Ode To A Family Holiday
7th to 14th May 2006
El Caracol's the place to be
to spend a week in May
with far-flung sisters from abroad
on a family holiday.
(Fiona moved to Bolivia,
we thought we'd not see her again,
But joy, oh yay, she got some leave
so we all went off to Spain!)
With boyfriend, brother and sister in tow,
We thought we'd better bring Mum,
And whilst we're here we may as well ask
sister-in-law and niece along.
So off we flew from our various ports
and met up in Madrid,
Then up into the mountains we sped
to where our house was hid.
El Caracol means "snail" in Spanish and, indeed, like a snail it looked,
The house with rooms winding round and up,
Lucky it weren't fully booked!
(Groan! The rhymes are getting worse...)
Arriving on a Sunday night,
we were met by a marvellous spread
of cold tortilla, sausage and wine
and lots of crusty bread.
The house can sleep 13 when it's full,
Though the dining table only sits 8,
I suppose you could always eat in shifts
or use the picnic tables, if you can't wait.
On the Monday we decided to see
what Rascafria had to offer,
But we arrived in the village at siesta time
so there was no-one about to bother.
(Offer, bother? Meh, it'll do...)
Rascafria is a quaint little placewith lots of things to see,
There's waterfalls, pools and mountains
And a pretty fab monast'ry!
Drinking and eating is a good pastime
in one of the many tavernas,
1 Euro is all they want for a beer
though it comes in a silly wee glass.
(Well, YOU try rhyming "tavernas"!)
You can go walking, if that's what you like,
In the beautiful countryside,
Whether it's strolling or hiking you like,
It's all there - you decide.
I think they keep strange hours in Spain
by sleeping for half the day,
Then in the evening - when I want to sleep -
They dance the night away!
Wanting to see a little more of Spain,We managed to tear ourselves away
from our ideal little holiday house
and go to Segovia for the day.
Driving in our hire car,
We had a hair-raising ride,
Hairpin bends and lethal drops
down the rocky mountainside!
But to Segovia we made it,
All in one piece, no less,
The first thing we saw was the aquaduct,
Which did quite enough to impress.
The town square is really pretty
with cafés round and about,
There's also a church you can look inside
and lots of shops with wares to tout.
The castle's the main sight in the city,Offering marvellous views from the top,
But only Gavin and I were brave enough
to climb the tower without a stop.
If you're more the homely type
then there's plenty to do at the house,
There's a hammock, cards and football,
Or croquet for those with nouse.
(Eh? Eh? That was a good one, innit?)
Other than that we had a wonderful time
just vegging about in the grounds,
Drinking cerveza and catching some rays,
Whilst piling on the pounds!
If you think you like what you've read,
Give Steph and José a call,
(They're the owners) and they'll book you in
so that you, too, can have a ball!
(My commission is 10%!) ;-)
View from the living room window
posted by Tina @ 24.5.06
