Day: February 27, 2016

Saturday, February 27, 2016

All through the night last night we could hear the wind howling outside our window and see snow falling. This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland. The guy at the gas station told us that snow is unusual for them. Some years they don’t get any.

We got up bundled up and walked down to the main square by the cathedral so we could take some pictures and get some coffee

Then we headed out on our planned route. The visibility kept getting worse and worse and after about an hour of very slow going there started to be snow drifts across the road. We decided it was too dangerous to continue so we turned around and went back to Sigüenza to try another route. This route going south to Madrid was fine except that the direct route to La Granja had chain requirements so we did another alternative route and eventually got to our Parador in La Granja.

After checking in and having a glass of wine we headed out to explore a bit and stretch our legs after sitting in the car all day. Neither of us had ever had roasted chestnuts so Duke bought some. They were wonderful. The bag they were served in had a separate compartment for the shells.

La Granja was chosen by the king of Spain in the 1700s to create a Spanish version of Versailles. The palace and the grounds are beautiful, especially in the snow!

We had dinner in our Parador.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Today we headed south on a cold blustery day. We stopped at the archaeological site of Numancia an Iron Age hill town where the local Celtiberians held out against an enormous Roman siege in 133 BC. The locals eventually committed suicide and burned the town rather than submit to the Romans. Although the town is famous in Roman literature its location was only rediscovered in the 1800s.