Santiago de Compostela – Spain’s most Romantic and Historic City

I have arrived here 4 days before Pope Benedict XVI.  Like me, it will be his first visit to what is considered to be the 3rd most sacred city in Christianity (behind Jerusalem and Rome…remarkably I will have visited all 3 this year after I visit Rome in a few weeks).  He, of course, will get much more fanfare upon his arrival than I did…but it is undeniable the magic this city possesses.  Pilgrims have been walking the Camino de Santiago since the 12th century in order to pray in front the tomb of St. James, one of Jesus’ preferred apostles and Spain’s patron saint, and renew their spirit. Although I did not walk the miles that some do to get here, I felt like my 12 hour train ride to reach this hard to get to part of Northern Spain in Galicia was a pilgrimage in its own rite.  I arrived late last night and after a few wrong turns (due to the fact that I couldn’t read my map that I had printed out from home!) and daunting sets of archaic stair ways with my over 50 lb bag, I arrived at my sanctuary, Hotel Costa Vella, in this small city.

Isn’t it quaint!! 

 Upon my arrival, Roberto in the reception was busy helping folks in the hotel’s cafe…so instead of checking  me in he invited me to a glass of wine in the bar while he got caught up with serving all the other patrons.

Galicia is know for some outstanding wines….I was blown over by the white wine served to me from the Ribeiro region, one of the most famous here.  I am going to grab a few bottles for my stay in Paris…which I leave for tomorrow.  Another region which is suppose to produce even better wines is called Albarino…I will be heading to a vinoteca before dinner tonight to check out the fruits of this region.

Since I only had one day here, I awoke early to make sure I made most of my time. After my tarta de Santiago (an almond cake that is made here and decorated with powdered sugar and a stenciled cross of Santiago), queso de tetilla (local cheese from cows…very mild) and pan con aceite (oooh, the olive oil was delicious!), I ventured into the winding cobblestone streets of the medieval village.  This was my first glimpse of  the “newly added” Baroque facade (from the 18th century) of this mostly Romanesque cathedral. A church was erected here after the long-lost tomb of St. James was found in 813 in this spot.  The bigger cathedral of today begin being build in 1075 to accommodate all the crowds.  This year is considered a holy year for the church as the date of July 25th, the date the tomb of St. James was rediscovered, falls on a Sunday.  Because of this, there will be more visitors this year than others…although this morning I enjoyed a relatively peaceful, uncrowded tour of the cathedral and the tomb.

The shrine of the tomb of St. James the Greater.

It is within in this shrine that pilgrims go to give the statue of St. James a big ole hug!  And this included me!

I was a bit nervous :)…especially once I got up behind the statue and noticed that it looked down onto a hoard of priests dressed in  purple robes giving mass in front of a larger congregation.  In front of them all, I reached around his neck, laid my head on his gold gilded and jewel encrusted back for a moment and just took in the ritual that millions of others have done before me.

The central nave in the cathedral.

Behind me is the portico where all the pilgrims enter the church upon arrival (although this pilgrim came through the side entrance….where they rent the audio guides for 3euro….I had to leave my passport as insurance I would give back the little audio headset, seemed like a lopsided exchange).  One thing I kept noticing was all the white scalloped shells around the necks of pilgrims (usually with a little inscription)…and in all the tourist shops :).  Apparently, because these shells are so abundant on the Galician coast, they are associated with Santiago all over Europe…so pilgrims take them home to prove they were here.  I found myself some other “recuerdos” to prove I was here…a picture of my souvenir coat is a few photos down :).

The Botafumiero….or incense burner.

This is not the one that will be used at the mass when the pope arrives…but it will be similar. It is about the size of a human and swings across the church like a trapeze artist. If only I could have seen that!!

 Today this incense burner is strictly for liturgical purposes…but in medieval times it served a more utilitarian purpose: neutralize the smells from the masses of sweating, unwashed pilgrims who went straight to the cathedral after days on the road!  Another reason I am glad I wasn’t alive during medieval times :).

Those priests in purple were the ones singing while I hugged St. James!

A pilgrim you might recognize!  I do! 🙂

Next to me and the cathedral is “Europe’s oldest hotel”.  It is a hotel that was built in 1499 after King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella made the pilgrimage to Santiago.  They were surprised at the lack of housing for the faithful as well as medical support (a lot of pilgrims came ill hoping to be healed by the saint or got sick along the route).  As a result they built both a hotel and hospital!  They were free for the pilgrims to enter…and the hotel remained so until the 1950s when the Spanish government took it over and made it into a 5 star “parador”…now, unless you are a guest, you can’t enter. What I liked about its facade was the figure of St. Catherine!

After all that praying and pilgriming, I got hungry! The tapas in Galicia are a bit less extravagant than what I found in Sevilla, but the jamon iberico on pan hit the spot.  These little morsels sell for 1.60 Euro each…

Santiago is one of the few places in Spain that still honors the tradition of serving a free tapa with a drink at a bar.  In fact, right this second I am writing this from a little vinoteca next to the catedral (the one I mentioned earlier in this post that I WOULD go to!).  I ordered a local Albarino wine and it was served with a delightful dish of salami, cheese and bread! Oh, do I really have to leave tomorrow!?

Above is a picture of one of the reasons they call this the most romantic city in Spain….a lovely park with walking trails that provide excellent views of the city and the catedral.  Never mind the dripping feel of romance that I felt while walking the narrow streets in the old part of town tonight….stones glistening from the latest rain fall, soft light from the street lights and tiny, winding alleys that  just beg to be used to steel kisses

….hmmm, would have been nice to have held some one’s hand.  Guess I need to come back!

Modeling my new coat (I bought it at my favorite Spanish store, Zara) in the garden at my hotel.

Well, not everything in Santiago is raindrops and roses…I just got home from my worst meal of all time.  Because I am sucker for marketing, I decided to check out the restaurant in the parador (built by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella).  Really, at this point in my life I should know not to expect excellence from anything run by a government…oh, but the idea of being served a 5 course meal that is a journey through the history of the Camino del Santiago was too much to resist….couple that with dining in a history rich venue, and I melt. It didn’t even cross my mind that it would be anything but excellent.  Wrong! I have never not been able to eat more than one bite from anything EVER served me, but pretty much all my courses ended up that way tonight.  Oh, the horror….here is a glimpse of it below:

At least you get a look at the famous scallop shell…about the only think good on this starter platter (and note is is NOT edible).

The saving grace of  this meal was the walk home. I got my final glimpse of the historic church at night.  It dazzled in the soft light and mist of the rain.  It gave me goosebumps. 

Tomorrow I hop on a train for Paris!  It will take me just under 24 hours to get there…my “nalgas” hurt already just thinking about sitting that long (especially since I don’t have a sleeping car yet reserved on the overnight train…just a seat!).  I went grocery shopping today and stocked up on all the “baguette pequenos”, naranjas, tortas de queso and croissant con chocolate that I will need.  I am a bit sad that I am leaving Spain already….feels like I just got here :)….but I guess that is why Delta and Iberico have many flights a day from the US to Spain, so I will be back soon.  Hasta Luego y Muchos Besitos!

Oh…looking forward to election day results in the morning before I take my train!