4 October partly cloudy but very windy, from the direction we will be going tomorrow

Rest day in this largish (150K population) city.

Fried Milk, leche fritas, was on the buffet this morning. The NH group of hotels offers a good buffet breakfast, very similar to the German breakfasts we got so used to several years ago. Taste was similar to a only very slightly sweetened custard. See pic.

The cathedral (shout out to Herb: mostly modern Baroque, not medieval) is well dressed in frescos and a large gold colored redondo. Pics were obtainable today.

Visited the tourist office to find a restaurant for tonight. Asked for one that was non-smoking. This flummoxed them for a bit and the two workers discussed the problem with facial gestures indicating that this was not the kind of request they often received. Came up with one. Agreed that it is the only one in this city.

Also asked them about the local food specialities.

Menuestra Venduras – basically a plate of veggies, green ones, that they say is a stew but is more like a very light soup. Have had it three times. Always very bland and we believe it always had canned or frozen veggies. QB ate less than a third the last time she had it. Might be good if veggies were fresh and broth well made.

Meat. Yes, the usual beef and veal are the specialities here.

Potatoes, fried of course and good of course.

Mushrooms filled with garlic and oil and shrimp, pictured

Wine was not mentioned but clearly this is what to have. Red, white and rosado are all available from the shelves in stores.

We have been eating the Pintxos with much delight. Ham slices on a bread, smoked salmon topped with medium sized shrimp, torta of eggs and potatoes, large shrimp topped with onions. all had good oil on them. Hard to go wrong with the above. Building up a storehouse of Tapas dishes in case there is a tapas party in the future a nos casa o nos amigos