The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is the center of town and the focus of hundreds of pilgrims each day. Since we stayed so close by, we visited the massive plaza in front of the cathedral...
Blog posts from Galicia
Eric’s 50th: Santiago de Compostela food and drink
After dropping our bags at our apartment, our next stop was for helado from Boco de Xeado. Eric got a scoop each of coconut and intense chocolate, while I opted for a (solo!) pistachio cone. All...
Eric’s 50th: O Grove and the Rías Baixas wine region
O Grove Peninsula On our one full weekend day in the area we drove to the O Grove peninsula, checking out some coastal villages along the way. The first stop was Combarro, a town about 20 minutes...
Eric’s 50th: Pontevedra sites
On the drive from Santiago de Compostela to Pontevedra, we took the non-toll scenic route south. Halfway we stopped for Fervenza de Segade, a waterfall, where I stayed with the car while Eric hiked...
Eric’s 50th: Pontevedra food and drink
Due to a work conflict, we had to cancel our Bib Gourmand lunch reservation in A Coruña, so I was looking forward to trying our luck in Pontevedra with Trasmallo. We sat upstairs with a few other...
Eric’s 50th: A Coruña, molecular gastronomy cooking class
If you’ve been around this blog for a while then you know that I love to take cooking classes in foreign countries. I made good on this in A Coruña with a molecular gastronomy course! This workshop...
Eric’s 50th: A Coruña sites
A Coruña is a beautiful port city, known for the "oldest known extant Roman lighthouse" (the Tower of Hercules), plus a long coastal promenade (13km!), beautiful beaches, and fresh seafood. All of...
Eric’s 50th: A Coruña food and drink
There are a lot of restaurants and bars in A Coruña, so even with a week we barely scratched the surface. Here is what we tried. We had been eating a lot of Asturian food, so we decided on an...
Eric’s 50th: Galicia, where we stayed
NORO Plaza, A Coruña Our apartment here was a comfortable 1-bedroom with tons of space, which felt especially roomy after our tight spot in Gijón. The apartment had lots of windows, and each one...
Eric’s 50th: Northern Spain coastal sites
East from Gijón Mirador de San Roque On our way to Potes and the eastern side of Picos de Europa national park we traveled along the coast, stopping at a few spots on our way. Our first stop was an...
Eric’s 50th: flights, trains, and rental cars
RDU > LHR > MAD Our flight out of Raleigh was on time and Eric managed to snag us main cabin extra seats in the bulkhead area so we had two seats to ourselves. Neither of us slept that well...
Eric’s 50th: overview and planning
When thinking about where I wanted to spend my 50th birthday I knew I wanted good food, moderate weather, and somewhere at least a little new to us. Northern Spain really fit those criteria: we...
Our Itinerary
2026 Trips
Parrish, FL (Jan)
Medellin, Colombia (Feb)
Wilmington, NC (Apr)
Madrid, Spain (May)
Asturias, Spain (May)
Galicia, Spain (June)
London/Cotswolds, UK (July)
Long Island, NY (July)
Ireland (Aug)
Vietnam (Nov)
Laos (Nov)
Cambodia (Dec)
Singapore (Dec)
2025 Trips
Tampa Bay, FL (Jan)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Feb)
Villa la Angostura, Argentina (Feb)
Bariloche, Argentina (Feb)
Iguazu Falls (Feb)
Miami, FL (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Mar)
Boston, MA (Apr)
Kathmandu, Nepal (May)
Bhutan (May)
Doha, Qatar (May)
Bristol + London, UK (Jul)
Long Island, NY (Jul)
Slovenia (Sep)
Treviso, Italy (Sep)
Bologna, Italy (Sep)
day trips from Bologna (Oct)
Turin, Italy (Oct)
Greensboro, NC (Nov)