Day: May 3, 2019

Ciudad Rodrigo to Parador Casa de Insua, Portugal

Friday morning in Ciudad Rodrigo we walked around the town a bit.

I mailed some post cards.

Then we headed towards Portugal. At the border we headed north on a back road to the town and fortifications of Almeida. The walls are in a hexagonal shape and consist of six bulwarks each with its own raveling. The massive fortification is difficult to appreciate from ground level.

There were sheep grazing beside one of the walls.

I totally enjoyed the military history museum.

Down the road a bit we stopped at the small village of Castelo Mendo and had coffee.

We are staying at the only Parador in Portugal. Duke and stayed at Casa Insua in February of 2016. The Parador is in a gorgeous country mansion surrounded by gardens. We had our welcome drink on the patio while Duke beat Butch playing cribbage.

Then we went for a walk in the gardens.

For dinner we beautifully presented and equally tasty.

Plasencia to Ciudad Rodrigo

Before leaving Plasencia Thursday morning we walked around the historic center checking out the churches and historic buildings.

Next we stopped at an Aldi grocery store to buy food for our planned picnic dinner.

When we left Plasencia Thursday morning our first stop was the lookout Mirador Monte Valcorchero. It gives a panoramic view of Plasencia and all the surrounding countryside and the fields surrounding the lookout are covered with cork trees. In the picture below you can see where the cork bark has been stripped of the lower trunk of the tree.

We took backroads to Ciudad Rodrigo driving through thinly populated mountains.

Our Parador in Ciudad Rodrigo is in a former castle. We checked in then climbed to the top of the tower and walked around the wall.

For dinner we had a picnic in our room.