At 0900, after our breakfast at the hotel, we went on a walking tour of Santiago with the local Viking guide, Eva. At the entrance to the historical centre of the city stands the Convento of San Francisco, founded in 1214 by St Francis of Assisi. It is now operating as an hotel. The building does not date from 1214, having been modified and rebuilt on a number of occasions, most recently in 1742.
Eva also pointed out the gargoyles lining a number of buildings in this part of town. Over and above their function in protecting the building from evil, they also operate as drainage spouts. So, whenever it rains, which is apparently quite often, the streets below are showered with waterfalls of rainwater.
Who said these old classical builders were the best?
She also pointed out residential buildings with glazed balconies on the upper floors. These date from the 19th Century and were designed to offer some control over heat and humidity. The inner and outer layers of windows could be opened or closed together or independently depending on the temperature.
Once past these residential buildings, we entered the main square, the Praza do Obradoiro, the Square of Work or the workshop.
This square is surrounded by 4 magnificent buildings, the star of which must surely be the Cathedral, which dates from the 11th Century and which is reputed to hold the relics of San Tiago - St James - one of Christ's apostles.
The building is a mix of Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque architecture. In reality, it is a confection of the imagination and it almost defies description. The detailing is astonishing in complexity and symbolism. You could look at the facade for hours.
On the north side is the Parador of Santiago, which was once a hostel in the sense that pilgrims stayed here for rest, but also for medical treatment. Nowadays it is one of the best hotels in Spain and it is supposed to be the most expensive hotel in the Parador range.
The photo shows some of the detailing on the frontage of the building, which has been extensively remodelled since the original hostel was built in 1486.
On the west, the square is enclosed by the Pazo de Raxoi, which is the offices of the local government in the area. The building was originally a palace. built in the French style and completed in 1766. the decoration on the balconies is very ornate.
The south side houses the Pazo de Fonseca, which is owned by the University and is used as a library and exhibition space. It was originally built between 1522 and 1544 with further work undertaken in 1688. The main door onto the square is actually Romanesque and came from a different building altogether.
The square was beginning to be bathed in sunlight as we left to go round to the other cathedral entrance.
This was not quite so ornate as the entrance onto the square.
As you might expect, the interior was just full of wonders to gaze upon.
This is the Botafumeiro. It is a giant thurible or incense burner which takes 8 men to swing. It was originally intended to burn incense on a grand scale to sweeten the atmosphere which was less than pleasant when hundreds of pilgrims crowded into the church. It is the height of a small person.
Everything is on a grand and opulent scale.
Even the cloisters are pretty smart.
Eva pointed out the little windows on the top of the highest tower of the cathedral. There was and is a light burning in them at night to show pilgrims the way. By tradition, nothing is built higher than this tower so that the the light for the pilgrims will not be obscured.
Out in the streets, you could distinguish which buildings belonged to the church by the scallop shells inscribed above the doorways.
You could also identify the older medieval houses as thes were of wooden construction on the upper floor and the arcaded shops were below.
This is the street between streets.
Renovated Medieval houses.
Of course, with no direct view of the front ground floor door, the residents could not tell who was trying to get in. This was overcome by building an angled peephole to allow the door to be viewed.
Once Eva had left us, we had free time in the centre. Our first instinct was to go for something to eat and drink. Of course, this was tea or coffee and cakes - what else?
The cakes were as nice as the surroundings in the cafe.
Isabel, our private guide in Lisbon, had tried to make us believe that bagpipes had originated in Portugal and later been introduced to Scotland.
Really? Well, maybe!! It certainly sounds plausible.
By now the square was full of sun and tired pilgrims.
And us.
We took a little stroll to a park just outside the historical centre. Sharon was especially taken with this statue of two old ladies.
They had been best friends and met every day in the park. When they died, people missed them and the locals raised money to have these colourful statues built in their memory.
From there it was back to our hotel via some more shops!
We had arranged to have a little snack with Michael and Cindy, before we relaxed and got freshened up before going back to the centre for dinner.
Michael and Cindy went to an art shop and we arranged to meet them in the square as the sun was going down.
We chose Meson O'42. We settled in and they immediately brought us these little tapas of ham and sausage on toast, which we had with a nice chilled bottle of cava.
Given our reasonably recent snack at the hotel, we didn't have a starter. Bob and Michael both went for the fried Iberian ham. It would have to be said this was very tasty, but it was a bit fattier than expected and presenting it on the chips made them a bit soft and greasy. It wasn't a triumph, but the meat was tasty.
Sharon and Cindy shared Langoustines and salad. The salad was not mixed, which may be traditional, but is a bit odd.
We were all full and decided to go to the Parador on the square that we had been in yesterday for a nightcap.
The square was still busy and was nicely lit up.
After the nightcap, it was time to get to the hotel to try and get some sleep before we all had to get up at different, but early times to get to the airport for our respective flights home.
We said our goodbyes to Michael & Cindy who would be away long before us in the morning.
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