Thursday 8th November 2018 - on our way home.
We had a leisurely breakfast and then requested the car at 11 a.m. I had tried to check in for our flight back to US but it would not let me check MAC in as she had been selected for a 'special random check' by the security authorities. The night before, we had decided to abandon the flight we had booked with Iberia from Granada to Madrid at 5 p.m. that day and instead book the AVE train from Antequera to Madrid. Despite trying to let Iberia know that we would not show up for the flight, they did not seem very responsive or interested.
So, we loaded the car up again and set of for Antequera. There was a fog or smog hanging over the city and surrounding hills. We passed on the way, the peak called La Pena de los Enamorados which plays a special part in the development of the area we were approaching. We arrived at Antequera and found the place of the archaeological remains called the Dolmens. These are underground prehistoric burial chambers. We parked and went to the visitors' center which has information and leaflets about the site plus helpful staff. Tickets are required but entry is free.
We watched a film which explained the presumption that the very early people here revered the Pena and this is why they sited their Dolmens in the area.
From Wikipedia:
This link gives some very interesting further history and description:
http://www.andalucia.com/antequera/dolmens-de-menga.htm
The film gave a very clear explanation as to how the dolmens were constructed although this must have been much presumption rather than fact. There are two dolmens in this area which can be visited. The Menga and the Viera. Visiting the sites gives good views over the surrounding area including the Pena and the surrounding plain the town of Antequera on the hill and the new high speed rail line which will eventually connect Granada with Madrid. On the way to the dolmens there is a solar plaza which is described in the link above.
This was an interesting and fascinating glimpse which none of us had expected and leaves one wondering why, so long ago, these constructions which involved the carriage of heavy stones long distances and the erecting of quite complex structures was undertaken and by whom. More questions than answers even though the visitors center was well equipped and helpful there is a mystery as to these archaeological enigmas.
We left the dolmens and headed for the station which is about 20 kms from the town of Antequera. It is a modern place built as a transport hub to allow access to the AVE train.
After a quick snack, we said goodbye to our wonderful hosts, Bill and Paivi and headed up to the platform for our allotted seats in Coach 11 seats 3C and 3D. The train arrived right on time and we boarded finding space for a our bags a bit limited but we managed to slot them in.
The train left and soon picked up speed. Although it was quite foggy we dd get some vies of the countryside. We stopped at a few places along the way, Cuente, Ciudad Real and Cordoba to name one or two . In between the train reached 270 km/hr and at one point got up to 300 km/hr. It was pretty smooth and at one point a trolley with coffee and donuts was wheeled past and I had a snack from this. It was altogether a very comfortable trip and much preferable to struggling at the airport so we were very satisfied with this change to our itinerary. I would thoroughly recommend trains, where the high speed option is available for travel.
We arrived at Madrid Atocha Station right on time, even a couple of minutes early. It was still raining outside but we made our way through the impressive station with its huge Botero statues in the courtyard to the taxi rank and were soon in a taxi to the Hotel Tryp Alameda Hotel close to the airport where we would stay for the night.
After checking in, we went to our room for an hour or so until coming down and hailing a cab to go into town for our dinner reservation at Botin, the oldest restaurant in the world, dating from 1725. The cab we hailed had just dropped some people off at the hotel. The cab driver did not seem to be too pleased that we were going into town and said that he preferred short journeys. I must say the rain was quite hard at this point and the traffic very heavy and progress was very slow and the driver harrumphed and muttered under his breath, shrugging his shoulders almost all the way to the restaurant, a trip which took nearly an hour. MAC had called the restaurant when she knew we were going to be late and they agreed to hold our table. We arrived at the restaurant which is situated in a lively area full of restaurants and shops and we were soon seated at a table upstairs.
Our waiter was brisk and friendly and obviously and 'old hand' at the place. We ordered appetizers of Botin Salad and Burgos black sausage and main courses of baby lamb and suckling pig. As usual in Spain, there were no vegetables except roast potatoes with the meal and when we asked to have some mushrooms which were on the menu, our waiter said there would be too much food!! We had a bottle of the house red wine which proved to be very good. The meal was rounded off with a couple of desserts.
The restaurant is charming and has a great atmosphere, somewhat redolent of places like Peter Luger's or Keens steakhouses in NYC and, perhaps, Rules or the Cheshire Cheese in London.. The clientele seemed to be some Spanish and many foreigners or tourists, drawn no doubt by the age and reputation of the place. The food is not the best I have ever eaten but I would not have missed going to the place,.despite the somewhat hurried schedule. It was a unique experience and I would go back, given the chance.
We left the restaurant and the rain had subsided, somewhat. It would have been nice to walk around the area but we had an early start in the morning so we took a cab back to the hotel which was much faster than our trip to the restaurant.
We were soon in bed after a long day.
So, we loaded the car up again and set of for Antequera. There was a fog or smog hanging over the city and surrounding hills. We passed on the way, the peak called La Pena de los Enamorados which plays a special part in the development of the area we were approaching. We arrived at Antequera and found the place of the archaeological remains called the Dolmens. These are underground prehistoric burial chambers. We parked and went to the visitors' center which has information and leaflets about the site plus helpful staff. Tickets are required but entry is free.
We watched a film which explained the presumption that the very early people here revered the Pena and this is why they sited their Dolmens in the area.
From Wikipedia:
'A dolmen is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more vertical megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (4000–3000 BC) and were sometimes covered with earth or smaller stones to form a tumulus. Small pad-stones may be wedged between the cap and supporting stones to achieve a level appearance. In many instances, the covering has weathered away, leaving only the stone "skeleton" of the mound intact.
It remains unclear when, why and by whom the earliest dolmens were made. The oldest known are found in Western Europe, dating from c 7,000 years ago. Archaeologists still do not know who erected these dolmens, which makes it difficult to know why they did it. They are generally all regarded as tombs or burial chambers, despite the absence of clear evidence for this. Human remains, sometimes accompanied by artifacts, have been found in or close to the dolmens which could be scientifically dated using radiocarbon dating. However, it has been impossible to prove that these remains date from the time when the stones were originally set in place.' This link gives some very interesting further history and description:
http://www.andalucia.com/antequera/dolmens-de-menga.htm
The film gave a very clear explanation as to how the dolmens were constructed although this must have been much presumption rather than fact. There are two dolmens in this area which can be visited. The Menga and the Viera. Visiting the sites gives good views over the surrounding area including the Pena and the surrounding plain the town of Antequera on the hill and the new high speed rail line which will eventually connect Granada with Madrid. On the way to the dolmens there is a solar plaza which is described in the link above.
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| The Pena |
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| The Solar Plaza |
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| Bill holding up the capstone with his head to allow us to pass. |
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| Views of the interior and exterior of the dolmens as well as a large well in the Dolmen Menga |
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| Some visitors to the dolmen |
We left the dolmens and headed for the station which is about 20 kms from the town of Antequera. It is a modern place built as a transport hub to allow access to the AVE train.
After a quick snack, we said goodbye to our wonderful hosts, Bill and Paivi and headed up to the platform for our allotted seats in Coach 11 seats 3C and 3D. The train arrived right on time and we boarded finding space for a our bags a bit limited but we managed to slot them in.
The train left and soon picked up speed. Although it was quite foggy we dd get some vies of the countryside. We stopped at a few places along the way, Cuente, Ciudad Real and Cordoba to name one or two . In between the train reached 270 km/hr and at one point got up to 300 km/hr. It was pretty smooth and at one point a trolley with coffee and donuts was wheeled past and I had a snack from this. It was altogether a very comfortable trip and much preferable to struggling at the airport so we were very satisfied with this change to our itinerary. I would thoroughly recommend trains, where the high speed option is available for travel.
 |
| Coffee and donuts on the train. |
 |
| Up to 300 km/hr on the AVE |
After checking in, we went to our room for an hour or so until coming down and hailing a cab to go into town for our dinner reservation at Botin, the oldest restaurant in the world, dating from 1725. The cab we hailed had just dropped some people off at the hotel. The cab driver did not seem to be too pleased that we were going into town and said that he preferred short journeys. I must say the rain was quite hard at this point and the traffic very heavy and progress was very slow and the driver harrumphed and muttered under his breath, shrugging his shoulders almost all the way to the restaurant, a trip which took nearly an hour. MAC had called the restaurant when she knew we were going to be late and they agreed to hold our table. We arrived at the restaurant which is situated in a lively area full of restaurants and shops and we were soon seated at a table upstairs.
Our waiter was brisk and friendly and obviously and 'old hand' at the place. We ordered appetizers of Botin Salad and Burgos black sausage and main courses of baby lamb and suckling pig. As usual in Spain, there were no vegetables except roast potatoes with the meal and when we asked to have some mushrooms which were on the menu, our waiter said there would be too much food!! We had a bottle of the house red wine which proved to be very good. The meal was rounded off with a couple of desserts.
 |
| Burgos black sausage |
 |
| Suckling pig |
 |
| Baby lamb |
 |
| Botin restaurant dating from 1725. |
We left the restaurant and the rain had subsided, somewhat. It would have been nice to walk around the area but we had an early start in the morning so we took a cab back to the hotel which was much faster than our trip to the restaurant.
We were soon in bed after a long day.
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