Travels in Northern Spain

To Santiago De Compostela

Yes I do know we are running about a month behind on the blog - its been so busy!!  Lets see if I can catch up over the next few days.  Here is what we did in the last week in Spain.

 We arrived in Santiago de Compostela (SDC) on Sunday 24^th July.  This had been planned for a few weeks but we did not know it was the date of the Festival of St James.  This is the biggest day of the year for the pilgrims and the cathedral in SDC!  The town was humming with pilgrims and tourists and locals and it all culminated with one of the loudest, most random firework display I have ever been subjected to!

Pilgrims kipping outside the SDC cathedral.

Puppets that attended the church Masses

Because the day of the festival fell on a Sunday they also opened the “special door” on the west side of the cathedral that is only opened one ever 7 years.  How exciting is that?! The queues were outrageous.  Jane lined up for 2 hours to get inside for a “Pilgrims Mass” that they were running as a repeating service!  We did not get to see the huge thurible swinging, only at the 7.30pm service unless someone pays 400 euro.  Everything has a price here!  

 The old city was pumping all day and evening.  We had dinner and then regrouped to try to get a good spot for the fireworks.  As luck would have it we could not get into the main square with our backpacks – it was the week of the Nice truck attack and the policing was very evident.  At midnight the fireworks started, accompanied by a concert in the main square.  We were in another square behind the cathedral and found that we were in fact between TWO fireworks shows.  And unlike the very measured performances we are used to in Brisbane this one went nuts in the last 5 minutes.  Air shells were exploding all around, barely above the roofs of the buildings around the squares, scattering burning cardboard casings all amongst the crowds. What a humdinger.

Inside the cathedral

The next two days in SCD were spent enjoying the old town, the cathedral and other buildings and attending some of the festival events. There were big puppets, musical items, more services, museums and lots of shops.  We did a walking sightseeing tour, which give us lots of background history of the place.  The churches are mostly made of square granite blocks, which gave them a very dour square, squat appearance. None of the lightness of touch in the French or English cathedrals of the same era.  Internally they were mostly 18C baroque carvings and plasterwork, but all pretty  dingy. 

We visited a huge Aussie eucalyptus planted 150 years ago in the main city park. 

I also bought a local white paper hat ‘cos the sun was shiny all day and my head was getting damaged.  The streets of the old town were lined with a range of shops selling both the usual tourist tat as well as others with great spanish goods, leatherwear, hats, local foods cheeses and wines, as well as many restaurants, so at night we ate great food and wine.  What’s not to like?

Then we managed to find the local station to buy train tickets for the trip to our next port of call, Pontevedre.  So lets go. 

Typical street in the old town parts of SDC

After a good hotel breakfast (Hotel Campostela, on the south edge of the old town, good internet, well recommended) we packed and walked to the train station for the 12.15pm. train to Pontavedre.  

The trip was just 30 minutes through the countryside and we were in another gem of a Spanish costal town, with an old city centre surrounded by very ordinary suburbs.  

Alix Larry and Jane outside our Parador in Pontevedre

We were here for one night specially to stay in a Parador.  These are special hotels in Spain, old castles and religious buildings converted into luxury hotels.  This one was an old stately home.  Lots of wood and granite and old oak furniture.  But the beds were big and comfy too.  

Inside the Parador

We had a great paella meal here and then a walk around the old streets and square.  This included a great fresh food and fish market.

Paella and vino!   Beautiful

                                                                     

Loads 'a fish.

This is the end of the week in Spain.  Next stop Porto, in northern Portugal.  

Got to keep moving, so keep up!!

The Kaye's reverse Brexit

Spain - of the Northern Variety.

There is a Brittany Ferries run from Portsmouth to Santander in northern Spain that takes foot passengers as well as cars.  It’s a pretty new vessel and leaves Portsmouth at 5.30pm promptly each Tuesday.  Meeting Alix and Larry in the terminal we were on board, luggage stowed in our cabins and on the rear deck with a bottle of chilled Chablis by 4.30pm! 

The theme of the holiday was set.  A beautiful sunny day again we steamed out of the harbour, did our Spithead review of the local shipping and sailed off in to the night down the English Channel.   A few bottles of wine and supper later, and thoroughly frustrated with inadequate internet, we retired to quite comfortable bunk beds.  The only concern was the Bay of Biscay, would it be a rough crossing??

Relaxing below decks with the traditional nightcap!

Was the Bay of Biscay rough - NO!

Well no -it wasn’t, and we were all up and hungry for brunch in the main restaurant by about 11am!  This was a buffet and we stayed there until they closed to reset the place for lunch about 12.30pm.  The ship had a number of bars and lounge areas as well as lots of open deck areas for sitting out and we passed the afternoon chatting and reading, then prepared for the first linguistic challenge of finding the Spanish car hire office in Santander. It turned out to be a simple 5 minute walk from the docks.  The car was an automatic Opel “Mokka”, not the Scenic as ordered, but we managed to get all 5 suitcases in the boot with some Japanese style commuter case pushing and we were off into the hills behind to find our first, rustic Airbnb place.

View from the front door, north to the sea on a good day!

Inside the hobbit house.

Luckily the owner had sent her husband out to find us because the directions ran out 2 km from the house, which was up a very windy farm track.  It had no real address, just GPS coordinates but we had no working GPS!  But find us he did, so that was OK.

The Airbnb place was a converted animal stable under a big old farmouse, and we were greeted not only by the host Helena, but also 4 dogs ranging from small to HUGE, a neurotic chicken and some fundamentally angry geese.  They all paraded around outside the front door to the house challenging our right to be there.  But we worked it out with a carrot and stick negotiating technique.  Larry had the stick…

Larry getting ready to fight the geese!

The next few days were spent enjoying the views from the hill top hobbit house, and venturing into the Cantabrian and Basque countryside in search of local things.  One day we went to Camilas and XXXXXXX to the west of Santander and found really cranky old medieval streets and shops selling local cheese and stuff and then we stumbled on an early Gaudi house – what a crazy gem of a place.

The hobbit house up the hill.

On Friday 22^nd we drove the 100km across to Bilbao to visit the Guggenheim Museum.  A classic Frank Gehry design all curvy metal exterior.  Mind you he must have been driven demented by the amateurish detailing of the actual construction. The internal steelwork was a mess of rolled steel sections and brackets.  What happens when an American architect works with European contractors who don’t understand the American way. Sad. But a gem from afar.....

What can you say - just architectural magic!

We were greeted at the enty by a Jeff Koons “Puppy”, which the locals have taken to heart and keep renewing (ie replanting!).  We first saw this in 1995 in Sydney at the ICA at Circular Quay.  The blooms were brighter then!

Naff old Koons does it again and again and again.....

And I have to say we were not particularly impressed with the items from the permanent collection that were on display, apart from some great early 20^thC French school impressionist and surrealist (Picasso; Miro: Kandinsky etc).  

Bilbao spider - nearly got her!

And there was a whole gallery given over to a "Madame Bourgeois," who produced many “cells” of pretentious rubbish! Bah!! modern art……… etc . etc.  Perhaps it was a sort of modern art self parodying joke?

Leaving early on the morning of Sunday 24^th we drove on the surprisingly excellent Spanish motorway roads from Santander to Santiago de Compostela, about 400km in 6 hours, with many stops, including one in Ribedo, at a picnic spot overlooking the estuary.  Tres picturesque.

And so into Santiago D C.  

But that, as they say, is a story for another day.

A trip down Ian's memory lane

To Newark, Melton and Rooks Hill. Monday 18th July.

The Polish memorial in the War Graves cemetery.

With the wedding over we packed our bags for a half-day tour of Ian’s childhood and to visit the Cemetery where mum and dad are buried.  And to meet up with Ian’s sister Alix and her husband Larry, who are over from the USA.  

The wedding had been held in the Dales in Derbyshire, which were about an hour drive from the War Graves Cemetery in Newark-on Trent  where the ashes of mum and dad are buried.  So on a sunny day that gets progressively hotter, we set off for Newark. 

This was to be the first time that the whole of the remaining Kaye family had been in the one place since mum died in 2005. 

Mum and dad.  Rest in Peace.

Arriving about 11am we met up with Alix and Larry at the graveside.  It was a beautiful spot on a beautiful summers day, surrounded by the well tended graves of the Commonwealth soldiers and airmen killed in the 2^nd WW who were stationed in the many RAF aerodromes that were  nearby.

Dad wanted to be buried there because of the connections with the Polish Government in Exile leaders who were also there.  We told the kids some of the stories of dads exploits during and after the war, and how he met mum whilst based nearby.  Mum was living with her parents in Nottingham.

Alix provided some small roses bushes, which dad loved, and we planted them at the headstone.  It does not show his 1903 birthdate, as is the style on all the war graves headstones nearby.

The Kaye Family at the spot.

Then back into the cars, (now with Larry following behind in his rented Mercedes – with a/c!), and off to my birthplace, Melton Mowbray.  Lunch there was good pub food at the Anne of Cleeves, and we had about 2 hours to sit in the pub garden  and catch up on 5 years plus of family chat!  Back into the cars at 3pm, and a quick tour of my Melton highlights passing my old school – now half demolished, my old homes, half of them demolished, and my old play spaces, now built over! Ah memories.. Must write my biography one day soon, before I forget it all,  all i'll just make it up, ha ha!

Then back on the road south.  Alix and Larry drive south to Fareham to stay with friends overnight before meeting up again tomorrow.  Tom and Simon we drop off in Leicester, (go City!) to rent a car for their drive up to Scotland.  Rob and Ayla we take to Uxbridge, at the end of the Central line for their trip in to London to stay with Tyrone, before flitting off to Scandanavia for 2 weeks. 

Ayla at Tyrone's house in London, later that day.

It was soooo hot in the car by now 30C and on the noisy and dirty M1 / M25 not really practical to have windows open.  But all went well and we were back home with Judy and Nigel in Bramley by 8pm. We then had a great BBQ in the garden under the late summer evening sky with good food, too many bottles of  wine and more stories. The gnome illuminated our table, did its best and died! 

Bye bye........

Great day everyone thanks.

See to all at sea tomorrow.

Wedding Number One - Enter the Woods!

Ashbourne Derbyshire, Home of the Kirtleys.

Robin and Ayla and Tom flew into Gatwick and Heathrow respectively on Thursday 14th.  Thanks to Nigel who drove manfully through the London airports traffic congestion to pick them all up and bring them back to Rooks Hill.  I fail to understand why anyone would want to add another runway to Heathrow, it is already mostly a car park on the M25 for 20 miles either side of the airport, but that i understand is the plan.  Like many things about the UK now that totally baffle me.  We will talk more about Brexit later.  Anyway back at Rooks Hill we all sit down to a wonderful vegetable curry supper prepared by Jane and tumble early into bed to be ready for an early start tomorrow.

On the drive to Ashbourne

We diverted from the drive to the Newport Pagnell services on the M1to collect Simon who had arrived in the UK on Tuesday and had been staying with his skiing mate Deesley for a few days.  So we were 6 in the mining bus and it was chockers with suitcases and baggage as we trundled up to Ashbourne, home of the Kirtleys. There was even a massive hat box that went up as luggage on Simons lap.

We found our place to stay for the next few days, part of the Station Hotel, which is now across the road from where the station used to be.  But the line of the old railway, which included a tunnel through the hill behind the station, are still there and in use as a walking and cycle path up to the Dales, and incidentally the Callow Hall Hotel where the wedding reception was held.

The Station Hotel - the station itself was demolished in 1968!

 We unpacked, sorted out the ironing of shirts and trews, and prepared ourselves for the pre-Wedding dinner at Callow Hall.  We all walked through the tunnel and on up to the Hall by about 7pm and after drinks in the bar whist waiting for the others to arrives (see photos below) we had a great sit down dinner for 40!  There were about 20 guests from Australia there that night and the rest were "locals".  Becky's dad had been a local GP and so the family is well known in the area.  And Becky's sister had graduated as a Doctor on the Wednesday before, so there was lots to celebrate.  And later that night we all walked back through the tunnel to the Station Hotel.

Kaye Family Pre-Dinner Drinks in the Callow Hall Hotel

 So on to the main event, the wedding of Julian Wood and Becky Kirtley.  After another morning of ironing and preening ourselves were ready to go to the church.  Look at Jane! What a gem.

Jane ready for the main event!  Dressed by Judy - thanks!

The wedding ceremony was held at the local St Oswald's church. A beautiful medieval gem of a place there are bit of windows that are reported to go back to the original building consecrated in 1281!!! How old is that.....

St Oswald's church, Ashbourne

The lancet window with stained glass dated to 1281.

Another wonderful window in the church

 The bride arrived dead on 1pm and the vicar did her thing and they were pronounced man and wife by 2pm.  Hymns included Jerusalem and Love Divine.  All the old classics, sung with gusto, and a choir.

After they left the church we were shut in briefly whist they took photos outside against the old church doors! And then the bells started. They are very proud of the bells at St Oswald's.  The various plaques attest to the fact they can ring peals of 5000 plus changes in 4 hours and do so whenever they can think of a reason to, Queens Jubilees etc.

Plaques about bellringing in the church.

You can see the bell pull ropes under the tower.

The melee outside the church went on with photos and chat for about an hour. See photos below.

Jane and Anne, got to love those hats...

Happy bride Becky and her mum...

Tom and Simon looking very smart!

Rob and Ayla enjoying the moment.

Linda photo bombing the Kayes!

Then back to Callow Hall for a wedding breakfast and toasts and speeches at about 5pm and then a dinner and dancing from about 7pm!  Much eating and drinking followed; duck, salmon, chips, roast veg,  spit roast sucking pig, wines, puddings, cake cutting, more teas and coffee, more toasts, dancing, cigars (Ben Wood was just back from Cuba with the real things).  Beautifully thought through decorations and table pieces of books and cards and the menus on chocolate bars and beautiful flowers everywhere.  Becky and her crew had done a wonderful job of making the place look just fantastic.

Then we all took carriages home at about midnight.  What a day and night.  Beautiful! A selection of photos from the afternoon and evening are given below for your perusal..

The groom in mid-speech.