The walls lived up to our expectations. The city walls have been fully restored, and the rampart walk , for which we paid 3.5 € , enabled usto walk more than half way round the city at this high level.
We had three or four hours of fairly energetic walking, to fully explore the walls. The cathedral cuts into the wall, as does the bishop's palace. So you have to descend to street level, and climb back up on the other side of the obstruction. Most of the guard towers are open, it is up to you as to how many you want to get to - each has a short climb to access.
The main landmark in the city is the imposing Walls of Ávila (11th-14th centuries), begun in 1090. The enclosed area is 77 acres with a perimeter of 2,516 metres, 88 blocks of semicircular towers, 2,500 merlons, curtain walls 3 m thick, with an average height of 12 m , and 9 gates. The walls represent the largest fully illuminated monument in the world. It is possible to walk upon the walls for roughly half their circumference. While some of the walls will never be walkable because of their integration into other structures, a large stretch has yet to be made safe for pedestrians
Click on a thumbnail photo to get a larger one
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
So that's the walls, then the rest of the city
Click on a thumbnail photo to get a larger one
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Hotel Casa del Presidente
We stayed at this 5 star hotel, set in a mansion that had been owned at one time by a former President of Spain, Adolfo Suarez. Adolfo Suárez (25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected prime minister after Franco. During his term as Prime Minister, Suárez was the key figure in the country's change to democracy.
We had a very good check in by a competent receptionist, and went to our room. It was well decorated but was located in the eaves, so was curtailed by a sloping ceiling. The bathroom was modern, and had an interesting use of mirrors to help make it "larger"
Our problems started at dinner. We were the only diners, which was not a problem as we were outside in the late evening sunshine. They serve a very limited menu with a choice of 3 starters and 3 mains courses, which is unchanging for months - retrospectively I realised why it does not change - they buy everything in, hence only a small kitchen staff, if any. The price on the web site is 45 Euros, exactly the same limited menu handed to me in the restaurant was 55 euros (note to the hotel management, I have the photos). I ordered the "Hamburger" as a main course, and my wife the "Cod Taco". My ordered rare hamburger arrived well done - well actually cooked to a frazzzle, and my wife's fish was cold and dry, it could have been microwave burn. We could not eat these dishes, but the waiter had disappeared, and never returned to find out if our food was satisfactory. After waiting some time without the waiter reappearing, we left and reported the problem to the receptionist. The next day nobody from management approached to apologise. This was not a 55 euro meal, and had it been half that, it would still have been over-priced. We ate elsewhere the second night, but noticed that although the hotel was full, nobody dined in the restaurant
Another problem occurred at breakfast the croissant offered on the set breakfast was over-microwaved, and cooked to a solid black char (again I have the photo) - a have never seen this done before
And for a hotel charging over 200 euros for room and breakfast, we had a strange barney over coffee capsules. We we given 4 capsules for our in-room coffee machine. Having used them the first day, we were surprised that they had not been replaced the next day. We asked at reception, but they were reluctant to supply any more. The same with the bottle of water in the room - here they refused another bottle and told us to buy one from the mini-bar in the room
When we left, nobody mentioned the problems over dinner. I have no idea whether this as because of embarrassment or arrogance
Click on a thumbnail photo to get a larger one
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
After that it was back to Moraira to enjoy the Yemas - though the boys say that they still prefer buns. Yemas are the "featured" product of Avila. Made originally apparently by St Theresa herself, you just need egg yolks (yemas) water and sugar, and a bit of patience, to make them yourself
