I had a few vacation days left and no other time to use them before the end of the year so when American Airlines opened up their business class award space to Europe I snagged two seats for a 5 day trip to Madrid. It was a nice change to not have to wrangle a positioning flight like I do for most of our award flights. (Living next to a Delta fortress hub sucks)
Of course this was booked before AA really started to suck a nut with their on time ratings so a close connection in Charlotte meant a quick run through the airport and a delayed bag.
Still we would be back at the airport the following day to return the rental car so it shouldn't be a big deal. Just put our bag on the CLT-MAD flight the next day and no big deal. Should be simple right?
First stop was Segovia and their Roman Aqueduct that rises as much as 94' above certain parts of the town. After that we headed to the Alcazar. Supposedly the Alcazar was what gave Walt Disney the inspiration for his castle. Sadly the entire exterior front was covered in scaffolding and opaque mesh. the inside was very interesting with lots of intricate details on the floors walls and ceilings
Then it was on to Avila, a small city where my wife lived during her study abroad. At its center is a beautiful walled city with a surprisingly large cathedral integrated into the walls
Much of the original Cathedral was made with 'blood stone' that got its name from the red color running through the more traditionally gray blocks
We spent the night in Avila and would head to Valladaloid around midday. The weather the first day was hot but dry - a nice change from the hot and very humid summer in Michigan. Temperatures regularly reached the mid 90s during our stay but we knew that going into it and the 20-30% humidity made it much more tolerable - as long as there was shade nearby.
Still Avila sits at about 3800ft so it dipped down into the upper 40s at night so it cooled off quickly towards evening making it quite nice to sit outside eating tapas and drinking cervezas. At first I was a bit surprised that just 'Cerveza' was on the menu until I found out that many places only have a single kind of beer and its typically Mahaou. Still felt a bit odd to just ask for 'one beer please' without specifying the kind of beer. But it was good and much stronger than I would have thought from its light taste.
After some night photos we collapsed gratefully into bed after several hours of driving, 12 miles walking and running on 3.5 hours of airplane sleep over the last 42 hours or so
Of course this was booked before AA really started to suck a nut with their on time ratings so a close connection in Charlotte meant a quick run through the airport and a delayed bag.
Still we would be back at the airport the following day to return the rental car so it shouldn't be a big deal. Just put our bag on the CLT-MAD flight the next day and no big deal. Should be simple right?
First stop was Segovia and their Roman Aqueduct that rises as much as 94' above certain parts of the town. After that we headed to the Alcazar. Supposedly the Alcazar was what gave Walt Disney the inspiration for his castle. Sadly the entire exterior front was covered in scaffolding and opaque mesh. the inside was very interesting with lots of intricate details on the floors walls and ceilings
Then it was on to Avila, a small city where my wife lived during her study abroad. At its center is a beautiful walled city with a surprisingly large cathedral integrated into the walls
Much of the original Cathedral was made with 'blood stone' that got its name from the red color running through the more traditionally gray blocks
We spent the night in Avila and would head to Valladaloid around midday. The weather the first day was hot but dry - a nice change from the hot and very humid summer in Michigan. Temperatures regularly reached the mid 90s during our stay but we knew that going into it and the 20-30% humidity made it much more tolerable - as long as there was shade nearby.
Still Avila sits at about 3800ft so it dipped down into the upper 40s at night so it cooled off quickly towards evening making it quite nice to sit outside eating tapas and drinking cervezas. At first I was a bit surprised that just 'Cerveza' was on the menu until I found out that many places only have a single kind of beer and its typically Mahaou. Still felt a bit odd to just ask for 'one beer please' without specifying the kind of beer. But it was good and much stronger than I would have thought from its light taste.
After some night photos we collapsed gratefully into bed after several hours of driving, 12 miles walking and running on 3.5 hours of airplane sleep over the last 42 hours or so
Facebook
Twitter