I am sure you will all be glad to know that yours truly has returned from yet another weekend getaway without a scratch (but perhaps with much darker circles under my eyes). I spent our four day weekend in the north of Spain in a town known as Santiago de Compostela situated in the region of Galicia.
Galicia is known for its rain and happily, it was misting a little while we were there. Seriously, I enjoyed every last drop! It is also much greener and actually has some fir trees and grass which is a scarce commodity down south in Andalucia. Most of the houses are stone and judging by the smells throughout the city, fishing is big business.
Anyway I decided to go to Santiago de Compostela to see a different part of Spain but also to visit the famous Cathedral. Santiago was one of the apostles and his body is buried in the Cathedral. While I am not familiar with the whole story, there is something about Santiago being told by God to follow a star and he ended up in what is now Compostela where he died. Anyway, people from all over the world make pilgrimages to the cathedral, some starting as far away as France or Portugal and walking for over a month! When I went to mass on Sunday to see the huge incense burner, there were probably over 1000 people inside the church and many more outside waiting to get in. Crazy.
The cathedral was beautiful and old (originally founded in 1072) and I made sure to hug the gold bust of Santiago for luck. But it was really the city that made the trip great. For some reason, people seemed much more open and happy to talk to us there and the tiny medieval cobblestoned streets and huge plazas were, quite honestly, charming. I know, that's such a horrible cliche word to use but I really can't think of anyway else to describe it. However, one aspect of the trip I did not quite agree with. So, like our 60 year old hostel owner, my host mom, and every other Spaniard of any age, creed, or religion will tell you to do, we decided to go out on Saturday night. Of course, by now we are somewhat accustomed to the late hours here and we went to a bar before trying to go dancing at around 2 AM. The first discoteca we entered was completely empty except for us. The next was filled with 30-40 year olds trying out their amazing salsa skills. So as not to embarrass ourselves, we moved on. By 3:30 AM, after similar luck at 4 other empty discotecas around the downtown area, we collapsed by the cathedral, deciding just to take in the view and night air. A few of our Spanish contemporaries were walking by so we stopped them out of curiosity to ask where everyone was. I mean, Santiago is a university town after all. We were informed that no one even goes to the clubs in the city until 4:30. In the morning! As much as I wanted to dance, I do also have a very human need for sleep, so we gave up.
We ate pulpo a la gallego -- octopus cooked with potatoes. It is completely delicious! I also did my fair share of pastry eating which I feel is an essential element to any trip abroad, even daily during my extended "trip" to Granada. Also, I was happy to find a crepe restaurant serving spinach and goat cheese crepes on the plaza which was a very nice change: I hadn't eaten much in the way of vegetables since my carrot in Paris. Perhaps the best meal though was the one we bought at the grocery store in Noia, a small fishing village about an hour away from Santiago, and ended up eating at a bus stop. We were looking for a beach but hunger got the best of us and once again we showed our true red, white, and blue colors, eating on the side of the road which would horrify any self-respecting Spaniard.
Basically it was a nice relaxing trip after the whirlwind that was Ireland and Paris. I finally am going to stay in Granada for a little bit, at least until the end of the month when we have a long excursion to Madrid. I am exhausted of airports, buses, and metros though I can now navigate all like a pro. After that? Sevilla? Barcelona? Morocco? Portugal? Maybe all, although my bank account may not be agreeing with me at the moment.
Un saludo, Jenny
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Hey, we know something about Santiago de Compostela. Especially remember the cathedral and a wonderful old hotel nearby. Never been there, of course -- we saw it on TV, where it appeared as the final destination in a series of travelogues tracing the pilgrimage route from Toulouse. It is great that someone in the family has actually managed to get there.
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