Lleida and Palau d'Anglesola

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The best laid plans of......

We thought we had a grand plan for today, until we woke up!  The plan was to send our packs, by taxi (at €37), to Palau d'Anglesola, and for us to walk pack free, or rather with just our small day packs.  How things change! We awoke to thunder, lightening, and heavy rain!  We weren't worried about the latter, but the former did bother us, especially as the forecast was a yellow warning for thunderstorms till late in the day.  None of us had any desire to be out in that weather, as the path was quite exposed.

We decided to skip to plan B, that is, find a bar and have a coffee.  While in the throes of plan B we opted to go straight to plan C - catch a bus to Palau d'Anglesola, where we had booked our accommodation for the night.  We caught the little hop on / hop off train that still had some time left on the ticket, and arriving near the bus station early, were forced to adjourn to a cafe for another coffee and cake!
The Little hop on / hop off train.
A former hospital in Lleida, next to where the train departs.

The bus ride was a treat.  We were passing through village 3 on our way to our destination in village 4.  A young lass came rushing down the aisle calling to the bus driver.  She had fallen asleep and missed her stop.  Rather than let her off there, the driver retraced the journey back to village 2, she alighted, and then he did a three point turn and continued back on the path!  He was very kind and a bit of a card - insisted on calling us señorita's and referred to us as the girls!  Then, on arriving, and settling in, at the pension, another treat, we met another pilgrim -Simon, an Englishman walking the same Camino as us.  As you might imagine, we had an lovely time sharing stories.
A street in El Palau d'Anglesola.......
.....and the residents on the bell tower.
The stork's nest can be seen above the bells on the right.

Our journey from Zaragoza was fast and uneventful on the train.  We passed through some interesting country, initially desert like, with fascinating hilly landforms, then changing to intensive horticulture and agriculture on the flat plains between the hills.

Lleida is a largish town, somewhat more decrepit than Zaragoza, though in the centre of town things were a bit more sparkling.  It had a new and an old Cathedral, along with a castle.  We bought a ticket for the little tourist train and spent a good hour tootling around the city.  There seemed a large number of young men who lingered on street corners - one has to wonder why!!
The Old Cathedral in Lleida...
the cloisters,
and the view.
St Jaume (St James) is very revered in Lleida.  Though this is not the common image of him, this is the one paraded through the streets on St James eve, 24th July.
Our  hop on / hop off train on tour at the castle.

Today I have walked.  But more of that in the next post

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