San Francisco Monumento Santiago de Compostela

The other two tours in Madeira and Lanzzarrotte we planned well in advance, but the trip to Santiago de Compostela was a last minute decision based on the recommendation of the two couples who we had the pleasure of dining with on the cruise. I'm glad we decided to go. It was quite a long drive, but well worth the effort. We walked around the oldest part of the town where the ...

... of young people around. The cathedral is surrounded by the old city with its small streets and medieval feel about it. It is supposed to rain all day today so we've got a late start.....but no rush. Enjoy the photos. Today's goal is portraits......<br><br><!--StartFragmen t--><br><br>October 22, 2009<br><br>Made it to Barcelona late last night (well after<br>midnight). We had a slightly<br>delayed flight out of Santiago--raining ...

... the city which contains all the old buildings and churches is pedestrianised and huddles round the grand cathedral. The Cathedral is vast and very ornate. The guide books say that is best seen in the rain so that all the lichens and mosses are highlighted. The weather duly obliged!<br><br>The car has decided to have a sick day and has gone to the Ford dealer to recuperate! We collect it tonight and move on to Portugal in the morning.

... Doglas chain-smokes and drinks several Red Bull and whiskey's, clearly looking peeved about the situation. About an hour later, he tries to bring us to nightclub, also in his mafia circle, but we decline. He leaves, we spend about 10 minutes more at our VIP place, and then decide to start looking for somewhere else.<br><br>It is about 3am at this time, aka right when clubs should start to open, and it is a Saturday night. However, the streets are COMPLETELY ...

... traditional "veiera", or scallop shell, the symbol of St. James, attached to their bags. Given their clothing and backpacks, and their smell, it was pretty clear that they had literally just arrived in the city and walked straight into the cathedral. The "rules" of the pilgrimage say that to be a true pilgrim, you have to walk at least 100km or bike or horse-ride at least 200km, but there were people of all ages, shapes and sizes. The most interesting thing to me was how few ...

... started in 1075 and was completed in 1211. It has three entrances that open onto three different City plazas. The main entrance is under repair. After a quick look around we stopped by the Pilgrims office. When you finish the Camino and present your Credential with all the stamps from alburges where you've stayed and restaurants/bars or churches, you´re award a Certificate (compostela). So we have our certificate! <br> <br ...

... that was. When we turned in our exams, we were directed to another classroom where we participated in an oral exam to assess our fluency with the language. Thank goodness the woman completing this had a kind heart and sense of humor! At the beginning of class the second day, we were split into two different groups. I am officially in the buzzard group. I had to chuckle at the end of the second day. I thought to ...

Arrived at the end of this wonderfull experience.Tired ,dead beat and my feet are killing me. I´ ve been ill prepared for this trip. I´ve got quite a few blisters on my feet, some of them pretty raw and ugly. I almost asked for it. My boots are not good enough. There you are , blaming ...

... the cafeteria is great! It's a actually restaurant/café on campus and there's a waiter and everything! I sat and did some homework and ate an empanadilla de atún (like tuna in a pastry-like bread) y un coca-lite with full service for 1.8 euros! Oh! And I found a beautiful park to run in. Old people go for walks there and they're all so cute. Today, things finally seem like they're falling into place.

... headed out looking for a little fun...we found both little and fun - all the girls in the bar were, no joke, between 14 and 16! Incredible...the discotecas didn't OPEN until 5 (later than BCN, the party city), so we never made it there, but the boys had fun impressing the girls with their foreign accents. Francesco only had to say 'Italian' and all these little girls came over to dance with him. The next night we ended up at the same place because we ...