FRIDAY 30 September in Benavente Spain

At 6:30 PM before our walk into town is still sunny without clouds and 80 degrees outside. Our drive up from the other side of Madrid was uneventful with heavy traffic around the outskirts using the M50 bypass around town. Stopped for lunch in Rueda a town from which we have sampled many a fine wine. Good wine with out menu of the day today as well.
Thursday had been a lazy relaxing sort of day waiting around for Cheryl's suitcase; we had a light lunch in the main bull ring square in Chinchon before to see the baby along with Guillermo and Alexis. Alison was a little overwhelmed with the group of strangers. She is just beginning to walk by holding onto to someone's finger. She is such a cutie and eventually warmed to host of new grandmothers versus just Gill. We had drinkies and some fine chorizo before walking around the corner to a fabulous restaurant where we had designer appetizers followed by steaks that were to die for. They better the Madrid Argentina restaurant where we had had last year's baby shower before Alison's arrival. It was lovely to see Alexis, Guillermo, Gill and the baby again but it was such a short visit. Without the help of Guillermo we would still be in the south as he snaked his way around the apartment' back roads and led us to catch the M305 back to Chinchon.

During our trip today we came to Medina del Campo and remembered about a fabulous castle there. We had visited before with Dave and Joyce, but Cheryl had not seen it, so we took a quick detour to Castillo de La Mota, check it out on Google, it really is quite fabulous. Of course we arrived at 2PM and it was, you guessed-it, Siesta time!We could not go right inside, but even walking around the inner walls is most impressive. Queen Isabel died in Medina, but the city itself is unimpressive(apart from the castle)so we headed out towards Benevente.
It is now 7PM and we are headed down for a copa of vino before we hit the town. More later, maybe

29 Sept THURSDAY

Lovely and Sunny this first full day in Spain. Our flight from Orlando to Paris on Air France was smooth and uneventful. It was 1100AM local at landing and hot within the DeGalle airport, walked for miles, eventually went thru immigration control and back through security to catch the connecting flight. Cheryl finally arrived on Delta flight from Atlanta so we had a bagette and water before boarding to Madrid on Air France. Landed in Madrid an 4:00PM local and our bodies thought it was 1000AM Eastern time. Luggage for Jane and Paul arrived, Cheryl's was nowhere to be found....up in Paris. So we filed claim paper work and trudged off to find the Hertz counter over in Terminal #1 as the Paris flight had arrived at Terminal 3. Finally got our car (a VW Caddy which looks square and could easily double as a bread van.) Garmin was not changed to avoid toll roads so she took us on the Real Ring road which cost a euro and then 2.55 euros. and we skirted Madrid on the N3 road earmarked to Valencia however, we ultimately arrived in Chinchon to the Parador and dropped the luggage that we did have before parking the car in the garage.
Wandered the center of town through the bull ring (fights each weekend we are told) and met 2 English couples both fairly new to the Paradores hotel chain. Cheryl has been called and told her bag has been found and will be delivered to Chinchon between 1000-1200 Thursday. So our plan is to stay local until the bag shows and off towards Toledo this evening to visit with Gill, Alexis, Guillermo, and baby Alison. We will update more after more time adjustment and luggage retrieval has occurred. Paul
We all slept really well, and after breakfast we wandered around again. Visited a panaderia with awesome bread and cookies. Found a really interesting bar/restaurant with an old wine cellar. It was full of old tinajas(they look like those huge Ali Baba old containers, come on you remember when the girl poured hot oil on the robbers and killed they all?!!)anyway they are huge pottery containers, they also had all the old equipment for wine making. It was an old moldy, dark cave. Really interesting stuff! After a nice light lunch we returned to the hotel to find that Cheryl's suitcase had arrived safely.(lock missing, which means TSA was rummaging around in her underware.) Now we are off for our free drink.More later.