Mouse and Marmot

Spain: Santiago de Compostela - Pulpo

At 9:30 am there was no line at the church to visit St. James. The guard checked our bags before letting us in through the holy doors which are only open during Holy Years - about once every decade. The massive, green bronze doors depicted Jesus and the disciples in several scenes from the Bible.

Inside, we stood in line to hug St. James. We went up a short flight of stone stairs into a small brightly lit and golden canopied room. A statue of St. James, with a hard metal cape encrusted in jewels, looked away from the line of people passing behind his back. We each gave him a hug (for luck) before descending the steps on the other side. More stairs led down into the dimly lit crypt, where a small, silver casket glimmered in the light - the final resting place of St. James.

The adjacent cathedral museum was now open, so we bought tickets and went inside (get a discount with a student id). The first room was the reliquary, which took the shape of a huge wooden alter full of relics. An room adjacent to the library was off limits, however after a few minutes, the doors swung open, and a dozen clergymen left the room, complete with long black flowing capes. After they had all left, the lady guarding the door let us in. The room appeared to be a meeting room, with benches all around the outside. There was nothing particularly special about the room, but it was interesting to see how the church continues to function today.

We continued through the cloisters, where the original, and very cracked, bells from the tower are on display. Up the stairs where there were artifacts, including a huge banner from Lepanto, tapestries and art. A door at the top of the stairs was cracked open, and a museum attendant let us out onto the balcony. The blustery weather continued from the day before. The first wave was windy and rainy so the plaza below was clear, with most of the tourists huddled under the arcades. The next wave came a few minutes later bringing sun that glimmered off the wet stones around us. We spent a long time on the balcony, basically alone and sheltered from the rain, watching the people move below.

The market in Praza de Abastos was housed in several rows of granite stone buildings. Despite all the meat and seafood stands, it was very clean and fresh smelling. Outside the main bread and meat shops, stalls sold fresh flowers and vegetables.

A man with a cart offered freshly cooked pulpo (octopus), which he was boiling in a copper pot. He hooked an octopus from the pot and used scissors to cut pieces onto a wooden plate. The pieces were lightly spiced and salted and then stabbed with toothpicks. We walked under a cover to eat the tender meat and were instantly targets for advice from the ladies who were selling cheese and eggs. They told us we needed cheese and bread with our pulpo, but we couldn’t buy small quantities of either. We tasted the homemade tetilla cheese, which was light and creamy. With shrugs of apologies for our lack of etiquette, we finished our snack and returned the plate. We went back to the baker who couldn’t sell us less than a loaf of bread and bought fresh apple muffins.

Spain: Santiago de Compostela - Pilgrims

When we arrived in Santiago de Compostela the air was damp and the streets were wet with rain, but it was not raining. We made our way up the hill, past some surprisingly modern buildings and art installations, to the old part of town. The narrow twisting alleyways were lined with covered shopping arcades supported by huge granite columns. The sun was beginning to rise, but the clouds were so thick that at this hour, all it could do was illuminate the sky a deep blue. A group of horses and riders materialized out of the dark and rode through the empty streets ahead of us.

Santiago is in Galicia, a very wet part of the country, vibrantly green and covered in moss. Everything here appears to be made of stone - the buildings are granite, the roofs slate, and the streets cobbled. It seems more like Ireland in a way. In fact, the Galician culture has Celtic influences in its past (the people here are very fair-skinned and we saw many redheads).

We made our way to the cathedral, a dark granite, moss and lichen covered church whose tall central tower projected a bright yellow light into the dark dawning sky. As we crossed the plaza, the bell began to ring...ding...dong....in long deep tones. We admired the towering building before making our way to Hostal Girasol. The modern white cafe attached to the hotel provided bright contrast to the weather and buildings outside. Although our room was still occupied, we were able to freshen up and eat breakfast (eggs & thick bacon) before leaving our bags behind the counter.

We thought about going into the church, however the line was already very long. The plaza was filled with colorful umbrellas that didn’t seem to be moving. Like Seattle, there were many sun breaks throughout the day. Each time the rain stopped, pilgrims and tourists crowded into Praza Obradoiro, exhausted and happy. Some of them had the telltale pilgrim limp, many carried walking sticks and others leaned on their bikes. All of them looked tired.

People passed cameras back and forth snapping pictures in front of the cathedral and by the shell marking the end of the journey. As soon as the rain started back up the hordes of people would run to the closest cover - the arcades, shops and the two feet of dry space next to the church walls and wait for the next break. These waves of bodies continued, like a tide, until the sun went down.

We ate lunch in the restaurant across from our hotel. Spaghetti for Ryan and gerol soup for me. The soup is a local specialty made with gerol, a turnip-like vegetable grown only in Galicia. After lunch, we went to the bus station to get our tickets to San Sebastian and got lost on our way back. We had wandered off the map so I had to practice my Spanish, asking directions often. This was made harder by the fact that quite a few Galicians don’t speak Spanish at all and it is not the preferred language for many others.

When we finally found the church two lines had formed, so we got into the shorter one which was moving quickly. Inside, the church felt like a pilgrimage church - not cluttered or overly flamboyant. Symbols were carved into the columns and a large eye peered down from the ceiling. It would be the perfect setting for a Dan Brown novel.

We passed under the Portico of Glory, which was under restoration and covered in scaffolding. A white marble column near the Portico was intricately carved.  Deep indentations showed where the hands of millions of pilgrims have touched the column. We explored a few side chapels before gazing at the altar, which is a giant golden canopy. The immense, incense-burning botafumeiro (supposedly used to suppress the smell of all the pilgrims) is suspended from the arches of the dome, with a pulley system to swing it. The back half of the church, with the tomb of St. James was roped off, explaining the second long line. we would have to tackle the other longer line to see the tomb of St. James (Santiago).

The stones and air were cold and damp, so we warmed up at Cafe de las Crechas with Cola Cao (our favorite drink of the trip) and cafe con leche. After a nap in our slightly damp room, we found Casa Manolo, a place that Rick Steves’ had recommended for dinner. The fixed 8.50 euro menu made choosing easy. We ordered grilled hake and squid as our main courses. The food was good and it was the first time we had felt full the entire trip.  

Spain: Transportation Tips

Sevilla: Taming the Beast, originally uploaded by Flagstaff Mouse.

Plan in travel time. It’s a bigger country than it seems at first and public transportation isn’t consistent from city to city.

Look for options. Compare bus, train & in-country airplane ticket prices as well as travel time. Know how much your time is worth so you know whether you are willing to pay more to get somewhere faster. If you know Spanish, ask to see the screen at the ticket counter so you can make sure you aren’t paying a lot more for a deluxe train ticket.

Think ahead. If you are using the same type of transportation to arrive and leave a city, get your ticket for your departure when you arrive at the station. You’ll know exactly when you need to be back at the station and won’t have to worry about seats selling out.

Create your itinerary as you go. If it’s not peak season, wait to reserve hotels at the next city until you have your bus/train/plane ticket. You build in flexibility and won’t end up canceling reservations when you realize the only available bus drives through the night.

Notice where the stations are. The bus and train station are not always next to each other – sometimes they are on opposite ends of town. Know which mode of transportation you’re going to use as early as possible so that you don’t waste time finding the station.

Research connections at home. Find out what the best options are online or buy a good guidebook. Rick Steve’s books are a good reference for this – see the Getting To/From & the Connections sections.

Use your Netbook or iPhone. It’s fairly easy to find free wi-fi and you can look up bus, train & plane schedules. And, if your guidebook mysteriously disappears, you can download the eBook version.

Bring a list of useful links. Internet cafes are cheap. We’ll add a post with the links we used.

Enjoy the scenery. Long rides provide a chance to read up on your next destination, take a nap or just take in the variety of landscapes.

Monday Morning Reading: Travel Blogs

While Mouse & Marmot are off chasing grizzly bears, why don't you check out some of our favorite travel blogs?

The Professional Hobo - Ever dream of spending weeks, months, or even years on the road? Nora quit her business to do just that. She has some good information on how to connect with people during these extended stays as well as how to make enough money to survive.

Nerd's Eye View - This one is written by a local lady who is an excellent writer. The link I've provided here takes you to some traveler's resources she's compiled.

The Art of Nonconformity - Chris Guillebeau is working on seeing every country in the world. He spends hours in some countries and days in others.

Enjoy!

Italy Planning: Money-Saving Tips

Jan weighs in before our flight home, originally uploaded by Flagstaff Mouse.

Here is a list of ways we saved money on our trip to Italy. We spent 10 full days in the country with two days of traveling on either end. As you'll see from the itinerary I'll post tomorrow or Friday, we got our fill of art and history and museums on this trip.

Tickets:

• Reserve transportation tickets on VeniceConnected. They offer a discount if you reserve online and some things are discounted for seniors and children. You will have to pay a foreign transaction fee, but you make up the difference if you enough discounted tickets. The public transportation pass covers the vaporettos (water taxis) and pays for itself quickly.

• Reserve museum tickets on actual websites. Reserving tickets online is worth the extra fee (usually 1-5 Euro) because you skip the enormous lines. April is still considered off-season, but the lines were plenty long. However, be careful of what site you use to book your tickets. Some charge exorbitant booking fees – we'll list which sites we used when we post our itinerary.

• Museum passes. Check to make sure you are seeing more than one museum on the pass first. If so, you can save a lot of time and money by having the pass. (You get to skip the line in most museums).

• Roma pass (get the one that includes transportation passes). This covers a lot of museums, buses and the metro. You can find out what is covered online, but you may as well wait to buy it in Rome since you have to pick it up from a TI (Tourist Information) anyway.

• Ride buses or walk. Not only does this save you money on taxis, but you get to see more of daily life this way.

• Trains not planes. Use the well-developed and relatively cheap train system to get from city to city. A ticket is good for the entire day in case you miss your train (not like we would know that). Don't worry about reserving a seat, you'll find one. You get to see the countryside or take a nap as you travel. Warning: Be ready for your stop. You have approximately 4.3 seconds to get off the train before they start moving again.

Lodging:

• Pay cash. Most hotels give you a 10% discount. Plus, no transaction fees.

• Don't limit yourself to hotels. We stayed at a foresteria (guest house) in Venice, which was cute, convenient and half the cost of a hotel. Even if you want to stay in hotels, mix in a hostel for a night or two to save some money. You might need to investigate a little, but every hostel we've stayed at in Europe has been clean and run by friendly people. Many of the ones in Italy are in historic buildings (we stayed in an old convent).
  

• Show your guidebook. With Rick Steves, at least, we were able to get an extra 5 or 10% discount by showing our book when we checked in.

• Get a family room. If you are traveling with four people, you can save a lot of money per person by sharing a room.

• Book directly from their site. We paid less by booking directly through the hotel instead of going through a booking agent. (Although you might get a discount from them, so always compare). Yes, this means you might have to sift through some Italian and poorly-translated English.

• Sleep in the airport. We had a 6am flight out of Venice, so instead of paying $200 Euro for a room, we stayed the night in the airport. This would have been more comfortable if we made it through security, since the lobby had horrible seats. Check out this site first to see if saving the money is worth it to you. I stayed a night at Charles de Gaulle (outside security) and am not surprised to see it listed as the worst airport to overnight in.

Miscellaneous:

• Get a killer-deal on airfare. Check fares regularly when you know you want to go. We were able to snag four tickets at $600/each into Venice.

• Breakfast at the hotel. Most hotels come with breakfast. Fill up and save yourself the cost of another meal.

• Limit trips to the ATM. Save yourself the transaction fees. Be aware that some ATMs limit you to 300 Euro at a time, so you may need to find a money exchange.

• Use the bathroom at restaurant/hotel. You'll save a few Euro, since most public toilets cost money in the cities. And you'll probably save yourself from getting a disease, as many of them are not very clean.

• Do self-guided tours. Bring your guide book or podcast and take advantage of free or cheap audioguides. You'll be able to go at your own pace. And you can always eavesdrop if a tour happens to catch up with you.

• Eat take-out & at delis. Restaurants in Italy don't expect large tips but do charge a service fee. If you're just looking for a salad or sandwich, small delis offer fresh ones for about half the cost of a cafe.

• Go during the off-season. Schedule your trip right before or right after the official tourist season starts (usually May-September). You can find this information in most guide books.

Things we didn't do, but wish we had:

• Double-check prices at restaurants. We ate at one restaurant and one gelato stand where we overpaid. A lot. When the menus aren't clear, its OK to say, “How much for that?” Also, unless you have a good recommendation, I would stay away from fish or other food that is sold by the kg. You may ask for 200g, but will pay for whatever they bring you.

• Get a Capitol One card. They only charge you a 1% fee instead of the standard 3%.