Out of Madrid

Friday May 18 and we leave Madrid. The crew met for breakfast and were out of the hotel by 9:00 for the walk to the stop for the Airport Express bus. All of us, except Peg, had sleep issues in Madrid because of traffic and street noise. Peg seems to be able to sleep anytime anywhere. I used to think I was the champion at this but Peg has me beat.

All of us have had our fill of Madrid and are not feeling a need to come back. Madrid is not Barcelona, or Paris. Except for some significant museums it is not our kind of tourist city.

Today our goal was Hondaribbia with a stop in Burgos. Burgos was nice, perhaps in part because it was not a big city as was Madrid. It was not noisy or crowded and had a beautiful Gothic cathedral. Lunch was outstanding at a little hotel across from the cathedral and close to where we parked. We ate in the basement and had the menu de dia. I had a salad of tuna, anchovies, sardines, and some other fish on lettuce and onion and it was outstanding. Lee had leeks and was not digging them. Peg and Sharon had a soup of garbanzo beans that they declared different. For primero two of us had meatballs and two chicken all was good and much better than out lunch yesterday!

After lunch we headed for the cathedral, walked around took pictures and then Sharon, Peg, and Lee went inside. I decided to stay out and watch people and take photos. A good time was had by all.

The Camino de Santiago passed by the cathedral and I watched a number of pilgrims walking by. I decided to join them and walked about a hundred yards. My pilgrimage is done!

On to Hondaribbia. Lee drove this part of the trip. The countryside got prettier as we headed north, changing from arid and sparse vegetation to wet, lush, and green. The drive was uneventful until we arrived in Hodaribbia and tried to find our hotel in the old part of the city with very narrow streets. Madeline, our faithful GPS let us down. She got us close but not to the hotel. We ended up within a few blocks but were stuck on a one way street in a parking lot. Sharon and Peg walked to the hotel, got a map and instructions, and came back to the car to rescue us.

The hotel was worth the wait. On a square in the middle of old Hodaribbia in an old building. Quiet - which we needed after Madrid. We went to the bar and got happy and then after getting dinner recommendations, went for tapas at Gran Sol. Twelve glasses of wine and a lot of tapas later, we happily headed home for bed. An alltogether positive and entertaining day.

Hondaribbia
Hotel Palacete