The Road from Santiago

  It is a brave new world in a brave new year - and we have a Candlemas Bun for the 2008-2023 variety soon on the journey.  Meanwhile, café first, then Murcia. El Taller Quijano gets 4.5 stars , a LGBTQ+ friendly status and a just-eats link.  https://www.just-eat.es/restaurants-el-taller-quijano-alquerias/menu   Fritas are 3.50 euros, pulpo rockero in 19.  It is a 12 till 12 place at weekends and 8pm to 12pm on all other days, save Mondays, when it is closed. Coronel felt ‘ Everything is a 10, live music is the best’.  Dmitry is not entirely focused on the food.  ‘Thank you so much for your hospitality and for allowing me to stay at your home during my amazing VeloLiberty bike tour from Warsaw to Portugal. After traveling through 14 countries and over 8,500 kilometers, it has been a great pleasure to meet so many wonderful people and see so many amazing places along my route.  I wish you much success and I trust that, on the eighth cycling tour, y...

  It is the Feast of the Epiphany; the day of the kings - but before that we need to wander back from our misdirection and follow the rail line towards Murcia - the city.  We will cross the line. Google says we can.  The photo shows the line in 2018.  Does Google think this this is prior to 2018 or has a crossing been made since.  We may never know. Merry Christmas!  The Kings are coming to town.  Yesterday many communities will have had a parade. Sweets will be thrown.  Adults will embarrass themselves scrabbling for them and pushing small children out of the way.  Today is presents day; a day to drink hot chocolate, eat turron and Roscon de Reyes.   To make it you will need 500g plain flour, 10gdried yeast, 1 tsp sugar, 2 beaten egg yolks, a pinch of salt, 100g butter, 275 ml milk, 300ml whipped cream, dried fruit, 12 glazed cherries, 2 tbsp sugar, 3 dried oranges, sliced into quarters; 3 tbsp flaked almonds and3 tbsp of golden su...

  It is Twelfth Night but who needs to know this. Tomorrow is the key day for us i Spain.  Let us head one towards the Murcian border.  The road is a bit similar. It does feel like a 70s cartoon, where Scooby runs down a corridor which is eerily the same. We will pass the Univeridad Miguel Hernandez.  A week ago Valor wrote ‘ It's okay, a bit old-fashioned but a good place to study for a degree’.  Time to move on. What every University needs is an expresso bar.  Planta Baja fulfils that need. Fernando felt ‘A very cozy place with very friendly staff. If you like darts, this is the place for you. Great coffee and great cocktails. 100% recommended.’ and why not. Well, we have been building up to Murcia for sometime and now we are here.  To be honest, I was expecting a sign. I wasn’t expecting a couple of columns.  This is what we want!  Let every land connection between Suffolk and Essex be bestowed with pillars.  May any bridge which join...

  Onwards we go and why not.  We will pass the Palacio del Marques de Rafal. A week ago Cecilia wrote ‘ The Palace of the Marquis of Rafal is a magnificent example of Orihuela's stately architecture. This Baroque-style building was distinguished by its ornate façade and elegant interiors, reflecting the power and culture of the local nobility. The building has great historical and artistic value, bearing witness to the city's rich heritage. Although access may be restricted, simply admiring its exterior justifies a stop during a stroll through the historic center. A fundamental piece of Orihuela's architectural legacy, it deserves to be preserved and appreciated.’   So who were the Marqueses of Rafal I hear you cry? Well, Jeronimo de Rocamora y Thomas had done his bit for Great Spain in the Eighty Years War, raising and paying for a regiment.  Philip IV was chuffed with him and made him a marquis.  He died in Orihuela three years later.  His son, by hi...