I’m back with part 2 of my parents visit! I’ve been trying to really enjoy my last few days in Spain, so these last entries are going to be a bit delayed.
On Saturday, May 25th, Juanjo and Rosa took us to see Ávila, which is one of the nine capital cities in the province of Castilla y León and the fifth one that I have seen. The city is most famous for it’s impressive castle wall. It was very cold in the morning – colder than any of us had anticipated! We went to see a little museum about the indigenous people that had lived in the region prior to the Roman Invasion. The Romans invaded the lands and built the castle wall that still stands today. The construction of the wall started in 1090!! We stopped in a café to warm up with some coffee, before exploring more of the city. Thankfully, the sun started to come out and it got warmer!
We stopped in the Cathedral, but to be honest, it was very gloomy and gray so we didn’t pay to enter. I snapped one picture and that was sufficient. Plus, Dad was already over seeing churches! Next, we climbed the wall, which was the coolest part of being in Ávila. The wall is incredible and is in tact, surrounding the entire inner city. We walked about halfway around and then met Juanjo and Rosa for lunch (they’ve climbed it many times and skipped it this time). After a pretty mediocre lunch, we headed to the car to go to Los Cuatros Postes, a viewpoint where you can see a ton of the city wall. It was absolutely beautiful. We headed back to Tordesillas, grabbed our luggage and a drink in Plaza Mayor, before going to Valladolid for our train to Madrid.
We stayed in a hotel very close to Parque del Retiro and for dinner, we went to a nearby tapas place called a.n.E.L. Tapas & Lounge Bar. I ordered WAY too much food, but it was delicious classic tapas – tortilla de patata, patata bravas, and albondigas (meatballs). It was almost 11 pm by the time we were done, so Dad went back to sleep and Mom & I went to a nearby Irish Pub, called James Joyce Irish Pub. Leave it to us to go to an Irish pub in Spain!! I had to get a Guinness and some Bailey’s 🙂 There was a terrible band playing, but it was so fun anyway!
We took it a little easier on Sunday (or at least I thought we did) because I ran my parents to the ground (oops!). We grabbed some coffees in a nearby café to start the day. We walked past Puerta de Alcalá, which is older than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and then headed to the park. When I lived in Madrid in 2014, for some reason, I never rented one of the boats in the lake in Parque del Retiro, so that was our first real activity of the day! It was the perfect day for a nice row around the late. After the boats, we walked to Puerta del Sol, a famous plaza that contains the clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the start of the new year. We continued on to Plaza Mayor for some lunch and to cool down since it was really hot! Dad & I grabbed some ice cream and we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon in the Plaza. Finally, we went to the Corte Ingles that has the terrace overlooking Madrid. We had a few drinks here and my friends, Claudia & Toni, met up with us. My parents were able to meet all of my friends here, which was awesome!
We said our goodbyes and then it was time for me to head to the train back to Tordesillas. I was sad to say goodbye, but I was heading home soon!! 🙂 This beautiful sunset greeted me when I got back!
aventuras de alyssa 