It was put to me that we had spent a day ‘mooching about’ in Pamplona. Now, this seems to suggest aimless wandering so I thought it might be worth listing what actually happened!
Morning walk
Google says 23 minutes and 1.6 kms, but that doesn’t allow for wandering around the Cathedral for 1.5 hours! So, it was more like 3 hours before we returned to the hotel.
The Market
The covered market is excellent, like all the covered markets we have visited, and made me wish we were self-catering. The tomatoes were enormous, as were the peaches and peppers, the greens looked fresh and meat, fish and cheese were abundant. There was also a tailor!
The Cathedral in Pamplona
Then we walked to the Cathedral which is the subject of another post. It is an extraordinary complex of buildings, completely overwhelming.
Cafe Iruna
After seeing the Cathedral we definitely needed refreshment and enjoyed coffee and cake in the Art Deco Cafe Iruna which was patronised by Ernest Hemingway. It was founded in 1888 on the Plaza del Castillo and was also the first establishment in Pamplona to have electric lighting!
And then we walked back to the hotel to put our feet up for a few hours.
An evening walk
But of course you can’t do nothing, so at the end of the afternoon it was time for another walk before looking for supper.
The Walls of Pamplona
The tourist office advised us to walk around the walls of Pamplona and we decided to start at the gate through which we had driven towards the hotel. Somehow we hadn’t understood that Pamplona was a heavily fortified town – the only thing one hears about is bulls! But in the 16th century this town was on the first line of defence against France.
The Portal de Francia dates from 1553 and it is the best preserved of the gates in the city walls. The lower gate is close to the main road, the Calle Vergel, while the upper gate leads directly into the town. This is also the route of the Camino.
From the Portal de Francia you can walk along the walls to the Plaza del Redin behind the Cathedral. The Mirador Caballo Blanco looks out over the walls and the considerable fortifications.
Plaza del Castillo
The restaurants in the Calle Nicolas all opened at 8.30 so we enjoyed a drink at Cafe Iruna before having something to eat at the Pasta Restaurant which opened early at 7.30
And then, finally, we walked back to the hotel after a day ‘mooching about’ Pamplona!
