Teruel Exists!



Last tuesday we left for a four day road trip heading north-west into Aragón.  In a 2.5 hour drive we left behind the warm sunshine of Denia and climbed 1000 metres to the cold of Mora de Rubielos and its near neighbour Rubielos de Mora in Teruel province.  It is amazing how confused two supposedly intelligent people can become as a result of such similar names - asking each other questions such as: which one has the castle? which one are we staying in? and even, which one are we in now? 

Having learned to distinguish the twins, Rubielos turned out to be our favourite - a beautifully preserved medieval village with a great hotel called Los Leones in a restored palace in the centre run by the very friendly Manolo.

The sun sets on Rubielos de Mora (or is it Mora de Rubielos?)

On Wednesday we moved on to the capital of the provence, Teruel, where a little while ago the local government came up with the slogan "Teruel Existe" to remind people that it actually exists.  This was deemed necessary because nobody ever went there and we can now confirm that it does in fact exist.  Only just, however, as there wasn't a whole lot happening from a social perspective!  To be fair though, there was quite a bit to see including the mausoleum of lovers (recalling a supposedly real-life 14th century Romeo & Juliet story) and some very impressive Mudéjar architecture (referring to the muslim designed style built after the christian reconquest of the area).



The Mudejar Torre de San Martín

Another highlight is nearby Albarracín, an even more well preserved, almost surreal medieval village built into the mountain side.  The place is like a film set and has apparently benefitted from a private foundation which has helped to conserve the buildings and ensure that restoration is carried out sensitively - a pattern we were surprised and pleased to see repeated to a greater or lesser extent in the various villages we visited in Aragón.

Albarracín

The whole area is well worth a visit and we really enjoyed it, especially the rather surreal ending in the breakfast room when we realised we seemed to be the only guests not tucking into red wine at 930am!