Madrid to Palencia

I was able to sleep for about four hours on the plane after watching The Devil Wears Prada. I do love Meryl Streep. And now I am ready for the heavily advertised sequel!

I had a couple of hours before my train, which left from Chamartín. Not exactly a great place to stroll around, but it was better than sitting in the station. And I did get over to the Plaza de Castilla for a good café con leche.

The train from Madrid to Palencia takes only a little more than an hour, and by 12:30 I was in the tourist office. The nice woman working there helped me to make my list —
the cathedral (with its amazing 7th century crypt, renovated in the 11th century), the archaeological museum, several Romanesque churches, and one of the oldest churches in Spain, San Juan de Baños, from the 7C, about 15 km out of town.

I’ve spent several hours visiting some of the places, and after an excellent arugula/goat cheese/veggies salad, I went back to the cathedral to take the rooftop tour. Palencia is like so many other small Castilian cities— a smattering of important historic sites, some beautiful old buildings on pedestrianized streets, and a population that loves to stroll through downtown in the afternoon and early evening while engaged in lively conversation.

When you see a line outside a bar waiting for it to open, it’s a pretty good guess that there will be good tapas. And there were! Bar Moño.

My goal is to stay up till 10, and I’m within eight minutes of my goal, so I am going to bed. Hoping not to wake up in the middle of the night.Read more