I was going to title this entry "Bus Blunder With Busting Bladder" but that is only part of the story.
we left Barcelona on the 8am bus headed for Madrid Airport to pick up another car. The poor driver battled morning rush hour trying to maneuver the huge bus on to a single lane (3 lanes merge in to 1) access road to the highway. So nice to sit back & watch it all without driving in it! Rolling farm land with snow capped peaks of the Pyranese in the distance.  
I knew we had left Catalan country when I saw the first 'bull' billboard on the hill. Bull fighting has been outlawed in Catalonia but not in the rest of the country.  
The first time the bus stopped was around noon and it only stopped for 5 minutes. With no toilet facilities on the bus I made a mad dash for the (very hard to find ....not well marked ....done the hall & around the corner) banyo. You'd better believe I had an Olympic run to get back in time. Holy bursting bladders it was a race! The driver was frantic thinking we were both going to miss the bus. Not the senior citizen Canadians...no way!!  
Back on the bus we followed the A2 before another (short) stop in Catatayud. This beautiful village was mentioned in an article I read before leaving Canada. Beautiful Fort on the hill and the town seemed clean & family friendly with a big square & lots of foliage. Worth a visit if we have the time.
The wind howled and the sun shone as we made our way through hills of red, mustard, burgundy & yellow with land forms that reminded me of Bryce Canyon.
Seven and a half hours on the bus before arriving at Terminal 4.  

Picked up another little Fiat, this time with a burgundy rag top, and took to the road again. Just in case you hadn't guessed, trying to navigate out of Madrid airport with a sleepy GPS after a long bus ride was a challenge. We pulled over just outside the rental lot while the GPS tried to find satellites. It wanted us to drive sout east 600kms to our destination which was North west about 120kms. As we patiently waited a woman told us we o LH had 4 minutes to use the parking ticket from the rental lot of we would be charged. "Gracias!!" Just made it out in time. After a stressful few minutes using a real map and our eyes we found the right road and headed to Segovia for the night.
Picked as a convenient stop it turned out to be a beautiful city with an amazing aquaduct. Our fight with the GPS continued as it announced our arrival next to a couple of Guardia Civil in a no parking zone. The hotel was right across the large square next to the aquaduct.
The city is spectacular. Set on a rocky outcrop, in an otherwise flat plain, the city commands your respect. The distinctive 'Alcazar' towers over the city with the gothic cathedral close behind.
Built by the Romans in the first century, the aqueduct was in use until the 19th century.
Pedestrian friendly streets (with a lot less tourists than we were used to) and some interesting restaurants with a whole different menu. No familiar tapas bars here. It appears that the menu is either Burger King/McDonalds or local specialties. We chose local food which was a adventure. Where we ate doesn't matter, it was the nasty bread / egg / broth soup and baby pig that matters. Not a good introduction to the food especially when one of the (well advertised) specialities includes unborn piglets. Needless to say we passed on that but the pig we did get was 't much older. In spite of that we loved the town & got some great photos of the sun setting from our room.
Next morning we walked around the town, got lost & found before jumping in the car for yet more photos as we made our way west. Drove through Avila for a view of 'Avila de los Caballeros' which is one of the best preserved medieval walls in Europe. Glad the car made it through the narrow opening in the wall!
At the end of the day we had travelled through miles of rolling countryside before arriving at the worst accommodation (?) of the trip. It shall remain nameless because, as of yet, we haven't been charged. But really, how can you charge someone for a miserable room where the night manager entertained his girlfriend (loudly) in the room next door and where the 'breakfast included' turned out to be a very uncomfortable coffee??  
 The next day, fully intact but lacking any sleep, we headed towards the coast. Thankfully we weren't far from the Knights Templar castle in Ponferrada, which we thoroughly enjoyed. This is the area where you begin to see pilgrims on their journey to Santiago de Compostela. The Knights castle was originally built to shelter them. The more we saw the heavier the rain came down.....and boy did it come down! By the time we reached our destination, Fistierra, we had seen a few rainbows and dozens of dripping pilgrims. Found out that many pilgrims on the journey feel it is not complete until they walk to the ocean. I am amazed by their courage especially during the two hail storms we endured....but that is the next blog.