Category Spain

Europe 2017 – Summary, Part Four

August 24 – November 15 The next big portion of the trip was spent in Spain, where we took on the challenge of completing the Camino de Santiago.  What would have been approximately five weeks walking got shortened by ten days when we decided to rent bikes to finish our trek.  We used nine of […]

Europe 2017 – Summary, Part One

August 24 – November 15   This trip was unlike any that we have taken in the past.  Three major factors defined this difference: We would not, except for a brief period, be using a car for transportation We would not do any camping With the exception of our time with Francois, we would not […]

Europe 2017 – Barcelona, Part Two

November 12-15 After breakfast in the apartment, we set out for the 20-minute walk to Casa Mila.  Followers of this blog will recognize our fascination with Antoni Gaudi (much like with Frank Lloyd Wright) and this would mark the third time on this trip we’d visited a building he was responsible for or had some […]

Europe 2017 – Barcelona, Part One

November 12-15 The four-hour ride down to Barcelona went smoothly and cost 43 euros for the two of us.  Using Flix Bus had been an unanticipated bonus for travel in Europe.  It’s low fares and expansive route system, coupled with fairly modern, clean, and comfortable buses, while not quite as nice as riding on the […]

Europe 2017 – The Camino de Santiago – Part Eighteen

October 25-27, Toulouse We ate a quick breakfast of yoghurt and a coffee beverage we’d been purchasing, a latte like product usually produced by Nescafe, both capable of being stored unrefrigerated overnight, and made our way to the Termibus Station. With a little time to burn we each had a café con leche and split […]

Europe 2017 – The Camino de Santiago – Part Seventeen

October 23-25, Bilbao We took a taxi for 9 euros to the train station and found our two-hour train ride to Bilbao to be different than the others that preceded it.  Although the car was comfortable enough just like the others had been, the condition of the tracks was not and we found ourselves being […]

Europe 2017 – The Camino de Santiago – Part Sixteen

October 21 – 23, Burgos The train trip to Burgos was relatively short at two hours and after arriving we took a taxi for 9 euros to the Hotel Cordon, located right in the heart of historic part of town.  Much like La Salle in Santiago, this was a very nice property yet still only […]

Europe 2017 – The Camino de Santiago – Part Fifteen

October 19 – 21, Astorga to Leon The train ride to Leon took a little under thirty minutes and once there we again took a taxi, for 6.5 euros, to our lodging, a return visit to Check-In Leon.  We’d been so impressed with the uncrowded and clean conditions there when passing through the first time […]

Europe 2017 – The Camino de Santiago – Part Fourteen

October 18 – 19, Santiago de Compostela to Astorga Our arrival on October 16th in Santiago was two weeks earlier than originally anticipated due to our switching to the bikes, giving us two weeks of time to fill.  After some deliberation, we decided to retrace some of our steps, this time as tourists, by revisiting […]

Europe 2017 – The Camino de Santiago – Part Thirteen – A Summary Part Two

September 23 – October 18, St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela Food All things considered, we ate reasonably well for not a whole lot of money, averaging 41 euros ($48) a day for the two of us.  Some of the times breakfast was supplied by the albergue, other times it cost us […]