They say that all roads lead to Rome. So, I guess it was inevitable that I would end up in Rome one day. For me Rome has to things that draw you to the Eternal City. First, it has the remains and reminders of a wondrous and glorious past. They say that Rome wasn’t built in a day and after a visit to the city you can see that Rome is still being building, and yet it is very conscience of its ancient history. The second draw is religion with a subtle (though sometimes not so subtle) touch of art. I am, of course, referring to the Vatican. The art and architecture in the Vatican’s collection is simply astonishing. St. Peter’s Basilica is massive and humbles the visitor at the same time as it draws and elevates them into its glorious spaciousness and the lofty realm of its famous dome. 
I’ve looked forward to exploring the Vatican for a long time. The museum holds many treasures. There were two treasures in particular that I was interested. The first treasure was Raphael’s “The School of Athens”. I bought a print of this wall size painting when I was in high school and
it has hang in my various apartments ever since. The original is awesome! You walk into a room covered floor to ceiling with paintings and yet The School of Athens is the focal point with its many larger then life figures of brilliant philosophers, scholars and scientists.
The other treasure that I was interested in was the statue of Loacoon and his sons. Loacoon warned the Trojans, Equo ne credite, Teucri / Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes [Don’t trust the horse, Trojans / Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even bearing gifts]. Even though they didn’t listen to him and they accepted the horse filled with Greek soldiers, we get the saying "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts" from Loacoon.
it has hang in my various apartments ever since. The original is awesome! You walk into a room covered floor to ceiling with paintings and yet The School of Athens is the focal point with its many larger then life figures of brilliant philosophers, scholars and scientists.The other treasure that I was interested in was the statue of Loacoon and his sons. Loacoon warned the Trojans, Equo ne credite, Teucri / Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes [Don’t trust the horse, Trojans / Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even bearing gifts]. Even though they didn’t listen to him and they accepted the horse filled with Greek soldiers, we get the saying "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts" from Loacoon.
Tired Tim the morning of 07-07-07 San Fermin
The first week of July we rented a car and traveled 1711 kilometers (about 1064 miles) through northern Spain. We started in Madrid and ended in Bilbao. It was nice to have the freedom of a car and not be at the mercy of train and bus schedules. We made good use of the car to get off the beaten path and see some beautiful countryside and castles. We visited about a dozen castles. Some of them I had visited before and others were completely new to me. Two of my favorite castles in Spain (Gormaz and Olite) were part of the castle tour. Olite Castle is in Narrava and was the home to the Narravan Kings in the 14th century. It under went a major "restoration" in the 20's and 30's. Although the restoration was far from subtle it is a beautiful fairytale castle with towers, turrets, gates, chambers, cloisters, courtyards and balconies... oh yeah and it has spiral staircases! They offer a guided tour of the castle, but it is far more enjoyable to just explore the castle. My most favorite castle in northern Spain is the Castillo de Gormaz (see pictures below). I first visited the Castillo de Gormaz when I was studying La Rioja, Spain. At the time I was studying Spanish Medieval Literature and had just read Cantar de mio Cid. Many of you know the El Cid was a Spanish nobleman who fought against the Moorish forces about 1,000 years ago. He was "given" the Castillo de Gormaz as a reward for his valor and services to King and country. The castle has seen a lot of improvements over the centuries, but today 
Coca Castle
Castle Trip
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