Friday 17 May 2013

Penny Comes to Lugo

Last weekend Penny decided to venture East, and came to see me in Lugo. She arrived into La Coruña on the Friday evening, and after picking her up from the airport we headed into town. La Coruña is one of the biggest cities in Galicia, and is responsible for the majority of it's economic output. It's a big business and industrial hub: international fashion chain Zara began here. It's on the coast about 2 hours drive from Lugo, and is a up-and-coming cruise ship destination, although tourism is still nowhere like down South.

This being Spain, we didn't go for dinner until the very reasonable hour of 10pm. We headed out to a nearby tapas bar and restaurant, to indulge in some shellfish and local wine. 

Dinner in La Coruña
The next day we had the day in the city. I got the bus times wrong, so we had a bit more time than expected (5 hours). We wandered around the old city, saw the central square, the port, a few churches, and also headed towards the Torre de Hercules. The Torre is the oldest functioning lighthouse in the world, having been built by the Romans about 2000 years ago.

Torre de Hercules
That evening we got on the bus successfully, and arrived in Lugo just in time for lunch: 6pm. We installed Penny in her very nice hotel, the Pazo de Orban, and she came down to my area of town and had a look around my area. Dinner once again, and another big meal at a ridiculous hour. The next day we started early, and had a wander around Lugo and the surrounding area.

Roman Bridge of Lugo
Penny came and had a look around the USC Campus, and all the architectural delights it has to offer tourists. We walked down to the river (via the motorway which Penny insisted we cross) and along the tow-path to the Bridge, another part of Lugo's hangover from the Roman occupation. Then it was up towards the town via the Camino Primitivo, a branch of the Camino de Santiago, and for an extended lunch.

Dinner in the Praia Maior
Other trips of note were searching for Dulce de Membrillo, going to the Centro de Interpretación de las Murallas, the Cathedral, and people shooting stuff in the woods by my house. Penny returned to England on the Monday tanned, tired, and extremely full: a successful trip.