My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
To make it easier for you to follow our 2026 Spring European trip from the beginning I’ve linked the blog posts in order.
You can go to the first blog post of our trip by clicking on this link.
At the end of each blog post after that, there is a link to the next day’s blog post.
Today was a busy travel day. We left the hotel in Alcalá de Henares at 7. Then we filled the car with gas and drove to Madrid airport terminal 1 where we turned in our rental car. Next we took a shuttle to terminal 4, checked in, rode a train out to the terminal four auxiliary gates, and got to our gate with time to spare.
The flight to Dublin was about three hours. From the airport in Dublin we took the Dublin Express bus into the center where we are staying at the Temple Bar Hotel. As we walked up to the hotel Roger and Gayle walked up from the other direction. They had arrived in Dublin a few hours earlier. Our rooms weren’t ready so we they gave us coupons for free drinks next door.
Next we went out and walked around a bit then had some lunch. Each couple shared a shepherds pie. They were delicious.
For dinner we had fish and chips at Leo Burdock and then walked around, enjoyed some of the live music and explored a bit before calling it a night.
After breakfast this morning we walked around the Parador of Siguenza a bit. It is magical to be staying in a castle.And the weather today was perfect
We drove 15 minutes north to record a car review video.
Alcala de Henares where we are tonight is only about 20 miles from the Madrid airport. Our flight to Dublin is tomorrow morning at about 10:30.
We have been here before so it was fun to go walk around the town again.
Tomorrow we leave Spain and fly to Ireland. Click here to read my blog post for tomorrow.
We had a lovely drive today on backroads, basically south, to Siguenza. Every time we saw a sign pointing to something interesting we stopped to check it out.
Next we saw a sign for the Mirador de Galiana. Mirador means viewpoint. It was a pretty phenomenal view.
Next we saw a sign for a Roman canal. We walked down a short path and found a tunnel that was part of the 18 km long canal.
Eventually we came to Siguenza. The Parador is at the top of the hill in the town. We have stayed here twice before in 2016 and 2018. We had our welcome drinks and a sandwich overlooking the courtyard.
For dinner walked down the hill about half a mile and 210 feet down to a wonderful restaurant called El Fogaril Gastrobar. We had a delicious tasting menu and enjoyed talking to the owner. Before we left we talked to a couple from Florida who were sitting next to us. He was 79 and she was 76. They have been visiting Spain for many years since he was stationed from 1968 to 1972 at the U.S. base outside of Seville.
You can read my next blog post here.
Today was a very relaxing day. After breakfast we went out exploring in Lerma. The palace that is now the Parador and many of the grand buildings in the town were built by the Duke of Lerma in the first two decades of the seventeenth century.
We relaxed in the central courtyard of the Parador. Yesterday, Sunday afternoon, the room was packed. Today, Monday there were less than ten people enjoying the space.
Tomorrow we go to Siguenza. You can read tomorrow’s blog post by clicking here.
Today we drove southeast to Lerma. We enjoyed the backroads again although today was a cold and windy day.
Tonight we are staying in the Parador of Lerma. It is in the former palace of the Duke of Lerma.
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