Day 99: Lerma (Arrival)

Self portrait with tree and lamppost:

10°C at 8.30 this morning as I walked to the train station - at least 24°C in the sun as I walked back to the van.

Left Madrid at 5pm and then left Pinto at 6pm for a 2hrs 40mins drive to Lerma. This should enable me to sneak in a cheeky wee cycle ride tomorrow!

Today, in Madrid, was mostly about eating and finding bread. It took approximately 8.5 kilometres (or approximately 5.2 miles in old money) to finally buy some bread at the forth shop of trying (who new it was Maundy Thursday?). I suppose it is one way of seeing Madrid .... go on a random walk to find bread!

The food was a bit of a mixed bag, ranging from very good to very good. The ice cream, pastry and squid in tortilla were all very good the "churros with chocolate" was particularly bad but, was a must try!

Apparently, Madrid is famous for this "snack" and, "Chocolateria San Gines" (Est 1894) is reported to be world famous for making it. Basically it is deep fried sticks of batter served with hot chocolate - I'm amazed you can't get them in Glasgow!

Here's a photo of mine, as they arrived:

Here's how much I left:

But when in Madrid and all that jazz. I felt the need to try them, just so I knew what all the hype was about! Only having consumed them could I be certain that they weren't the kind of sustinance (a word I'm using in its very loosest sense here) that my microbiome would thank me for eating!

• Distance driven: 144 miles
• Distance cycled: 0
• Weather: Chilly first thing, and later, the temperature was ideal in the shade but, too hot when direct sunlight!
• Location: Google Maps