Pamplona via Train

After our cheap but filling Paella lunch in Madrid we navigated our way to the train station. Already here only three hours in Spain I could hear Jenni's fluency in Spanish getting stronger.

We took a relaxing three hour train ride to Pamplona. The train was so quiet it seemed to float on the rails. Except for the tube like construction with two seats on either side of the isle and the overhead bins we could have been sitting in a well lit building somewhere. In a small TV overhead, "The Life of PI" was playing for our entertainment. Renfe even provided complimentary headphones to use if we wished.

The scenery was so beautiful outside the windows. Everywhere there were fields of olive groves, wheat, dates, an occasional corn field as well as many crops I did not recognize. After just leaving Nebraska where all there seamed to be was corn, hay, and soybean crops the diversity here was so great I couldn't stop staring out the window. It is not often I will ignore a movie on the TV to look outside but here there was so much more to see then the movie playing overhead could provide.

After arriving in Pamplona we met our hostess, Ann. She lived in a small apartment but was glad to give us place to stay and a warm breakfast.

Ann shared her knowledge of the city and immediately endeared herself to both Jenni and I. She made us feel welcome and at home in her place.

Ann suggested some local dishes and establishments to us. Filled with the excitement of being in Spain we took a bus to the ancient walled part of the city where the majority of the markets and bars were located.

It did not take long before we found Ann's first recommendation and ordered a Huevo and a glass of Spanish cider. The Huevo was a hard boiled egg encased in some sort of creamy cheese, breaded and deep fried. Delicious!!! The cider was a little more vinegary then I was used to. It tasted very similar to a batch if cider I poured down the drain at home that I once brewed because I thought it went bad and I did not make it correctly. After tasting the Spanish cider I found some bit of redemption in my brewing skills because if it was good enough for the Spaniards it was good enough for me and perhaps I did not need to waste that cider so many years ago.

We went to four bars sampling the food and soaking in the experience. Everywhere people were nice and very welcoming. Even at a German bar they gave us some free tapas to sample as they closed for the night.

It was a Wednesday night and the streets were still crowded at midnight as the bars that stayed open turned to discos. We left the bars at 1:00 and walked the mile and a half back to Ann's feeling safe and satisfied. Soaking in the atmosphere of the city we walked down the hill past the huge walls of the old city. Once we were out of the area with the bars the streets were deserted but still we felt comfortable. We had a level of comfort that we don't even get in many neighborhoods in our own city back home.