Involved a lot of driving, as I’d predicted.

I thought maybe I’d stop in Cordoba and see the Mezquita but after battling my way into the city, driving down a one way street that unexpectedly dead ended because of construction, reversing half a mile to get out of said one way street and then making 3 or 4 futile circles around the Mezquita looking for parking while Mrs. Tom Tom yelled “Turn Left. When possible turn around. Make a right turn and then a right turn. You have arrived at your destination. Turn left. When possible turn around.” until I turned her off and decided this was not the day for the Mezquita.

So… I hit the open road to Madrid, enjoying very official highway signs like this

And ended up at the Holiday Inn Express near the Madrid Airport. Que pena!

But let’s not dwell. In my last night in this delightful country, allow me to share a few things I’ll miss most about Spain:

Drinking my morning cafe con leche (x6) on the public square

And drinking my evening sangria on the public square

Every city in Spain has multiple public squares. Some are little parks and some are courtyards with fountains but each is ringed with cafes and outdoor seating. In two weeks, I think I ate 2 meals sitting inside. The people watching view is much better outside.

This is the casual happy-hour standing-around portion of the day that lasts from about 4pm until 10pm. At 10, everyone gets serious about finding a place to eat dinner.

As to dinner, well, I’ll save food for my next post.