Thursday morning ride, warmed up to 4degC. Skies still blue and sunny:)
Stopped off in Palencia.
Small town.
Didn’t need any lunch after the huge breakfast.
Had only covered the Plaza Mayor, Calle Mayor, and the nearby church (worth a visit just for the Wedgewood ceiling).
IMHO, Palencia seems nice.
Weather warmed up, during my stroll, so only donned the over-trousers, when back at the bike. Had taken off a layer for the walk-about.
Rode on to a petrol station in the outskirts of Burgos. Filled up. TLC for the bike. Chain seems tight, but performs much better. The same tension as out of Heidelberg, which is much tighter than Oakville.
Had an espresso with my black pudding on a bun 🙂
Rode up to my hotel, and started laughing. TomTom had caught me out. Took me to the wrong spot. About 1km out! Could not remember where it was, but did know I was not at the right spot.
Used my phone to locate the hotel.
Arrived, and memory restored 🙂
Minor concern as they appeared to have lost my booking, but all sorted out. Including a primo parking spot for the bike, by the front door.
Tapas and drinks in the hotel bar, then to bed.
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Friday sunny and warm. Or more accurately, it will be by the afternoon.
A jus narantha and I was set.
Strolled the way I took when I first stayed here last year. Along the “canal” that now looked like a tiny stream.
Real trip down memory lane.
Ended up at the Teatro Principale but their ticket office was closed till 6pm.
Walked over to the tourist office to get a map, and confirmation of opening times.
Then saw El Cid in the cathedral.
Funny to hear the word “sid”. It’s how we referred to the home made hooch in Saudi Arabia. An abbreviation of the word “Siddiqui”, meaning “friend” 🙂
Walked over for hearty lunch at Orjenda……
Then a bit later found SUPERB vegetarian soup at Cardamomo Vegetariano………
And so to bed for a nap.
Awoke to care of a few things, whilst listening to the end of the book ‘Kill Chain’. Surprising how many people (178) it takes to run a Predator drone. Book made quite the argument against drones; the techies that run the process; and the whole assassination process.
Ended the evening watching some old movies.
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Saturday morning up at 9am. Am getting more than my usual 5hrs!
Booked the rest of my stops to Valencia. Will be by the seaside next weekend 🙂
Headed out of my hotel for a walk to the castle, via a part of Burgos not seen before.
Glad I was wearing my jacket. NOT short sleeve weather.
Found a taberna for the usual but tastier tortilla, and cafe solo. Quiet place. Just the other side of the canal. And there are houses there, rather than apartment blocks.
Walked on for a bit.
Quite a bit.
Looking for the major deptartment store. Dodgey business. Burgos is becoming car centric. Big box stores on the outskirts. Not pedestrian friendly.
Did not find the sign-posted store, nore anything on my shopping lists, so left the shopping complex and walked off towards the castle.
Took the scenic route.
Really scenic.
Parts frequented by mountain bikers. Thanks to my son, I can now recognise a berm 🙂
Bailed off the trail on a not too steep cliff. Walked the road, then along another trail, and a bit later the castle’s curtain wall appeared.
Walked around the walls to the main gate. It was closed. Thankfully!
A few steps away was a bar selling beers 🙂 Settled in. Had a beer, plus real ham in a real bun. And a second beer.
Planned the rest of my walk. Castle and lots of other places closed for the rest of the weekend. And I have an orchestra to see tonight.
It’s a hard life 😉
Took photos by the castle…….
NB: the ground does slope upwards to the gate 😉
Took another selfie from the viewpoint……
Then walked down the stairs to the cathedral, where I was seduced by the dark-side. More commonly known as black pudding :). And the side of peppers with garlic was a master-stroke……
Next stop was the Burgos museum to see El Cid’s sword, Tizona……
Then back home. Drop off the backpack and head to the theatre.
Shock. Horror. No tickets available! So I sat and waited. Sure enough, someone had extras……
Did you spot the price? Last of the big spenders:)
Was a nice show.
Ended with a sing-a-long. Nearly everyone knew the words. Except yours truly.
Back to the hotel for a nightcap: coffee solo and some mineral water.
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Sunday morning, up, then thought better of it. Back to bed and listen to the BBC. More about the cosmos. Funny how much astronomy was done by amateurs.
TaiChi.
Pack my items and off to the laundry. Sunshine and a coffee.
Laundry done. Strolled back via excellent tapas…….
Then back to the hotel to hang up the laundry, and back out into the autumn sunshine. Strolled over to the canal, where it looked and felt like the countryside 🙂
Took the long route back home, through another part of Burgos not seen before.
Hacked around on the computer, chasing down a few items.
Then out for a stroll and a pizza. The pizza was surprisingly good, especially the dough.
Back to the hotel and an early night.
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Monday morning up at 8am.
TaiChi.
Checked the weather. Minus 3degC where I am heading, though it will be 19degC by the time I arrive. I hope.