spain
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Camino Packing and Training Tips
More Details: Camino Packing and Training TipsThe Camino de Santiago has become a very popular destination/experience for many around the world, especially after the movie “The Way” hit the movies screens and as more people do it. People of all ages and nationalities gravitate to this, as did I and a group I traveled with last summer to hike the Camino. …
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20 Images of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona
More Details: 20 Images of La Sagrada Familia in BarcelonaLa Sagrada Familia, the grandiose basilica (mostly) designed by Antoni Gaudi, has become the symbol of Barcelona, and that’s not a stretch by any means: both have been growing and evolving over the decades. And, for La Sagrada Familia, at least, that journey will end in the next decade (target: 2026) as it is expected to…
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In Search of Andraka in Spain’s Beautiful Basque Country
More Details: In Search of Andraka in Spain’s Beautiful Basque CountryOne of the reasons for my recent trip to Spain, as I shared in an earlier post, was to see the ancestral lands of my Mom’s family in the Basque region of Spain (Euskal Herria in Basque). My Mom’s last name (Andraca, in Spanish) is the name of a home that existed a long time…
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Andorra: The Last of the Tiny Ones
More Details: Andorra: The Last of the Tiny OnesI wrote earlier this year about my visit to tiny Liechtenstein, second to last of the small European countries left for me to step foot on. Nestled between Switzerland and Austria, it is protected by mountains which helps explain perhaps why it survived as an entity over the centuries. Well, 2017 was the year to…
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Eating Out and Exploring San Sebastian, Spain – Phenomenal!
More Details: Eating Out and Exploring San Sebastian, Spain – Phenomenal!As I mentioned in my earlier post, one of the goals of our trip to Spain was to visit the lands from which some of my Mom’s ancestors came to Cuba. San Sebastian (or “Donostia” in the local language), in Spain’s Basque country, was perfectly situated to serve as our base to explore before heading…
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Exploring France and Spain around the Pyrenees
More Details: Exploring France and Spain around the PyreneesMy recent trip to Europe was centered on exploring a bit of Spain and France around the Pyrenees which serve as a natural border between these two countries. I wanted to write this introductory post to the trip’s writings as the trip combined a few different objectives that neatly came together into a one-week trip.…
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How to Do a Tour of Real Madrid’s Home | Bernabéu Stadium
More Details: How to Do a Tour of Real Madrid’s Home | Bernabéu StadiumI may not be the world’s most serious football (soccer) fan. Or the world’s 100-millionth most serious football (soccer!) fan. But I know to recognize where history happened, where history happens, or where history will happen. Madrid‘s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is all three and I was looking forward the tour of Real Madrid home stadium. …
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2015 – A Year in Review
More Details: 2015 – A Year in Review2015 is almost over and it is time for the year in review which, I think, is an exercise not just in writing but in re-living the many blessings the year bestowed on me. Here it goes and share with me some of the travels in your 2015! In the city of brotherly love –…
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Finisterre: The End of Earth No More!
More Details: Finisterre: The End of Earth No More!A “short” 90-km walk from Santiago de Compostela, where the famous Camino (Way of St. James) ends, is Finisterre. Finisterre is a town but the more famous Finisterre is the cape that signifies “the end of earth.” Back when folks assumed this was the end of earth, hence the name. (Note: It is also known…
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Santiago de Compostela: Food, Charm, and “New” Family
More Details: Santiago de Compostela: Food, Charm, and “New” FamilyI wrote earlier about my arrival in Santiago de Compostela as a Camino pilgrim and the activities related to the end of the pilgrimage (getting the Compostela certificate, Pilgrims’ Mass, etc.). Though my stay in Santiago was brief (less than 24 hours due to needing to bring the group back to Madrid), there were some…
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On the Camino de Santiago: Day 7 from Lavacolla to Santiago!
More Details: On the Camino de Santiago: Day 7 from Lavacolla to Santiago!The big day arrived on Day 7. On this day, we departed on the Camino for the last time as we left lovely Pazo Xan Xordo to enter Santiago de Compostela as many have done over the last 1,000 years on this ancient pilgrimage for the final 2.5 hours of our trek. We were excited…
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On the Camino de Santiago: Day 6 from Salceda to Lavacolla
More Details: On the Camino de Santiago: Day 6 from Salceda to LavacollaDay 6 saw our last full day of our walk along the Camino de Santiago as Day 7 would be a short day. Day 6’s walk took about 5 hours (perhaps about 18 km) not including our lunch stop at Amenal. I felt both excited at getting close to the finish line and also a…