cruiseluv

I´m spending a few days in Santander visting my son . Weather is fantastic. Just had a very satisfying lunch of tapas at Meson Rampalay. Jamon iberico, rabas and croquetas. Yummy!

In a couple of days I leave for Oviedo and after that Santiago.

Bye!

marigross

Hi Cruise!!!! I was missing you Hope you have a great time. I have seen in the news that the heat is soaring in Spain...keep cool by drinking Albariño

Maybe you got to see all the vegans protesting in Praza do Obredoiro in Santiago - they packed themselves naked into grocery like meat packages!!!

Don't forget to post when you come back.

NEDSIRELAND

In Santander, I have seen a lot of Truckers from el Barrio Pesquero having lunch at Taberna Narda, c/Capitan Palacios, 2. Dining room is upstairs; there's a bar and a fish market downstairs.

The freshly caught Rape (on ice) looks very menacing.

It's about 8-blocks east of the Renfe & FEVE station - just follow the railroad tarcks. Don't go there if you're looking for something fancy; their Menu del dia will fill you up.

If you don't get a chance to eat Cocido de Liebana (in Potes), don't pass up an opportunity to eat Fabada Asturiana in Oviedo. I also like the Morcilla from Asturias, but that's a whole nuther story. The Fabada should have some of that in it (Chorizo, Morcilla, Lacon; etc.)

artlover

Hi cruiseluv,

Hope you're having a fantastic time. Can't wait to hear more about your trip! Thanks so much for posting.

marigross

Cruiseluv???? Are you baaaaack? Let us know how its going

Chele60

How wonderful! Hope you are just enjoying yourself to no end. Can't wait until you are back to hear all the details!

astur

We're going to be in Oviedo soon, as the hotel we thought we had in Lastres (miramar) was actually in Gijon. By the time I realized this mistake, it was impossible to book a room anywhere along the coast. I must have written to and called 60 of them. So do you know how long it takes to drive, realistically, from Oviedo to the beaches around, say, Cudillero? Would Gijon be more convenient? It's a short stay, as we're heading to Tahona de Besnes in Alles the next day. Thanks for any help. your earlier posts were so informative.

lincasanova

cudillero is a short 45 minute drive from oviedo.

do not miss the BLACK ceramic (unique) in cudillero. it is sold at a little tiny artisan shop on back street.

it was very inexpensive and attractive.

map the route at mappy.com. i tried to copy the url but it didn't work. sorry.

cruiseluv

After spending a few days in Santander with my son ( who was attending a Spanish language program) I took an express bus to Oviedo. I had been in Oviedo last year and my only reason to go back this time was to break the trip between Santander and Santiago. That's not to say that I don't like Oviedo. Again this year I stayed at Hotel de la Reconquista, a lovely hotel situated in a historic building.

The next morning I took a semi-express bus to Santiago. I had learned from my trip last year that bus travel in Spain is a very comfortable way to travel between cities. The bus was not full so I had the seat next to mine empty. That was a good thing because it was a looooong trip, approx. 5 hrs. We stoped in Coruña and then Santiago!

I was so excited to get there. I had been there before in 2002 and couldn't wait to get back! I arrived on 7/14 and the next day they started the celebrations in preparation for the big day of Santiago apostol, celebrated on 7/25. They were starting to assemble a big stage on Plaza do Obradoiro, which to be honest detracted from the beauty of the square. The next evening they had fireworks on the Plaza and some rock band playing ( IMO the rock music sounded out of place there).

Thankfully, the next day that stage in Obradoiro came down and was reassembled in Plaza da Quintana. For the 2 nights they had different folkloric groups from different cities/towns of Galicia performing folkloric dances/ songs on stage. That was soooo great! The costumes were beautiful and the performances were delightful and very professional. I think I was the only american tourist there! All around me I only heard Spanish or gallego spoken.

After the folkloric show ended( around 11:30PM) I walked to the Plaza do Obradoiro where the Tuna would be playing as usual under the portico of the Palacio de Raxoi. And this brings me to my favorite evening pastime in Santiago: stare at that beautiful, huge Plaza , practically empty of people with the imposing Cathedral on the background. Doesn't get much better than that!

This time I stayed at a lovely boutique hotel Hotel Rua Villar in, of course, Rua do Villar. It was located literally steps away from the Cathedral. I could even hear the bells tolling! I was fortunate that te hotel had air conditioning because there was a heat wave in Spain while I was there and even the North was very warm. I highly recommend this hotel!

Had dinner in several restaurants, all located in Rua do Franco: A Barrola, O'42 and Casa Elisa. I liked all of them , specially Casa Elisa.

One day I did a day trip to La Coruña. Maybe it was the fact that the beach area got fogged in as soon as I got there, but I didn't care very much for it.

The rest of my time in Santiago I spent it roaming around its narrow streets , visiting churches I did not visit in my prior trip, like San Martin Pinairo( very impressive) and having "coffee breaks" to sample more Albariño wine.

On the VERY early morning of 7/18 I started my trek to PR ( my daughter was staying with my parents who live there) via Madrid and Newark. Ugh! That part of the trip was not fun.

My second visit to Santiago lived up to my expectations. I can't wait to do it again! Maybe next time I'll do a walking trip ending in Santiago, like Mari did.

NEDSIRELAND

Thanx for the trip report, Cruiseluv. Actually, Santander has a pretty large Santiago festival starting around the day you left for Asturias: You should have seen the posters along Rua de Burgos.

I love both places! I didn't know the Hotel Villar (on Rua do Villar) had air conditioning. Last June I stayed at a Hostal ('A Nosa Casa') just inside the historic district from Plaza de Galicia. It was satisfactory and cheap.

I came home with food poisoning from one of those restaurants on Rua do Franco. My Physician apparently sent my data to the (Philadelphia) Health Department: they contacted me to determine the source of my Botulism but there wasn't much they could do since it came from Spain.

cruiseluv

Nedsireland,

Oh my gosh!, I'm sorry about what happened to you!

I also like Santander very much. Every dinner/ lunch I had was delicious. Great rabas ( fried calamari) and seafood. Also found a place in Calle Daoiz and Velarde, near Plaza Cañadio for great churros( Cafeteria Aliva).

You're right about the Santiago festivities in Santander. I think my son got into a little trouble because he broke his curfew to partake in them!

artlover

Thank you for your wonderful trip report and so glad you had a great time. I'm sure your son enjoyed having you visit too--I know my daughter loved being able to be the "authority" on Siena when we visited her there.

Guess I'll have to add Santander and Santiago to my "to see" Spain list.

How's your Spanish?

cruiseluv

Artlover,

My spanish is much better than my english! It's my native language. It's one of the reasons I don't feel so lonely when I travel by myself in Spain( although it's more fun to go with somebody else).

marigross

Hi Cruise!!!! I am so happy you had a great time! Santiago is just wonderful for wandering aimlessly through the streets....and watching the very confused pilgrims that have followed the the Camino into Santiago for weeks go through yellow-arrow-detox.

I just loved San Martin Pinario, to think that it is just a one-sentence entry on the guidebooks is almost criminal! The upstairs coro is just magnificent. The church does need some urgent restoration though

Are you still in PR? I live in Trujillo Alto.

artlover

Oh, how lucky--I wish I could speak two or more languages!

Thanks again for posting.

cruiseluv

Hola Mari,

My parents live in Guaynabo, in Alturas de Torrimar. That's where I grew up but I stayed in the US after I came for graduate school.

You're right about the coro in San Martin Pinairo. Fabulous!