Some of the streets of Santiago de Compostela…..
Author: admin
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Santiago de Compostela – Mercado de Abastos de Santiago
The city’s market is a mix of covered and outside stands with a variety of products for sale, which are mainly linked to food produce.
The church like halls were constructed on the site of the previous market in 1941, although they give the appearance of being older. The above hall has outlets where food is served directly to customers, with seating running along the centre.
In the other halls, there are market stalls on either side with some impressive selections of cheese, meat, fish and vegetables, amongst much else. There seems to be more of a culture of buying fresh produce at the market rather than in larger supermarkets, something long since gone in most parts of the UK.
An appropriate symbol for the whole camino journey, a scallop shell, which were once given to pilgrims to mark the end of their walk.
A slightly sad looking fish (not surprising since it’s dead), although the seafood looked fresh. I couldn’t help but notice that there were more people in the market taking photos than there were actually buying the produce, although I can hardly complain as I was doing the same. The traders must have some considerable patience with the number of people who stand in the way of their customers taking close-up photos of the products that they’re selling.
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Santiago de Compostela – Cafe Blu
This cafe near to the centre of Santiago de Compostela doesn’t look particularly exciting from the outside, but it looked quite homely inside.
A selection of the wines that were available, the cafe was relatively busy and the atmosphere was comfortable. I usually have the issue of having no clue whether to order at the counter or wait at the table, but the ordering process seemed logical here with table service being offered. Although I still sit there at the table looking at my phone trying to look casual and in control of the situation, whilst secretly wondering whether I should be ordering at the counter….
A seating area which perhaps wasn’t entirely functional. There’s also an external seating garden to the back of the cafe which seemed quite pleasant.
The cappuccino with complimentary heart shaped biscuit, with the coffee being at the appropriate hot temperature and having a suitably rich taste. The coffee cost €2, which is a reasonable price given the location. The service was polite and helpful, with the staff member speaking English which is always useful for me.
The cafe offers 30% off their food for anyone who books via The Fork, which has perhaps made their food prices artificially high to compensate for that generosity. The cake selection looked decent, although the prices were a little high.
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Camino de Santiago – Day Six (Dress)
I’m not one for gossip, but Gordon mentioned that this looked like someone we all knew…. Not being one for gossip, I didn’t tell Bev.
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Camino de Santiago – Day One (Abandoned Boots)
We walked by these and there’s no doubt a wonderful story behind this, which would be an angry walker livid that their boot has fallen apart. But there’s a metaphor, leave your troubles behind on the pilgrimage and set off anew. Whilst silently planning to make a complaint at the retailer who sold them.
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Camino de Santiago – Day One
Handily the town we started walking in and the town we walked to have these large signs. Fourteen miles of walking along the route and there was lots of gossip, trauma, food, wine, beer and Bev chuckling….
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Camino de Santiago – The Trip
So, this week I shall be spending the week walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. There are eight of us bravely walking the last 115 kilometres of the pilgrim’s way.
The biggest problem? I haven’t taken my computer, so this is a huge sacrifice I’m making as a pilgrim, which means slower blog updates….
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Great Yarmouth – Forged Chain Sculpture
The forged chain sculpture at the entrance to St. George’s Park in Great Yarmouth, designed by blacksmith artists Nigel Barnett and Ros Newman. It was installed in 2008 and represent chains from harbour with seagulls flying above them. It’s a pleasant addition to the area around the park, although I’m not entirely sure that the town needed any reminder of seagulls, but there we go….
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Great Yarmouth – Row 46
This is one of the longest of the rows and is named after Sewell family who had a grocer’s shop here, which explains the alternative name of Grocer’s Row. The Sewells were Quakers and the last owner of the shop was Edward Sewell who died in 1870.
The old way of identifying row numbers and although this one seems to have been repainted recently, there are some examples on other rows which I’d guess are from the nineteenth century.
The row is also home to the entrance from the Market Place of the Back to Backs public house, which is the remaining section of the now closed Prince Regent pub.
