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| "No hay lugar como el hogar" |
Thursday 13 April 2017
Tuesday 11 April 2017
Lisbon, Portugal
All good things must come to an end, and this one ends here. Lisbon seems to have a lot of construction and roadworks going on, but in amongst all the cranes and brickdust there are plenty of nice things to look at. See photos below.
My third and final football match of this trip was Sporting Lisbon 4 Boavista 0. Unfortunately I don't have any photos to show for it, because they wouldn't let me take my camera into the stadium: I had to leave it with an attendant in a cloakroom. The language barrier prevented me from finding out why. It's a fairly nice camera, a Canon EOS1100D, but it's nothing especially big or powerful.
Maybe the Sporting Lisbon security staff imagined I was somehow going to infringe the copyright of their licensed photographers? Or maybe they were worried that I was going to try and throw my camera with lethal force at the referee? Not that it matters. They have made a mortal enemy of me. I now count myself a lifelong supporter of their local rivals Benfica, and not just because Benfica play at the Stadium of Light.
There will be quite a long delay before my next epic travel adventure. Mid to late 2018 at the earliest, I think. Amuse yourselves as you see fit in the meantime!
My third and final football match of this trip was Sporting Lisbon 4 Boavista 0. Unfortunately I don't have any photos to show for it, because they wouldn't let me take my camera into the stadium: I had to leave it with an attendant in a cloakroom. The language barrier prevented me from finding out why. It's a fairly nice camera, a Canon EOS1100D, but it's nothing especially big or powerful.
Maybe the Sporting Lisbon security staff imagined I was somehow going to infringe the copyright of their licensed photographers? Or maybe they were worried that I was going to try and throw my camera with lethal force at the referee? Not that it matters. They have made a mortal enemy of me. I now count myself a lifelong supporter of their local rivals Benfica, and not just because Benfica play at the Stadium of Light.
There will be quite a long delay before my next epic travel adventure. Mid to late 2018 at the earliest, I think. Amuse yourselves as you see fit in the meantime!
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| Camara Municipal (City Hall) |
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| Arco da Rua Augusta |
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| Mercado de Fusão, looking north |
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| Rossio Square |
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| Santa Maria de Belém church |
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| Padrào dos Descobrimientos (Monument to Discoveries) |
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| The national parliament building |
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| The Stadium Of Light. No, the other one. This is the one that features European football, and home wins. |
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| Parque Eduardo VII |
Friday 7 April 2017
Porto, Portugal
I went to Santiago bus station to catch a ride to Porto. A bus pulled up, but it wasn't clear from the departure board whether it was for Porto or the local airport. This brought about a prolonged, confused and rather anguished discussion with a Portugese baggage handler, both of us speaking bad Spanish, about the difference between 'a Oporto' and 'aeropuerto'. It didn't help that my Porto bus was also going to Porto airport (Oporto aeroporto, in Portugese). Remember that scene in the John Cleese film 'Clockwise' about asking for directions? "Left?" "Right." "Right?" "Left." "Left?" "Right." And so on. This was basically the same, but with more syllables.
Porto is a very pretty place and I'm beginning to regret that I tagged Portugal onto the end of my Spain trip as something of an afterthought. I should have stayed here a bit longer. And not just because my very first Portugese craft beer (see Edd vs Food picture) was better than anything I found in all my time in Spain.
Other than the sandwich in the picture, my culinary highlight was the Gazela Cervejaria. There's no menu - they only serve one thing, cachorrinhos, a.k.a. posh spicy hot dogs - but they do them to absolute perfection. Anthony Bourdain, the chef off of the telly, was there earlier this year and will back me up on this.
I didn't get to see any football while I was here, but I did take a stroll around the outside of FC Porto's stadium, the Estádio do Dragão, which is stunning. Situated on high overlooking the east of the city, and thus awash with cool breezes, it has an airy and open design which blends in nicely with the surroundings. A sharp contrast with the ghastly Casa da Musica. See pictures for both.
The Portugese language is a total mystery to me - when written it looks like Spanish and when spoken it sounds like Russian - but I've been coping by simply pointing at things and saying obrigado at regular intervals. Admittedly on a few occasions, forgetting where I am, I've accidentally addressed people in Spanish. That doesn't go down too well. I'll probably find myself doing the same thing when I get my celebratory homecoming sausage roll. If only Greggs served cachorrinhos...
Porto is a very pretty place and I'm beginning to regret that I tagged Portugal onto the end of my Spain trip as something of an afterthought. I should have stayed here a bit longer. And not just because my very first Portugese craft beer (see Edd vs Food picture) was better than anything I found in all my time in Spain.
Other than the sandwich in the picture, my culinary highlight was the Gazela Cervejaria. There's no menu - they only serve one thing, cachorrinhos, a.k.a. posh spicy hot dogs - but they do them to absolute perfection. Anthony Bourdain, the chef off of the telly, was there earlier this year and will back me up on this.
I didn't get to see any football while I was here, but I did take a stroll around the outside of FC Porto's stadium, the Estádio do Dragão, which is stunning. Situated on high overlooking the east of the city, and thus awash with cool breezes, it has an airy and open design which blends in nicely with the surroundings. A sharp contrast with the ghastly Casa da Musica. See pictures for both.
The Portugese language is a total mystery to me - when written it looks like Spanish and when spoken it sounds like Russian - but I've been coping by simply pointing at things and saying obrigado at regular intervals. Admittedly on a few occasions, forgetting where I am, I've accidentally addressed people in Spanish. That doesn't go down too well. I'll probably find myself doing the same thing when I get my celebratory homecoming sausage roll. If only Greggs served cachorrinhos...
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| Porto city centre, seen from the south riverbank |
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| As above |
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| Our very own Duke of Wellington. Long story, but basically the Portugese don't like Napoleon any more than we do. History lesson here if required. |
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| Casa da Musica Opened in 2005. Profoundly ugly. Even the Geordies managed to do better than this for a music venue. |
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| Cemitério de Agramonte |
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| Estádio do Dragão |
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| Liberdade Square This photo contains the statue of King Peter IV, the Câmara Municipal, and two fat lasses. |
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| Edd vs Food #60 A Sandeira do Porto, Rua dos Caldeireiros 85. 'Douro' sandwich with chicken, goat's cheese and apple. Washed down with Letra D Red Ale. |
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| Palacio da Bolsa Built in the 19th century to impress investors and attract foreign capital. It worked: Portugal now has sovereign debt equivalent to 130% of its GDP. |
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| North riverbank, seen from the Luis I high bridge. |
Monday 3 April 2017
Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Ever since I got here, I've been unable to stop humming to myself the words 'Santiago, Baby' to the tune of the Human League's "Don't You Want Me Baby". That's what we used to sing to former Sunderland defender Santiago Vergini (important to get the vowels right in that surname), scorer of possibly the most spectacular own goal in the history of football.
The Camino de Santiago trail, which terminates here as the name suggests, is a pilgrimage to the supposed tomb of the apostle St James. (Last time I did a pilgrimage in the direction of St James, Sunderland got a 1-1 derby draw and I drank myself almost into a coma.) The city centre is stuffed full of earnest North Face-clad eco-veggie hikers and wild-eyed Jesus-bearded religious nutters. I do not care to mix with either type.
But the locals are alright, and as with pretty much everywhere else in Spain, you can hardly turn a corner without chancing upon somewhere nice for a coffee, a wine or a beer. Unfortunately it's piddled down with rain for most of my time here and that's why the photos are somewhat greyer than usual. Also I have to apologise for the fact - which you may or may not notice - that my photos are a tiny bit blurry at present. This is due to an unfortunate recent incident where I accidentally, and tragically, and bizarrely, and indeed literally, managed to kick my own camera out of my own hands. (Don't ask.) The camera itself is OK but I need a new zoom lens. That will have to wait until I'm back home and in gainful employment.
Random interlude: here are four animals with amusing Spanish names:
Sloth: oso perezoso (literally: "lazy bear")
Woodpecker: pájaro carpintero ("carpenter bird")
Peacock: pavo real ("royal turkey")
Seal: foca (no particular translation, but ha ha anyway)
OK OK I admit it. I've run out of things to write. It must be time for a change of scene.
The Camino de Santiago trail, which terminates here as the name suggests, is a pilgrimage to the supposed tomb of the apostle St James. (Last time I did a pilgrimage in the direction of St James, Sunderland got a 1-1 derby draw and I drank myself almost into a coma.) The city centre is stuffed full of earnest North Face-clad eco-veggie hikers and wild-eyed Jesus-bearded religious nutters. I do not care to mix with either type.
But the locals are alright, and as with pretty much everywhere else in Spain, you can hardly turn a corner without chancing upon somewhere nice for a coffee, a wine or a beer. Unfortunately it's piddled down with rain for most of my time here and that's why the photos are somewhat greyer than usual. Also I have to apologise for the fact - which you may or may not notice - that my photos are a tiny bit blurry at present. This is due to an unfortunate recent incident where I accidentally, and tragically, and bizarrely, and indeed literally, managed to kick my own camera out of my own hands. (Don't ask.) The camera itself is OK but I need a new zoom lens. That will have to wait until I'm back home and in gainful employment.
Random interlude: here are four animals with amusing Spanish names:
Sloth: oso perezoso (literally: "lazy bear")
Woodpecker: pájaro carpintero ("carpenter bird")
Peacock: pavo real ("royal turkey")
Seal: foca (no particular translation, but ha ha anyway)
OK OK I admit it. I've run out of things to write. It must be time for a change of scene.
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| Church and convent of San Francisco |
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| Plaza Obradoiro |
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| Plaza Mazarelos (1) |
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| Plaza Mazarelos (2) |
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| Museo del Pueblo Gallego (Museum of the Galician People) Santiago is the capital of the Galicia region. The Galicians are of Celt stock. Bagpipes are sometimes to be heard here. |
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| Parque de Bonaval |
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| Edd vs Food #59 Churros This is a very popular breakfast delicacy in Spain. They're like doughnuts, except thinner and straighter and crispier and much nicer. You dip them in hot chocolate, to get that perfect sugar/fat combo double whammy. |
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