Santiago De Compostela, Spain, The Easy Way

The Cathedral of Santiago De Compostela

The St. James shell is a symbol of the Camino and points the way to Compostella

Praza do Obradoiro

Hostal dos Reis Católicos

Monastery of San Martiño Pinario

Museum of the Holy Land at the the Hotel Monumento San Francisco

Beautiful old streets in Santiago

A modern day pilgrim in front of the city's Pilgrims Office

Certification received after completion of pilgrimage

Proper pilgrims reach Santiago de Compostela on foot along the many paths that make up the Camino de Santiago, which starts at different points throughout Europe.  We drove there from Porto, Portugal. I know...

The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, is the final destination for these pilgrims. More exactly, it is the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great, which, according to legend, contains the bones of the Saint. Together with Rome and Jerusalem, Santiago was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages in the Middle Ages. Today, it still attracts pilgrims for religious and non-religious reasons. in 2018, a staggering 327,378 people completed parts or all of the way to Santiago. And the number keeps increasing every year.

To receive a 'compostela' from the city's Pilgrim's Office, one needs to have walked at least  the last100 kilometers or bicycled the last 200 kilometers to Santiago.  Along the way, one must collect stamps in a special passport as proof of credentials.

Arrived in Santiago, pilgrims gather at Praza do Obradoiro in front of the huge cathedral, where a special mass for them takes place every day at 12 pm and 7:30pm.

Unfortunately, the cathedral is currently undergoing significant renovation work, so we could only walk through a small section inside. We did however get a peek of the famous Botafumeiro, one of the largest 'censers' in the world.

Perhaps some day, we will walk parts of the camino along the French route along the Northern Spanish coast, but a visit to Compostela by car was quite pleasant as well.

Next stop on our trip, San Sebastián, Spain.

The next stop on this trip is Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain. Stay tuned. If you are on Instagram, you might want to follow along in real time here.

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Postcard From Porto, Portugal

Old city of Porto seen from across the Douro river. 

Opposite view, looking at Gaia.

Beautiful houses in the old part of Porto

Loved the laundry hanging above street cafés.

Steep steps and deep blue skies.

Looking at the Cathedral in the distance

Palácio da Bolsa and the Jardim do Infante Dom Henrique

Sao Bento train station

Women selling Cerejas (cherries) at the train station

When in Porto...

drink porto

and take a tour through one of Gaia's porto caves.

Did you know there is a white porto and that it is an amazing substitute for gin when mixed with tonic? Porto Branco Tonic...my 2019 summer drink.

Dancers on the streets of Porto

Oh, Porto...what can I say about this charming, colorful city by the Douro River? Declared a Unesco World World Heritage Site in 1996, its center is one of the oldest in Europe.  Porto, like Lisbon and many of the cities in Spain, can trace its history back to the Celts, and still shows traces of the Roman occupation, and the Moorish invasion in 711. It was reconquered in 868 by Vímara Peres, an Asturian count from Gallaecia.

A walk through the old Jewish quarter and around the river, or a climb up the hill to the Cathedral takes one back into the past.  Many of the narrow winding streets are lined with little cafés or restaurants where one can have a lovely meal accompanied by some excellent regional wine.

Of course, Porto is the city of port wine.  No visit would be complete without a visit to one of the port caves in Gaia, across the Douro River.  We went on a tour, followed by a tasting.  Whether Branco, Ruby or Tawny porto, they all tasted good to us. Best of all, we learned that white port wine mixed with tonic makes an amazing drink.

The next stop on this trip is Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain. Stay tuned.  If you are on Instagram, you might want to follow along in real time here.

If there is important news back home in Carroll Gardens, I will of course post about it. You know that Carroll Gardens, Gowanus and the proposed Gowanus upzoning is never far from my mind.

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From Brooklyn To Lisbon: Exploring Portugal's Capital

Lisbon, Portugal, seen from one of its seven hills.

Praça do Comércio

Encounter with a cat ob Vila Berta

The Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, Lisbon.

Church of Santa Maria in Belém

The tomb of of navigator Vasco da Gama, who established the sea link between Portugal and India

Steep streets and cable car

Our Tuk tuk driver Tiago, who took us on a three hour tour of Lisbon

Jacaranda tree in bloom

A Shepard Fairey mural

Stunning Portuguese tiles

Burnt white jade bowl, just one of the beautiful pieces in the C.S. Gulbenkian Museum

Hair pin by René Lalique from Calouste Gulbankian collection

Lots of different kind of fish in beautiful tins.

A glass of vino verde after a day of exploration

Pastel de Bacalhal, (Cod fish fritters)

A few days ago, we packed our bags once more and headed to Europe. This time, our travels are taking us to Portugal to explore Lisbon and Porto, before heading to the north of Spain and then on to France.

We spent three nights in Lisbon and criss crossed the city to see as much as possible. It was our first time there and we regret not having planned a  few more days to visit more neighborhoods and museums.

Everywhere we went, the City was gearing up for the feast of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of Lisbon and of marriages. We were told that many couples tie the know during the festivities. The people of Lisbon also organize arraiais, large street parties with music and lots and lots of sardines grilled on barbecues set up on every street and square in the city.

We missed the main event and the big parade, which takes place tomorrow, June 13th, but it was lovely to see all the decorations and witness the preparations.

We tried navigation the small streets of old Lisbon on our own, but quickly realized that all the hills and narrow street are quite a challenge on your own. (There are seven big hills in Lisbon.) On the second day, we hired tuk tuk driver Diago to drive us around the city for three hours. Not only did he teach us quite a lot about his city, he patiently waited outside while we explored some of the monuments.

On our last day in Lisbon, we headed to Belém to visit the spectacular Jerónimos Monastery and the
Church of Santa Maria in Belém. Both were worth a visit, especially the monastery.  standing next to Vasco da Gama's tomb in the church was also quite extraordinary.

One of the most memorable stops in Lisbon was the C.S. Gulbenkian Museum, named after the businessman and philanthropist, whose private foundation displays his exquisite art collection in an equally interesting 1969 building designed by architects Ruy Jervis d’Athouguia, Pedro Cid and Alberto Pessoa .

After so much sight seeing, it was time for a bottle of vino verde and some cod fritters in one of Lisbon's lovely squares.

Next stop in our travels is Porto, so stay tuned. If you are on Instagram, you might want to follow along in real time here.

If there is important news back home in Carroll Gardens, I will of course post about it.  You know that Carroll Gardens, Gowanus and the proposed Gowanus upzoning is never far from my mind.

Read more