A Year Long Pilgrimage

After 4 days in Madrid, we moved onto Granada, by train, and making good use of our Tarjeta Dorada, for 4 days. For those interested in the pilgrimage ways, Granada is on the Camino Mozarabe.  Some pilgrims begin this way from here, though it is waymarked from Almeria, and those beginning in Malaga would bypass Granada.  This is a city full of history, and particularly its long history as a Moorish city, before the reconquistition.   Granada has many claims to fame, but one of the most well known is that this is where one is able to tour the UNESCO world heritage site of the Alhambra.  The Alhambra is one of the best preserved sites of historical Islamic architecture,  and consists of both a fortress and a Palace.  Along with this there are magnificent gardens, fountains, and quiet pools of water. We were told that you have to buy tickets months in advance, but seeing we had no idea that we would end up in Granada, we hadn't done so!.  We were adv...

So much for sunny Spain!  It has only just got above double figures each day since we arrived.  I had thought my puffer jacket might have been relegated to the bottom of my pack till I could send it home with Carol or Jill, but alas, it is not to be! Arriving on day 1 in Madrid the plan was that I would sit and wait for Carol who was due in an hour after me, and supposedly into the same terminal, but, it was not to be.  Firstly, Carol ended up waiting over an hour for her bag, then after a phone discussion it was decided that I should wait, while she used the shuttle bus to reach me. We enjoyed our stay in Madrid, covering quite a bit of distance on foot, and testing my walking ability most days, covering somewhere between 10 - 12 kms each day. The Prado was our first monument destination.  Here we saw paintings by the masters such as  el Greco, Raphael, Van Dyke, Rubens, Goya, and Rembrant to name a few.  One of the highlights for me though was the "Dauphi...

I based myself in Leicester for a week and made several day trips.  This was much easier than moving to another town, negotiating travel with my pack, and being ultra careful with my leg.  It was still early days with weight bearing, and so I went to places where I could safely walk, but not too far. My first destination was Coventry.  I particularly wanted to see the Cathedral there, and what a sight it was.  There are actually 2 Cathedrals, one being the ruins of the bombed building, and the other being the new, very modern, replacement.  The ruins of Coventry Cathedral  It is a very moving place.  There is only one thing (below) in the old Cathedral that survived that horrendous night.   The "new" Cathedral, which was completed in 1962, is amazing.  The front of the building is a huge glass wall with a number of angels etched into it.  After entering, the building soars ahead, while looking back through the glass wall the ruins o...