Day 31

It will surprise no one who knows me that I have strong opinions on castles. I like them slightly ruinous, in fog, remote (triple points for being cliffside), and empty of bus tours. My favorites were built for actual defense or as a show of strength/to shock/awe and not just for decoration or to show off, which usually means they’re older — the 1200s is my sweet spot. (Where all my Edward I fans at!?) The famous bit of today’s castle, the Castillo de los Templarios, is the front gate with all its Disney-ish towers. Turns out that part is “new,” from the 1500s, and the atmospherically crumbling old bit which I’d love (and actually built by the Templars) is currently under heavy restoration (there were cranes moving today), and can’t be visited. An excuse to come back then, I guess! What’s that thing they say about pizza? Even though you might not get your favorite kind of pizza, it’s still pizza? This castle snob had a great time exploring the “new” castle today.