Mérida

Founded in 25 BC the city known as Emerita Augusta was the capital of the Roman empire in Spain. Consequently, it has many relics of the Roman occupation to be seen.


And here's proof that the Roman's really knew how to build an arch. The rest of it has disappeared, it originally looked a bit like Marble Arch in London, but the arch itself will possibly be around for another two thousand years.


The museum, built in 1986, El Museo Nacional de Arte Romano, houses a host of Roman remains and is itself a splendid building.


There a entire walls covered with mosaics which were originally on the floor of Roman villas.


Even the garden of the Parador where we stayed had a Roman feel. The Parador had been an 18th century convent built on the remains of a temple dedicated to the Concordia de Augusto...

...with a splendid the inner courtyard.

To see more photos of our visit to Mérida, click HERE.

Plasencia

Plasencia, another walled market town, is a relatively short drive from Ávila through some beautiful countryside if like us you choose the non-motorway route.



Lunch was at the Parador which has a very interesting entrance to it's car park - the car enters a "lift" and you travel down a floor from street level.


Originally the building was a 15th century convent. These nuns think of everything!

A fine example of Cycas revoluta - one day ours will be this big!

After lunch we had a stroll around the town before we continued our journey to Mérida.

To see 58 more photos of our visit to Plasencia, click HERE

Ávila

First stop on our trip down to the Costa del Sol was at Ávila, an 11th century walled city...


...and above you see the view from our room window.




The Parador where we stayed was in the historic quarter, and was formerly a part of the "Piedras Albas" Palace, backing onto the impressive city walls.


To see all 78 photos of the town, click HERE

Another paella!

3 weeks ago we celebrated Brad's arrival with a meal. Today we all said farewell to him with another meal.


The langostinos eaten before hand and the paella were cooked by Javi's father...

...and it looked and tasted delicious.

After the meal we climbed the hill near the house.

Unfortunately, after being plunged into "summer", the cold weather has returned, (only briefly we are assured), and we currently have very strong winds with a lot of cloud cover.

It was very windy up there but the view was spectacular.

Visitors from NZ

My neice and her daughter visited us briefly on their European tour.

Here's a clue to the name of my great neice...

..and another one.

Margaret's cat and my great neice are both called Amber.

If you look closely you can see the village of Torre del Compte and the old railway bridge as it crosses the river Matarraña.

Here's a great ant next to the thumb of a great uncle.

The view from the Torre Cremada is excellent.

I've got my feet in the eastern hemisphere. The 3 girls have theirs firmly planted in the west.

Painters!

We've had our painters here this last week to varnish the woodwork on the outside of the house.

They have done a really thorough job and now it looks like new.

The day has been spent in sanding off the old varnish and then finally applying a fresh coat.



There have been some difficult places to get to so the "cherry picker" has been invaluable.



Fernando even managed to get it through the front gate with millimetres to spare on each side...

...and was then able to reach the full front of the house.

Fórnoles

This year we have had a prolonged cold winter, a short spring season and this week we have been straight into summer.

And so this was a glorious day for the celebration of mass at the ermita de la Virgen de Montserrate, also called the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Fórnoles. (See my blog entries in 2009 and 2010 in May for comparison).

When we first visited the ermita 3 years ago, it looked as though restoration was being undertaken. However, nothing has changed and it looks exactly the same today.

With glorious blue skies and the sun beating down, it was good to stand in the shade of the ermita for the service.

Every year the silver ornament above is carried around the site; it's very heavy!

We had managed to set out our tables in a nicely shaded area...

...and this year, our meal was one of Rosi's perfect seafood paellas. To watch my video giving all the ingredients and showing how to make it step-by-step, click HERE.

It was a lovely afternoon to be in the countryside...

...and to have a chat with friends. Another great day out.

To see all of the photos from that afternoon, click HERE.

English conversation!

Since February we have visited the Emilio Diaz primary school in Alcañiz to talk in English to a group of teachers who were keen to improve their language skills.


Yesterday evening was the final session and in true Spanish style it was finished with a wonderful spread of food and wine.


We have really enjoyed making so many new friends!

Zaragoza

It's off to Zaragoza by coach with a group of 60 adults from the various courses provided in the Matarraña area and the weather is the best of the year so far.

Zaragoza is developing into a most pedestrian friendly city and has the roads in the centre with tables, chairs and sunshades for the local bars spread around. It certainly is not a place to drive through! The new tram system is still being built and rented bikes are very popular.

The reason we went to Zaragoza was to see a film, De tu ventana a la mía, (click the title to see the trailer), directed by Paula Ortiz.

Lunch was a bocadillo con calamares y mayonesa con mejillones en salsa. ¡Delicioso!

Zaragoza is a beautiful city. You walk through the pedestrianised streets of shops and suddenly come across a quiet shaded park area with a great monument and fountains.

The architectural detail on the buildings is amazing,...

...great towers appear just around a corner,...

...there is detail on various doors as you pass by,...

...the vast openness of the Plaza del Pilar is amazing...

...and the grandeur of the...

...Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar is inspiring.

An unforgetable day out!