It’s time to start our journey back north for the ferry, so a last day in la Herradura before driving to Segovia.
On Friday Bev went by bus for the ‘girls shopping trip’ to the market at Almeuñécar with Betsy, Naomi & Tami while Steve rode up to the Mirador at Cerro Gordo. It’s been great to meet up with everyone at the campsite again from last year! We spent the afternoon at Betsy’s apartment and after an excellent Chinese take-away from Keng’s we went to the Hideaway (an ‘English’ pub).
We left on Saturday 22 February in pouring rain! Heading for Segovia it was going to be a long drive so we took the main road to Granada and on to Jaèn by which time the weather had improved. We took a detour to find the Desfiladero de Despeñaperros view from the old road we drove on in 2002. It was getting late and we half-thought about stopping in Madrid but decided to carry on for Segovia arriving at the bull ring parking area just before dark. There were still several spaces, although it had filled up by the time we returned from our excellent meal out at the nearby Claustro del San Antonio Restaurant. A long day and certainly much more chilly!
The four-star San Antonio El Real Hotel & Restaurant offers an excellent three-course menu for just €28 including wine, water and bread. Just a few minutes walk from the bullring campervan parking area it’s next to the unassuming lower levels of the Segovia Aqueduct, looking at this stage more like the remains of a city wall. Originally built as a palace by Enrique IV de Castilla, Queen Isabel la Católica later transformed the buildings into a convent. After ten years meticulous restoration, it was opened as a hotel and restaurant in 2007.