After the walk we spent some days recovering, 2 in Santiago and 4 in Madrid. My ankles and right knee are still occasionally reminding me that they did some tough work and it was 2 weeks ago!
One of the first things I did on arriving at Santiago (after visiting the cathedral, getting our Compostella, acquiring accommodation and then going to the Pilgrim's mass... oh yeah, I think I ate too) was have a bath. So good to lie in the warm, what with the aches etc. Did wish I had a book to read though. I'm not so good at lying in the bath for over an hour when I don't have something to read.
Other things we did in Santiago:
- ate seafood, including the tradition Galician dish of octopus
- went on a walking tour (I know, you'd think after 111km we'd have had enough) of the Old town
- went to the Cathedral museum (and on our way in, saw the huge censer of incense being swung during the 6pm Mass)
- saw Stephen Hawking at the museum
- Went out to the end of the world (Finisterre) with 2 Danish we met on the Camino
We then caught the over-night train to Madrid.
We arrived too early to properly check-in, so we dumped our biggest luggage at the hostal (spelling is on purpose, is more a guest-house) and headed for the tourist information centre. The main one is located in the Plaza Mayor and even though we had it marked on a map and we spent a good 15min walking around the Plaza, we totally didn't find it, of course, we were a little distracted, what with the mounted guard, black limo and horse and carriage that came trip-trotting into the Plaza. It was like they were there to pick up Cinderella or something, silly outfits included blonde wigs! So good.
Other things we did in Madrid:
- Walking tour (we are addicted to those guys) of the old town, got some great food recommendations
- went to a fabulous pattisserie/confectionarie (sp?)... several times
- had a vegetarian meal (worth commenting, as the next day...)
- had dinner at the "Museum of Ham"
- Spent 6 hours in the Prado and saw a *lot* of Art
- Had a guided tour of the Palacio Real and also looked at the Farmacacia and the Armory. They have tiny prince armor there!! Tiny!
After Madrid, we headed off to our English Language camp, VaughanTown (can't be bothered linking, sorry). It was good fun, basically you speak English with Spanish people. They are paying for the privilege, you don't get paid, instead you get the joy of quizzing them about spanish life, free meals and accommodation in a 4-star resort. Well, they say it's a 4-star resort, but it was more like 3-star.
Anyhoo, it was good fun, there was entertainment organised (one karaoke night, one magic night, one party night etc) but it was not a holiday, you have to talk *alot* maybe 6 hours of one-on-ones. I would mostly recommend this to people who are planning to go on holiday in Spain and want to make connections. Everyone we met was lovely and if we keep in touch, that'd be great, however, we're all busy people and I don't know if we will. I am hopeful that we will get at least one visitor in NZ out of it in the next 2 years.
Beau and I are now in Barcelona. Tonight with be our 4th night here and tomorrow we go to Naples, Italy. We've had a great time here. The weather has been great and we've lounged on the beach (imported Egyptian sand) twice. We've been hostelling here and I'm reminded that while you're not as comfortable in a hostel, you do get to meet a lot more people.
Other Barcelona stuff:
- 2 walking tours (one was a Modernisme tour, another was a tour of the Barri Gothic area)
- a "cooking class", I can now rub tomato onto bread (is part of making a type of tapas) and make a strong sangria.
- one the recommendation of Morgue, we went on a day-trip to Montserrat which was totally worth linking ;)
- saw a *lot* of Gaudi designed stuff
- we were warned a *lot* about pickpockets.
There's a lot of stuff that I'm skimming/skipping. I have to have some stuff I can tell you about in person, right? If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Love to you all!
Point of Fashion: Sensible clothes
Current Obsession: Bedtime!