Santiago de Compostela

Pilgrims in Leon - students had to find pilgrims in Santiago and interview them for Robert's culture class!


La concha (shell) is the symbol of the pilgrim route. These can be seen in Oviedo and other cities along the route.

Paella
The cathedral in Santiago
We had a wonderful time in Santiago de Compostela on Thursday and Friday! The drive was five hours. We stopped for a snack on the way there. We went straight to our hotels to drop off our stuff and then to a park to eat our sack lunches. From there we walked to the cathedral. Santiago de Compostela is the last stop on the Route of Saint James. The route starts in many different countries, but all routes end in front of the cathedral. The city was swarming with tourists and pilgrims. We toured the church and the students had some free time to explore and shop. This is the first place we have visited that is 'touristy' and there was a lot of gift-buying happening with our group! We went back to the hotel to freshen up and then we went to dinner. For dessert, we had the Santiago torte (almond-based). After dinner, we sang karaoke and danced for a few hours! It was a blast! It seems we have a theme-song for the summer. We No Speak Americano. This song is popular in Spain right now (but is in Italian!).

Friday after breakfast, we headed back to the cathedral and sat through the pilgrim's mass. The next stop was the Digital Museum of Galicia, an interactive museum that explores all kinds of things - from race cars to submarines. We ate lunch - seafood paella - a staple food here in Spain! Then we headed back to Oviedo.