Chapter two of the holiday is drawing to a close. Spain and Portugal have been very enjoyable – in fact I’d go so far as to say it’s been my best trip to both countries. Going with someone who not only speaks the language but has lived here really makes a difference. My own familiarity with the culture has improved and I am impressed that I managed to do a grocery shop by myself.
Last night we finished up with Eurovision at 1am and, as always happened before a travel day, I had a terrible sleep. It’s not such a bad thing though as Luke will also be dead tired after his flight from Korea.
We cleaned the apartment then left at midday. In Australia having a check out time after 10am feels like luxury but here it’s quite common. Our flights (Danny, Peter and Ash are flying back via Dublin with a different airline) are only five minutes apart and leave at almost 5pm so we stopped at a sunny cafe for a bit of lunch.
We caught a taxi to the airport and I now know what it’s like to do 80kph over speed bumps. The driver was a nice old guy but his disregard for speed limits and parking guidelines was a quintessentially Spanish experience.
We had a slice of cake in the airport while we waited for the check in counters to open. It’s a local delicacy made with almond flour.
Tarta de SantiagoExpert portioning by Danny.
After checking in separately we headed to the VIP lounge. Danny has membership and we could pay a bit extra to be guests. We made an effort to get our money’s worth and enjoyed the very comfortable lounges.
The focus today has been recovering from last night’s bar and club hopping. It was a good night out but ended up being bigger than I expected.
Drinks in several squares.There was an astonishingly loud funfair happening in a park.
We started off with drinks around town and spent a while at this place where musicians arrived and started jamming at the bar.
We took a wander around the old town and stopped at a few places, eventually getting to Bloom, where a Eurovision party was happening the following night.
Unfortunately, we only got there at 4am and it closed at 4:45. I got outside quicker than Danny, Peter and Ash. I sat for a few minutes and then ended up texting them to say I was heading home. I don’t remember the last time I was out so late and I almost felt like I was going to keel over.
I made it to bed and didn’t hear the others get in a bit later. After sleeping in until 1pm I really had no idea how I’d adjust back to normal waking hours on return to regular holiday hours.
I took a trip back to the mall in the afternoon for food and some new underwear (thrilling stuff) after having a salad in the food court. After such a big night I did wander around in a bit of a daze and I was glad to get back to the apartment and find that we’d be watching Eurovision in the apartment.
I made pizzas, we drank wine, brought blankets to the couch and are now watching the votes come in. Personally I liked the Finnish entry best but it’s not looking good for them.
Tomorrow is the flight home and finally seeing Luke, hooray!
So, an ongoing theme of this trip to Galicia has been me playing second string to Daniel when it comes to meeting people. Galicians seem to feel some sort of kindred-spirit connection to Ireland and Australians are as good as chopped liver in comparison.
When discussing holiday nicknames ‘Chopper’ was even suggested as an option for me but I was not keen.
Last night we turned up at 9pm to a fancy restaurant called Benedita Elisa (because 9pm is when they open. WHEN THEY OPEN!!) and they couldn’t fit us in so we went for dinner to a place that one of the patrons at the bar had suggested the previous night.
The place we ended up going to was great, the helpful waiter had lots of recommendations for Galician dishes.
Satay beef and pork ribs. A very mild flavoured fish cake. The chips are freshly made everywhere.
We shared all the dishes and it was very enjoyable to discuss the flavours and which were our favourites.
Afterwards we walked into the old part of town to see the cathedral by night.
The centre was largely quiet but there were a few groups of musicians around and some pilgrims walking into town. The alleyways must look almost identical now to medieval times but probably smell a lot better.
After a walk around we went home to bed where I managed to spend hours getting to sleep despite having far less alcohol than the previous night.
We were all up and about by 11am (really getting into the Spanish lifestyle now) and spent the morning getting ready for our 2pm lunch booking at Bernadita Elisa.
This restaurant was a little more upscale than the previous night and we did the same – shared plates so we got to try many things on the menu.
Calf bikini with trumpets of death (a type of mushroom). Delicious and not as dramatic as the name suggests.Curry crispy rice with mango, sardines and roe.Carpaccio with pine nuts.Burrata salad
Just a few of the many dishes!
We each had such a small bite of the dishes so that we had room for dessert, which was nothing short of fabtastulous.
Ok, no more food photos, I promise.
A cross between creamy cheesecake and crème brûlée.
Peter and Ash arrived to much excitement on our behalf and in a holiday mood after a number of drinks on the journey. Obviously this is something I personally do not condone and certainly not something Danny and I did to excess on the way over.
The apartment only has one bathroom so everyone had showers and drinks (not at the same time) before going out for the evening.
We didn’t walk far before finding a nice restaurant. We ordered the set menu, which was platters for two with a mix of meats and sides.
When they arrived the servings looked huge but we managed to get through them. Peter and I shelled all the prawns and, like the heroes of ancient mythology, we completed the Herculean task set before us.
When the desserts and digestif arrived I began to doubt my staying power, but made it through.
Much better profiteroles than I’ve ever made!
At 11pm we found the local bar and were the only patrons until people started to arrive at 1am. ONE AM. On a Wednesday night (Thursday morning, really). It’s really no surprise the streets of Spain are deserted until mid morning.
Lots of space on the dance floor.
After hearing ‘we’ll go after one more drink’ a few times I snuck out and took myself home, thankful I had a set of keys. Then I texted the others when I was down the street to let them know I’d gone.
It was quite a surprise, after so many drinks, that I could operate the various locks but I got in, drank a large glass of water, had some ibuprofen and woke up feeling fine. A Santiago miracle!
The apartment is quite small so when I woke up the next morning I stayed in my room, listened to podcasts and did some stretches. I was so diligent with stretching on the Camino but we are walking almost as far most days now but I’ve stopped looking after myself properly. I wake up feeling quite stiff so it’s good to have time to do it thoroughly.
Today’s main mission was to go shopping. It’s fun (and slightly disconcerting) to go to a shopping mall that is barely indistinguishable from my usual one back home yet has entirely different shops. I think the only one I saw that I recognised was IKEA, but that was a tiny shopfront rather than the mega stores we have.
It’s an anime merchandise store.
I was very keen to get a few new things to wear and to replace my leggings, which are developing alarming stretches of holes along the inner seam. Clothes wear out surprisingly quickly when you wear them every second day.
Having bought a nice dress in Porto, I needed nice shoes and ended up buying a whole new outfit. Woo!
It’s not super obvious here, but my tan lines are an epic band of brown between my sock line and the bottom of my leggings and they make me look like I’ve never washed my ankles.
We had lunch at place called ‘Foster’s Hollywood’ and all the food was great.
except the ‘fruit plate’ Ash got for dessert.
Or should I say ‘dessert’.
In the shopping centre Ash and I saw a woman knock over her entire cup of coffee while putting on her coat, I got to watch a golden retriever play with a soft toy and on the way home we all saw a guy fall off his bike. So it really was an action-packed day.
When we got back to the apartment I washed my hair and everyone else went out for a drink. I’m happy to have a bit of quiet time and fill in this entry… and maybe have a nap!
The bus station in Porto was very well equiped, clean and organised. Public transport really is a dream in Europe compared to Australia.
We bought snacks.
Four kinds in one! I don’t think we have this in Australia, correct me if I’m wrong.
Then got on the almost empty bus (the best kind) and it turned out we had the whole back row.
Time for some crossword puzzles and three hours to enjoy the views of the countryside.
The photos don’t do it justice, the whole way was lovely and green and dotted with little Portuguese villages, rivers and sea views. Here they mostly seem to grow their grape vines on head-height trellises, which seems very sensible.
Eventually we arrived back at the Santiago bus terminal, our third time here! We have now arrived in Santiago by plane, on foot and by bus and left by train so we’re really having a modern pilgrim experience.
The apartment is nice but the security features make me a bit worried about the neighbourhood.
Peter and Ash are arriving this afternoon so we went out to get some supplies. The local bakery was doing something unusual.
Carbon bread!Was actually delicious dipped in olive oil and salt. It did taste like carbon but … in a good way.
I just looked at the door and realised there’s another security feature.
Seems like it should be one or the other.
Looking forward to having other people to listen to Danny’s blister stories ;-).
Here Comes The Planet 