Day Trip to Avila

July 13th, 2015

After visiting Segovia we took a 1 hour drive to Avila. Avila is the birth place of Saint Teresa de Jesus.

Avila has a lot of history and has changed hands many times from Arabs to Christians. The city is surrounded by a wall that protected it from its enemies.

We strolled thru its narrow streets and visited the room where Saint Teresa was born. We also got to see a relic of the saint.

One of Avila's best architectural pieces is its Gothic Cathedral. The construction  for this majestic cathedral started in the 11th century.  

Avila has several plazas where locals come out to have a drink and have dinner. We ended our visit by having dinner in one of these plazas by the city wall.

Day Trip to Segovia

July 13th, 2015

Today, we took a day trip to Segovia. Segovia is 1 hour Northwest of Madrid. In Segovia we saw a Roman Aqueduct built by the Romans in the 12th century to bring water to Segovia which they used as a military base. The aqueduct runs right thru the city and its construction of just stones and no mortar is truly impressive. 

We took a stroll down the city and had lunch in a Cafe overlooking the red tile roofs of Segovia. We came to the main plaza where we saw the Cathedral whose construction was started in th le 14th century.

We completed our visit to Segovia at the Alcazar at the edge of the city walls. 

Jamon Selection in Carefour

Sunday, July 12th

Cheese at Carefour

Sunday, July 12th

Cheese Selection at Carefour

Sunday, July 12th

A Day with Maricarmen's Family

Sunday, July 12th

To start the morning we did some market shopping and found a great selection of wines at really affordable prices. Many wines were 2 or 3 euros and the pricier ones were 7 euros. We also gound that avocados are not cheap. A good size avocado was 3 euros. Not having much avocados here but plenty of wine. :)

We had a great treat and spent the day with Maricarmen's family. Doña Emilia, Maricarmen's mom made paella and prepared some delicious tapas. This was the best paella we have ever had. The tapas included lacon a la gallega (cold cut ham with olive oil and sprinkled pepper), sliced chorizo, olives and manchego cheese.

I tried to keep up with the paella preparation but couldn't keep up with the steps. It was simply delicious. I might try to make this at home.

Daniel had a great day with the other kids. It was nice to hear him communicate in Spanish.

In the evening we decided to go out to a mall to take a stroll and enjoy some fresh air. The mall is in Majadahonda which is a nice residential area on the outskirts of Madrid. The highlight of this evening was the huge supermarket inside the mall called Carefour. This supermarket is a mix of a Wallmart with a well stocked Pavillion. Here you can buy an appliance, get a whole wheel of cheese, a water melon and a whole leg of Jamon Serrano, and a live lobster. The selection of ham, cheese, sausages, and fish and wine is incredible. This is Heaven!

Tomorrow, we are planning to visit Segovia and Valladolid.

Enjoying Breakfast

Sunday, July 12

Here is Daniel enjoying some breakfast. You wouldn't know he had gone to sleep at 2 am the night before.