We weren't looking forward to what we thought would be a long drive south on fairly flat terrAine. After leaving the Picos de Europa our thoughts were turning to the return trip home to Canada. In order to make it special we decided to book Paradors for the next four nights. Little did I know that the next few days would bring many pleasant surprises.
The first day we drove along the coast before turning south to Lerma & our first experience in a Parador.
Lerma's Palace is hard to miss. Located on the highest point of land above the Rio Arlanza, this Parador was the former palace of one of King Fhilipe III's corrupt favourites, the Duke of Lerma. Apparently the King slept here once but who really knows. This was the perfect place for our first Parador experience.
A Parador, or lodging place for travellers of a respectable rank (as the exact translation goes) are part of a network of state run hotels established in the 1020's. Many of the restored castles, palaces, convents or monestaries are in towns that had little tourist trade and were in dire need of restoration. It looks like these places are way too expensive for the ordinary traveller but that isn't the case. Watch out for specials on line. They advertise discounts for seniors, for food (if you are going on to another Parador), for young couples, for families etc. Watch out for taxes and add ons. Most of the specials are available only on their website, not on other booking sites. One odd fact is that, once you've logged on to their internet in one Parador you are instantly connected at the next. Seems insignificant but after trying to input so many long and tedious codes this small fact is quite pleasing. Try to fit at least one of these Paradors in to your Spanish experience.
Lerma is one of those towns where many buildings are in the process of being restored and there are few other lodging or restaurant options. It is, however, a very charming village with a rich history.  
The second Parador we experienced was a Castle in Siguenza, another town still recovering from the experience of civil war (you can still see bullet holes in some of the building's including the church) and hoping to bring in more tourists.  
The last Parador we stayed in was in Cuenca. We stayed for two nights in this former convent built on a rock outcrop with a foot bridge connecting it to the old part of town. Cuenca is situated in an area with many scenic hikes along the canyon walls. There are also many roads in town that are pedestrian only taking you through the narrow medieval roads and out to scenic plazas. However, I can't say much about the local gastronomic delights. I'm either ready to go home or no longer enchanted by bread, pig's ears & tripe. We actually escaped the 15% Parador food discount to eat pasta in the city the second night. Slept much better!!
These last few days have been about much more than where we slept. Thinking it would be an uneventful drive we weren't expecting the number of hilltop castles, aging churches, fortress walls, canyons (with, again, many vultures), swollen rivers threatening the roads, a wannabe Gaudi home & even an area where salt had been mined & processed from the 10th century until as late as 1996. Shane and I both read a book called "Salt" (which I highly recommend and will read again). It explains how the discovery of salt changed nations. A big part of the book was about Spanish fortunes and the discovery of salt. Seemed so strange to come across this historic site (on the N234) without even knowing it was there.
The road south also took us past Sto. Domingo de Silos where the famous Benedictin Monk Gregorian Chant was recorded and is still sung daily. Interesting little village with a beautiful cathedral and homes on the back streets defying gravity by staying erect. For anyone interested (besides me) the architecture here is very unique looking much like the villages of Normandy. They use logs & plaster instead of the rock or brick structures (covered in plaster) that you see in much of Spain.
Along the way we passed a home that we thought Gaudi designed. After doing some research we found it was designed by a Gaudi admirer. It was so strange to see this structure in the very small village of Rillo de Gallo.
From Siguenza we drove along the N211 taking us through amazing canyons, odd rock formations and forests before arriving at Albarracin. Now this is an interesting town built on top of the rocks climbing above the Rio Guadalavior. Beautifully restored, this town is a must see but wear a good pair of shoes and be prepared to climb stairs!
The scenery continued to amaze us as we drove west towards Cuenca. There were ample opportunities to take photos of the canyon with the river below. It was beautiful until we got close to the town. The other Paradors could be seen from far away. We entered this city via the road less travelled which brought us through busy streets, one way roads and chaos before arriving at the last parking spot available, literally. Whew!
The convent was lovely and our room was at the far end of a (very long) corridor. We had a stunning view of the canyon and two windows which provided a very welcome cross breeze.  
Cuenca is a delightful town and the perfect place to end our experience of the Iberian Penninsula. The last drive was a straight shot to the Madrid airport where our little Fiat 500 arrived unscratched yet had aged almost 2600 kms (we put 4,000 on the first car) since we took her out just over two weeks ago.  
Tomorrow we begin the journey home which includes an overnight in Richmond. So now I sip red wine and munch on chocolate. I'll wait till I get home before I begin to watch my diet. That being said there will be no pig's ears tonight.