When they started building the Parador next to the castle in Lorca in 2002 they didn’t know what they would find when they started to dig. They immediately found ruins of an old Jewish Quarter and synagogue from the fourteen and fifteenth centuries. Lorca was strategically important because it was on the border of catholic Castillo and Muslim Granada. Before we left Lorca this morning we toured the recently excavated Jewish Quarter and the castle tower. It was interesting how they built the Parador over and around the ruins.

After the tour we left Lorca and headed to the coast. The drive along the Mediterranean reminded me of the California coast.

Tonight we are in the eastern edge of Andalucia in Mojácar. This is the view from our room.

For dinner we had pizza and sangria. I forgot to take a picture of the pizza.

This morning before we left Alarcón we walked around the village. Back at our Parador we asked at reception for the key to the ramparts of the castle and climbed to the top.

Today we drove south and west about three hours to the town of Lorca. We are actually only about one hundred miles east of Cazorla in Andolucia where we were a week ago. This is the view from our room.

We have the romantic package here so this greeted us in our room.

For dinner we had comfort food.

In Cuenca this morning we crossed the pedestrian bridge from our Parador to the town. From the town we had a great view of the Parador

And of the Casas Colgadas or Hanging houses.

On our way south out of Cuenca we stopped at a grocery store for water and sunblock. Spanish grocery stores are fun to check out.

About half way between Cuenca and Alarcón we stopped at the Roman ruins of Valeria. The town was founded by the Romans in the first century BC. It was a cold day but we enjoyed a walk all around the ruins.

Duke decided to stop on the way out of town to take a picture of the town sign for his daughter Valerie.

This week we are staying in eight Paradores in eight nights. It is so interesting and fun to stay in these beautiful places. Tonight we are in the Parador de Alarcón. The castle we are staying in was originally built as an Arab fortress in the eighth century. It was destroyed in the twelfth century and rebuilt in the fourteenth century.

For dinner we had steak.

We had cheese ice cream with honey for desert.

We did laundry this morning then stopped for croissants and coffee. Good croissants may be my favorite food!

We checked out of our hotel and walked to Plaza España where we picked up our rental car. Traffic getting out of Madrid was bad but soon we were headed east towards Cuenca. The terrain is very different from what we saw in Andalucia. We are in the region of Castillo-La Mancha. We are seeing very few olive trees and lots of sweeping plains. For s lot of our drive the highway was right next to the high speed rail line.

In Cuenca we are staying in a Parador that is a former monastery on the edge of Huécar Gorge overlooking Cuenca’s Casas Colgadas or Hanging Houses.

This is the bar where we had our welcome drink.

For dinner I started with truffled eggs, potatoes, and grilled peppers.

Duke had salmon for the main course and I had calamari.

For desert I had mouse and Duke had manchego cheese ice cream.