The Further Adventures of Chris and Joe in Italy (and Spain !): Another beautiful drive... from Alcañiz to Cuenca, Spain

Probably the thing we underestimated the most about this great trip is how beautiful the drives would be going from one location to another. The Parador of Alcañiz had been such a great experience, and although we were looking forward to our next stay in Cuenca, we weren't looking forward to the four hour drive to get there. Were we ever surprised... the scenery was absolutely stunning, totally unexpected. The drive took us through wide fertile valleys, along roaring rivers, past colorful rocky mesas, and even over a snow-capped mountain. A thousand photos wouldn't have been enough, but here are a few...

Cuenca is in the Castille-La Mancha region of Spain, and is as far south as we will go. The old town, first settled in the eighth century, was built on a narrow defensive ridge overlooking two valleys. Our apartment is in a house on the edge of a cliff, looking west over the valley that has been created over the centuries by the Júcar river. Carved into the cliff across the valley are "Los Ojos de la Mora", literally the Eyes of Mulberry, and having some local mysterious and mythical meaning. Our one-bedroom apartment occupies the entire top floor of the house, and includes a very cute and useful roof-top terrace. Here is the view of "Los Ojos" from our terrace...

The apartment is very comfortable, and a bit funky. It has a kitchenette, two large TVs, a jacuzzi tub, and an unusual set of stairs to reach the roof terrace. The view out the front is across a small plaza to the church of San Pedro. It is about a five minute walk down the hill to Plaza Mayor, the large public square where there are many cafes, etc. Here are some photos of the apartment...