Burgos & Salamanca, Spain

28th October 2017 – 01 November 2017

First stop on the little history tour of Spain was Burgos. We were only going to spend one night here but we found that Spain is not as dog friendly as France. We had walked into Burgos a mere 3 miles only to find that the cathedral and restaurants do not allow dogs. We therefore sauntered around the city and at last found a restaurant with a covered terrace that would allow dogs. The day was cold and cloudy and the young waitress could see we were a little cold, me in my puffa waistcoat and David still in his shorts ! She put the two gas heaters on full blast and with a bottle of red wine consumed, we enjoyed a pleasant afternoon.

The following day we cycled into the city, leaving Chloe to relax in the Motorhome. The Cathedral de Burgos is simply stunning. It has an amazing display of icons, paintings, sculptures and silver objects. It also the place where El Cid sleeps for eternity. What I couldn’t get my head around was how small El Cid was, his iron and wooden coffin was well preserved but tiny. Charlton Heston certainly would not have fitted in there ! We had a history lesson via the free audio guide to enlighten us but to be honest by the 3rd Chapel I couldn’t listen to anymore and David pants has been bored off (he told me to write this). When collecting our bikes to cycle home, we met Mario an 18 year old that is travelling solo to Thailand on his bike, amazing.

We then travelled South West to Salamanca it’s Old City being declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. We stayed just over 4 miles from the centre and this was the first time we used Chloe’s Wheels. Basically a dog carrier that David tows behind his bike. She has taken a little time to get use to this mode of transport but she is clever enough to remember that by jumping in and out she gets a treat. Now Salamanca is a great city to visit, the large plaza which has plenty of bars are restaurants to enjoy the different architectural styles. We sat in the morning sun, yes it was back out and enjoyed a cafe con leche . We meandered through the streets and had our first paella which was gorgeous. The old Cathedral is a stunning site externally, although we didn’t go in (no dogs and we didn’t think it would top Burgos !) We returned to our bikes to find Chloe’s wheels had a puncture, nightmare. Anyway, luck was on our side, David kept pumping it up and we made it back along the off road trail. Quite chuffed with ourselves with a 10 miles bike ride. Next stop Portugal.