e_header.jpg)
Sos del Rey Catolico, Spain. Monday 3 September
We hired a car and booked some Paradores (Spanish hotels set in convents, palaces and other unique places).
Our first day of driving took us to Montserrat with its weird rocks and the shrine of Mare de Deu de Montserrat (the black virgin and child).
Then through some amazing country in the lower Pyrenees. It was hard for Bruce, driving late in the day into the sun, but we drove through forests, grassy plains, crops and countless small villages, all with a castle.
Our first stop was the paradore of Sos del Rey Catolico, an old monastery.
We had great accommodation on a hilltop, with a fantastic sunset – but the wind! No wonder we were surrounded by wind turbines, we saw hundreds of them.
Interesting dinner, Bruce chose the local speciality of breadcrumbs and egg!
Lerma, Spain. Tuesday 4 to Wednesday 5 September
We left Sos del Rey Catolico and travelled through wine growing country. We bought petrol and the world’s worst sandwiches, then stopped off at Burgos to see the Gothic Cathedral and eat an egg thing.
We arrived in Lerma late afternoon, walked around town, and enjoyed dinner in a quaint restaurant.
We explored Lerma, including a market outside the Ducal Palace where we were staying, then drove a few kilometres, visiting Covarrubias for a yummy lunch, the ruins of the San Pedro de Arlanza monastery (under restoration – another Paradore?) and then Santo Domingo de Silos for a disappointing Gregorian chant.
