DAY 2 , 5 JUNE 2017 AVILA TOWN AND AROUND

DAY 2 , 5 JUNE 2017 AVILA TOWN AND AROUND

Jane and Paul awoke Monday AM a few puffy clouds in an extremely brilliant blue sky but a chilly 49F  After a nice hot shower with a full shower curtain door versus the usual tiny 1/3 glass door to the shower. Both enjoyed a hearty breakfast with the usual Parador spread of great nibbles to start their day. Having slept Sunday night through to Monday they are both fully adjusted to local Daylight Saving Time in Spain.

Avila Walls Gate 12

Parador Avila

The plan is to walk into the downtown area to the nearest Orange Telecom Store to buy SIM cards to get their phones up and running locally. We stopped at the Visitor Center, a new name, not the usual Oficina de Turismo. Paul needed to sit and rest for a moment, he really is not a walker(!!!) and discovered that all that walking downhill outside the walls was quite unnecessary as we had to climb back up to the street we needed! No problem, they had escalators to aid those who do not have mountain goat blood in their veins! It was still a  fair walk at least for Paul as Jane was merely tripping right along. With the store in sight it merely took about 15 minutes to complete the paperwork and activate the phones for the next 30 days. Item two was the need for an ATM to obtain euros.  Not too far from the Orange store they found a Caxia (ServiRed) service that wanted a 5.00 euro service fee. Needless to say they could keep their money for that charge!! A note to the wise…do not attempt to cross anywhere but at a crosswalk! We have seen very few brave souls who try that, however crossing at a crosswalk is fair game! Pedestrians step out without a second glance at the traffic, so drivers be aware!

Avila Walls Gate 1

It really was a lovely morning and we continued our morning’s walk and soon found themselves back inside the city walls ready to explore the Cathedral. The old part is totally enclosed by Medieval walls with turrets about 50 yards apart, I am guessing here and I do not have my guide book to hand! Lets just say it is very old and very impressive. The Romans were here first and there are some ruins of houses but I guess the Roman culture is not as evident here as in other cities in Spain. The walls were built in the 11^th century and you can walk around a good portion of them. They are in the process of restoring and strengthening them. Important to retain these amazing structures.

I wanted to explore the Cathedral so Paul sat outside in the shade. The cathedral is built right into the walls and is considered the most fortified Gothic cathedral in Europe if not the world. I am always amazed by the complexity of these buildings and the cloisters. There are several wells (in case of siege, good to know!) and an actual secret passage which was discovered in 2011! There is also a legend that it is build on a secret underground lake, which would explain the success of the numerous wells but don’t you think they would have found it by now?

Church of Santa Teresa

Avila is home to Santa Teresa a good Jewish girl who left home at 15, with her brother, in search of martyrdom. Obviously she found it, and is revered in the Catholic church for all her good deeds of charity.    The city is filled with churches, monestaries, convents, hermitages etc. It has been good to revisit. It has escaped many of the ravages of war and is still a fascinating place chockablock with history.

To his great relief, Paul found his ATM! (BBVA gave us cash Under the Plus System/Symbol without a service charge.) However, TeleBanco is still our favorite ATM in Spain.

We had lunch sitting outside in a very nice restaurant, El Restaurant Medieval, actually it was a step from medieval! Food was great. We moseyed on back to the Parador as it was pushing 4PM, time for a siesta. The legs were feeling the ache of unaccustomed hills and stairs! We found a little shop with another iron door knocker that Paul coveted! Mission accomplished!

Avila Walls Gate 14

After siesta, it was time to search for food and drink again and a walk to take care of the calories consumed! We sat in the patio and had a glass of wine and headed out to see if we could find some tapas to sustain us through the night! We didn’t want to walk too far as it was now pushing 9.30……I know! Where does the time go? Not too many tapas places but there was a restaunt near the hotel which looked promising. It was okay, but just okay. Neither of us was really hungry but…..!

For our first full day in Spain we accomplished a lot and managed to walk over 5 miles. Time to call it a day and let the weary travelers rest!