Holiday time again!

This year in order to get down to the Costa del Sol for our timeshare week we decided not to use the coastal motorway as we have done in the past but to cut across country, (via Madrid), and also to take our time in doing so by staying for 2 nights at 2 places on the way down and 3 nights at 2 different places on the way back.

Click left on any photo to see all the detail.

The first stop was the Parador in Sigüenza, a 12th century castle which can be seen on the top of the hill above the town. The holiday had started in grand style. You can see Margaret relaxing with a welcoming glass of wine in the photo above. As you can expect with a Parador, the room was first class with the only problem being that the window was a bit on the small side - but what can you expect in an old castle?

Next day it was on to Zafra, this time a more modern castle, 15th century.

A walk around the town in the afternoon showed it to be a very relaxing place, just as well as the temperature had gone up several degrees!

Another early evening drink in the "courtyard"...

...and then later in the same place for a meal under the stars with the swallows screeching overhead.

And then to Doña Lola for our week - very little changes as this photo shows...

...and even the fig tree has grown very little since last year! To see the "Margaret in the window" photo from last year, click HERE and to see the 2008 version, click HERE.

After a week on the Costa del Sol it was time to head back, stopping off at Trujillo for 2 nights. This time the Parador is a 16th century convent.


Trujillo is a fantastic place and as well as having its full quota of screeching swallows it had white storks nesting on the high points of every building frequently having their bill clattering conversations.


The Plaza Mayor is enormous and has lots of cafés, bars and restaurants around it to cater for the constant supply of tourists. It is also the birthplace of Francisco Pizarro who conquered Perú in the 16th century - his statue can be seen in the photo above.


The castle which dominates the city was built by the Arabs as a fortress when they occupied Spain in the 10th and 11th centuries.


Cáceres, some 48 kms west of Trujillo, is the capital city of the region and dates back to Roman times. We paid it a visit on the Sunday. Once again it had many storks...


...as well as some very interesting buildings from the Middle Ages.

Our final port of call was the Parador at Soria, once again on the top of a hill and with fantastic views over the town and the surrounding countryside with the Rio Duero running through it. The photo above was taken from our room, (no small windows here), just a full 180° vista.


The mountains to the north, (La Sierra de Urbión, over 2000 metres above sea level), still had snow.

On the same site as the Parador are the remains of the 12th century castle.

On the return journey we just had to stop to take photos of the countryside - in one direction stone walls and fields of poppies...


...while in the other direction fields stretching out towards the distant hills.

Another fantastic holiday!!