Now I should really be writing something else; not a blog. But thought wanders. It cannot be stopped.
When deadlines pressure you, the only thing you want is to travel. Choose a closer destination. Easy, right?
It took us two years to go to Pamplona, a city that foreigners know for its “bull feasts” and Hemingway’s visits. Here is what the city offers, apart from its “famous stuff” ! I’ll make it top 5, just for kicks:
1. Tapas and food. Everywhere. For instance, San Nicolás and San Gregorio seem to be the most famous streets.
2. Walk along the city walls, up to the citadel.
3. Plaza del Castillo, especially on sunny days.
4. Plaza San Francisco.
5. The building of the city council, Plaza Consistorial.
And yes, I’m not mentioning the cathedral in my top 5, but it’s really nice place to go around. Inside, it’s a hogde-podge thing; its façade – so …Neo-classical. Yet, around the cathedral, it’s magical. Apart from the buildings and green areas, you can see “gigantes” and “cabezudos”, the latter beating people with a stick (!!!). There are “cabezudos” around Spain but I never saw the ones that hit people (according to wikipedia, these are called “kilikis”).
I learned that urban bus is called “villavesa” and that almost everything has its Basque name next to the Spanish one.
A weekend is just enough. Still… I think that the surroundings are worthy of seeing. Didn’t get the chance. Next time.
travel with bilyana 