Fabulous day in Pamplona

We have had a great day…after the really good buffet breakfast here - fresh fruit, OJ, yogurt, ham, cheese, bacon, scrambled eggs, pastries, coffee…really good coffee, and croissants as good as in France! So a good start, and we meandered at first, partly searching for a laundromat and food shops for supplies for tomorrow, and also checking churches, and Mass times…such a wonderful old city area, we also know where to join the Camino route out of town…so we came back to collect washing as Rich said he do the deal there (all I contributed was my nightie as I had worn it with the bedbugs! and wanted to feel it was cleansed! So we bought supplies, Rich washed and then we set off again and had a great time seeing amazing churches and settled on San Lorenzo for 6 pm Mass…this church has a chapel of San Fermin which of course is famous and big - san Fermin is the patron saint of Navarra, and the running of the bulls is the festival of San Fermin. City looking so beautiful with light green new spring leaves , and tulips and early flowers. We chanced upon the citadel where you can wander like a huge park and found ourselves on top of the high walls we had seen yesterday, and looked down on the paths below, and the drawbridge…with the boring looking modern city in the distance, and then the Pyrenees…(see pic coming up)…at some stage we stopped and had a bight of lunch of the inevitable ham and cheese rolls, but wonderful breads…then after the Mass at 6, which was crowded, and not with pilgrims, just regular people and families…good to see. Then we looked for somewhere to eat…hard to dine actual restaurants…all bars serving tapas, so again we picked some, and Rich had beer, I had vino Tinto and Rach tonica. Wandering back Rich dragged us into a place called Melt which had queues…it was a cheesecake shop and we got a delicious wedge with pistachios and 3 spoons! As we got back to the square we decided to have a nightcap at the Hemingway Cafe Iruña, wonderful atmosphere and great art nouveau decor…I had Baileys (very generous serve on ice - €4), Rich had Jack Daniel’s and Rach had a ColaCao…now back, sorted out bag for tomorrow, showered and bedtime. Just that wandering was 11.66 kms and 18,300 steps!Read more