Following up to d4g4h4@yahoo.co.ukDavid Horne, _the_ chancellor
> I thought it was brilliant. Great time of year to go- sunny (apart from
> a shower when we were in the Prado!) but cool to warm, perfect for
> walking around.
yes, it mad going to Spain in summer, beach aside.
>The rest of the time was spent doing what we usually do on
> this kind of holiday- walking around, soaking up the atmosphere
> (avoiding smoke when possible),
smoke? Don't you like it then?
>going into odd or interesting stores
> (though I bought a sombrero at H&M)
hee hee, photo!
>and eating. Some of the good stuff
> we had included the suckling pig I'd mentioned, also suckling lamb,
> partridge, rabbit, tripe (callos a la madrileņa- excellent!) and
> seafood. Also happened on a nice Peruvian restaurant (the only
> 'non-Spanish' meal we had) where we had Causa (OK- not as good as
> Oscar's mother's though) and great anticuchos de corazon. On that
> subject, we appreciated the way that the suckling pig and rabbit
> included the giblets- we wouldn't expect that in the UK.
I don't recollect giblets, maybe they just forgot :-)
> We actually 'visited' more in Toledo and Segovia. Both cathedrals are
> excellent- Toledo is exquisite on the inside, while Segovia's impressed
> more on the outside. The aquaduct in Segovia is very impressive.
as is the castle, very Disney!
>For my money, Tarrogona's is more 'beautiful' but the scale of Segovia's, and
> the way the city has been built around it is undeniably impressive, even
> if they do park the number 11 bus at the foot of it! :)
>
> My 'rough guide directions' for Madrid (picked up cheap in a bookstore a
> few weeks ago) was very helpful, though it notes the journey time from
> Madrid to Segovia is around 2 hours. Not any more! The AVE from
> Chamartin station takes you there in 30 minutes, including a 17 mile
> long tunnel under the Guadarramas. Very impressive! Toledo is also on a
> high speed line, and 30 minutes away, from Atocha station.
>
> On both services (which only stopped at those respective towns) they
> seemed very much geared for tourists, who were definitely most of the
> traffic. I say 'most' but the trains weren't very full. The AVE to
> Segovia was practically empty, so it would be interesting to know my
> carbon count per mile on that one!
Well, not much you can do about it, is there.
> I'll leave aside the smoking issue- I find it immensely irritating, and
> hope that the law can be changed soon...
smoking issue?
--
Mike
remove clothing to email |