The train arrived late, which left us sweating the connection in Palencia. However, the fast train was having mechanical problems, so we ended up waiting for over an hour before we got underway to Madrid. So by the time we finally got to bed it was after 11:00pm.
We stayed at a hostel near the airport, thinking we'd be able to get a cheap airlines flight to Lisbon, but cheap flights on the same day are a myth, so we ended up heading back into the train station in Madrid and bought tickets for the once-a-day train to Lisbon. Today's train was sold out, so we'll leave here tomorrow. It's an overnight train, which means we'll arrive in Lisbon on Sunday morning.
We're staying tonight in a basic hostel-type small hotel just off the Plaza del Sol in the heart of old Madrid. As I write this from our mini-balcony at 10:15pm, the street below is teeming with people...I hope we'll be able to sleep tonight with all the noise.
The meseta near Ledigos.
The Roman bridge in Sahagun.
Ruins of an ancient church in Sahagun.
The street at 10:00pm beneath our balcony.
It sounds like you are finished with Spain, Jim.
ReplyDeleteMay I quote an American writer? ...."I have long believed that any man interested in either the mystic or the romantic aspects of life must sooner or later define his attitude concerning Spain. For just as this forbidding peninsula physically juts into the Atlantic and stands isolated, so philosophically the concept of Spain intrudes into the imagination, creating effects and raising questions unlike those evoked by other nations. "
James A. Michener "Iberia" 1968
Philosopher as usual, John. Of course there's Spain and there's the Spain of the Camino. Our attitude toward the former remains the same, while our attitude towards the latter is perhaps jaded by the limitations of mobility resulting from Jeanette's foot problem and exacerbated by the heat of Madrid (100F).
DeleteWhere are you? Do I recall correctly that you're on the Via Francesgina?
We loved our two nights over the pedestrian mall in Madrid, you can't pay for that kind of entertainment. Hope you have a good flight home, and I might have to borrow the Michener quote from John. Looking forward to hearing more of the details. Let us know if you need a ride once you get to Colorado.
ReplyDeleteIf you read my reply to John you'll get a better picture of where we were mentally and physically when I wrote this post. We're now in Lisbon and loving it--much more laid back than Madrid.
DeleteWe were loving the Meseta walk and would have continued, but the slower pace would have made for the last two days into Leon very long and hot.
Fair enough Jim.
ReplyDeleteMichener's book was an education for me about Spain in the 20th century. He first went there in the 1920's and returned frequently over the next 40 years. His friends and acquaintances were in politics and the Church, in the arts and literature and were among Spain's brightest and talented in a time of high tension and turmoil. He examines the highlife and the ordinary lives in all of Spain's regions including the Camino.
I would recommend it to you, especially now that you have experienced Spain in many of its infuriating facets.
After 4 years in Spain I'm starting a new walk to Rome on the Via Francigena. I begin in July and will go as far as Vimy Ridge and visit Canadian World War 1 cemeteries along the way.
To be honest I'm not sure if this Pilgrimage approach to Rome is the right one for me. I'll try it this year and see.
Have a good trip home and say high to Jeanette for me