Entering into the beating heart of Castile

 Today is a day for bypassing the commuter communities of very outer Madrid.  For example, we won’t be going to Carranque.






People have been by passing Carranque since the Romans were here, building a villa which is now an archaeological park. Samuel Lopez Iglesias, described by English wiki as a peasant, discovered mosaics in 1983. The population was about 1500 in 1857 and gently declined until, in 1970, the number of inhabitants halved.  Then… cars.  Today 5500 people dwell here.




We are passing a pt shop. Ok, lets nip in.  Avicola Grau  https://www.avicolagrau.com/ Noemi thought, a month ago, ‘Excellent service, friendly staff, and helpful with any questions. We'll be back. Thank you so much for everything.   






We are going across county and then join the M-415 because we have left La Mancha and have entered the marches of the city state that is Madrid.  We will pass La esquina de los sabores - a 4.5 star sort of a bar.  Mar Arza felt ‘We went on a Tuesday. The dining room was full of working people, so needless to say, the food was very good and very reasonably priced. The staff were lovely. ‘




Across the country again and to Grinon. Grinon has Moorish roots. You will now come to expect what I will tell you. It had about 500-600 inhabitants from 1842 to 1920. It managed to double its populace by 1981 and then went zoom!  Currently 10,800 people call it home.



 

One of the places that struck me on this odyssey was the neglected Muslim cemetery in Asturias. As a result of having a Civil War hospital, Grinon also has such a one.




We will end near the Cafe & Mas. It opens 7am to midnight every day except Monday. Four months ago Irene was not charitable. ‘The new waitress with glasses is slow, overwhelmed, and doesn't know what to do. She spends all her time greeting her friends from the village. I waited 30 minutes for some toast and sandwiches, and she was also unpleasant to deal with. ‘ Debora noted ‘We had two combination plates and they were really tasty and reasonably priced, but they did something really rude... they served paella as a free tapa to everyone in the bar except us. And as far as I know, I paid the same price as everyone else. ‘



















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