After Madrid

This itinerary story will be all out of order. The pictures are here.But one of the main reasons for this Spanish soirée was to visit the city of Badajoz. In 1811 British forces under Sir Arthur Wellesley who later became the Duke of Wellington attacked the citadel of Badajoz which was being held by French forces. It was a bloody fight as one section of the wall surrounding the city was breached. Led by a suicide squad of volunteers known as "The Forlorn Hope," the British successfully poured through and 5,000 men from each side died. The amazing thing is hardly anyone living in Badajoz today knowns anything about the battle. Our hotel was 50 meters from the front of the hotel and the receptionist had never heard of it.

But evidence of the fortress which stood since the 11th century is all around. Sections of the old walls are seen within a parking deck.

From Badajoz we shot into Portugal to the cities of Elvas and Evora. Elvas consists of three fortresses. In fact it was the most heavily fortified city in Europe. Two of the forts were basically empty. MArk and I were the only ones there. But Elvas proper was a really cool little city.

Evora is a UNESCO World Heritage city. The weirdest place in it was the Capela dos Ossos, the Chapel of the Bones. The walls, ceiling, trim, the whole joint is constructed of human bones and skulls. On the walls are two ancient decomposing bodies.

Between Elvas and Evora we stopped at what we thought was a winery. Turns out it was a boutique hotel. The hotel was closed, but the two ladies there (one of which has been nominated Mark's future ex-wife) were more than happy to show us around and part with three bottles of their estate vintage. VERY good!

We made our way then back into Spain, Seville to be precise. Along the way we passed this city dominated by yet another medieval castle.