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Camino de Santiago
  • Susan and Jim's Travels
  • Susan Halpin
  • Susan and Jim's Travels
  • Susan Halpin

Camino de Santiago

A 61-day adventure by Susan and Jim's Travels & Susan Read more
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  • Camino de Santiago

    The Ups & Downs of Porto

    November 6, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Porto is a hilly city!

    Even the Black Cats get worn out!

    We tried to walk along the riverfront early today, but the Porto Marathon was being run along the river.

    So we climbed one hill to discover a small church over looking the river.

    Then we walked to the adjacent hill, with the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal. The Gardens hilltop looked right down the river towards the ocean!

    Walking downhill, we found a café halfway down the hill, with great views of the river and the boat traffic! Nice spot for a beer and sangria!    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago

    The "Venice" of Portugal

    November 7, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    While we were on the Camino we met a woman from Minnesota who just moved to Aveiro, Portugal. Aveiro has the reputation of being the "Venice" of Portugal because it has a small number of canals that are navigated brightly colored "moliciero" boats. Aveiro is about an hour and a half train ride from Porto. We decided to check out the city today. The weather was kind of cloudy but still pretty warm. We took a 45-minute boat cruise and got a little history and info about this little city. The old train station is also one of the highlights to see in the city as it is a white building with beautiful murals made from "Azulejos". These are tin-glazed ceramic tiles traditionally used in Portugal to cover facades and internal walls. Aveiro is also known for a large variety of coastal birds and for its salt flats. All around the city you can see brightly colored buildings.Read more

  • Camino de Santiago

    A Day Trip to Aveiro

    November 7, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We took a day trip today, an hour+ train ride south to Aveiro, the "Venice of Portugal"!

    On the Camino, we had met an American woman now living in Portugal, who told us about Aveiro. She and her husband live there now.

    It is a great little city, on a big bay set back from the coast, with a network of canals. The Gondola Canal boats are still taking tourists for 45 minute rides around the canals.

    The weather was nice, cloudy but warm enough.

    Some beautiful exterior ceramic tile exteriors on buildings in the Old Town!    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago

    A Shave in a Barber Shop

    November 8, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    A new experience for me today, I went to a barbershop for a shave. For both my head and my face. I got the full treatment, my face wrapped in hot wet towels, some vibrator thing through the towel, and a straight razor shave. He shaved my head with an electric razor. And he hacked off 7 weeks of eyebrow growth! I was definitely looking like Art Buchwald!

    We went to a famous bookstore. I had no desire to re-read Harry Potter or Catch-22 in Portuguese though.

    Yet another Church, but this one is also a museum. So we got to roam through the whole building.

    And we saw another Yellow Arrow, pointing the way to Santiago!    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago

    Douro Valley Wine Tour

    November 9, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Today we took a fun & informative bus tour of the Alto Douro Wine Region. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site & has produced wines for thousands of years. We left at 8:30 this morning and returned back at 6:30 PM. It was a beautiful ride out through the river valley to 2 wine estates where we met the winemakers who explained how their famous Port wine is created. Did you know people actually do stomp grapes as part of the process of making Port wine? We tasted white, ruby & tawny port. We had a delicious Portuguese lunch. I had pork, Jim had cod for lunch. We took a riverboat cruise after lunch which offered beautiful views of the valley. Next we visited the the Croft Vineyard for another wine tasting.Read more

  • Camino de Santiago

    November Beach Day in Matosinhos

    November 10, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Beautiful day, about 70F/19C. Not a cloud overhead.

    We took the subway to this seaport city just north of Porto.

    A few people were swimming,many sunbathing on the sand. The surfers were out in-force, including a couple of surf schools running classes on the beach.
    Not a bad beach day!    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago
    1

    What Month is it Again?

    November 10, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Gorgeous summer day for our last day in Porto. Tomorrow we fly to St. Etienne, France to see our friends for a couple of days. It's been 3 years since we have seen Jeanne Marie, Sandra & Philip! Very excited to see everyone in person. Here's a few more pics from our travels today to Matsosinhos.Read more

  • Camino de Santiago

    Strolling along the Loire

    November 12, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We made it to Saint-Étienne yesterday. Dinner with Jeanne-Marie, Jean-Francois and Philip. Great to be visiting with old friends

    Today we went out for several short walks, with Jeanne-Marie, near the Loire river, first up near the Loire Gorge dam, the lower down in the valley. With a short stroll through Saint Rambert old village.Read more

  • Camino de Santiago

    Saint Victor sur Loire stroll

    November 13, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Sue and I went for a quick stroll around the tiny hilltop village where Jeanne-Marie lives.

    A small stone church built in the 11th century, The church was open, so we have some photos. The adjacent Château was closed. Both have s great view of the reservoir down the bottom of the Loire River Gorge.

    We met one cranky looking cat in the street, but it ignored us!    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago

    Musée des Confluences

    November 13, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    An afternoon trip to Lyon to visit the museum situated on the point where the Rhône and Saône rivers meet.

    An excellent afternoon with Jeanne-Marie, Jean-Francois and Philip.

    Sadly we are ending our weekend visit with our Saint-Étienne friends.

    Tomorrow we are taking the train to Burgundy.    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago

    Stained Glass Windows in Beaune

    November 14, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    So we are in the final days of our trip. We fly home on Thurs. I think every day for the past 2 months we have visited atleast 1 church. I have looked forward each day to hearing the church bells ringing, and a few minutes of silence to say a prayer for the day. I will miss that when we come home. The church we visited today had beautiful stained glass windows.Read more

  • Camino de Santiago

    Beaune, Burgundy

    November 14, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Two train rides today, Saint-Étienne to Lyon, then onto Beaune after a change. Trains run great around here!

    The hotel did not have a room ready, so we checked our bags and checked out the town. A mandatory visit to the local massive church. (Sue has all the stained glass photos). A lunch and an attempt at walking back to the hotel without a map, which was a mistake. I failed!Read more

  • Camino de Santiago

    A Wine Cave & Tasting.

    November 15, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We went on a tour of a very extensive wine cave at Joseph Drouhin wine makers.

    The Colossal Cave extended under several adjacent buildings. One had high vaulted ceilings, but the rest had very low ceilings.

    Apparently wine makers from the 1800's were not 6' 3" tall.

    I managed to get out without suffering a concussion! :-)

    The wines were excellent!    Read more

  • Camino de Santiago

    Charles de Gaulle Airport

    November 16, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Our afternoon of walking around Paris yesterday was cancelled due to rain.

    We got to Gare du Nord about 2 PM, stuffed our backpacks into a locker. Found a nice café for lunch. Met two women from Quincy MA, who knew from my voice I am from the Boston area.

    When we left a light drizzle started which quickly became rain. We changed plans, found a supermarket for a light meal to eat in our hotel room, plus a Côté du Rhône.

    Then we hopped on a train to our hotel at the airport.

    The last leg of our camino, a flight to Boston!    Read more

  • Trip end
    November 17, 2022
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