The pension Los Angeles is on the Plaza Mayor, overlooking the square at the front and the market at the back. Actually, most of the available rooms look on to the dark airwell in the middle, but, breaking the habits of a lifetime, I opted to pay five euros extra and got an attic with a skylight at the front of the building. The room was small and cozy, with old exposed beams and whitewashed walls between. With two other bedrooms it formed a small apartment of its own, with a brand new outer door that wouldn’t have been out of place in Fort Knox. I couldn’t work out whether this was an ex-apartment, being converted into hotel bedrooms, or a group of rooms in the process of being converted into a private apartment. Either way, the furnishings, particularly the bathroom, were far better than I deserved for the cost, although the bedroom itself was fairly Spartan, with basic shelves and desk, and a wardrobe hidden in the wall. Curled up in the double bed, listening to the sounds from the square, and feeling virtuous about climbing the 80-odd stairs up to the attic, I couldn’t have been more comfortable, and was certainly a lot more central, than in the Parador. Friendly English-speaking staff (well, one of them anyway) perpetually occupied with stepping over the builders, and chasing up the cleaners. 25 euros a night for a double room, no reduction for single occupancy.