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Showing posts from December, 2014

Photo Post: Santiago de Compostela’s Belvís Park

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Belvís to the south A few months ago, I talked about Santiago de Compostela’s Alameda Park on the blog. It’s the city’s historic public park with great views of the old town and many beautiful old trees. The Alameda is a great place to go for an afternoon stroll, and the trails that run around its central wooded hill are perfect for jogging. But it’s always busy with people at all hours of the day—be they tourists getting their pictures of the cathedral from the lookout point, a wall of old ladies stretching from one end of the path to the other, or packs of joggers careening around the corners. So it’s not surprising that the introvert in me and my inner hipster prefer Santiago’s Belvís Park, just to the east of the old town. Belvís to the north Pronounced “bel-VEES” [belˈβis] with the accent on the second syllable, I was told by a tour guide that the name derives from the Galician phrase bela vista  or “pretty view,” which makes sense, because from the highest point in

The 4 Churches of Santiago de Compostela’s “Skyline”

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Santiago de Compostela, the capital of Spain’s northwestern region of Galicia, is by no means a big city, reaching barely 100,000 on weekdays (and plummeting on weekends and school vacations when students go back home to mamá ). Its monumental old town, while impressive, is often overshadowed by the cathedral’s west façade, and the ugly new town has buildings of perhaps ten floors at most. Because of this I put the word “skyline” in scare quotes in this post’s title. Central dome, Church of San Martiño Pinario However, if you can manage to escape the tourist (and pilgrim) madness along Rúa do Franco south of the cathedral, you’ll likely find yourself in Santiago’s major public park, the Alameda . Walking north along the grand, tree-lined esplanade called the Paseo da Ferradura , you’ll eventually end up at a wide, semicircular mirador , or lookout point. From this strategic location, you can take in the whole old town as it sprawls from north to south. You’ll notice that there i

Photo Post: Cruceiros, or Galician Crossroad Crosses

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View this post on Instagram You can see these "cruceiros" or simple stone crosses made of granite all over Galicia; they typically stand at the crossroads of major streets and are topped with sculptures of Mary with child and/or Christ crucified. During the Christianization of Galicia, cruceiros were put up over original Roman altars to the "lares," or spirits that protected the hearth and the road. // #cruceiros #santiago #santiagodecompostela #galicia #spain #vsco #vscocam A post shared by Trevor Huxham (@trevorhuxham) on Nov 29, 2014 at 9:10am PST The word “ cruceiro ” in the Galician language has a double meaning: on one hand, it can simply mean the place where two roads meet, but on the other hand, it can refer to granite stone crosses that often accompany said crossroads. Pronounced “kroo-THAY-EE-roe” [kɾuˈθej.ɾo], these monumental crosses guard intersections and also show up in cathedral

5 Great Hikes from Santiago de Compostela, Spain

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If the region of Galicia has a counterpart state in the U.S., it would have to be Arkansas, if only for the latter’s state moniker, “The Natural State.” Like Arkansas, Galicia is rugged, forested, and a little hilly, and, in my opinion, it has the most beautiful countryside in Spain. Not only does the region have gorgeous coasts and beaches , it also has simply wonderful interior landscapes. Living in Santiago de Compostela has given me a chance to get a taste of Galicia’s natural beauty by means of various hiking trails and mountain summits. You can see most of Santiago’s old town in around a day, so if you’re ever passing through here, definitely take some time to leave the city life for the outdoors! 1) Monte Pedroso View of Santiago from Monte Pedroso, Pico Sacro in the distance The “Stony Mountain” rears up directly northwest of the old town and is even visible from the central Praza do Obradoiro, just past the Parador hotel. If you’re short on time but looking for that

Photo Post: Hórreos, or Galician Countryside Corncribs

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View this post on Instagram The Galician Hórreo // Pronounced "OE-rray-oe," these corncribs/granaries have a granite frame, wooden walls, and clay tile roofs and hold grains and veggies after the harvest. They're on stilts to keep the rats and, uh, varmins away. // #horreo #hiking #camino #santiago #santiagodecompostela #galicia #spain #vsco #vscocam #whitagram A post shared by Trevor Huxham (@trevorhuxham) on May 11, 2014 at 12:59pm PDT Spend any amount of time outside Galicia’s seven major cities and you’ll quickly notice these peculiar little sheds that are everywhere in Spain’s northwestern countryside: the hórreo . Not to be confused with Oreo cookies, they’re pronounced “OR-ray-o” [ˈo.re.o] and are simply the traditional corncribs or granaries that Galicians have used for centuries to store corn, grain, and other harvested crops. Hórreo in Abanqueiro Sided with wood to keep out the humidity and

What to Eat in Galicia: 10 Dishes to Try

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The region of Galicia in the northwest part of Spain churns out the best food in the entire country. Give me some Galician food any day over expensive Basque pintxos , refined Catalan cuisine, or the famine food of the central meseta . I realize I’ve probably offended just about everybody, but exaggerations aside, but Galicia undeniably occupies a unique place on the Iberian peninsula that has allowed a rich cuisine to develop over the centuries. Bountiful seafood arrives inland from the region’s long, rugged coast; everything from corn to peppers to greens grow in a fertile, rain-blessed interior; and dairy cows stay happy with the mild Galician climate. There’s a lot to see and do in this fascinating corner of the country, from Romanesque cathedrals and Roman ruins to glorious beaches and thermal baths , but enjoying quality home cooking ranks pretty high up there on the list. If you don’t know what to order when visiting Galicia, try any (or all!) of the dishes below. 1) Po

Edible Creativity: Santiago de Compostela’s Tapas Competition

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This weekend, Santiago de Compostela’s seventh annual  concurso de tapas  or  tapas competition  came to an end after half a month of exciting bites served on black slate tablets. I was disappointed that it was over, but my gut and my wallet were relieved. Organized by Santiago’s association of hotels and restaurants, it was a clever way to stimulate the local economy as it enters low season (and as the rain begins to keep folks at home). For a flat price of 2€, you could go into any participating café, bar, or restaurant and order their  tapa del concurso —which made it a great way to explore higher-end restaurants that otherwise might be out of your budget. Santiago (é)tapas At every place, you could ask for a  tapasporte , a “tapas passport” inspired not only along the lines of a travel passport but also on the  credencial  or “pilgrim passport” that people hiking the Camino de Santiago carry with them as they walk to Santiago. The participating restaurants were organized g

Taking a Tourist’s Highlighter to Madrid

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I’ve been writing online for two and a half years now, but a Madrid-shaped hole on this blog has been growing bigger and bigger ever since I first landed at Madrid-Barajas airport in September 2012. I’ve never really done a proper “city trip” to Madrid in my time here because it’s always been a convenient bookend for flights to and from the States. I’ve never felt the need to put together a blog post about the Spanish capital—until now. Approximately half a dozen mini trips to Madrid later, I feel like I’ve gotten a chance to get a true feel for this capital city and finally seen all the museums I’ve wanted to visit. And since my family is coming to visit me for Christmas, I think I ought to distill my impressions and tidbits into something I can share with them while I’m their unofficial tour guide for the week. De Madrid al cielo I’ll be up front with y’all right now: Madrid is not my favorite city in this country. Give me extroverted, Moorish-influenced Sevilla or Córdob