I spent a couple of weeks in Spain on holiday in December 2009.  It was my 6^th trip over there.  With regards to a culture I relish, Spain is right up there with the Italians.   I love, love, love the Spaniards, the history, tourist services, and landscape of that country.  Every trip back has shown me its big secret – diversity.  Just when you think you can pigeonhole them, they show you something 180º from what you thought.

The itinerary of this trip:  In the province of Castilla y León, I spent time in Segovia, Salamanca, and Ávila, a return trip to Toledo in Castilla-La Mancha, and then into Madrid for the remainder of the trip.

Castilla y León is the largest province in Europe and is mostly a “high plain”.  So, we were at or around 795 m (2600 ft) to 1131 m (3710 ft) the segment of the trip.  Toledo, a 55-minute drive outside Madrid is at 702m (2034 ft).  Madrid is a bit lower at an elevation of 646 m (2119 ft).  Surprisingly I spent a day with a headache.  The usual triggers: skip a meal, lack of caffeine, and too much alcohol didn’t apply.  I rarely ever get one.  It turns out this sea level dweller was adjusting to the altitude.

I landed in Madrid’s Barajas Airport, rented a car and drove up through the Guadarrama Mountains into Segovia.  First surprise was snow.  The last time I was in Madrid it was hot and the possibility of snow would have seemed crazy!  I passed a ski area on the way to Segovia.  That was the beginning of a new perspective of Central Spain.  Its yet another reason I love traveling off-season.

My pre-trip expectations were for a mostly dry weather.  My previous two trips to Central Spain, I had dry weather every minute of every day of every week.  So, I was prepared for but didn’t expect too much rain – let alone snow.  Rain means museums and there is a wealth of them.

Like anywhere, Spain does have its problems.  As a tourist there is only one that impacts you everyday – smoking!  And they have a loosely enforced No Smoking Law!  If you smoke, you’ll be in heaven.  If you don’t, you’ll find it challenging.  I’ll discuss this in another post.

I shuffled through all the 1000’s of photos from my trip and have put together a gallery on-line.  The link is HERE.  Be warned there are almost 350 photos in the gallery.  There are descriptions that explain each shot.  They are in chronological order.  So, you’ll see similar shots at different points because I wanted to go back again.  Also, I was using a new camera on this trip.  (Of course, I carried the old SLR just in case)  I decided to downsize and go for convenience rather than carry a bulky camera case in addition to all I usually carry (day bag, video camera, guides, maps, etc.)  The new camera is a Canon PowerShot S90 and for the most part I have raves.

I’ll be working on the Spain pages on the Know Your Trip Website in the coming weeks.  Eventually, we’ll be filling in Andalusia and Barcelona.  So look for them.  Enjoy the photos and sharing a little bit of my trip.  I can’t wait to go back!!!!

Happy Tripping!  Carter