order a drink you get free tapas – little mini sandwiches or a small portion of some other local dish.
FUN-travel: Northern Spain – Salamanca to Ávila to Segovia, Spain
July 26, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Northern Spain – Salamanca to Ávila to Segovia, Spain
Day 15 – Tuesday, July 24 – Salamanca to Ávila to Segovia, Spain
Ávila
What I LIKE
- hot coffee only costs 2 Euro @ Parador
- 11:00 take 15 minute walk to the Art Nouveau Museum – 2 floors of bronze sculptures, ceramic & porcelain figurines, paintings, furniture & an incredible doll collection dating to 1860 – really beautiful!
- Garmin works!
- Euro is down to 1.20 to the dollar!
- much warmer this morning
- finally getting on “Spain Time” – get up late – drink wine with lunch – take siesta – wake up and repeat – go to bed late
- 1 hr drive to Ávila – OMG Camelot for sure! – another walled city
- free parking lot has security surveillance
- lunch – local dish of huge white beans & ham stew – nice mixed salad
Roman Aqueduct
- walking back to car realize we’re parked next to Police Station (what are the chances)
- 3:30 head off to Segovia – only takes 1 hr
- Parador sits high on the hill overlooking the “old city” – more panoramic views like Salamanca
Segovia Cathedral
- 7:30 take taxi to “old city”
- 1st stop – Roman Aqueduct – really massive & impressive
- 2nd stop – Cathedral – it too is really massive & impressive
- 3rd stop – Alcázar – palace too is really massive & impressive
- 4th stop – Plaza Mayor for dinner – mixed salad & grilled tuna – Juan Gil 18 – Jumilla wine – quite good!
- being serenaded on plaza by piano player
- love watching all the families out & about
- kids actually playing – no Ipods or computer games
What I DON’T LIKE
Alcázar
- paranoid about leaving car in lot with all of our luggage inside
Ávila Cathedral at City Wall
- really hot mid-day
- Parador is 20 years old & dated – too new for my tastes & too big & too expensive (prices have been all over the board depending on availability)
(FUN-fact) – The Paradors offer a 5 night card for 525 Euros. Much less expensive than we have been paying per night. Breakfast is not included but we don’t eat that much anyway. Breakfast charges have varied from 20 to 40 Euros for two people. We’d rather spend that money on lunch or dinner. When breakfast is included we always make a sandwich with the meats & cheeses and have it for lunch.
More FF (FUN-fact) – Segovia wins a Gold Medal for the most delightful, authentic local experience in our Travel Olympics.