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Madrid, Spain
May 1st, Saturday - May Day, by DW
The word for the day is “holiday”, or maybe
a better description would be “closed“. AD and I slept in
until 9 which was really 8 in Tunisia. TD awakened us with
loud rustlings about the room. We were told in no uncertain
terms that it was time to get out of bed and on the road for
our 10:00 bus trip into Madrid. The thought of Dunkin Donuts
spurred both AD and I on. (Me for the coffee and him for the
sweets.)
As typical when traveling, you hurry up to wait. The bus ended
up leaving the hotel at 10:20 due to the drivers need for a
cigarette and a chat with another driver. On the ride into
Madrid it began to sprinkle, making us wish we had left better
prepared with hat, gloves and an umbrella. We walked
immediately to the internet café near the Metro stop, to send
JW our weekly report. We had a nice time in it’s warm and dry
environment. From internet we headed to the Thyssen Museum
which is touted to be the second best in the city. As we
walked we found that all the shops and stores were closed for
the holiday, and hoped that museums would be an exception. Ha,
Ha! Nope, we arrived nearly drenched to find the gates
padlocked.
 We did however get to see some of the May Day parade. May Day
in Spain celebrates the worker. There were lots of red flags
adorned with the hammer and sickle emblem. After lunch at the
restaurant of AD’s choice, Burger King, we decided to avoid
the gray skies by going to a movie. Guess what? You’re right,
more gated and padlocked doors. Can you imagine theatres
closed when everyone is off work? So it was back to the hotel
for a swim and more time on the internet and on the phone. As
AD and I swam in the glass topped pool the sun came out and
turned the room into a sauna, which was OK by me. Back in the
room AD worked on percentages and fractions while TD and I
enjoyed a bottle of wine.
Everyone agreed that the food was good enough at “Texano
Ranchero” to go there again. They have a great Cesar salad,
onion rings and spicy chicken wings. The restaurants don’t
open until 8:30 at night for dinner. We have been the first
customers both evenings. It is hard to imagine the people eat
so late. The soccer match was on TV at 10 PM. Madrid Real had
played Barcelona earlier in the evening. Beckham was sporting
his new hairdo….a shaved head.
May 2nd, Sunday - Traveling north to Arriondas, by TD
Instead of a morning walk, I went down to
the computers in the lobby to search for hotels in Amsterdam.
This is the first hotel we’ve stayed in that offered free
computers and internet. I spent another hour looking at
websites. The cheapest hotels are more than $150 night for a
triple. We just can’t imagine why Amsterdam is such an
expensive city. DW was up and packing when I came back to the
room. We caught the 9 AM shuttle to the airport to pick up a
rental car.
 The route out of Madrid was easy to navigate for a change.
While Spain has built a fabulous highway system, they are
poorly marked with directions. Often the route sign is only at
an exit ramp, or there are two directions available at one
exit ramp. On this trip today I missed the correct ramp 3
times. Before leaving metro Madrid, we stopped at a Carrefour
store to buy drinks, lunch and snacks. This store was one of
the hypermarkets, which rival anything found in the USA. DW
was thrilled to see a Starbucks in the shopping center and
stopped for a large Americano (brewed coffee, not expresso).
The landscape north of Madrid starts with rolling hills and
quickly turns into mountains. We passed through the snowcapped
Sistema Central range before reaching green wheat fields on
the road to Burgos. Traffic sped along at speed of 140KmH
(92mph). That got us to Burgos in around 2 hours. Burgos was a
bustling modern city of about 100K people. There was old city
marked but we drove right through, anxious to complete our
journey for the day.
 The road changed to two lanes from Burgos going north to
Arriondas. It climbed up numerous mountain passes, passed by a
huge alpine lake, before following the canyons of the Rio Pas.
Some of the road trucks still had snowplows mounted on their
front. We had wondered whether poles along the roadway were
placed for snow removal! All the high peaks were snowcapped.
On the north side of the final pass, the landscape started to
show that it was spring. Trees were leafed out and flowers
blooming. The villages had an alpine feel, rather than
Spanish. We could have easily been in Bavaria. When we reached
Vargas, we stopped at a gas station to fill up and ask for
directions. Arriondas wasn’t on our map.
 The station attendant brought out a Michelin regional map for
Astrurias, and Cantabria. We weren’t pleased to find how far
our destination was from Bilboa. I had told the travel agent
“somewhere near Bilboa”. She had spent a holiday at this hotel
and loved the location. Another hour later after driving along
the Cantabrico Sea (Atlantic Ocean), we turned inland to
follow the Rio Stella. The coast had been rough and rocky.
Villages were settled a fair distance away at the foot of the
mountains, rather than near the shore. There were Playas
marked every now and then.
 The Rio Sella flows out of the Picos de Europe (mountain
range). Scores of kayaks were along the river, riding the
white water. The mountain range got its name from sailors
returning to Europe in the 1500’s. The first sighting of land
was the Picos de Europa, which is now incorporated in a vast
national park. Arriondas is a small riverside town and the
center for canoeing and kayaking. Our hotel is in an old
mansion, sitting right on the river‘s edge. Casona Sella was
built in the 1920’s and recently converted into a hotel by the
granddaughter of one of the original owners.
 There’s not a lot to do in the town, other than canoe or hike.
We walked along the river and found an adult recreational
soccer game. It is amazing to watch the chest and head hits.
The cold and wind finally drove us back to hotel. We needed
hats and gloves in order to stay out for very long today.
After dinner, we watched a DVD in our suite. There are two
bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large sun porch for us to
inhabit.
Oviedo, Villaviciosa, Bilboa
and the Guggenheim Museum...»
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We did however get to see some of the May Day parade. May Day
in Spain celebrates the worker. There were lots of red flags
adorned with the hammer and sickle emblem. After lunch at the
restaurant of AD’s choice, Burger King, we decided to avoid
the gray skies by going to a movie. Guess what? You’re right,
more gated and padlocked doors. Can you imagine theatres
closed when everyone is off work? So it was back to the hotel
for a swim and more time on the internet and on the phone. As
AD and I swam in the glass topped pool the sun came out and
turned the room into a sauna, which was OK by me. Back in the
room AD worked on percentages and fractions while TD and I
enjoyed a bottle of wine. 
The route out of Madrid was easy to navigate for a change.
While Spain has built a fabulous highway system, they are
poorly marked with directions. Often the route sign is only at
an exit ramp, or there are two directions available at one
exit ramp. On this trip today I missed the correct ramp 3
times. Before leaving metro Madrid, we stopped at a Carrefour
store to buy drinks, lunch and snacks. This store was one of
the hypermarkets, which rival anything found in the USA. DW
was thrilled to see a Starbucks in the shopping center and
stopped for a large Americano (brewed coffee, not expresso).
The road changed to two lanes from Burgos going north to
Arriondas. It climbed up numerous mountain passes, passed by a
huge alpine lake, before following the canyons of the Rio Pas.
Some of the road trucks still had snowplows mounted on their
front. We had wondered whether poles along the roadway were
placed for snow removal! All the high peaks were snowcapped.
On the north side of the final pass, the landscape started to
show that it was spring. Trees were leafed out and flowers
blooming. The villages had an alpine feel, rather than
Spanish. We could have easily been in Bavaria. When we reached
Vargas, we stopped at a gas station to fill up and ask for
directions. Arriondas wasn’t on our map. 
The station attendant brought out a Michelin regional map for
Astrurias, and Cantabria. We weren’t pleased to find how far
our destination was from Bilboa. I had told the travel agent
“somewhere near Bilboa”. She had spent a holiday at this hotel
and loved the location. Another hour later after driving along
the Cantabrico Sea (Atlantic Ocean), we turned inland to
follow the Rio Stella. The coast had been rough and rocky.
Villages were settled a fair distance away at the foot of the
mountains, rather than near the shore. There were Playas
marked every now and then. 
The Rio Sella flows out of the Picos de Europe (mountain
range). Scores of kayaks were along the river, riding the
white water. The mountain range got its name from sailors
returning to Europe in the 1500’s. The first sighting of land
was the Picos de Europa, which is now incorporated in a vast
national park. Arriondas is a small riverside town and the
center for canoeing and kayaking. Our hotel is in an old
mansion, sitting right on the river‘s edge. Casona Sella was
built in the 1920’s and recently converted into a hotel by the
granddaughter of one of the original owners. 
There’s not a lot to do in the town, other than canoe or hike.
We walked along the river and found an adult recreational
soccer game. It is amazing to watch the chest and head hits.
The cold and wind finally drove us back to hotel. We needed
hats and gloves in order to stay out for very long today.
After dinner, we watched a DVD in our suite. There are two
bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large sun porch for us to
inhabit.
