Santiago de Compostela July 08

 This is a city with not a lot to do except hang out in the huge plaza of the cathedral 

And eat at one of the b´zillion restaurants.  So I decided I would tour the major parks in the city.  The first one was 

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which is a couple of miles from the hotel, essentially a back track from yesterday´s walk into the city.  The nicest part of this excursion was being able to see the old city empty of people early in the morning.  You can really enjoy the architecture that way.  It was about 1 1/2 hours, maybe a little more, to get to the park, which was nothing other than a huge field with a road running through it.  Maybe they hold outdoor concerts there or something, but since I had nothing better to do, I did not mind. 

The second park on the list was Parque Alameda and it was quite lovely, as this guy, who sits on the bench all day, knows:

 the views are lovely:

Lady with a burden on her head:

A pretty pond:

And a duck who was competing with the pigeons for bread crumbs, but the pigeons usually beat him to it.  And besides, it may be that ducks don´t love bread as some of the other ones spit it out!  This one seemed to get the bread and then wash it!

A tree lying down for a nap:

I then took a break to have an annoying and unproductive conversation with Apple about the €199 refund I am due—the fourth such chit chat.   This kind of aggravation is not good for my blood pressure.  What makes me so angry is that I am being screwed by my diligence.  Had I not cancelled the Apple Care plan RIGHT AWAY, there would not be such a complication, at least according to Apple.  The next player in this drama will be Mastercard. 

Back to the parks!  The third was the Plaza de Cervantes.  Getting there was a walk through back alleys, or so it seemed.  The end was a maze of boxwoods, and that MAY be Cervantes caught in the maze, too, for all I know because I never did find a dignified statue of him:

I was parked out by that point and just wandered around seeing such sights as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  You will have to take my word that there were four:

And this piggy-like thing:

Finally a stop at a local supermercado to buy lox, cream cheese and bread.  Other fixings already on hand.