The End

This was my original plan.

I wanted to go all the way to San Andrés de Texeido. But, of course, it wasn't going to be. Still, after A Coruña, there was just about enough time to head somewhere else and so, I programmed in Playa de Santa Comba.

To tell you the truth, I was getting a wee bit nervous when I was sent turning left and right and heading further and further from civilisation, no signs, no nothing... and the roads were getting narrower and narrower...then, out of the blue, the sea loomed before us, turquoise and wild, the surroundings, practically deserted. Practically, but not quite. There were a couple of caravans, no-one in the sea (quite wisely), though there was a lone fisherman down by the rocks, and, in the distance, the solitary hermitage of Santa Comba, apparently currently almost inaccessible.

Stairway to heaven

Santa Comba beach

The cliffs, the waves, the hermitage...the isolation of this place, a place for one to sit and watch the wonders of nature at play, to hear the sounds of the waves hitting the rocks and nothing else, not even seagulls...

A fitting finale to this journey, from Bilbao to A Coruña, I'd say. Hope you've enjoyed travelling with me!

Gloria Bendita restaurant review

After the Tower of Hercules, it was time to look for some lunch, though not a good time. It was almost 4pm. Most restaurants were already closed or were closing and were no longer serving lunch. Then, we saw Gloria Bendita.

They also looked as though they were in the midst of closing, but there was no harm in asking. We were told that, yes, they could serve us, but only fries, grills and cold dishes. The reason was that the kitchen staff have left (or were about to). Two men, presumably the owners, stayed behind. 

We were extremely grateful. We didn't feel like wasting more time looking for somewhere else and Gloria Bendita looks good. We were shown their "Pikoteo"menu, which was like a snacks menu, and, even then, not all dishes were available to us. Not much choice, but beggars can't be choosers.

This menu was snapped with the mobile phone

This was the "raxo flambeado con patatas paja", which was flambé pork loin. Nothing extraordinary, but meat was fairly tender although I would have liked it to be a bit more cooked, and chips were great. Perfectly edible.

Piadina Romagnola

We liked this dish, but it was a shame that there wasn't much of it! Piadina is a thin Italian flatbread, typical of the Romagna region. It's not unlike the Mexican tortilla used in tacos, but while tacos are usually stuffed till overflowing, these piadinas are somewhat more subtle. Gloria Bendita offers them either stuffed with Stracchino cheese, Serrano ham and rucola, or Mascarpone cheese, salmon and capers.

I'll have to find a place here that serves these!

We also had the Parma ham croquettes, which were good, too, crispy on the outside, creamy in the inside. When all our dishes had been served, and we were seen to be happy with our food, the two guys sat down to eat. And, they brought us this...

Simply incredible. After making an effort to take us in, they even had the generosity to treat us with some cured ham! Astounding hosts.

Name: Gloria Bendita

Type: restaurant, tapas, romantic, Italian

Website: http://www.gloriabenditadelicatessen.com/

Location: Comandante Barja 2; 15004 A Coruña

Verdict: Highly recommended!

The Tower of Hercules, A Coruña

Too short, in some ways, my stint in Santiago de Compostela. It's a charming city and the apartment was fabulous, so I was sad to leave but, at the same time, I was keen to get home again because of a handful of reasons. Not to mention that I wanted to start to process all the photos I'd taken...

The flight didn't leave until 21.50, so we had the whole day, practically. First stop was A Coruña since we haven't been there yet.

Not knowing the city at all, I decided to navigate towards the Tower of Hercules first although I wished I'd read more about it before. Here are some links I've just found for you to follow should you wish to visit this landmark.

• http://www.uslhs.org/assets/resources/articles/lighthouse_of_la_coruna_spain.pdf
• http://turismocoruna.com/media/documentos/EsculturasTorreIingles.pdf
• http://torredeherculesacoruna.com/index.php?o=downloads&i=114

 Charon by Ramón Conde

Breogan (Celt leader) by José Cid

A lonely path

Wind Rose by Javier Correa

On the whole, I didn't find A Coruña very appealing. It felt lifeless, but, perhaps, I wasn't in the right places. Very often, in Spanish cities, when in doubt, the best place to head for is the old quarters. Well, either I didn't manage to find it or I was in it but it didn't look very inviting.

Have you been to A Coruña?

Casal Coton, a review

If you walk along Rúa do Franco, there's a good chance you'll come across these ladies, dressed in traditional costumes, offering you goodies to try. Do try them! There are at least 5 shops selling them but they all belong to Casal Coton, a family business which has been around for a long time. You're under no obligation to buy anything, but once you've tasted their offerings, chances are that you'll walk away with something.

Apart from pastries and biscuits, they also sell chocolates, cheese and liquors. Most of the pastries and biscuits have almonds as the main ingredient. You've probably heard of tarta de Santiago, which is basically an almond pie. They do that, of course, but I prefer their Tarta de Apostol, which is also an almond pie, but less sweet.

They also have these biscuits (or cookies) which are just heavenly. They're called Caprichos de Santiago (Santiago's cravings). Mmm, I wouldn't mind some right now!

Santiago's cravings

Caprichos de Santiago

Almond pie (Tarta de Apostol)

Name; Casa Cotón
Type: shop (pastries, cheese, wine...)
Website: http://www.casalcoton.com/productos.php
Location: All along Rúa do Franco (see their website)
Verdict: Don't go home without some of their products!

A Taberna do Bispo, restaurant review

As you can imagine from previous posts, once again, dinner was going to be another late night affair. Not wanting to go far, and looking for something cheap & simple, Rúa do Franco was about the best choice.

A Taberna do Bispo was the one elected. It was quite full, but we preferred to sit by the bar anyway, which was no problem. Wanting to keep the cost down, we stayed away from seafood, but the two guys beside us had some and they looked good, the seafood, I mean ;) . They thought so anyway, the guys, I mean ;) .

Chistorra and pimiento de padrón

Chistorra "is a type of fast-cure sausage from Aragon, the Basque Country, and Navarre, Spain. It is made of minced pork, or a mixture of minced pork and beef, is encased in either lamb tripe or plastic, and has a fat content that varies between 70 and 80%. The sausage is flavoured with garlic, salt, and paprika, which gives it a bright red colour." (Wikipedia) Something to up the cholesterol a little, haha. Pimiento de padrón is a species of baby green peppers which are usually not spicy, but you may get the odd one at any time! ;) 

Crocanti de brie

This is their star tapa. It's Brie cheese, lightly fried with egg & almond bits (I think) and served with a little jam (could be raspberry). I'm not a fan of strong cheeses, and generally avoid Brie, but this was lovely.

As you can see from the photos of the bar, there were still a lot of choices even though it was almost midnight. We had a total of 8 tapas and two soft drinks and the bill came up to €16.80!

The warm tapas are served warmed up, and service was very good. The guy behind the bar was efficient, relaxed and friendly.

Name: A Taberna do Bispo
Type: tapas bar, restaurant, budget
Website: http://www.atabernadobispo.com/
Location; Calle del Franco 37 B, 15702 Santiago de Compostela
Verdict: Highly recommended!

Best coffee in the north of Spain!

By the time I got back to Santiago, it was evening, or perhaps not. If it'd been evening I would probably not have wanted coffee, but I did...

Walked past a few and chose San Jacobus on Rúa do Preguntoiro. My instinct was good. I'd been terribly disappointed with all the coffee I'd had during the whole of this trip, but the one here was perfect! The right temperature, the perfect strength, the ideal (for me) balance of coffee and milk... Even the churros were good! The hot chocolate was very good, too. Thick but not so thick you'd need a spoon to drink it with.

If you're looking for a good cup of coffee, this is definitely the one I'll recommend!

In spite of it being about half past eight or so, there was still a fair amount of light and the sun wasn't setting yet. This was the only day that it hadn't rained since we arrived, so I decided to see what I can shoot around the streets of Santiago. I may just have to open the aperture all the way and/or crank up the ISO, I thought.

Just me, my camera and I...

Sans commentaire... Well, maybe just some captions. ;-)

An ice cream man without ice cream?

Well, well, well, the ice cream man has found himself an audience!

Tolls in and out of Santiago de Compostela

The idea for the day was to do something like this:

We got to Sanxenxo all right. One word of warning. Driving in, out and around Santiago de Compostela can be rather expensive. There seemed to be tolls everywhere. Leaving Santiago would cost you €5.40, and returning, the same. Going from Pontevedra to Arcade was much less: €1.05.

Playa de Silgar, Sanxenxo

Sanxenxo was terribly busy, it being a hot August day. Finding somewhere to park was a sweaty affair. Apparently, apart from July and August, this town is semi-deserted. Yikes. Must be depressing then. Or perhaps the reverse. Personally, I had always found the British seaside resorts pretty depressing off-season. Well, maybe high-season, too! When I see all these attractions made to be filled with people dark and desolate, it depresses me. It's different when you go to a rural village for some peace and quiet because you expect and wish for peace and quiet. But a seaside resort without people? Without sun?

That was me digressing again. We just saw the main beach, Silgar, white sands, turquoise waters... I must admit it looked inviting, but I wasn't here for the beach. It is also said that these parts have the warmest waters in the whole of Galicia (famous for its very cold sea!). I can't say if that is true or not. There are many other beaches all along this part of the Galician coastline, but we didn't explore them. Basically, there were some problems, which I won't go into here. 

So, we bought some bocadillos. had trouble finding the car, and eventually made our way towards Pontevedra. Looked gloomy, to tell you the truth. One round - and it looked like the main entrance was blocked off for repairs or something - and off we went, in the direction of Arcade.

It was supposed to be famous for its oysters, but I don't know if it was our mood or Arcade, too, looked gloomy. Stuffed the bocadillos down and I headed back to Santiago. No point in carrying on further. It was a long silent drive...

On the Highway to Hell...

When we were walking towards O Curro da Parra, we heard a band belting out 

Sweet Home Alabama

Where the skies are blue

Sweet Home Alabama

Lord, I'm coming home to you!

and they sounded quite good. I said let's see if they're still playing when we finish.

I must admit that while I was enjoying the meal, I had all but forgotten about the band, but when we stepped out of the restaurant, we heard faint strains of some guitar music from somewhere. Hey, they're still playing!

We walked as quickly as our digestive system would allow us, following the sounds of music. We didn't have far to go. There was a healthy crowd and it was a free open-air concert. I wasn't sure if they were contracted by a bar or not, but most of the people were just standing around the band and I couldn't see beyond them as it was quite packed.

The axeman

They were a really good cover band, playing music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. A bit of The Beatles, The Stones, AC/DC... There were two drummers, but not playing at the same time. I hadn't noticed it that night, but looking at the photos, I saw that one of the drummers - probably the original one, from his age and style - had what looked like remnants of a plaster on his right arm. I don't know how he could still hit it so hard... I used to play the drums, too, so I know how it is.

Introducing... a surprise guest!

He introduced a surprise guest, a lady friend. She introduced herself as an Irish living in the Canary Islands! I wonder where!

Belting it out...

Axeman could sing, too

Livin' easy, lovin' free...

We're on the highway to hell!!!! Highway to hell!!!

Well, she was a prime example of why one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. She sure packed some lungs, this Irish lass. Highway to hell, no less. Boy, could she sing. She had the crowds (of all ages, by the way) going like crazy. Unfortunately, she only sang just that one song. "More! More! More!" from the crowds couldn't bring her back. I guess she had the chance to rehearse only one song with the band.

The Look

Encore! Encore! Encore!

They played a few more songs without Janis Joplin (haha, my nickname for her), the crowd lapped it all up and wouldn't let them go. I don't remember how many encores they did, but they had to stop some time. I suppose there must be a local law prohibiting loud noises after a certain hour. It was, after all, a residential zone (I think).

What a fun evening!

O Curro da Parra restaurant, a review

Sunday night. Time, about 10 pm.

I was somewhat disappointed with the type of restaurants we had been eating in the previous few days because I'd been "on strike" and did not partake in the decision process. This time, I didn't give any option, I just led the way.

Google Maps on. Destination: Rúa Travesa 20. Start navigation.

We were staying near the Cathedral (if you've been following my posts, you'd know), and it was a short walk, yet away from the populated centre. As with a lot of restaurants here, O Curro de Parra has a small terrace and a small entrance. The kitchen is on your left as you enter where you'd expect a bar. At the back, there are tables with high stools - a bar-like seating arrangement - and leading to this area, running along one side of the wall, is a narrow counter. The place looks bigger than it is because at the back, there's another entrance, a glass door. This makes it appear as though it led to another section of the restaurant. I only realised that it was an entrance when I saw new customers walking in.

According to Google Translate (mmm, they should really be paying me for the amount of times I mention them! Ironically, I've even been banned from their ads programme, and their ban is lifelong, haha), O Curro da Parra means The Vineyard. A good name for a wine bar-restaurant, but it's actually named after the street on which the other entrance resides.

Upstairs is a more formal affair, with the standard seating arrangement. It isn't very big, perhaps 16 covers or so.

I was impressed by the decoration. Now, I thought to myself, this looks more like it, thinking of all the other restaurants we'd recently been to. When a place is tastefully decorated, it has an identity; and when it has an identity, you'll have some hope that its food has some sort of identity, too.

Any reservation? No? Sorry, we're fully booked.

That aroused my interest even more. I wasn't going to give up that easily. Eyeing the counter down the side, I asked "How about standing? " "Ah, yes, that's possible." After convincing the others, we stayed. They had a large group booked and that was why they couldn't take any more people.

Our order for drinks were taken, but then, we were almost ignored after that. I myself noticed the menu and took it. We hadn't been offered one. A group of 3 ladies walked in and did the same as us. They were willing to stand. Being thoughtful, I passed them our menu. And what happened?

The waiter - probably the head waiter - took the food orders from them first! And, believe me, it took me a full 5 minutes or more later, and that, after frantic hand waving, for him to approach us. And, not an apology. So, for that, they lose some service points. Being busy is not an excuse for "discrimination". 

But, to our surprise, a few minutes after our food orders had been taken, a table became available and we were ushered upstairs. Fortunately for the previously-mentioned waiter, he hadn't given the table to the 3 ladies! Or fireworks would have flown. Upstairs was a more sedate affair. Almost all foreigners. Speaking in hushed tones, smartly-dressed, and at least the service here (from a waitress) couldn't be faulted.

The food. Fabulous. I appreciate home-cooking style, but, as a paying customer, I always expect a little more, and this little more is felt in the effort, in the creativity, in the ingredients... In this aspect, O Curro da Parra didn't disappoint. Everything we had were wonderful: the salad, the prawns, croquettes, skewered pork... Perhaps the pork was a little too dry.

So, yes, definitely recommended. But make a reservation, especially at weekends and in the summer. 

Sorpresa de langostino (Prawn surprise), €8.50

Croquetas, €8

Ensalada de temporada, (Seasonal salad), €6.50

Brochetas de cerdo (Skewered pork), €6.50

Name: O Curro da Parra
Type: tapas, gourmet, fusion
Price: not cheap; budget for €15-20 per person
Location: Rúa Travesa, 20; 15704 Santiago de Compostela
Tel: 981 55 60 59
Website: https://www.facebook.com/ocurrodaparra
Verdict: Highly recommended! Reservation is advisable.

Controversial exhibition by Ramón Conde near the Cathedral of Santiago

Where's Galicia?
Isn't it somewhere south, south-west of Cornwall?

Well, yes... The wet, grey, overcast day continued, and the day turned to evening...no sight of the sun...all sound too familiar.

The umbrellas opened and closed, anoraks and raincoats, sombre and bright clashing wildly, travellers and pilgrims trudged and mingled on and around the squares encircling the Cathedral, and me, wishing for more flattering light for the camera.

On one of these squares, the Silversmith's Square, La Plaza de Las Platerías, La Praza das Praterías, it will come as quite a shock to the uninitiated when they looked up at the balconies opposite one of the sides of the Cathedral, just by the fountain of the horses.

A series of exaggeratingly large, grotesque even, naked-as-daylight statues stare down at them in the square. In a way they looked as though they could have come from all those centuries ago - one thinks of the deadly seven sins and of gluttony, in particular, but wait a minute. Some of these are not obese in the slightest. They're big and strong, but not fat.

And you start to think, no, there's something not quite right. They seem, erm, sort of out of place. But, surely, if they're here, the Church must have put them up?

Well, no, the Church didn't put them up here. In fact, they complained about them, but the local council decided not to take them down.

The statues are the work of a Galician sculptor, Ramón Conde, and his exhibition is called O Poder (Power). 15 statues, spread on the balconies around the squares of Platerias and Obradoiro, will be there until 28 September 2014, their underlying concept being that strength and improvement are two essential conditions for survival.

What do you think? Are grotesque naked statues of men an insult to the Cathedral and religious pilgrims?