After a good breakfast in Madrid, we took the very fast train to Barcelona where we rented another Fiat 500 similar to the Fiat we rented in Scotland last year. It helps to drive a small car in the narrow streets and roads of Europe.
It handles like a roller skate.
It took about 90 minutes to drive to Cardona which is dominated by an old castle on top of a hill. It has been converted into a Parador which is an upscale hotel. We stayed there in 1980 and I have always wanted to go back. This is thee view from the parking lot.
Paradors are state-owned hotels located in historic buildings. The first was built in 1928 and this Parador was built in 1976.
The town.
View from our room.
The bed. All I can say is that we went to bed about 9:30 after dinner and woke up at 8am. I suspect we needed a long sleep after all the travel.
Headboard.
Bathroom. The room we had in 1980 had a bathroom about four times larger,
The dining room.
The charcuterie. All local products.
I had the wild boar ragout with tagliatelli.
Marianne had the wild mushroom, sausage, and rice. All delicious. Neither of us could finish our meals.
By the way, dinner typically does not start until 8 pm so we were quite hungry.
We walked around some of the castle after dinner.
After brekkie, we walked around again.
Cloister.
A curious stone, possibly made of salt.
Cardona has a salt mine that has been worked on since Roman times.
The surrounding area is very hilly.
Old bridge arches.
Early morning view of the town and the parking lot.
I was so pleased that we were finally able to return to the Parador. I was bowled over back in 1980 and it still bowls me over today.
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