The trip from Guijarrosa to Aranjuez was long and tedious. The country is largely empty. Empty of trees. Empty of hedges. Empty of animals. Empty of campsites. And there aren’t many towns either. Those we do pass look uninterestingly industrial. There are large buildings beside the roads which are either in the process of falling into disrepair, or already collapsed. Not pretty in the main. However, the road is good and there are a number of options for dubious looking coffee stops. We even had a truckers lunch at one place. Not the best! Three courses chosen more or less at random. We aren’t doing this again Barry!
Arriving in Aranjuez was very sudden. One minute we were crossing a totally deserted scrubby landscape. Over a hill and we were faced by Lidl and Dia supermarkets and then, almost instantly, straight into the narrow streets of town! No significant suburbs (at least not in this direction). The town’s streets are arranged in a grid with traffic running alternately in one direction then the other on successive roads. There are complex give way signs for each junction which include four pedestrian crossings each. Rights of way seem to vary randomly, so we just hauled the caravan slowly through these narrow, often cobbled streets. The skill is in predicting which of the cars in front is going to double park randomly, blocking half of the road!
The instructions for finding the campsite were inadequate to be generous! The feeder road we need comes off one of the world’s largest one way “roundabouts”! This involves five junctions (four left turns, one right turn) and a subsidiary roundabout with eight exits. We managed to fail even to get on to the system first time. So another lap of town was required.
Having got pitched, we met Nigel and Lyn who had been on the last site next to us for a very welcome glass of wine!
Friday was spent in Aranjuez. Glenda had spotted a coffee and cake place as we towed into town. It was called La Dulce Bailarina. And it was VERY much not a typical cafe of the region. Very tastefully decorated, it would be completely at home in the smarter parts of Paris, or London.
The coffee and brownie were sooo good we went back to make sure the next day (on our way to Toledo) and then booked for Sunday brunch after that!
Aranjuez, which we had never heard of before (!!) was originally established to provide accommodation for all the workers at the local Palace – The Palacio Real de Aranjuez.
Monarchs, like Isobel I, hung out here to avoid the crowds of their subjects in Madrid. The Palace visit was surprisingly REALLY good! 4€ each – very well spent! Much better than any National Trust property back home – certainly for the money!
The first 5 or 6 rooms were given over to lots of detailed plans of the building and it’s various extensions and enlargements. Not an auspicious start. But them we got to the start of the tour proper – out into the central courtyard…
As we entered under the middle archway we had our bags and phones scanned and our umbrella confiscated and locked in an individual clamp. Then upstairs…
Twenty one rooms of state, many of them decorated in magnificent style. Sadly no photography was allowed. So here are a couple of pictures found on the Web to give an idea of the splendour of the place!
On Saturday, we set off for Toledo – the reason we are camping here. About 40 kms of almost dead straight roads through more of the nothingness seen on our way north with occasional, isolated, large industrial activities like cement works and biscuit factories. Plus the usual array of decrepit buildings with caved in roofs. Not the prettiest of trips.
The road leading into the city was lined with rather austere blocks of apartments. Street parking in sight of the old town was easy. But then again there were a number of huge free parking areas around the base of the city. Walking in confirmed our first impression that it was built on top of another steep hill.
The Alcántara bridge spanning the River Tagus which “surrounds” the city on three sides with the city behind. The prominent four-towered building is the Alcázar of Toledo, a stone fortification located in the highest part of the city. It is a large quadrangular building measuring 60m on a side, framed by four large towers 60m high, each crowned by the typical Madrid spire. It now houses the army museum.
Entering by the Alcántara Gate. This archway has Arabic origins, dating from around the 10th century. It had great relevance in the defence of the city during the Middle Ages, and was the place through which people and goods entered the city.
We climbed the 5456 steps and emerged into a bustling plaza. It was very crowded with dozens of conducted tours following upside-down umbrellas and teddy bears on sticks. The place immediately felt oppressive. What with the narrow streets walled in by multi-story buildings often in a monotonous dismal red colour, the total lack of sunshine, the crowds (possibly our fault for visiting on a Saturday) and the tourist tat on sale in every other shop. It seemed like a very good place to leave!
Approaching the cathedral…
… and in the side streets…
The Iglesia de San Roman…
… and every other shop is selling swords – or wooden replicas of swords…
These are real, heavy duty things… but why? Who wants such memorabilia?
After walking almost to the Jewish quarter, we decided to have a beer and retreat. On the way down we found the escalator, well, strictly speaking a series of four escalators which delivered us back almost to the Alcántara Bridge!!! They would have been very useful a couple of hours earlier!
Driving round the outside of the citadel, we found the views looking inward were at least as good as the views inside. We ended up at the Parador on the next hill for a coffee. The view from here was exceptional.
Note to selves for future visits – Forget the town parking and the 5456 steps. Even forget the escalators. Just drive straight to the Parador, drink coffee or beer or anything really! Enjoy the panoramic view and drive home!. Just saying!
Now another joke from Peter…
A lady goes to the doctor with hearing difficulty. After a few minutes examining her ear the doctor announces that he knows the problem.
“You have a suppository in your ear!”
“Oh good! Now I know where my hearing aid is!”
Did you really climb 5456 steps? Is there more to this story that will unfold later perhaps?
Sigoria was 900 and that nearly killed the both of us…. including people much younger than us too!
Bravo for your stickability, courage and strength…….just a couple of young Champs you are!!!!!
Big hugs and 7 kisses
XxxxxxX ❤
Cathie, you know I can’t count beyond about 50! Anything more than that is pure exaggeration. John
Ah ha!!! You are very naughty John…..I was so proud of you both. Lol x 😆