Spain: Santiago de Compostela

Tuesday December 28 we headed to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela which is about a 15 minute walk from the hotel we were at. Next to the cathedral we ran into a bagpipe player in a covered stone alley (read: loud). I don't care for bagpipes but I do like the fact that every single culture known has created a bagpipe instrument independently. Interesting to think that animal intestines strike people as potential musical instruments.

This is a view of the cathedral. Very intricate and completely decked out with statues and carvings on every surface and then some.

Karen and Colin from one of the cathedral's platforms, overlooking the Plaza del Obradoiro.

A view of the interior, facing the altar from the main doorway which is currently under renovations. The altar is generally inaccessible but you can see how gold-tinted everything is there.

This is the line waiting for the next mass. There's several masses per day at this cathedral and wandering around is restricted to non-mass times so we had to stand in line also but our line was not this long.

We frequently saw these type of doorknockers - a hand holding a ball or an apple. Obviously significant to the area but I didn't know what it is. Just after a bit of research right now, I learn it's "the hand of Fatima holding an apple." Fatima was the daughter of the prophet Mohammed. There's some story which you can read here explaining the significance. The Moorish symbol is meant to ward off the evil eye.

The next day (Wednesday December 29) we headed to the daily market. There were all kinds of things here: fish, clams, squid, octopus, cow heads, live chickens, vegetables. Some of the crustaceans were still twitching! And these fish may look alive but they were dead.

Also at the market (and in many storefronts along the streets): Queso tetilla! It's a specific kind of cheese, in the shape of a *ahem* specific kind of human anatomical ... shape.

Next, we went to the Museo de Pobo Galego where these awesome staircases are found. There are three of them and the stop off at the same floors but in different rooms. It is a bit confusing to navigate them but that's how you get around to see the wide range of exhibits about life in historical Galicia, from seafaring and education to farming and housekeeping.

Some of the farming equipment on display.

Back in the plaza to see the cathedral again. The next day (the 30th), Mr. and Mrs. Alworth along with Sarah and Rachel left Santiago for Madrid. Their flight was early in the morning of the 31st and they made it safely back to Minneapolis where Sarah lives and the other three went home to Duluth. Next up: The Camino (mis)adventures!

Spain: A Coruña

Moving on in the Spanish trip:

We woke up on Sunday (the 26th) in the train station at A Coruña (the local, Galician name - La Coruña in Castilian Spanish), one of the larger cities in the province of Galicia. A Coruña is right on the north-northwestern coast of Spain. Why did we go to Galicia? Well, the Alworth family had visited a Galician restaurant in Madrid when they visited Colin there five years ago and they had such a good time they were intrigued and wanted to see Galicia and eat the food right there. 

From the train station, we took a taxi to downtown and the hostel. There was no answer at the hostel so we found a cafe nearby and sat there for a some time (the streets were dead and almost everything else was closed - they start things kind of late there). After we got checked into the hostel, the three sisters showered and rested while the rest of us went for a walk. First stop was Plaza de María Pita, where this picture is found at the base of a statue. Since pictures of the statue itself are so prevalent, I opted to include a picture of one of the plaques instead. Maria Pita was a citizen of the city who rallied the troops and started fighting after her husband died. The city was fighting against the English in 1589 who had come to retaliate against the attack from the Spanish Armada a year earlier.

Also on the walk, we had our first view of the porch structures typical of the region. The wind blows cold and hard off the sea so people were putting up windows on their back porches (yes, the fronts of the fishermen's houses faced *away* from the sea) so it would actually be fun to sit there. Because of these, A Coruña is known as "the glass city."

This is one side of the old fort (Castillo de San Anton) and the pretty bay. The fort is depicted in the María Pita scene above. We had a limited tour of it later and a look at part of a history museum inside.

While touring the fort: Colin and Karen sitting on top of one of the walls.

Rachel-monster on top of some rocks in the garden area near the tip of the fort furthest out in the water.

Later that day, many weren't hungry for dinner so Colin and I took a walk after calling my parents. We ended up walking to Torre de Hercules before ending up at a restaurant where we had a couple's dinner.

On Monday (December 27), we took a long walk along the seaside promenade (Paseo Maritimo) with the destination of Torre de Hercules. It was longer than the walk to it the night before because Colin and I had walked along streets and cut through the city to get there. It was quite gusty and the wind only picked up more as the walk progressed. I actually lost a mitten over the side of the handrail - I'd put it down to use the camera and a sudden gust carried away down to the rocks below. Fortunately, it wasn't terribly cold and the wind was to our backs for the hike.

This is me peeking into the House of Words or Casas das Palavras (I'm wearing my new hat which I really like). It is on the site of an ancient Moorish cemetery. Information online about this is difficult to find! I ended up resorting to the photo option in google maps just to confirm its name.

Here is the House of Words again. When you look inside, you can see all the words from Arabic that have been adopted into other languages along with quotes in various languages.

Nearby is Paseo de los Menhires. I could find even less information on these particular stone monoliths, but it seems that they were made and erected by a prehistoric people of which very little is known about. The menhirs/menhires can be found in other countries (wikipedia has an article on menhirs but doesn't mention Spain). Another unpictured object is what we called the Spanish Stonehenge but it is actually a tribute to Spanish Civil War so much more recent.

This is Sarah standing with a statue of Hercules on the Argonauts' ship.

Torre de Hercules from the distance with some pretty coastline views.

Torre de Hercules up close. I confess to chasing pigeons here and got close enough that I could feel the wind off the tip of one's wing. This isn't something I normally do ... I was just feeling silly.

After the walk, we took a short train ride from A Coruña to Santiago de Compostela. We weren't impressed with the hostel we'd stayed the night at and didn't feel like sticking around another night. Plus, there wasn't much else we were interested in seeing in A Coruña and we wanted to focus more on Santiago.

Spain: Christmas

Christmas Eve day was spent in Cáceres and celebrated with Emily's host family. They were amazing for inviting us to have Christmas Eve dinner with us!

Our small gift-opening ceremony, pre-unwrapping. The gorgeous ensemble was made by Emily. We all got a couple of things, including tee shirts, jewelry, and a wooden puzzle (for Colin).

Ninja Papa showing off his new shirt. Extremadura is the province Cáceres is in and Universidad de Extremadura is where Emily is studying.

This is merely the first course ... There was two different kinds of shrimp and a seafood casserole type thing for the main course ... then dessert. We were more than stuffed! It was fun listening and trying to have conversations. Some of them knew some English but we mostly listened to them speak Spanish amongst themselves and to us. Papa is the only one who doesn't know Spanish but he does know French  as did one of the Spanish men he sat next to.

This is traditional in Spain - a baby Jesus doll in a basket in the fireplace.

The next day we wandered around Cáceres a bit more. Here, a cat is stalking a pigeon which is in the middle of the intersection.

In the Jewish Quarters.

Papa inspecting the iron work with Sarah. Since this is what he does for a living, he is frequently found touching the various metal work we came across and asking us to take pictures of it.

This is a building close to our hotel that always made me think of bathroom walls.

Later on Christmas day, we boarded a bus to Madrid. On the way there we drove by the huge solar energy complex.

And could see mountains with snow-covered peaks in the distance for most of the ride.

From Madrid, we took an overnight train to A Coruña. This is also courtesy of Rachel, taken in the girls' cabin. You can get a feel for how tight everything was. There were four bunks per room. The three girls shared with another random woman and Colin and I were in a family room with Mom/Karen and Papa.

Spain: Mérida, Part II

It's been an insane week since we got back, but I'm not going to get into that just yet. For now, photo recaps from the three weeks in Spain, starting where I left off. So, traveling back in time and space to Mérida, Spain, where I've already shown pictures of the ampitheatre and theatre. We also enjoyed the history museum across the street from these two Roman ruins (Emily and Papa pictured).

Rachel and Colin sitting down taking a break at the museum.

I especially liked this mosaic even though there was very little written description of it. It makes me wonder what kind of cat that is and where this hunt must have taken place for some Spanish Roman house to have this mosaic displayed. Anyone have any clues?

Tributes to the ancient Roman presence will almost inevitably include a square with a statue of the she-wolf feeding Romulus and Remus.

Roman bridge which is about half a mile long and we didn't walk all of it. But very nice to see, especially with a pretty sunset.

 There was a nesting pair of storks on top of the main building in the main square in Mérida. They are huge!

I found this photograph in the bulk copied from Rachel's camera. It is of me gazing upwards at the arches on the theatre stage. I didn't know she was taking this photo and I like it a lot. 

Again? Sorry about that ...

I was completely expecting to post actual photos to each day/place/theme. And now five more days have passed. I need to give another non-photo summary of what has happened in the last few days. I doubt I'll have much more time this morning to do more than that. Today, Emily leaves to go back to life in Cáceres and it is our (Colin and I) second to last day in Spain. We leave at an insane hour in the morning Saturday. It really does feel like a mini study abroad experience since we've been here almost three weeks.

Jan 2: Took train to Madrid from Santiago. Checked into Husa Chamartin at the train station then walked to the next metro stop (saw the scary leaning towers of money). Took metro to downtown and wandered around looking at things.
Jan 3: Packed up and went to a hostel very close to Plaza de Sol. Walked in Jardines des Buenos Retiros. Had lunch and dinner in the hostel apartment.
Jan 4: Went to Museo de Prado for a couple of hours, mostly looking at Goya and Velazquez pieces. Went back to hostel for nap then headed to the National Archaeological Museum which was mostly closed for repairs but the small exhibit was a good overview of Iberian artifacts. Found a bookstore selling English books and got "The Elegance of the Hedgehog."
Jan 5: Took AVE train (very fast one) to Segovia and saw the main highlights there, including the aqueducts, the house of the points, the outside of the cathedral and the castle.  Came back to Madrid, took nap, ate dinner at VIPS (cheeseburger with an egg on top = brilliant).
Jan 6 (today): Took Emily to bus station then walked to Atocha metro stop which had a large inside garden, including a pond full of turtles. Went to get groceries then home for nap. Out for a short snack before coming back to hostel for the night.

I started writing this in the morning and it is now 9 pm. The last few days have been both busy and not too busy that I couldn't take a nap. I considered writing a post during these downtimes but we all came down with nasty colds and these naps were necessary. We're almost over the colds now but we're still fighting them and will be relieved to get the major traveling out of the way. Tomorrow is the last full day here (again, we don't have any real plans except we have to check out at noon).

I really hope to write up more details in future posts about this trip - including photos of course! Three weeks of traveling generates a lot of things I could tell, as you might expect. If nothing else, the short summaries of each day and the stuff I've scribbled down elsewhere will help me remember what else happened. Until then, hasta luego!

Summary of the previous week

Feliz año nuevo a todo!

I hadn't expected it to be over a week and into the next year before I posted again. I'm still in Spain and obviously way behind on the photo posting.

Summary sans photos:

• Friday, 24 December 2010: Christmas Eve at Emily's host family's house
• Saturday: Christmas morning at Hotel Alfonso IX, bus in afternoon to Madrid, train overnight to A Coruña
• Sunday: Wandered along shore, in fort and old city. Called home then walked to Torre de Hercules, dinner with just Colin.
• Monday: Walked from fort to Torre de Hercules, saw the House of Words and Moorish tombs along the way. Took short train ride to Santiago de Compostela, checked into hotel (Hotel Mexico).
• Tuesday: Looked at the outside and inside of the cathedral.
• Wednesday: Visited the daily market and then the museum. Ate lunch near the cathedral and had Italian for dinner.
• Thursday: Colin's parents, Sarah, and Rachel depart to make their way home. Emily, Colin, and I head to Melide by bus to hike on the Camino de Santiago.
• Friday: Walked to Arzúa, still unable to get the pilgrimage documents. Took bus back to Santiago, stayed New Year's Eve in Hotel Mexico.
• Saturday (today):  Karen has shin splints, Colin and Emily are hiked a "short" section of the Camino. We will be taking the night train back to Madrid tonight. Other plans are still up in the air, but it's likely we'll either stay in Madrid or spend sometime in Barcelona.

Pictures of Mérida, Part I: Roman Theatre and Amphitheatre

Mérida, about an hour from Cáceres by train, is something I really looked forward to seeing while in Extremadura (the province). Why? Because it was the Roman capital for the Roman province (which included Portugal)! All things Roman! How can I not get excited?

We went there Thursday the 23rd. It was cooler and windy but the skies were clear. The first stop was at the Roman Amphitheatre and Theatre which are right next to each other and you get one ticket to see both. Below are pictures from these two landmarks (a later post will include the rest of Mérida - I'm trying to limit how many photos end up in each post).

This is the ampitheatre. It is known as the most well-preserved one in the world. Essentially, it's the place where the gladiators and animals fought and blood ran. Very exciting entertainment. You can see Emily's hand pointing something out as she explains some aspect of the place.

 This shows the southern entrance which is opposite the one in the previous picture. Colin is taking a picture and Rachel is posing prettily.

This is one of the rooms off the side of the northern entrance. It was probably where the gladiators prepped. Rachel and Sarah demonstrate how that was done.

Since I'm only posting pictures from my camera, there are very few of me. This is in some crevice near the southern entrance (notice my new hat and pashmina).

This is from above the southern entrance, just before the announcement that the place was closing in fifteen minutes.

First glimpse of the theatre (which was decidedly much more posh than the amphtitheatre but not as popular). The center arch is the back of the stage.

One side of the stage (the side closer to the amphitheatre). After this quick glance, we hurried out to the entrance. They normally wouldn't re-admit people who had been there in the morning, but we got a promise that we would be let back in after lunch (and we were).

After lunch: the toilets!

These columns, in the area behind the stage, were completely submerged in dirt that had accumulated over the centuries and has recently been excavated. The area includes the toilets in the previous picture. This whole area was where hobnobbing took place after performances.

A closer look at the stage.

A look upwards from directly beneath columns on the stage. Good view of two layers of decorations.

Rachel photobombed her parents during a cute photo session.