Thursday 31 Marzio

20C

Sunny

Oolah! Up at 6 for an 8am start. Last nights dinner was really nice. To start with we had vischyssoise (not sure of the spelling), then while most of the others had cod, l had chicken and to finish there was a chocolate cake. I was quite full afterwards. Today is supposed to be 20 and sunny....perfect. We are driving northwest to Saragossa this morning. I didn't see much of the scenery on the way to Saragossa as l was sleeping most of the way. I did notice the countryside has changed as it's more of an agricultural area. Our guide has suggested we try Jacoli which os a white wine. Maybe with diner tonight. We arrived in Saragossa around lunchtime and we had about 2 hours free time to have a look around. We went into the Basillica where the painter Goya did some of the ceilings. It was really magnificent as with most of the basillicas and cathedrals in Spain. No pictures allowed but l did sneak one in before l realised. We saw the Roman and Arab walls or what's left of them. There was also a statue of Ceasar Augustus near the wall. Visited the market and bought some Arogonese which is dried fruit covered with dark chocolate. We didn't like it very much. Wandered around trying to find something to eat and in the end l didn't have anything 'cause l couldn't find anything decent...mum had a roll with bacon, capsicum and chicken in it. At 2.30 we were on our way again this time to Pamplona. Once again l slept only waking to see miles and miles of wind turbines. I noticed mum nodding off too....we must be getting into the swing of Spain and their siestas! Pamplona is a fortified city and the former capital of the Kingdom of Navarra. A local guide is showed us around the city. We visited the bull ring, the running of the bulls street, the cathedral, walls, town hall and road to Santiago. We stopped at the Cafe Iruna, made famous by Ernest Hemmingway then proceeded to the Baserri restaurant for a tapas dinner, Navarra wine, dessert and coffee.