The dining room in the hotel was decorated with posters of the jousting festival which takes place here in early June, recreating the legend of the bridge:
Dinner was pretty good too. On the menu: merluza a la plancha, a small bottle of cava, followed by whisky cake (where the host brings some warm whisky in a little can and pours it over an ice cream cake).
I’ll have that again!
I was in no hurry to depart this morning, as I had booked an ALSA bus ticket for 10.03 am. When I went downstairs for breakfast, the bar was packed with people from elsewhere, so it took a while to get served. The bus journey (15 kms) proved a good way of arriving in Astorga. The first thing I saw was the east end of the Cathedral, looking splendid against the blue sky:
Next door is the Episcopal Palace, designed by Gaudi:
Is there any other activity they could possibly forbid?
While waiting for check-in time at my hotel, I decided to visit the Chocolate Museum. This is housed in a private house built in 1911-12. It has a real art nouveau feel about it:
Chocolate production was big in Astorga. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were around 400 different companies working here. I watched a short film about it. The connection with Astorga goes back to the discovery of the Americas in the 16th century:
Various machines used in early chocolate production.
Lithographic plates used for printing the wrappers.
World map showing the countries producing the most cocoa beans (in red) and those importing the most cocoa (in blue). The Ivory Coast is the biggest producer. Switzerland surely should be the biggest importer, with Lindt Chocolate’s huge market share.
When the time came to check-in to my hotel, Ciudad de Astorga Spa, I was given a room with a view over the garden, with the Cathedral just visible through the trees:
I hope only the wall of the cathedral is being repaired.
ReplyDeleteThe repairs to the Cathedral are just to the ground outside where they are laying new paving.
ReplyDeleteM.