TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER, ALCALA DE HERNES (END OF VACATION IN SIGHT)
Sleep has been a bit evasive; I have been battling a sinus thing and have found this fabulous remedy called Coldina, recommended by a pharmacist in Vilalba. It was like a miracle, cleared up the runny nose, sore throat from the drip….gone etc, etc. I am bringing some of this stuff home! I haven’t even had floppy ear drums! Unfortunately when I finish taking it all the problems return and I think it may be sinus infection. The Coldina keeps it at bay, so I will wait till I get home to deal with it.
Had a really nice breakfast and checked out. Paul was so incensed that we had had the same problem as 4 years ago, that he asked to speak to the Manager. I snuck out to the car and let him vent. The Director was most apologetic and claimed that lack of funds was causing a lot of problems. Paul told him he understood, but a bottle of bleach for the showers would really help! No answer to that!! We went back down to the town as the Diocesan Museum has a couple of pictures by El Greco and Zurbaran that I wanted to see, but alas the museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays! I guess I will not bother to come back. The cathedral is huge, with pillars and ceilings that are beyond belief in their size. Cheryl asked what was the purpose of this and I had no answer. This is a small provincial town which has a castle that housed Bishops and a Cathedral which is huge. Who knows what went on in the minds of the ruling masses in those times. The little people only mattered in that they were souls to save and their lives and comfort were of little consequence. Off to Alcala de Henares.
The Parador is only 2 years old and has been built in a 17th building. The mix of old and modern has been accomplished beautifully. You can still see they old Mudejar influenced walls right next to the very modern addition. The Spanish do this so well! It is very harmonious. The rooms are so modern they need a cheat sheet to help you work the blinds and lights, but the rooms are very comfortable. We had commented before about the Plaza in Elizondo where they took down the old Kiosko (as they call it) and put up bus stops, but Marcos, one of Asun’s sons said he like the old with the new. It made us look at it differently. This Parador is similar in a way, old and new combined. I think I like it!
We went down town to explore, and even though we had lived only a few miles from here, I don’t think we knew just how lovely Alcala is. The University was founded here in 1508! The buildings are lovely and Cheryl was in 7 th heaven with all the shops! Compared to last night in quite dead Suguenza, this place is hopping! We had some tapas and wine, walked around a bit and went back for reading/ naps!
We went out after siesta to explore some more and visited a tapas bar recommended by Guillermo Muy rico! Gracias Guillermo! Jane
Paul: I suspect that this will be our last post to the blog from Spain and that the final day's activities and mad dash to the Madrid airport with summary comments from everyone will be made from the USA to wrap up. Also, the sorting and posting of photos to my FLICKR.com account will be done from Florida. I only succeeded in a few photos as our internet connections were not strong and most of the time the upload of pics presented error notices without success.
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