Your Egypt

[Winky]

:) When I left Spain a few weeks ago I took the plane to the UK and stayed for a few days ,the high lights were Kayaking and Rock climbing and making a new friend while shopping in John Lewis .

On Sunday I and friends took an overnight ferry http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/index.cfm?

http://www.abtn.co.uk/archive/2004-03-29/search10.html from Plymouth to Santander, during the night one engine was rendered useless, so we were delayed by a few hours but apart from that, the ferry is new designed like a hotel, you are able to watch CNN in your cabin and the food ( French a buffet or a la carte ) was excellent so I can recommend it, even for a round trip, as so many British people seemed to do .

Our first stop was the little village of Santillana del Mar, Cantabria ,
the best conserved village in Spain . I discovered too late that I had left my camera in the car and was too lazy ( and hot) to go back for it so you will have to do with these photos:

http://www.dogpile.com/info.dogpl/search/images/Santillana%2Bdel%2BMar/1/-/1/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/408/top

http://www.bamjam.net/Spain/Santil.html

The first night was spend in OVIEDO in the ASTURIAS region the landscape in the North of Spain is pretty much the same , acres of green forests, rolling hills near the coast and mountains in the distance.

Our second and third night was spend in Santiago do Compostela Galicia North West Spain in the Paradore Nationale; Hostal de los Reyes Catolicos the oldest hotel in the world.
This former 16th-century hospice, is one of the most spectacular hotels in Europe, being next to the cathedral, it served as a resting place and hospital for pilgrims visiting the tomb of Saint James.

According to legend the remains of the apostle Saint James were found in Santiago de Compostela ,since the 12 th century when the Cathedral was build, thousands of pilgrims completed the " Camino de Santiago" ( which takes about 30 days from France to Santiago) its the second Catholic pilgrimage center after Rome

In Spain no one eats before nine PM it is quite normal to see extended families including small children arrive around midnight for an elaborate dinner and its always an extremely noisy affair .
So to help you get on until that time there are the tapas bars of which a photo here ,they were as delicious as they look.


After dinner we decided to check out the nightlife in Santiago ( a very important University town ) and as soon as we stepped outside we were enticed by music , laughing and clapping ,coming from an alcove opposite the Cathedral where we found a big group of students entertaining ! These students are traditionally dressed in medieval dresses, they are called " TUNAS" , they sing and make fun, joke with the public etc . the atmosphere was fantastic, we were mesmerized until well after midnight .


The decision was taken to drive along the coast of Portugal to the Algarve , as soon as we crossed the Spanish /Portuguese border we could see acres and acres of burned and burning forests .
It is no wonder Portugal was on fire there was no rain for almost a year and the countryside is heavily wooded with Eucalyptus and Pine trees .
It must have been an awesome sight driving there at night.
Interestingly .. the petrol stations toilets were closed, since there was no water to flush the toilets !So thank God for all the trees !

More later..

[Winky]

:) These students are traditionally dressed in medieval dresses, they are called " TUNAS" , they sing and make fun, joke with the public etc . the atmosphere was fantastic, we were mesmerised untill well after midnight .

[Explorer the eighth]

Winky wrote: :)
http://www.bamjam.net/Spain/Santil.html

The first night was spend in OVIEDO in the ASTURIAS region the landscape in the North of Spain is pretty much the same , acres of green forests, rolling hills near the coast and mountains in the distance.


In Spain no one eats before nine PM it is quite normal to see extended families including small children arrive around midnight for an elaborate dinner and its always an extremely noisy affair .
So to help you get on until that time there are the tapas bars of which a photo here ,they were as delicious as they look.


After dinner we decided to check out the nightlife in Santiago ( a very important University town ) and as soon as we stepped outside we were enticed by music , laughing and clapping ,coming from an alcove opposite the Cathedral where we found a big group of students entertaining ! These students are traditionally dressed in medieval dresses, they are called " TUNAS" , they sing and make fun, joke with the public etc . the atmosphere was fantastic, we were mesmerized until well after midnight .



More later..

Is bamjam.net your own website, Winky? You've got some good pictures.

It seems strange waiting until after 2100 to have a proper meal. Usually that's the time to start reducing the amount of food one eats. You would have to go to bed really late, like they do, and then it would be alright.

I like to see people dressed in traditional costumes as well.

[Winky]

Explorer the eighth wrote: Winky wrote: :)
http://www.bamjam.net/Spain/Santil.html

The first night was spend in OVIEDO in the ASTURIAS region the landscape in the North of Spain is pretty much the same , acres of green forests, rolling hills near the coast and mountains in the distance.


In Spain no one eats before nine PM it is quite normal to see extended families including small children arrive around midnight for an elaborate dinner and its always an extremely noisy affair .
So to help you get on until that time there are the tapas bars of which a photo here ,they were as delicious as they look.


After dinner we decided to check out the nightlife in Santiago ( a very important University town ) and as soon as we stepped outside we were enticed by music , laughing and clapping ,coming from an alcove opposite the Cathedral where we found a big group of students entertaining ! These students are traditionally dressed in medieval dresses, they are called " TUNAS" , they sing and make fun, joke with the public etc . the atmosphere was fantastic, we were mesmerized until well after midnight .



More later..

Is bamjam.net your own website, Winky? You've got some good pictures.

It seems strange waiting until after 2100 to have a proper meal. Usually that's the time to start reducing the amount of food one eats. You would have to go to bed really late, like they do, and then it would be alright.

I like to see people dressed in traditional costumes as well.




:) Sorry Explorer I never saw this comment of yours before .

No its not my website I have no website I like to use Ray's YE as my website lol

I keep allot of things here I myself find interesting , very handy because that way Ray looks after my stuff haha !!

I don't mind eating that late when I am in Spain or Portugal since the days are long there, the sun doesn't go down until late, allot of people are on the beach or shopping until 8 or 9 pm its still very hot, so you don't feel much like eating anyway. That was a great trip I recommend it to anyone , I never got round to posting the rest of the photos and story

Never mind :wink: , life moves on.