Avila

by Sharon

Onward. We are enjoying our time in Avila immensely. A nice and historic city. We are staying at a pension that is attached to the church, Santo Tomas, an old and beautiful church. I feel that God is blessing this part of our trip with lots of little mercies. Our flight to Madrid went without a hitch. We happened to get onto the express train to Avila right after we landed and a jaunt on the metro. I got money with seemingly no service charge on this end. We got to our pension on foot not knowing the directions to our place and with no workable map. We got in and basically ran a good distance to catch some time on the wall surrounding the old town of Avila which we loved. A lot of history and the best preserved defensive wall in all of Europe. Today also happens to be the feast day of St. Thomas, the patron saint of this parish. So, there will be a special mass and celebration. What a treat! This place is very inexpensive, I think 38 Euros for room and board. The food is OK so far we'll see today. There are some student teachers here, Chinese young people, and a smattering of others. Probably a third full. We eat on these long tables spanning the length of the dining hall. I look forward to sight-seeing and retreating today.