We traveled all over Northern Spain from West to East.
We took countless planes every couple of days. We rode a bullet train--yes the kind that crashed last week; we rode a bus every day; and we took a boat ride. I think that covers transportation.
We drank A LOT of wine. I mean a lot. I have no idea how much. There was always someone refilling your glass at lunch and dinner plus all the tastings.
We ate the best food. If you like seafood it was a dream trip. If you hate seafood or are a vegetarian it would have been miserable. We ate the Spanish delicacies like barnacles and baby eel. I like the barnacles but hated the eel. The eel are whole. We had them fried. I so did not want to try them. I ate one, and about gagged. I also tried sardines and roe for the first time. The sardine was good the way it was--I hate roe. The texture is disgusting to me. I hated the popping feel.
It is absolutely beautiful country. The north has diverse countryside and the people in each area are very unique and proud. They identify with their region more than their country. For instance Barcelonians are Catalonians before Spanish. Those from the northwest are Gallicians before Spanish. They even have their own languages. Very strange. Spain has crazy unemployment. It is really better to just draw the unemployment than work in some areas. It is very clean overall.
The following photos are from our time in Gallicia. We were in Sanxenxo, a small beach resort town and the outlying areas. You could pretty much see the Bay at all times in this region. This is where we stayed for 2 nights. We had a view of the ocean from our room. I need to get a pic off Scott's phone for that. We visited the Martin Codax Winery there. They treated us like VIPs. We had a fun dinner on their property the last night, where they treated us to a fun ceremony that stems from their Celtic heritage. Yes I said Celtic--not Spanish. We got to grab fire--let's say I was not so good. I made them all laugh b/c I couldn't figure it out. I wish I had taken photos of it. The last 3 photos are from Santiago. We visited Santiago right before we left the region. It is the largest town in Gallicia. This was once considered the end of the world from the West. As in Christopher Columbus thought there was more. It is a beautiful area. My pictures don't really do it justice of course. They grow Albarino grapes here in case you are wondering!
The following are Santiago--Thousands of people enter Santiago on foot each day for El Camino--the pilgrimage. Catholics believe (b/c the Vatican says) that St. James is buried there--but there is no actual burial site--so who knows.
This was once a hospital for all the pilgrims. It is now a 5 star hotel. It was built by Isabella--again with Christopher Columbus, I know!
Signs of the Camino
The Cathedral for all the pilgrims
No comments:
Post a Comment