When you can't live without bananas

Get email updates of new posts:        (Delivered by FeedBurner)

Saturday, November 12, 2011

France/Spain 2011 - Day 7, Part 4 - Loarre Castle

"The outcome of any serious research can only be to make two questions grow where only one grew before." - Thorstein Veblen

***

France/Spain 2011
Day 7 - 23rd March - Loarre Castle
(Part 4)

On my way to the airport, a car stopped to let me cross the road and someone on the bus gave up his seat to me. This was a refreshing change from my last vacation, in China.

I was very happy to head to the airport, since it would mean I could unload my 2.8kg of duck eggs - 1/3 the weight of my checkin baggage. That said, this was the shortest time I’d ever spent in a city, reaching the hostel at 7pm and leaving at 11am. Though that couldn't beat the guy arriving at Strasbourg at 8pm and leaving at 10+am.

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Covered urinals at the airport - I'm trying to understand why you would do this

Tellingly, even at the airport shops, the staff didn't speak English.

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
The car we got. An auto car would've attracted a more-than-100% premium due to relatively late booking.

For some reason the car kept stalling when I drove it. I later discovered that this was because I was going into third gear instead of first (the last time I'd done a stick had been in 2006). In any event I didn't do most of the driving - despite forgetting to add a second driver (kids: remember to add a second driver if you're not the only one driving).

Then came arguably the highlight of my day.

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Krispy Kreme

Our first stop was Loarre Castle, dating from the 11th century, which the tentative WHS list calls "undoubtedly the best in all of Aragon".

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Loarre Castle

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Abandoned Warehouse aka Entrance building/Visitors' Centre

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Camera panorama of the Castle and its Valley

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Valley - manual stitch

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Loarre Castle

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Approach

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Walls

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Tower and countryside

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Dog

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Wall sides

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Climbing up to keep

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Walls from above

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Keep walls

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Entrance

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Stairs up

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

I felt a little sad for Spain (or Aragon, rather) as the interior was gutted out.

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Church of St Peter:

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Altar

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Columns

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Capital

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Altar

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Church

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
I can't remember why I took this

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Bars

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Arch and background

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Passage

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
French school group

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Outer face

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Valley

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Climbing into peril - the area was cordoned off

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Distance marker. I didn't recognise the names

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Gate

After exploring the castle, we had:

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Churros
I preferred the Clarke Quay Alegro version as the chocolate was sweeter

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Road and Castle

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Castle from afar

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

Then there was a very odd sight:

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Catapult in the middle of nowhere

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Playground in the middle of nowhere (beside the catapult)

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
I call this "NIMBY"

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
There was some bridge trail called "Route of the Bridges". Notice how they talk about "the Roman occupation". What have the Romans ever done for Spain?

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Failed bridge

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Murillo de Gállego

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Paintball alley

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Plaque about the Pyrénées

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
River, Hill

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Is this a gorge or a valley?

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us


Apparently LED candles and covering up in churches are a Mediterranean thing (though you see this in France too).
blog comments powered by Disqus
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Latest posts (which you might not see on this page)

powered by Blogger | WordPress by Newwpthemes