This is my first Blog post and I am retracing my steps a bit to the beginning of my year here in Spain. I arrived in Madrid on the 24th of July and spent the final week of the month in an Airbnb in the Salamanca neighborhood. I used this week to catch up with friends and to plan out my month of August. Because the summer heat in Madrid is, at times, unbearable, I decided to spend the entire month of August in the capital of Galicia, Santiago de Compostela. Many of my Madrid friends have family across the region of Galicia and they, too, spend their summer vacationing there. I was lucky enough to land an incredible apartment on Rua Nova in the heart of the old quarter with a woman who ended up being a childhood friend of one of my dear Madrid friend’s mother! In order to condense what I did during the month and not prattle on too much, here are the highlights:
-I walked every square inch of Santiago’s old quarter which is a gem! Aside from the stunning Plaza de Obraoiro where the Cathedral towers over the city, there are countless roads and callejones weaving through the city where I got turned around more than once.
-I discovered MANY excellent restaurants but my favorite was a place right off the main quarter that had a menú del día for 10 euros that included a first plate and second plate, my drink and a dessert! All home cooked, tasty, healthy and filling. Regarding food, I almost forgot how Galicia has the best empanadas in all of Spain. I had to limit myself to about three portions a week…
-I made a few excursions to Cambados, Vilanova de Arousa, A Coruña, Pontevedra and Noia to see friends, go to the beach and discover some destinations I had not seen.
-Finally, one of my best memories is walking the circle of the Alameda every late afternoon. The Alameda is the central park of Santiago. Although not very big, it offers the best overlook of the city, looking towards the Cathedral. It is filled with trees: oaks, camellias, sequoias and poplars to name a few.
I have now spent my last seven summers in Galicia and think of it as my own special escape where I see very few other foreigners. If I am lucky, it may very well be a place where I buy a little place some day. Its location, just north of Portugal, makes it a strategic point for anyone wanting to see both countries during a trip to the north west of Spain. I, too, need to do some journeying into northern Portugal when I next visit.