Pedraza....
This was a bad day for the camera. The memory card setting didn't allow me to take more than 7 pictures. AHHHHH!!! I just fixed it... but it was too late. Anyhow, the kids took care of it and they have plenty of pictures. As soon as I get those from them, I'll post them up! In the meantime, you have a couple of pictures from PEDRAZA and some stories to read...
Pedraza de la Sierra is percheed high over rolling countryside. It is a quaint little village... very little. Silence was everywhere and we asked ourselves how something this quiet could be only an hour and a half away from the cosmopolitan noise of Madrid. If we saw 15 people in total, I would be exagerating. It was almost a moment of magnificence: us, the tourists in the middle of a medieval (XI century) "nowhere."
Within Pedraza's medieval walls, old streets lead pasts mansions to the porticoed Plaza Mayor. The huge castle (strategically positioned to cover all the panoramic view), standing on a rocky outcrop, was owned by Basque artist Ignacio Zuloaga. The castle museum show some of his works; unfortunately, it was closed. On the first and second Saturdays of July, candlelit concerts are held in Plaza Mayor.
We spent an hour in this town, hopped in the bus and in 15 minutes we arrived in Sepulveda. This spectacular town is sited on a slope above the Río Duratón. This area of striking beauty has been designated a natural park, the Parque Natural de las Hoces del Duratón. They also have a natural reserve for vultures (we were actually looking up to the sky watching out for them.... just kidding!).
The "Cordero" (lamb) in this town is legendary all over the world. So we had to have cordero. Consuelo, our Gonzaga's guide for today said that it was a must!!! We searched for typical "Figones" (restaurants exclusively reserved for cordero, prepared in wood ovens- Is that how you say it in English?? I doubt it, but you guys get the idea!). Well... the owner of the Figón himself greeted us and brought us into the kitchen to see with our own eyes the oven and the cordero in it!!!!!!!!!!!!! We sat and had homemade bread, a tasty salad and cordero... the most tender, juicy and delicious cordero I've ever had! It had a smoky flavor in the background. Very subtle. Heaven. Thinking about how authentic everything was almost brought my eyes to tears from excitement... The owner, the food, the ambience, the search for the place, the way the served us. Fantastic experience!!!!!!!!!! Kids enjoyed it a lot too!! They were doubting a little at the beginning but once they lost their "fear," they "devoured" their corderos!
Afterwards, heaven sent us a very helpful "walk" that helped our stomachs to "process" the hard-to-digest cordero. We got lost looking for the bus stop... in Sepúlveda... a very small town.... we got lost in Sepúlveda (please, don't tell anybody...). Once we found Mario, the bus driver, he laughed at us: "¿Se perdieron en Sepúlveda????" (Did you guys get lost in Sepúlveda?").
Anyways... travel stories... a trip wouldn't be a trip without this type of stories...
TOMORROW: MUSEO DE ARQUEOLOGÍA
Today I celebrate my two-year anniversary!!!
Happy anniversary, my love.....
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