Author: Joseph
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Porto, day four
Today is the last full day in Porto. Tomorrow begins two days of travel back to the US — a roundabout way back, but it is what worked with the airlines. I visited the Franciscan complex, now a national museum. The church (no photographs allowed) is known as “the gold church” because of the vast…
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Porto, day three.
Today I explored more of the city around the university, beginning with the Misericordia Foundation, which for many years provided medical and social services to the people of Porto. As the foundation outgrew its humble beginnings an English architect was engaged to design Santo Antonio Hospital, which looks very much like a cousin to the…
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Porto, day two
I spent much of today along or not far from the Douro River that flows through Porto. I walked the Ponte Dom Luis I, an iron bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel. The upper level carries trains, the lower level automobiles; pedestrians can walk both levels (as I did) for great views of the city. Last…
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Porto, day one
The trip is nearing its end with a few days in Porto, Portugal. Again, we made use of excellent public transport on a direct bus from Pontevedra to Porto. The hotel is on the river in a section of the city known as Ribeira. Porto is a vertical city and maybe some of the photos…
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Pontevedra, day two
Perhaps my eyes were just working in a different way, but it seemed there was a lot more street art — or graffiti — in Pontevedra than in other cities I’ve visited on this trip. Some of it fun and some of it quite obscene. Graffiti aside, the small streets of Pontevedra are inviting.
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Pontevedra, day one
Every now and then travel is frustrating. Today was one of those days. I attempted to book seats on the train from Santiago de Compostela to Pontevedra on the Renfe (Spanish railways) app. Each time I got a different error message, all basically saying no seats were available. We went to the station expecting the…
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Santiago de Compostela, day two
Today was a last day in Santiago, a lovely city. We wandered around window shopping and eating and visited two museums: the very large cathedral museum and a fascinating museum of the Galician people. The distinctiveness of this part of Spain is becoming clear — the people speak Galician, not Spanish, and signs are in…
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Santiago de Compostela, day one
I arrived at noon in Santiago de Compostela and had a dramatic first view of the cathedral a hundred feet from the hotel. (I feel the need to make a plug for the excellent public transportation in Spain. Getting around has been easy, inexpensive, convenient and comfortable. The town is full of pilgrims, many rubbing…
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Lugo, day two
Another beautiful day in Lugo for wandering around. Spring flowers are beginning to bloom, even in the walls of buildings. After a morning in the town museum, which included a collection of sundials, we rook a hike out of the city to a first century Roman bridge. More and more signs are appearing to mark…
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Lugo, day one
Lugo is in Galicia and the language is slightly different than Spanish, but not radically different, as Basque is from Spanish. Traveling through Basque Country, Castillia and Leon, and now Galicia I am getting a glimpse of the variety that is Spain. This is all very different from Andalucia and central Spain, which I toured…