Tag Archives: Santiago de Compostela

Moving On …

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We woke on the early side (for us), so we could pack. I was finished by 8:10. Dan … well, he finishes up after breakfast. We both have our systems!

Then off to breakfast for our final time here. I’ve really enjoyed this hotel, as well as this wonderful city, and I do want to investigate doing a Camino at some point.

Dan opted to go for a sweet treat at breakfast! (After having his more healthy options, of course.) Hm … he doesn’t look to happy about it! Or perhaps he’s growing weary of me taking photos of him with food. Hah!

After checking out of the hotel we waited outside for our taxi. He arrived a bit after we got out — enough time so that I of course wondered what was up. Once we got in the car he drove past places we had visited and eventually out of the historical part of the city. Suddenly graffiti appeared. I think I neglected to mention earlier that any graffiti inside the old section is obviously painted over very quickly. You can see things on doors, but never on walls. The traffic to get to the train station was heavier than when we arrived, but we got to the station just fine.

And then there was a line. For the first time on this trip we had to go through security at a train station. Portugal doesn’t have that — at least not at the stations we used — but I had read about the security lines in Madrid so I wasn’t surprised that there was one in Santiago de Compostela as well.

We got into our car, and attempted to log into their free wifi. Nope. Not happening. I think they must have had some sort of internet issue. The info that told us our speed was clearly not working either, and for the entire trip the next station was listed as one that was, I think, the stop before we got on.

We were served lunch at about 11:15. We both ordered the 0.0% beer, but I guess we weren’t clear about that because we were given regular beers. Ah well. We’ll suffer and drink those instead.

I loved looking out the window and seeing how green everything is. (Well, except when we are in tunnels, and those are frequent.)

Later we were higher and at times could see bits of snow in the mountains. And poppies … lots and lots of red poppies! I don’t think I managed to shoot those, though.

Eventually we arrived at our transfer train station.

Hello Madrid-Chamartin-Clara Campoamor train station. We’ve been to the Atocha station, but this one was new to us. It was a bit of a confusing place, and we had to ask for assistance. I sure wish we could speak Spanish, but thankfully a man could manage to help us, although he said he only spoke a bit of English (better than our zero Spanish!). Turned out we had to go out an exit, walk a bit to the main station, and re-enter, going again through security. (I do wonder if we could have taken an escalator up to the station and avoided the security lines, but he suggested that wasn’t possible so we took him at his word. Still, I saw an escalator right out of the train and it appeared to go where we needed to go. But who knows?!)

Once we got through security I looked around, hoping to see the lounge. I was rather sure I had looked it up and that there was one there. No dice in finding it, though, so Dan went and asked at the info desk. That didn’t get us anywhere, so we just stayed in the big room with everyone, waiting for our track number to appear. Back when we were downstairs I could have sworn I saw departing trains listed, including ours, with track 25 listed for us. Hmm. It wasn’t up on the board. Yet.

Until it was. And it was (ta-da!) track 25. Go figure.

So goodbye Madrid. It was strange to be there, but not really.

Our next train — another fast one — was, for us, very short. The next stop was ours. So, as Dan said, we really did have a “short ride in a fast machine”! (If you don’t get the reference you will have to do your homework and google that.

Just a bit about the tunnels: they can be very long. And there are a lot of them. Rather than go around a mountain, they just go right through. It’s quite something.

And now where are we?

HELLO SEGOVIA!

This is our first visit here, and as we drove in (via taxi), I was surprised to see all the bricks. Not our typical sized red bricks, really, but lots of them on nearly every building on the newer parts of the city. The older part is a different story.

We first got into our room and put our feet up a while. Somehow a train trip like ours can kind of zap one’s energy. Possibly partially because of the unknown, since we hadn’t done this trip before, and certainly because of lugging our backpacks and other bags around. I told Dan that I actually would have liked a roller suitcase because then nothing would be around my neck. (I should have him take a photo of me: I have the backpack on my bag and my other smaller pack — the one I carried on our Douro walk — around my neck, but hanging in front of me. It’s awkward and heavy!)

Our room is nice, quite large, and I’m sure we’ll be quite comfortable here.

After a time of rest we went out to see what we could find. Segovia was a place we really knew very little about. I had opted to come here because, for one thing, Jameson and Meghan (our younger son and daughter-in-law) had considered it when we all met up a few years back. But also it was the way we could get to our next destination in a rather easy way. (When I reveal that location you might scratch your heads a bit!) So off we went, and up a lot of stairs we went. I didn’t realize the hotel I chose wasn’t in the old part of the city, but just outside it. Ah well. I guess I didn’t research well enough on this one. But hey, we’ll get our stairs and our iPhones will rejoice, I’m sure.

After reaching the Plaza Major we felt the need for some ice cream. Go figure. The cathedral, which is just off the plaza, is really amazing. We checked it out, but didn’t go inside yet, and continued our walk.

As I wrote earlier, there are bricks here. I think what sets them apart from the ones in our area is that they tend to be longer and thinner. Some of them are also a different color. But once we started walking we noticed a different exterior wall treatment that is very common. I found it rather fascinating, having never seen this look before.

We saw some plaques in the ground that I later learned are about the aqueduct. I read that it was built around 50 BC, and the plaques show where it was … I’d explain more but I’m weary and you can research it if you’d like!

We checked out a little bit of the Jewish Quarter, and if I understand what I read they have a Camino as well. (But I could be wrong and, again, I’m too weary to check at the moment!)

Our walk continued …

And this was the first of these we found. I hadn’t realized they were in Spain as well. They are painful to read, but important to remember.

We then reached the Alcazar. Again, we didn’t go in, but we spent a good amount of time outside making photos.

Back to the plaza we went, passing by the cathedral first.

Another reminder of an awful time …

And then dinner. It was a rather odd combo I had, but tasted good. Maybe eggs, chicken, and shoestring (or whatever these are called) potatoes are a common dish here. Dunno! Dan had a fave of his: the patatas.

Then it was time to walk back to our hotel.

And now I must say buenas noches. I’m tired!

Final Full Day in Santiago de Compostela

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Morning: breakfast. Of course. Showers were taken. Figuring out how showers work sometimes can be a challenge. I know it’s silly, but honestly, it takes me a while to figure out how to move from the hand held sprayer thingamagiggy (the technical name) to the overhead shower. This was one of those times.

After we got our things together we went down to the main square (Praza do Obradoro) to meet a tour guide. I signed up (just this morning) for a “free tour”. If you’ve traveled you’ve probably seen them. We were to look for the blue umbrella (I also saw orange and red). When we all had assembled our tour guide handed out the headsets so we could hear her. She was informative and fun. We saw many of the places we’d already visited, but she gave us new information. One bit was that Rúa do Franco wasn’t named after the dictator. Yesterday we had puzzled over the name, so we were happy to hear that bit. We went to all the squares we saw yesterday, plus a few new spots, and she took us back to the park we visited as well.

Our final stop was in front of a church which is now an Episcopal church. Funny story: the patron who paid for this church is included in the scene above the door of Mary, Jesus, Joseph, and the three wise men. Gotta love what money can buy!

Our guide said the doors aren’t frequently open but they were today, so before going to the market she pointed out we went inside the church.

Then we walked to the market.

Since we didn’t see anything at the market we would want to have for lunch, we opted instead to find our way to a place that sold empanadas. We took our time getting there, though. It wasn’t really lunch time in any case.

Even when we did get lunch it wasn’t quite lunchtime on the Spanish clock, but whatever. We eat when we eat (and you can quote me on that).

Then more rambling. That rambling included seeing this photo. If you look back at my park photos you see these two women there as well. Apparently they became rather popular and now if there’s a meet up and people say to meet at las dos Marías everyone knows just where to go. (The park, not this photo below!) You can read about them here.

In some cities I’ve marveled at the fabulous fabric stores. It’s so sad that they are disappearing in California. I wish I had an extra suitcase to fill with fabric!

More wandering took place (along with a stop to get coffee and the wonderful Tarta de Santiago. It’s an almond cake (and gluten free, actually). Quite tasty. I didn’t do a lot more photography: I suppose I was running out of steam since, aside from the coffee stop, we’d been on our feet since we went out the hotel door.

Back to our room we went. Siesta time!

And then we went back out … and so much happened!

First, we walked a new direction (funny that we really thought we’d seem a ton already!) ending up back at the church we saw yesterday. We went inside, but it turned out you needed a ticket and you couldn’t get it there. Such a shame since it seemed really wonderful from our brief look. Then we headed the other direction to look for a spot to catch a drink because … well … we needed to spend some cash to get change to tip the housekeeping for tomorrow! Yes, that would be the only reason to get a drink (and, as it turned out, some padrón peppers). Oh … and you can see pilgrims in identical shirts: that is rather common, although not every group does that. (I did tell Dan that if we do a Camino I think we should have matching shirts … I’m not sure he’s buying it!)

Photos up until then:

And then a wonderful thing happened. The two women next to us started talking to us. They had just done the Camino. It was so great to hear about their walks, and I just enjoyed their company tremendously. This is one of the joys of traveling: you run across people that are just so fun to talk to, and it just makes my heart happy. I do hope that Kathy and Shane look at this blog sometime so I can thank them for the great conversation! (And yes, I did ask permission to post their photo!) You two are fabulous, and maybe we’ll even see you on the train tomorrow since it appears we are going on the same one!

After spending a good amount of time in conversation they departed and soon after we did as well. It was time to wander and see if we could find a place for dinner.

We passed last night’s dinner location, and … well … the “obo” part … had to post a photo of that, right? I’m sure it was about the OBOE, after all. (Did I post one yesterday? Who knows? I’m too lazy to check!)

We found a place nearby that could take us even while we had no reservation. Whew! Food was great, and then we met another couple who had done the Camino as well. At this point I’m just so completely humbled, but also wanting to do a Camino! Maybe we oldsters could manage … time will tell! Anyway, conversation was fun, but the noise in the restaurant was so loud, and with my bad ear I was starting to feel a bit ill: noise seems to do that to me for some reason. But food was delicious so there’s that.

Every time we get back in our room and put a key in the slot that turns on the power the TV comes on. We are not TV people when we are on a trip: we never turn it on, in fact (even when it’s in English). Somehow TV just seems so unpleasant to us when we are out and about. But tonight I share this with you. Just because!

Then it was back to the hotel. Even late at night (22:00!) it’s still not completely dark, and it was quite pleasant out.

Oh … that man in the right hand photo about … he was working when we went by at 9:50 in the morning. He was still there at nearly 22:00 (10:00 PM). (Maybe he takes a long siesta, or maybe he just works very long days?!)

When we are on trips the TV never goes on, but at this particular hotel it goes on whether we like it or not: the minute our key card goes in the slot that turns on the power, on goes the TV. I quickly turn it off. But tonight I share this with you — I know my Spanish speaking friends will know what is being said. I sure didn’t!

And with that I say buenas noches or boa noite. You choose. Tomorrow we have a couple of train trips to our next city. Stay tuned!

Another Day, A New Country

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We woke early this morning, in order to finish our packing, check out, and catch a cab to Porto Campanhã to catch our 8:13 train. It was an easy trip and we arrived in time to catch a bite before the train arrived.

We weren’t in a high speed train, nor was it quiet. We haven’t done many trains in Portugal, so maybe this is the norm, but I wouldn’t know. In any case, it got is to where we needed to go.

I was glad the trip to Vigo didn’t include a ton of stops like the others pictured below.

Despite being on a train I did take photos. I need them for this post, after all! They aren’t great, but I got what I could from a moving train.

Our final goal for today couldn’t be done via one train. I’m guessing it’s because of our move to a new country. So first we got into Vigo, Spain and exited our Portuguese train.

The train station wasn’t huge, and there was nowhere outside where we could quickly buy lunch, so it was a bag of chips and water for the time being.

Then back on to a train we went. This time it was a Spanish Renfe train, but it certainly wasn’t the fast sort, and the only food was in vending machines which we opted not to use. The trip was only something over two hours in any case, so we were fine. I was glad to have purchased seat reservations, as I saw some people have to move from the seat they opted to take when someone came along saying it was theirs.

More photos below from the train and then just outside of it:

We then arrived in our next city. Hello Santiago de Compostela!

We quickly got a cab to take us to our hotel. I had looked on the map and our hotel was a mere .8 miles away, but it included a climb and with our packs and bags it seemed wise to pay the 8€ or so to have someone drive us. I’m sure glad we did! I didn’t realize we’d be going down some of those crazy narrow streets, where pedestrians have to move out of the cab’s way or get run over, and there were a number of pedestrians!

We checked into the hotel — a nice large room. (I don’t remember ordering the room with two beds, but whatever … I never want to be “that” American who complains. Especially these days.)

After getting settled we left to find a bit more to eat. And then … WOW! We were nearing the cathedral and the number of people with packs on their backs and trekking poles rapidly increased. When we got to a center square there were a good number crashed out there. These are the people who have ended their pilgrimage to the Cathedral. Some go as far as five hundred miles, while it can be as short as around sixty. Not all do it for spiritual reasons, but I think many do. I’ve heard it can be quite an emotional journey, but having been on a one hundred miles backpacking trip I think many journeys can be pretty emotional. (I cried my way up Mt. Whitney, but I think that had to do with altitude sickness of some sort!)

I marveled at the buildings in the area, and I look forward to investigating more in the few days we have here.

We finally chose a place to eat and I know it will come as a shock to read that we ordered more than necessary: steamed mussels, a cheese board, and Padrón peppers, along with drinks. (Only when we went through the village of Padrón did it occur to me that that’s where the pepper got its name. We did see the plants growing there, too.)

After eating we met a couple who had done the Camino using a travel group like the type we use. They only had to carry their daypacks, and they stayed in nice accommodations. I think I’d prefer doing that for a Camino as well. As they said, being older we need those places where we can easily get up in the middle of the night! Then we walked back to our hotel.

Now that we are in Spain we have to readjust our eating habits even more: they don’t eat until 8:00 at the earliest! Knowing that, it seemed a good time for a bit of a siesta. Plus, of course, the start of today’s blog entry so when we get back later I’ll be able to post rather quickly. (I also blog when possible because I just might forget what we’ve done, sad but true.)

When we went back out it was still too early for dinner so we investigated the area more. It really is a fun spot. Very different than the Portugal places, as there aren’t nearly the vacant or run down places in this area. (My guess is we’d find that if we ventured outside the center here.) For the first time we donned our puffer jackets — they are quite thin and lightweight, but they are also warm, and it was getting chilly.

It’s ALE-HOP! Everywhere we go there seems to be this store. The cow is always there. Really.

Eventually we found a spot to eat and decided to sit at a table rather than the front area, where you sit on higher chairs and order tapas and various other things. It was just easier to order with a menu (in English), and we do like the lower chairs, although I suspect we pay more for that kind of seating. The food was super!

Then we began our walk back to our hotel. I find it hilarious that I knew which direction to go since Dan is usually Map Man. But, sure enough, I was right when I said which way I thought was correct! Hooray, me. Then we felt a few sprinkles and saw umbrellas. but not enough to stop us from taking in some views when the light was just beautiful on the cathedral and other walls.

Now we are back in our hotel, and we’ll have to set an alarm because we (foolishly?!) said we’d take the 8:00 breakfast here. (The room came with breakfast, therefore we eat it. We are brilliant that way.) I’m not sure why we took that time, when we eat dinner so late which means we get to bed that much later. Ah well! Live and learn. Or just live and wake up earlier than we might like.

For now … buenas noches!