Balancing the year, I realised there was one essential post I had missed. My post-Uganda break back in the spring couldn't possibly be complete without a trip to Spain.
But this visit was special, almost more special than my friends' wedding last year. Because this time, finally, after waiting for more than 10 years, I got to visit the mythical Castillo de la Alameda.
You see, I heard about the castle of Alameda even before I first came to Spain in 2004, from Javi's good friend Miguel, whom I didn't even know then. At that time the castle was really a decrepit abandoned ruin and if used, it was mainly by young people for their botellones (open-air drinking sessions), and though it's the only castle of its type in Madrid, from the far-away glimpses I caught it looked more like a small fortress. But I kept hearing stories featuring el castillo for a decade, alongside promises of a guided tour, and the myth grew and grew. But incomprehensibly, we never actually made it there.
Now I understand why my friends were postponing the visit for so long. They were waiting for a renovation of the castle to start - AND to finish. And so finally, this spring, the great moment came: Castillo de la Alameda, in its full restored glory, face to face.
Por fin, EL Castillo de la Alameda
Apart from this significant event, I spent two lovely weeks on the Iberian peninsula, largely centred around friends and food. In Madrid...
Where to better enjoy a post-vegetarian era than in Spain
I also made a detour to see other friends in San Sebastián...
11pm, and streets are full of life
In San Sebastián I came across this big very mixed group of people, singing, in Basque, on the street in the centre. I found out afterwards that they meet regularly, in different places of the town, to sing, to keep the Basque culture alive. Very, very nice!
There was not only singing :-)
... and more friends in Barcelona (including those who aren't on the photos).
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