I took some pictures while we were there to show the differences between here (Omaha) and there (northern Spain). I know anyone who has traveled to Europe knows all this, but it was new to me. Let's start with the hotels.
I've seen photos of people soaking their feet and/or washing their laundry here. Not the intended purpose, but apparently it's multi-functional! And almost every bathroom had one. I actually googled "how to use a bidet" when I got home, and am sorry I didn't avail myself of it while over there. Now I want one when we redo our bathroom.
And toilet flushing! The flusher was always on the top of the tank, and often had a button for a light flush or a more thorough flush. These are becoming more popular here, especially at rest stops or in airports, but here the handles are still on the side, with green/up for light or red/down for heavy duty.
We were confused by this at first, but what a wonderful idea! You always know where your key is! This slot is right inside the door by the light switches, which don't turn on until you insert your card. (Funny story about this: our Emily was in Colombia this summer and arrived at her hotel late. She was unaware that this was how the electricity worked and she said she was almost in tears after a long day of travel and trying to unpack and get ready for bed by the flashlight on her phone!)
Pillows. Check out how long these are! And speaking of beds, in every room there were two single beds pushed together instead of one big bed. We figured it was because of the narrow staircases and hallways - no way could they fit a king-size box springs upstairs.
Our first night in Spain, we were told our room was on the second floor. We walked up one flight of stairs from the lobby and saw that all the numbers started with one. The ground floor is not the first floor, it is zero.
And now for the food. *sigh* This was first breakfast at our hotel the first morning: freshly squeezed orange juice (which we found at every bar and restaurant), coffee, fruit, croissants, salami, and Spanish tortilla (bottom center of the photo) - basically a potato, egg, and onion pie.
And this was second breakfast at the first bar we came to (photo below). Cafe con leche, a pastry, and almond cookie. EVERY meal or snack we ate was served on real plates, with real silverware. There was nothing disposable except for paper napkins. The cups of coffee came on saucers with little spoons for stirring.
This was our first stop on our first day, between Sarria and Portomarin. You took your pack off and left it outside, walked in the door on the left; there was a small room with an espresso machine and a pastry counter - and that was it. You placed your order, waited for it to be made, and went outside and found a seat.
This was dinner one night in Ribadiso: you may be sharing your pizza crust with a chicken, but you had china and real silverware. And the ubiquitous ashtray, of course.
One thing we noticed was that the "sweets" weren't as sweet as they are here. All the food was REAL - real butter, real whole milk. Meals (not necessarily stops at the bars on The Way) took time. You had to get your waiter's attention or actually go in and ask for your check when you were ready to go. Wine and beer were served with every meal, and except for the larger cities (I'm looking at you, snooty waiter across from our hotel in Santiago), pours were generous. One night in O Pedrouzo Jeanie asked for another glass of vino blanco, and they just plopped a whole bottle down by her. Which she may or may not have emptied. Did I mention that meals took hours? The food portions were realistic though, not American super-sized, and surprisingly, and I know this was rural Spain and people work hard, no one was overweight. Also, convenience foods and snacking weren't as much of a thing as here. Hmmm...These are all habits I could adopt.
One thing we loved was the communal aspect of dining. One morning we had second breakfast with an older lady from France, we exchanged pleasantries with pretty much everyone, we sat next to a peregrina from Sweden in Palas de Rei, and the last day in Santiago we shared a table and visited with a gentleman from Poland who was waiting for his wife and daughter to complete their Camino Portuguese. While I have eaten alone at restaurants a bunch here, I have never made an effort to engage with anyone else. I pretty much pull out my phone or a book. I'd like to say I will make conversations with strangers now, but I bet that won't happen. But I'll smile at them more... Baby steps...
Ultreia!
Cathy
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