Hotel Rua Villar Santiago de Compostela

... have been gathering for centuries to visit the tomb of St James. The Cathedral itself was magnificent, and the surrounding buildings where also very impressive. Shopping in the narrow flag stoned streets was a delight. We stayed at were given refreshments in a former hospital dating from around 1513 which is a listed building and is now a first class hotel. It was all very grand.

... the lobby. Dinner last night was quite exceptional. Paul had the duck confit and I had the pork chop....both were delicious.

So we left Ribadeo yesterday and took the coastal road. It was like I imagine Highway 1 down the California coast used to be in the 50s. We stopped at Cathedral Beach and I'm attaching the photos. Santiago is a big-ish city with lots of traffic and its accompanying exhaust. It's a university city so ...

We travelled through thick fog over and through the mountains on typically heroic Spanish roads. They cut through mountains and build viaducts over the valleys. We drove through and around weary looking Pilgrims to our campsite which was on the Camino de Santiago. It was closed. After some interesting encounters with some locals, one old man practically ran away when asked for directions, we found this camp site.

The centre ...

... Then, after his run, he wanted to have a drink with us... but we left before he got back from his shower. Unfortunately, Saturday night... he recognized us. He brought us cava and sangria and then came and sat down with us, saying nothing and jumping up every few minutes to check on other tables. He again brought us a big plate of food, and more drinks when we finished the first ones. After about 45 minutes, we had found out only that he was from Brazil but was ...

... were actually wearing the shell. It was traditional for pilgrims to put the shell either around their neck or on their pack to identify themselves as a religious pilgrim, so I was intrigued by how few people seemed to have done the pilgrimage for purely religious reasons. Our guide told us that now, the pilgrimage is just at common among outdoor enthusiasts as it is among religious Catholics.

Since the cathedral was filling up for mass, we left to walk to the Parque ...

... baggage et malgre la fatigue, tout le monde est souriant et courtois! 3- Malgre la presence de nombreux touristes, les commerces ferment de 13h30 a 17h30 !!!? 4- A la remise du diplome, se faire demander si notre motif est religieux ou non. Notre reponse etait pour des motifs religieux (mauvaise reponse). 5- Avoir a dealer avec un ...

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These Spanish people are crazy, they do this all the time. The streets were covered with stylish young Spaniards who were in various states of drunkenness and mobility. Party all night, and then, to quote Pito, "tomorrow I am from the bed to the sofa, from the sofa to the bed, all the day."

My hostel owner and her mom laughed at me (but gave me cake) when I crawled out of bed at noon today to pay for another night. I spent all day wandering around town.

There's live ...