Gillian Thrum, Author at The Green Door

May 292017 0 Responses

Segovia – stunning last stop

Segovia – chosen by default as close to Madrid airport. We had wanted to finish up with another walking destination as neither of us are city lovers, but Segovia is so well situated, only an hour from Madrid and what a history we found.

A small walled pedestrianised village with a Roman aqueduct that is nearly a kilometre long! So large in fact that you can’t get it all in a photo. The stones aren’t even set in mortar! Be sure to visit the museum which has a fabullus exhibition on the aqueduct and how it was built.

Segovia is steeped in history – churches, plaza, castle and very good shopping all in one little town. Not to mention the Palace and gardens of Jardines del Palacio de San Ildefonso with its 20-odd fountains which is only 12km away and makes for a pleasant day trip.

May 292017 0 Responses

Leon and the Camino

Our last two stops enroute to Madrid were south through Leon and Segovia.

As we approached Leon the “pilgrims” on the Camino became more obvious. Now and then as we crossed the Trail we had seen a few walkers, but Leon and it’s Parador is a real highlight for many people travelling the Camino.

Our hotel for the next couple of nights (courtesy of a great Booking.com special) was the Parador which had originally been built many centuries ago to care for pilgrims on the Camino. If you look up Trip Advisor or Booking.com the reviews are predominantly by Caminos who are breaking their journey here. They made an interesting sight at dinner with their walk shorts/lightweight trousers and then their sandals poking out from underneath the heavy linen floor length tablecloths. Beautifully uniformed staff carrying their packs to the rooms. I’m sure the Caminos were only too willing to give their bags up, if only to the distance to their room!

May 292017 Tagged with Cotswolds, RHS gardens, Wisley — 0 Responses

Onto the Cotswolds and Wisley

Our original travel plans didn’t include England but as my brother’s tiny Philippine island was invaded by terrorists we had to quickly reschedule so as not to lose all our flights. This gave us six days to fill in and what better way than to call in to stay with the nephew in the Cotswolds! Late May is too early to see the gardens at their best, as we knew. It’s that time when most of the best of spring has finished and the best of summer has yet to bloom. However, we were not to be deterred of course and first stop was Wisley – so close to Heathrow too. Neither of us had been to England for nearly twenty years! Gosh the time has gone so fast. The Green Door has gobbled it up. Wisley was looking amazing – the borders so full with hints of the spectacular colour that was to come – just peeping through. The obvious winner was the new Allium Purple Rain. Phil just couldn’t get enough of it. It was a bit reminiscent of – “how many pictures of blue Gentians do you need”! The upright stems carrying the deep purple globes looked fabulous wherever we saw them – through purple foliage of Sage, through bright yellow flowers of Euphorbia. The key was to have foliage flowing around the stems so that when the Allium flowers were finished the garden wouldn’t be left with an unsightly gap.

May 292017 0 Responses

Cute Cudillero

In between mountainous villages we took a break in the tiny village of Cudillero. The Lonely Planet mentioned how cute this place was and that it is swamped in summer with tourists. Well – it is obvious why. Cute is the only word for this tiny fishing village. Well worth an overnighter in spring or autumn when the tourist traffic is low.

This Pic. Is taken from our apartment high in the village. No road access. On the same narrow strip lived three old ladies in their 90’s. – the adage ” use it or lose it” reigns here. I asked our hostess how they got their food etc. she told me that they all go to the supermarket EVERY day whether they really need to or not. Partly to keep the legs going and to have a good gossip. The supermarket was a good twenty minutes away on our 50yr old legs, and you had to go Down and Up again to get there….

Posts by: Gillian Thrum