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CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Inside 345 Park Avenue when a mass killer arrived
Hundreds of people call 345 Park Avenue in Manhattan their work home. The skyscraper soars more than 600 feet and occupies the entire city block from 51st to 52nd Street in Midtown, stretching from Park to Lexington Avenue in one of the ritziest areas of the city. Trees along the south side would offer commuters some relief from the summer sun were the building not so large it casts a massive shadow all by itself. Yet there's an airiness around the building, with a large open plaza across from the century-old Romanesque grandeur of St. Bartholemew's Church leading to the light-filled lobby. It was across that plaza and into that lobby that a mass killer walked early Monday evening. The bustle of rush hour became alarm as witnesses heard two shots, the sound of glass shattering and then rapid fire. Nekeisha Lewis was nearby eating dinner with friends when she saw a man run from the building saying 'Help, help. I'm shot,' she told The Associated Press. The gunman had left his black BMW sedan double-parked on the street and strolled to the entrance, sunglasses on and holding an assault-style rifle in his right hand. His demeanor as captured by a security camera was 'quite brazen,' noted retired NYPD Capt. John Monaghan. 'It's clear from the picture he is not worried about getting caught,' Monaghan told CNN's Kaitlan Collins. 'This is a guy who went into that building knowing, intending to kill someone and probably knowing he was not going to come out alive.' As he entered the glistening 44-story tower that houses the headquarters of the National Football League as well as venerable investment and real estate firms, the man turned right, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Monday. He pulled the trigger on his rifle, shooting Didarul Islam in the back. Islam was in his dark blue NYPD uniform, working a sanctioned overtime shift to provide extra security. Surveillance footage showed he shot a woman behind a pillar, then sprayed the area with gunfire. Another man in the lobby was hit and managed to get out of the building. Glass panels at the entrance and a revolving door were shattered but the pieces remained in the frames Tuesday. The shooter then went toward the gates leading to the elevators, shooting and killing Aland Etienne, a building guard trying to set off an alarm behind his desk that would have deactivated the elevators. On a normal day, that guard would have checked in visitors before they could go through the turnstiles and to the upper floors, according to CNN's Coy Wire, who has been to the NFL offices in the building several times. Wire said his experience was the building was 'highly secured.' The gunman reached the elevators as one opened into the lobby, letting out a woman. Early investigations show he was targeting the NFL but the elevator he took does not serve the lower floors where its headquarters are. Instead, after allowing the woman to walk past him unharmed, he took the same elevator to the 33rd floor. Above the lobby, workers piled furniture against an office entrance, according to photographs posted on X. At 6:28 p.m., the NYPD's 911 call center started receiving alerts about an active shooter at 345 Park and sirens of emergency responders were soon blaring their way to the building. At about that time, Iris Christo Doulou saw people running outside from her office across East 52nd Street, telling CNN a helicopter was soon hovering overhead as well. She and her colleagues were told to stay inside. 'They made two announcements. We didn't know what was going on. If there was a bomb, how many shooters? We stayed away from the windows, so we went (to) the back of the office so that we're safe.' A column of a couple dozen police officers hustled into 345 Park, seen on video captured from a neighboring building. Outside, streets filled with office workers running with their hands up past a falafel truck and an entrance to the Downtown 6 train on Lexington Avenue. Uniformed police organized evacuations and warned a reporter trying to approach the building there was a shooter with a high-powered rifle inside. On the 33rd floor, at the office of Rudin Management, the gunman stepped out of the elevator and walked around, firing as he went. One woman was struck and killed. He then walked down a hallway and shot himself in the chest. As law enforcement poured into the building — so large it has its own ZIP code — the extent of the bloodshed became clear. Two men and two women killed, along with the shooter, in New York's worst gun attack in 25 years. Another man, an employee of the NFL, seriously injured in hospital. Security guard Etienne was remembered as 'a New York hero' by his union. 'Every time a security officer puts on their uniform, they put their lives on the line. Their contributions to our city are essential, though often unappreciated,' 32BJ SEIU President Manny Pastreich said in a statement. Rudin Management, the owners of the building, said Etienne was 'beloved' there. They also confirmed a Rudin employee was killed. Julia Hyman was named as the employee by her alma mater Cornell University, from where she graduated in 2020. Cornell Dean and Professor Kate Walsh described her as 'an extraordinary student.' Blackstone, a company with offices in the building, said Wesley LePatner left a husband and children bereaved. She was a senior managing editor of Blackstone and a trustee of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, among other activities out of work. The UJA-Federation of New York, where she was on the board of directors, said: 'Wesley was extraordinary in every way — personally, professionally, and philanthropically. An exceptional leader in the financial world, she brought thoughtfulness, vision, and compassion to everything she did.' As investigators started their painstaking search for answers, less than two miles north, at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, more officers gathered, but there to honor their colleague who was shot and killed. Didarul Islam's body, draped in the NYPD flag, was wheeled to an ambulance as his family watched. His brothers in blue stood silently at attention, hands on their hearts. Police Commissioner Tisch praised the father-of-two working to provide for his wife and family with another baby on the way. 'He put himself in harm's way, he made the ultimate sacrifice — shot in cold blood, wearing a uniform that stood for the promise that he made to this city. He died as he lived, a hero.' By Tuesday morning, the sounds of rush hour again were dominant in Midtown. No worker was allowed inside 345 Park; instead, the US and New York state flags fluttered at half-staff and a small memorial started to take shape. Flowers were tucked into a railing and a single yellow balloon was added, with a simple handwritten message: 'Love one another!'
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
'Hidden gem' in Spain has 'best beaches' and far fewer crowds than Barcelona or Madrid
If you're looking to head to Spain but want to avoid huge crowds, ditch Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga in favour of this underrated destination instead. It has great beaches! Looking for travel inspiration but want to avoid the major tourist hotspots? If you're a fan of Spain, try swerving Barcelona, Malaga and Madrid for this gorgeous destination instead. Santander is a beautiful city in Cantabria, located near to Bilbao on the north coast of Spain. It overlooks the Bay of Biscay and is an absolutely lovely place to visit in summertime. It's not too busy – and is warm but not excessively hot due to frequent breezes from the sea. Recently, one traveller called Ali, who goes by @aligoingabroad online, posted about her Santander experience and hailed it as her "favourite hidden gem". She urged: "Stop going to tourist spots in Spain and got to this hidden gem. Spaniards say it has the best beaches in Spain." Ali continued: "The city is beautiful, extremely cheap accommodation, escalators around the city so you don't have to walk up steep hills. Did I mention beautiful beaches? You'll have a new sunset spot everyday. Quiet areas with no tourists." Hiking trails, delicious food and oodles of culture are other factors that attract people to visit. And judging by the comments section, Ali isn't the only one who loves the destination. One viewer gushed: "Santander has my heart. I lived there last summer studying Spanish at UIMP [Universidad Internacional Menendez Pelayo." Another said: "Studying abroad here now and falling in love with the city." Meanwhile, someone else labelled it as their "favourite place in the world". Things to do in Santander El Sardinero Beach: Famous urban beach, popular for swimming and surfing. Palacio de la Magdalena: Former royal summer residence, now a cultural venue. Centro Botín: Modern art center designed by architect Renzo Piano. Cathedral of Santander: Gothic-style cathedral with Romanesque elements. Prehistoric Cave of Altamira: Nearby, famous for its ancient cave paintings (UNESCO World Heritage Site). Getting there There are no direct flights from Scotland to Santander, but you can connect via other cities. You can either travel via London or head to Spanish airports like Madrid or Barcelona. Pick up a flight from there or take alternative transport like a train or bus. Some Brits choose to visit via ferry, which you can pick up from Portsmouth to Santander. Or if you want to drive the whole way, it'll take you between 20-24 hours when you use the Channel Tunnel.
CNN
15 hours ago
- CNN
Inside 345 Park Avenue when a mass killer arrived
Hundreds of people call 345 Park Avenue in Manhattan their work home. The skyscraper soars more than 600 feet and occupies the entire city block from 51st to 52nd Street in Midtown, stretching from Park to Lexington Avenue in one of the ritziest areas of the city. Trees along the south side would offer commuters some relief from the summer sun were the building not so large it casts a massive shadow all by itself. Yet there's an airiness around the building, with a large open plaza across from the century-old Romanesque grandeur of St. Bartholemew's Church leading to the light-filled lobby. It was across that plaza and into that lobby that a mass killer walked early Monday evening. The bustle of rush hour became alarm as witnesses heard two shots, the sound of glass shattering and then rapid fire. Nekeisha Lewis was nearby eating dinner with friends when she saw a man run from the building saying 'Help, help. I'm shot,' she told The Associated Press. The gunman had left his black BMW sedan double-parked on the street and strolled to the entrance, sunglasses on and holding an assault-style rifle in his right hand. His demeanor as captured by a security camera was 'quite brazen,' noted retired NYPD Capt. John Monaghan. 'It's clear from the picture he is not worried about getting caught,' Monaghan told CNN's Kaitlan Collins. 'This is a guy who went into that building knowing, intending to kill someone and probably knowing he was not going to come out alive.' As he entered the glistening 44-story tower that houses the headquarters of the National Football League as well as venerable investment and real estate firms, the man turned right, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Monday. He pulled the trigger on his rifle, shooting Didarul Islam in the back. Islam was in his dark blue NYPD uniform, working a sanctioned overtime shift to provide extra security. Surveillance footage showed he shot a woman behind a pillar, then sprayed the area with gunfire. Another man in the lobby was hit and managed to get out of the building. Glass panels at the entrance and a revolving door were shattered but the pieces remained in the frames Tuesday. The shooter then went toward the gates leading to the elevators, shooting and killing Aland Etienne, a building guard trying to set off an alarm behind his desk that would have deactivated the elevators. On a normal day, that guard would have checked in visitors before they could go through the turnstiles and to the upper floors, according to CNN's Coy Wire, who has been to the NFL offices in the building several times. Wire said his experience was the building was 'highly secured.' The gunman reached the elevators as one opened into the lobby, letting out a woman. Early investigations show he was targeting the NFL but the elevator he took does not serve the lower floors where its headquarters are. Instead, after allowing the woman to walk past him unharmed, he took the same elevator to the 33rd floor. Above the lobby, workers piled furniture against an office entrance, according to photographs posted on X. At 6:28 p.m., the NYPD's 911 call center started receiving alerts about an active shooter at 345 Park and sirens of emergency responders were soon blaring their way to the building. At about that time, Iris Christo Doulou saw people running outside from her office across East 52nd Street, telling CNN a helicopter was soon hovering overhead as well. She and her colleagues were told to stay inside. 'They made two announcements. We didn't know what was going on. If there was a bomb, how many shooters? We stayed away from the windows, so we went (to) the back of the office so that we're safe.' A column of a couple dozen police officers hustled into 345 Park, seen on video captured from a neighboring building. Outside, streets filled with office workers running with their hands up past a falafel truck and an entrance to the Downtown 6 train on Lexington Avenue. Uniformed police organized evacuations and warned a reporter trying to approach the building there was a shooter with a high-powered rifle inside. On the 33rd floor, at the office of Rudin Management, the gunman stepped out of the elevator and walked around, firing as he went. One woman was struck and killed. He then walked down a hallway and shot himself in the chest. As law enforcement poured into the building — so large it has its own ZIP code — the extent of the bloodshed became clear. Two men and two women killed, along with the shooter, in New York's worst gun attack in 25 years. Another man, an employee of the NFL, seriously injured in hospital. Security guard Etienne was remembered as 'a New York hero' by his union. 'Every time a security officer puts on their uniform, they put their lives on the line. Their contributions to our city are essential, though often unappreciated,' 32BJ SEIU President Manny Pastreich said in a statement. Rudin Management, the owners of the building, said Etienne was 'beloved' there. They also confirmed a Rudin employee was killed. Julia Hyman was named as the employee by her alma mater Cornell University, from where she graduated in 2020. Cornell Dean and Professor Kate Walsh described her as 'an extraordinary student.' Blackstone, a company with offices in the building, said Wesley LePatner left a husband and children bereaved. She was a senior managing editor of Blackstone and a trustee of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, among other activities out of work. The UJA-Federation of New York, where she was on the board of directors, said: 'Wesley was extraordinary in every way — personally, professionally, and philanthropically. An exceptional leader in the financial world, she brought thoughtfulness, vision, and compassion to everything she did.' As investigators started their painstaking search for answers, less than two miles north, at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, more officers gathered, but there to honor their colleague who was shot and killed. Didarul Islam's body, draped in the NYPD flag, was wheeled to an ambulance as his family watched. His brothers in blue stood silently at attention, hands on their hearts. Police Commissioner Tisch praised the father-of-two working to provide for his wife and family with another baby on the way. 'He put himself in harm's way, he made the ultimate sacrifice — shot in cold blood, wearing a uniform that stood for the promise that he made to this city. He died as he lived, a hero.' By Tuesday morning, the sounds of rush hour again were dominant in Midtown. No worker was allowed inside 345 Park; instead, the US and New York state flags fluttered at half-staff and a small memorial started to take shape. Flowers were tucked into a railing and a single yellow balloon was added, with a simple handwritten message: 'Love one another!'
National Geographic
5 days ago
- National Geographic
The picturesque Spanish villages that tourists haven't found—yet
Slightly up north of Madrid and Barcelona, nestling at the foothills of the Pyrenees, lies the region of Aragon, rich in history and natural beauty. Here, green hills hug the soaring mountains and dense forests open up to flowering meadows. Down in the valleys, ancient castles hide among the olive groves, endless vineyards disappear into the horizon and centuries-old villages bask in the Mediterranean sun all summer long. Aragon's historical claim to fame reaches all the way to America. Known as the Kingdom of Aragon in the 11th century, it became a precursor to the modern-day Spain, when King Ferdinand of Aragon married Queen Isabella of Castile in 1469. About two decades later, the royal couple financed Christopher Columbus's voyage to the New World. In recent years, beautiful nature and booming gastronomy placed Aragon on the map again, yet so far it has managed to evade mass tourism. Clinging to the banks of the Ebro River, Aragon's breezy capital Zaragoza remains uncrowded—even in summer. So do its medieval villages that are sprinkled throughout the countryside. Marvel at historical treasures Zaragoza boasts an amalgam of architectural styles, including Romanesque, Baroque, Gothic, and Renaissance, as well as the Mudejar, a mix of Islamic and Christian styles, that is prominent in the Aragon region. Visit the Alfajería Palace— parts of which date to the 11th century—to see some of these features harmoniously blending together. Unusual for a relatively small city, Zaragoza has two cathedrals: La Seo, which hosts a tapestry collection, and Catedral-Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, famous for frescos painted by Francisco de Goya. About an hour north of Zaragoza sits Loarre Castle, built in 1085. Today, it's better known for its appearance in the 2005 Kingdom of Heaven movie, in which Orlando Bloom rides his horse up the castle steps. Another hour north brings you to the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña, a unique sanctuary carved out of the mountain, now a museum. La Seo is home to a world-class collection of Flemish tapestries. Photograph By Dorothea Schmid/laif/Redux Explore medieval villages In the second half of the 20th century, Aragon struggled with the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and World War II. 'Farmers couldn't feed their families, so they went to big cities looking for work at factories and many villages were nearly abandoned,' says Aragon-based Alba Cruells, whose company Spain Insights offers custom tours of the region. 'Today, the trend has reversed. People are returning to their ancestral homes, reviving the region, which sparked rural tourism.' One of the oldest Aragon villages, Alquézar retains much of its medieval looks. Traverse its labyrinthian cobblestone streets and Plaza Mayor, the main square, where centuries-old houses still maintain massive wooden doors once used to let horse carriages pass through. Note the still-intact animal hooves nailed on or above the doors—medieval residents believed that they warded off witches. (Why Menorca's capital is one of Spain's most underrated cities) Visit San Vicente in Roda de Isabena, the oldest cathedral in Aragon with a beautiful cloister. In Ainsa, take a stroll down the main street to see the Traditional Arts and Crafts Museum that displays medieval household items ranging from spinning wheels to iron tools. Keep an eye out for Apartamentos El Pozo: About 10 years ago, when the owners renovated the basement, they discovered a 15th century mikve—a purifying ritual Jewish bath, which temporarily turned the building into an archaeological site. Today you can see the bath through the glass cover on the first floor—the doors are open. The Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor dates back to the ninth century. Photograph By Tolobalaguer/Shutterstock Indulge in local specialties One of the region's most famous specialties is frutas de Aragon, sweets made with candied pears, peaches, apricots, cherries, and plums, dipped in rich dark chocolate. The local lore states that Aragon was the first place in Europe where chocolate arrived from the New World, brought by the traveling monks, who perfected the recipe over the years. Stock up to take some home at Pastelería Fantoba in Zaragoza or browse the city's Central Market where you can also pick up Jamón de Teruel, Aragon's prized ham made from pigs raised in the mountainous Teruel region before curing for 12 months. (15 of the best Spanish food experiences) On the countryside, stop at Quesos Bal de Broto in Sarvisé for local cheeses and a tour of its aging cellar. At Alquézar's family-owned bakery Panaderia O'Forno, treat yourself to a dobladillo, a thin and crispy pastry filled with almond paste. Then proceed to the nearby village of Buera to see Torno de Buera, an olive oil museum that features an 17th-century olive oil press. You can also taste some of the oil varieties, which surprisingly differ in flavor based on where in the region they come from. Wine-tasting choices abound here, but Enate in Salas Bajas stands out. A winery and art gallery, it's a place to sip a heritage vintage while learning about contemporary Spanish art. Zaragoza's Central Market has been selling local food since 1903. Savor the ultimate farm-to-table gastronomy Some of the best dishes in Aragon are found in local villages where produce literally comes to the table from a farm across the road. 'Some of Spain's best chefs are moving to the countryside for that super fresh produce,' says Cruells. 'Many rural restaurants join the 'zero kilometers' movement, in which ingredients travel as little as possible.' One of them is Molino de Larués, a cozy spot in the village of Larués; it boasts unique dishes like tomato-and-cherry soup with a dollop of ice-cream. Local chefs take pride in minimizing waste by using all parts of an animal. It's not uncommon to see dishes like 'stewed pigs' cheeks' on the menus—a tender, juicy delicacy you can try at La Cocinilla in Torla-Ordesa. For tapas, head to Nyibeta Degustacion in Buera to savor ternasco de Aragón—slow-roasted lamb with potatoes, and fideuá de pulpo—an octopus with short noodles. Aragon's chefs love experimenting with mixing bold ingredients too: In Zaragoza, stop by La Flor de Lis for a tomato-rabbit salad dressed with a pine nut vinaigrette and thyme-flavored ice-cream. Aragon chefs and restaurants pride themselves on sourcing ingredients from within the region. Photograph By Nano Calvo/VWPics/Redux (Top) (Left) and Photograph By Francesco Bonino/Shutterstock (Bottom) (Right) Hike, bike, and fly From glacier-covered peaks to majestic waterfalls, the Pyrenees are spectacular. Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park offers trails for all hiking levels as well as cycling and mountain biking routes. For a thrilling hike, take Ruta congosto de Entremón in Sobrarbe Geopark, where the paths, etched on the edges of forested cliffs, can be so narrow that you must hold on to ropes to keep walking. (8 of the best beach cities in Spain) Similarly exhilarating is a trek through the River Vero Canyon that begins outside of Alquézar and weaves through a network of passageways mounted on steep cliffs, overlooking gorges and waterfalls below. The Pyrenees-Mont Perdu area is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. Photograph by Francois Laurens / Hans Luca/Redux 'If you're uncomfortable with heights, these walks are probably not for you,' cautions local guide Guayo Mulero. But if you crave the adrenaline rush, try 'flying like a bird' over the mountains at the Tirolina-Ordesa zipline, Mulero suggests. It's said to be the longest in Europe and the fastest in the world with a speed of nearly 100 miles per hour. A nomadic New Yorker, Lina Zeldovich shimmied with belly dancers in Turkey, cooked a zebu stew in Madagascar, fished for piranhas in the Amazon, paddled away from a calving iceberg in the Arctic, sipped a drink made from a venomous snake in Peru—and always lived to tell the story. She is the author of the book, The Living Medicine, part of which takes place in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Times
6 days ago
- Times
Spain's least touristy town has a new stay — go before everyone else
Not all of Spain is sizzling in a heatwave. My high-summer visit to the small town of Molina de Aragon, between Madrid and Zaragoza in the province of Guadalajara, is positively temperate — in the high 20s during the day and with cooler nights. It's part of Spain's so-called ice triangle, which also includes the towns of Teruel and Calamocha. All sit at an average altitude of 1,000m and are known for cold winters and moderate summers. There's plenty more to recommend Molina too. The centuries-old town is full of history and has a brand new parador. The 99th in Spain's chain of state-run hotels opened in May and is unusual in that, rather than being in a historic building, it offers panoramic views of one: Molina's splendid 12th-century castillo, which lies opposite, across the steep Gallo its hillside castle, extensive old town and pretty Romanesque bridge, it must be one of Spain's least-touristy towns: there's one bar — La Granja on Plaza San Pedro — and a few shops selling overalls or ironmongery to locals. That's it; not a souvenir or overpriced cocktail in sight. Thanks probably to the low visitor numbers, my husband and I find that everyone — from customers in that low-key bar to the woman in the castle ticket office — is pleased to see us, interested to know where we're from and keen to help out when our poor Spanish lets us down. The ethos of the paradors has three main aims: to bring historic buildings back to life, give poorer areas an economic boost and showcase the 'other' Spain, away from beach resorts and well-known cities. Molina's new-build addition, designed by the Colombian-born architect Andres Perea Ortega, was conceived in response to devastating wildfires in the area in 2005 in which 11 people died and 13,000 hectares of forest were destroyed. It has taken 20 years to come to fruition, but today the hotel's clean modern lines curve round Molina's western side like a protective arm. It's built of local stone and the architects' favourite 'weathering steel' with a protective rust-like patina in warm dark brown. The east side is mostly glass, for those castle views, and the grounds are planted with rosemary, lavender and cypress trees. • Discover our full guide to Spain The interior is equally modern, with brilliantly curated artworks — paintings plus ceramic, metal and glass sculptures — and fairly frigid air con. Our room has a balcony overlooking the castle, a sleek stone-and-glass bathroom and the biggest bed we have slept in, a good seven feet across. Our fellow guests — we are the only foreigners — are mostly couples, although there are some grandparents with school-age grandkids. The food in the restaurant, which is also open to non-residents, is very good. A set dinner accompanied by live music (Tuesdays and Sundays) offers delicious jamon iberico, mango gazpacho with smoked eel, cod Bilbao-style (with garlic, vinegar and mild chilli) and margarita sorbet served with a straw. • Read our full guide to Spain hotels Over dinner, as darkness falls, the castle and the older Torre de Aragon watchtower above it is beautifully illuminated. The next morning we head over the river and up through the old town for a closer look. With its square, flag-topped towers and miles of battlements, the castle looks like the model for every toy fort ever made (entry £4). It comes as no surprise that El Cid was based here for a time. The vast site, which we share with just five other people, is wonderfully unmanicured, with long grass and straggly wildflowers covering the steeply rising ground inside the perimeter walls. Skylarks are singing their hearts out as we toil up the slope toward the walled plaza de armas (parade ground), four of whose original eight towers still stand. This area alone is in itself as big as many UK castles. We walk round as many of the battlements as possible, until I scare myself half to death scrambling down the pitch-dark steep and crumbly steps of one of the towers. English Heritage health and safety officials would have a fit at all the cracked stones, missing banisters and general dilapidation, but on the whole we enjoy the absence of 'mind your head' and 'danger steep drop' signs. The town and castle aside, nature lovers can easily fill days in Molina exploring the nearby Unesco-listed Molina-Alto Tajo Geopark, with its cliffs, canyons and jaw-dropping rock formations of the kind you would expect in Arizona or Utah. Here the Iberian peninsula's mighty Tagus River (which empties into the Atlantic from Lisbon, 600 miles away) is in its infancy, flowing clear through a network of wooded gorges. We drive a few minutes west from Molina and a wall of bulbous red sandstone pinnacles soon rears up, some with young trees perched on their tops. We meet the local geologist and guide José Antonio Martínez Perruca by the Virgen de la Hoz church, which sits at the bottom of one such formation, and start to climb the twisting rocky trail behind. Soon we're in the midst of the towers, peering into chasms and eyeballing the small mountain goats that browse almost-vertical rock faces for tasty lumps of moss. A griffon vulture, here from north Africa for the breeding season, is riding the thermals high above. Martínez tells us this geology was formed not by the action of the Tagus and its tributaries but 200 million years ago, in the Triassic period, when the supercontinent of Pangea was breaking up into Africa, the Americas and Europe. It's a perfect day, with cool breezes and bright sun, as we wander back down the steep slopes, yet we see not another soul. Martínez would love the area to find a larger audience. 'Our problem,' he says, 'is that people driving up from Madrid, across Spain's central plateau, have no idea these natural treasures exist.' The next day we motor half an hour south to the village of Chequilla, stopping on the way at a thrilling viewpoint over the Cabrillas gorge. Tiny Chequilla, population 14, seems to be on friendly terms with all this striking geology; its houses, garages and church huddle beneath the sandstone monoliths as if they are so many benevolent guardians. We are puzzled by signs to a plaza de toros — surely this place is too small to have its own bullring — but discover as we walk that this is a natural arena in the middle of Chequilla's ciudad encantada, an 'enchanted city' of rocky outcrops, clefts and towers on the village's southern edge. In August the space is used for an annual bull run, part of the Santo Cristo de la Fortaleza festival. Photographs show spectators watching from the flat tops of surrounding rock formations. Today, though, it is quiet; ours is the only car in the village car park, and the sole bar is firmly closed. On the way back to Madrid, we spend a night at a more classic parador, in the slightly larger town of Sigüenza. It's housed in a castle that was converted into a bishop's palace in the 12th century and has been operating as a parador since 1976. There are British voices in the breakfast room (formerly the bishop's throne room) and even a handful of artisanal gift shops near the surprisingly large cathedral. It's comfortable, palatial (naturally) and its chef offers a delicious seven-course tasting menu, but we're glad to have had a taste of less-trodden Spain in ancient Molina's very cool new parador. This article contains affiliate links that will earn us revenue Liz Boulter was a guest of Parador de Molina de Aragon, which has B&B doubles from £140 ( Fly to Madrid
