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<\/a>Spanish Countryside<\/p><\/div>\n
Our train today does not leave until 0945 so we do not have to get up too early. We start walking to the train station a little after 0900 and cover the .9 miles in just under 20 minutes. Our train is there for boarding and we learn that the MD ( medium distance) trains do not have you go through security. It makes for a quicker process and we hope it is safe. The ride is very nice. We pass through more pastoral and rural scenery and the terrain becomes rolling hills. We can see snow capped peaks in the distance. We are surprised at how much empty land there is here.<\/p>\n
<\/a>One of the City Gates<\/p><\/div>\n
We arrive in Avila and begin our walk to the Hotel. It goes smoothly at first but then my little voice says check the map. I have some screen shots of a map on my IPad so I take it out and find that we are misplaced. Not lost as I know exactly where we are on the map. I get my bearings and we correct, stop again, check the map again, and find ourselves on the right track. We come to a large plaza just outside the city walls, walk through an old gate, and enter the walled city. The street signs are not too great here so we take an educated guess and walk around a bend right into our hotel. The desk clerk starts rattling off in rapid Spanish after I say we have a reservation, which makes it extremely difficult to get what he is saying. I think he is saying there is no check in until after 1400 and I say Habla engles, which gets the more or less response. I say did you say we can’t check in until 1400 and he says, yes, more or less. He is now the mas o menos clerk. I ask if we can store our packs and he gives me a key and says first floor, door on right. I am not sure he is happy in his job and seems put out by the whole ordeal. We just take it in stride, stow our bags and head out to explore. We look for the Chapel of Ruben Mosi and walk 360 degrees around it before finding the entrance. This circle was in vain as the hours which I had of 1100 to 1300 are now 1700 to 1900.<\/p>\n
<\/a>CNC Avila<\/p><\/div>\n
We choose a new destination and head towards the Basilica de San Vicente. We exit the walled city through a different gate and walk the short distance to the Basilica. We make a stop at the nearby TI and get a nice map of the city. That should help with the rest of the day.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Sepulchre in San Vincente<\/p><\/div>\n
We pay for the Basilica and get English audio guides which we were not expecting. The Basilica built in the early 12th century sits on the site where St. Vincent was put to death. His body was entombed in a crypt within a rock outcropping but was lost when the tomb flooded. There is also an altar to the Virgen of Solterrano in the crypt. The story is that her statue was hidden when the moors invaded and then rediscovered in this spot centuries later. We head back up out of the crypt and to the sepulchre that is in front of the main altar. It depicts the story of St Vincent in a series of carved panels on each side. The Basilica visit was very nice and the audio was informative.<\/p>\n
<\/a>St Teresa Museum<\/p><\/div>\n
From here, we decide to head to the convent of St Teresa. We amble around and eventually come to a square with the Church of St Teresa but there is a mass in progress so we do not stay long, nor explore it. Around the corner is the Convent Museum and we go inside. It costs 2 Euros each and was not worth it. The structure itself was interesting and there may be some interesting stories or history of the artifacts but nothing was in English. They did hand us a written English guide which was possibly the worst guide we have ever been given. It just did not say much about anything. We did not stay too long. I would have been much happier spending my euros on two glasses of wine. We now head over to the Restaurante Bococo that I could not make reservations for online. We decide we will eat lunch\/dinner now if they have a table or try to make a reservation for tonight. We arrive and he says they are full for lunch even though there is not one person at any table in the restaurant. They are also full tonight, so no Bococo for us.<\/p>\n
<\/a>St Carol<\/p><\/div>\n
We decide we like the idea of eating now, rather than another late dinner and search out our second choice, Siglodoce. We bumble around and can’t locate it but I walk into a hotel and ask them and they point the way. We get the last table that isn’t reserved and order a steak meal to share. The free tapa today is Spanish olives which are incredible. We also get two soups to share and smashed potatoes with pork rinds. A nice bottle of red Tempranillo is included too.<\/p>\n
<\/a>I Can Do It<\/p><\/div>\n
Then comes a 750 gram steak which is almost 1 and 3\/4 pounds. Somehow we finish it all. Dessert consists a cheesecake and a chocolate mouse cake. We leave the restaurant, waddle down to our hotel, and siesta again. This life is going to kill us. We do not wake up and get out until 1800.<\/p>\n