Trujillo to Guadalupe

Today we had a fairly short drive further northeast towards the Parador of Guadalupe, another new Parador for us. We drove through the mountains.

The view on our drive to Guadalupe

Guadalupe is the site of the Royal Monastery of Guadalupe. It has been a pilgrimage destination since the fourteenth century. At the location where pilgrims first crested a hill and looked down on Guadalupe there is a Hermitage.

Hermitage of the Humilladero
Guadalupe

The Parador of Guadalupe is right next to the cathedral.

Parador de Guadalupe

The view of the Parador and the Cathedral from the balcony of our room blew me away when we walked in.

We have to leave here fairly early tomorrow to meet Roger and Gail at the airport in Madrid. So this afternoon we drove back up to the Hermitage and recoded Duke’s second car review of this trip.

Duke’s Review of our rental car.

When we got back to Guadalupe we went exploring.

Cathedral of Guadalupe
One of the old gates of Guadalupe
Guadalupe

We had a picnic in our room for dinner.

Dinner
Dinner

The view from our room is pretty at night too.

Guadalupe

Badajoz to Trujillo

Tuesday morning in Badajoz, after breakfast Duke and I walked to the rental car office and picked up a new rental car. Then we went to a Corte Inglés outlet store and bought a new jacket for Duke because he left his jacket somewhere n Lisbon.

Walking to the rental car office in Badajoz

After we checked out of our hotel we stopped at a laundromat to do our laundry.

Finally we left Bandjoz and headed northeast to Trujillo. We are on our way to Madrid where are will meet our friends Roger and Gayle on Thursday. Tonight (Tuesday) night we are staying in the Parador of Trujillo.

Trujillo Parador

This is the 72nd Parador we have stayed in. Paradors are hotels owned and run by the Spanish government. They are usually in historic buildings like monasteries’ convents or castles. Some Paradors are in modern buildings in exceptionally beautiful locations. There are currently 98 Paradors in Spain and one in Portugal.

The Parador of Trujillo where we are tonight is in the former convent of Santa Clara. We wandered around Trujillo exploring a bit after we arrived. The Plaza Mayor is the impressive central square. There is a large statue of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro on horseback in the square. He was born in Trujillo.

Trujillo Plaza Mayor
Trujillo Plaza Mayor

We are dinner in the Parador Bar. We shared a cheese plate and fresh hot croquettes. The left over cheese will be for lunch tomorrow.

Cheese

Croquettes

Lisbon, Portugal to Badajoz, Spain

Monday morning we checked out of our hotel in Lisbon and took a cab to the airport. We parted ways will Ray and Linda.

Getting out of our taxi at the airport.

Duke and I had pastries and coffee at the airport.

Pastries and coffee in the airport

Ray and Linda headed home and we caught a bus heading east to Badajoz. Badajoz is directly east of Lisbon just over the Spain Portugal border. On Tuesday we will pick up a new rental car in Badajoz.

On the bus to Badajoz.

From the Badajoz bus station we walked to our hotel and had snacks on the balcony.

On the way to our hotel
Snacks

For dinner we decided to have Italian food. We went to a nearby restaurant called La Mrafia Se Sienta a la Mesa. The food was fantastic.

La Mafia se Siena a la mesa
Duke and I at dinner
Rigatoni with beef Ragu
cappella stuffed with chicken and plum with prawns

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Marvao to Lisbon

On Sunday after breakfast we drove up to the castle to record Duke’s car review for YouTube. Unfortunately the wind made parts of the audio unintelligible. We’ve been trying to decide whether to use it. I think I will post it with an apology and some subtitles.

Duke reviewing our first rental car.

From Marvao we drove to Lisbon. We had to get to Hertz in central Lisbon by 1:00 when they closed. As we pulled up to the Hertz garage the agent was pulling down the garage door and locking up! We barely made it. If we had made one wrong turn we would have been too late!

Hertz car return

Our hotel is literally next door to Hertz. We checked in and the concierge booked Covid tests for Ray and Linda, who will fly home on Monday. We rested a bit then took a cab to the pharmacy where Ray and Linda got tested.

Linda after getting her Covid test

We stopped for coffee and Pastéis de Nata. These Portuguese specialists are delicious.

Pastéis de Nata
Having an afternoon snack in Lisbon

We walked around a bit people watching, browsing the souvenir shops, and enjoying the Lisbon sunshine.

After we got back to the hotel we booked a restaurant for dinner. Many were closed on Sunday but we found one a couple of miles away. Our last dinner in Portugal was delicious.

Selfie at the restaurant
Duke’s octopus
Linda’s steak.

Zamora, Spain to Marvao, Portugal

Saturday was our longest day of driving so far on this trip. We drove 240 miles south and a bit west into Spain again. Now we are in Marvao on the Spain Portugal border just into Portugal. Marvao is on top of a mountain with a stunning 360 degree view. In the picture below you can see the castle on top of the mountain. That’s where we are.

Marvao

This morning before we left Zamora we explored a bit the square outside our Parador had beautiful trees trained to grow together to create a canopy.

Trees creating a canopy

Before we left Zamora we visited the Ethnographic Museum.

Ethnographic Museum

There were many interesting things in the museum. Take a guess at what these are.

Drop spindles used to spin yarn
I’m not sure what this is

On our way to Marvao we saw at least two cars with Ukrainian license plates. You wonder what their story is.

When we stopped at a roadside cafe for coffee and lunch we enjoyed watching the storks.

Storks
Linda’s squid

After we checked into our Pausada we went for a walk up to the castle

Marvao Castle –
Sunset from Marvao
Duke and I at the top of the castle

Our room at the Pausada da Marvao is charming with a great view.

Our room at the Pausada de Marvao
Pausada de Marvao

Our view at breakfast

Breakfast view