First snow

First snow of the year this morning. After a couple of hours nothing is left, the ground is dry again...

Holy Door

The Holy Door to the cathedral opens only in Holy Years, when the saints day of St. James happens to be a Sunday. According to Wikipedia the right to have a Holy Year was granted to Santiago by the Pope way back in 1119. Entering the cathedral through the Holy Door cleans you from all sins (so they say). Unfortunately this year isn't a Holy one.
The door itself is very small but the window above is amazing. Just by looking at it I felt as if I've been forgiven at least some of my lesser sins ;-)

Swinging service

Another device the cathedral of Santiago is famous for is the Botafumeiro. Special occasions like the All Saints holiday a couple of weeks ago are celebrated by swinging a metal container loaded with burning incense all the way through the cathedral on a very long rope. There is a team of 4 monks (or similar) who are trained to swing it carefully to reach a maximum height without touching the ceiling.It looks amazing and creates a smell and light fog which enhances the already supernaturally looking interior of the house. I saw many visitors praying, some of them probably praying that the rope will hold the weight... :-) The majority of the visitors left after the swinging part. I stayed through the whole service, though. It included some touching songs by an elder nun and we all had to stand up from the bench several times which was sort of strange but certainly has some deeper catholic sense besides keeping people from taking a nap ;-)

Relic

The remains of St. James are the main attraction of the Cathedral of Santiago. Surely they have a spiritual power, but I still don't know what I felt next to it. Maybe I wasn't ready....

Like a tourist

Once a year it has to be an American style coffee shop next corner, even without papercups. Well, what can I say, at least it looked great, but I still prefer the Spanish coffee culture...

St James the Moorslayer

Not only his remains are in Santiago the Compostela, he's visible on every corner, fighting against the Moors (wiki).
Even inside the Cathedral the Apostle is active as well. Please note the head behind the flowers in the bottom of the picture...

Tapas

Probably the most famous invention of the Spanish cuisine is the Tapas system, I love it! Even if it isn't exactly diet food, I usually cannot stop to order just another small portion, then another..and another..and so on... The perfect finish of a Tapas feast is a glass of Cardenal Mendoza, a masterpiece..or better THE masterpiece of brandy-making from Jerez.

Desayuno en Santiago

It looks quite ancient, but Cafe Paradiso served the best breakfast and even the best coffee in town. The Tostadas (picture) are highly recommendable, later we had Boccadillo con Tortilla Francese, a scrambled egg sandwich.

Airport series: Santiago de Compostela

At 5:30 in the morning it is as unwelcoming as any other airport. There were days when travelling by flight was regarded as luxury...long time ago...