When we set out for our drive to Cadiz we knew we had about ten hours of travel ahead of us. We had decided, because we have no timetable or deadlines, to drive until we were ready to stop and then move on when we were ready to move on. And, while these trips are really an exercise in flexibility and rolling with the flow of things, we do have a computer and when we have wireless we do research the places where we might be interested in staying. When we headed out this time it would be different because we had no idea where we would stop. We looked at our map (we still enjoy this even though we have a wonderful GPS system) and picked a general area for our first stop.
It was rainy and cold as we left and from a passenger’s standpoint a delightful way to travel. Cozy in our car with a few snacks and a cup of coffee (it is very hard to find a to-go cup of coffee unless it comes from a vending machine) off we went. We chat and enjoy the changing scenery stopping in small towns along the way to walk and stretch a bit. We had decided to stop after we got through Madrid so when we saw the signs for Palsencia we thought we would check here for lodging. Although we had never heard of it before it seemed a nice enough town.
We asked Betty (our nickname for our GPS) for the nearest place to stay and she gave us the coordinates. Imagine our surprise when she directed us to the convent of St Vincente, which now is a beautiful Parador.
Spain is infamous for it’s Paradors. They are historical sites and monuments/castles that the government has restored and now rents out a few select rooms. They do this for a couple of reasons. From the visitors standpoint you get to stay in a beautiful place of history and imagine life as it was 500 years ago. From Spain’s standpoint you raise the revenues to keep these grand monuments maintained for historical purposes. It is a win-win situation. We had researched the Paradors before leaving and while relatively inexpensive for what you get, the usually run no less than 200E each night. On a whim we went in and asked if there were any availabilities.
We knew that if you booked in advance, stayed a minimum of two nights, were in the right age group you could get a discount. Too our advantage we figured that even though we had not met any of these requirements if they had any rooms and because it was slightly after 3:00 p.m. they might just be happy to rent the room. And they were. We got the most beautiful suite for 81 E and it was like heaven staying in it. The old city is walled and our Parador is part of the wall so we had access to the city all night long. We meandered the streets, saw the sites, ate dinner at a lovely family run restaurant that the knife maker had recommended to us and then sat on our balcony and enjoyed the moon and stars. It was luxurious and we enjoyed it so very much.
It was a perfect rest stop. Our GPS is set and we are off to our apartment on the beach of Cadiz and excited to live life there for awhile.
Looking forward to our next adventure!
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