Reach For The Stars

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Instead of fretting about the curvature of cucumbers the EU would do well to sort out the whole business of hotel star ratings.  In my years of staying in hotels all over Europe I have been unable to work out what differentiates a 3* from a 4* place.......except for ONE THING:

3* hotels will usually serve a purely 'continental' breakfast whereas 4* hotels always have some hot food.....usually scrambled eggs plus a thing that they think is bacon and maybe some little anemic sausages.  Last night our hotel claimed to be 4* but served up a distinctly 3* breakfast.  This is a scandal.  I dont care if the room has a trouser press or if the receptionist wears a uniform but I WANT SCAMBLED EGGS FOR BREAKFAST!

After 2 hilly days into and out of Ronda I was a bit broken and distinctly worried about today, which promised to be another lumpy ride.  BUT the sun came out, we picked up a decent tailwind for much of the day and we made relatively easy work of the 68 miles to Puerto Real where we are in another '4*' hotel.  So far the only evidence of 4*ness was a reception desk crammed with no fewer than 3 smartly dressed but dimly witted staff who, between them, took 10 minutes to check us in.

The hotel is large and appears to have been built to meet a demand that is yet to materialise.  It is also in the arse-end of nowhere so we will have to eat here this evening as well.  My hopes aren't high.

Tomorrow we are going to Seville.

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