...temperatures in the low 30s with a hot breeze blowing through town. Burgos is 858 metres above sea level and that may account for some of the heat as we are closer to the sun!
Tried to get out early to beat the hottest part of the day and set off to walk to the Monasterio de Santa Maria la Real de Las Huelgas which was built in 1187 by Alfonso VIII and then in 1199 the Cistercian Order was established there.
You can only visit with a guided tour so that is what we did but alas the tour was in Spanish which made it somewhat difficult to get the full appreciation of what we were looking at but nevertheless the chapels and side rooms were full of ornate workings around the walls and ceilings with numerous tombs of what I took to be members of the Alfonso family sitting above ground level on stone blocks. Some of the tombs were elaborately decorated while others were plain. (No photos allowed)
After the 60 minute tour we came back into town, had lunch and then walked to the Castillo which, like all castles built for defensive purposes, sits at the top of the highest hill and so it was a bit of a trudge to get there in the hottest part of the day.
The Castillo itself was nothing spectacular but it gave some good views out over the Old Town and further to greater Burgos.
From around 2 to 5 p.m the town goes very dead as everyone (other than tourists) get inside out of the heat and during that time you could literally fire a cannon down what in the morning was a bustling retail strip without hitting anyone - it is a good time to come back to the hotel to refresh before setting out again later in the day for a meal.
Talking to the locals!!
Eating out is relatively cheap (if you don't convert back to NZD) for example last nights meal of two main plates, a glass of sangria and a bottle of water was €21.00 - the main plates being substantial meals, and lunch today being a slice of tortilla filled with tuna and mayonnaise each and a chunk of bread was €3
Tomorrow we move on to Madrid for 6 nights!
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