Sunday, April 01, 2007
Planes, trains and automobiles (and a segway)
Moving quickly around Spain in our remaining five days was made easy by a high speed train from Seville to Madrid (240kms per hour) and then by picking up an Audi and hitting the Spanish motorways which did not appear to have a maximum speed limit.
We had paused for only 24 hours in Madrid with the intention of seeing Picasso's art at the Museo de Arte Reine Sofia. I was particularly interested in seeing the amazing Guernica so we set off to enjoy this museum that we found only 300m from our hotel (this was pure coincidence). With Steve's interest in any form of transportation we also decided to follow up something we had seen in Seville, a Segway tour. A segway is a machine with two wheels that is powered with batteries. The best way to describe it is a short scooter which you guide....in fact I can't describe it. But you stand on it and power it forward and back by purely shifting your body weight. We had a three hour night tour of Madrid that took in the old city under lights so of course the palaces, castles and cathedrals looked magical.
The next day we picked up the hire car, flashed through the city traffic and escaped into the green country side that made me forget I was in Spain as it has all the attributes of Tuscany - high walled medieval towns, green rolling hills and poplar trees. Steve is a great driver - even on the 'wrong' side of the road and unlike our travels in Australia I don't have to give a 300km warning to stop for a photograph or lunch break - he was happily prepared to get from A to B via C and D. So our four days of discovering the north of Spain along the Bay of Biscay was relaxing and revealing. Why doesn't everyone rave about this part of Spain as they do Italy's Tuscany? It was inexpensive, historically old, interesting and aesthtically pleasing. Even Steve the Great Australian afficianado said "When we come back we must do..." a compliment of the highest order.
After three weeks away though I am looking forward to going 'home' and not proceeding every sentence with - excuse me do you speak English? Ireland here we come.
We had paused for only 24 hours in Madrid with the intention of seeing Picasso's art at the Museo de Arte Reine Sofia. I was particularly interested in seeing the amazing Guernica so we set off to enjoy this museum that we found only 300m from our hotel (this was pure coincidence). With Steve's interest in any form of transportation we also decided to follow up something we had seen in Seville, a Segway tour. A segway is a machine with two wheels that is powered with batteries. The best way to describe it is a short scooter which you guide....in fact I can't describe it. But you stand on it and power it forward and back by purely shifting your body weight. We had a three hour night tour of Madrid that took in the old city under lights so of course the palaces, castles and cathedrals looked magical.
The next day we picked up the hire car, flashed through the city traffic and escaped into the green country side that made me forget I was in Spain as it has all the attributes of Tuscany - high walled medieval towns, green rolling hills and poplar trees. Steve is a great driver - even on the 'wrong' side of the road and unlike our travels in Australia I don't have to give a 300km warning to stop for a photograph or lunch break - he was happily prepared to get from A to B via C and D. So our four days of discovering the north of Spain along the Bay of Biscay was relaxing and revealing. Why doesn't everyone rave about this part of Spain as they do Italy's Tuscany? It was inexpensive, historically old, interesting and aesthtically pleasing. Even Steve the Great Australian afficianado said "When we come back we must do..." a compliment of the highest order.
After three weeks away though I am looking forward to going 'home' and not proceeding every sentence with - excuse me do you speak English? Ireland here we come.
