It was beginning of 2022. Right after Christmas, I had the opportunity to go on behalf of Lodestars Anthology to Santiago de Compostela. My mission there was spending a weekend on the fabulous hotel and spa A Quinta da Agua, take some photos, and write a review for the upcoming issue of the magazine dedicated to Spain (where I also wrote an article and had some photos from Málaga and Lanzarote published). So there we went!
We went by car. Our first stop was Castrillo de los Polvazares, near Astorga, in León. We wanted to have lunch there: the famous and delicious “cocido maragato”, a stew made with regional meat, vegetables and chickpeas, followed by soup and vanilla custard for dessert. From there, we drove directly to A Quinta da Agua, where I got a relaxing massage by one of their specialists right before having dinner at Filigrana, the hotel’s restaurant and one of the best in Santiago de Compostela.
The next day was a typical Galician winter day, very moody and cold, but we didn’t lose the opportunity to explore the city center and its jewel: the impressive cathedral, culmination of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route and burial site of the Apostle St. James. As it was the days right after Christmas, the city was almost empty, with hardly tourists. We strolled through the lonely streets of medieval buildings, enjoying the quietness of the city, until we could make the special visit to the Cathedral: its roof and towers and the impressive Portico de la Gloria (the only place where it was forbidden to take photos). After another memorable dinner at Filigrana restaurant, we drove back to Madrid, ready to write my review of the hotel.
Here are some of the photos I took during this weekend trip. I hope you like them!
What a beautiful series Mercedes, and a great assignment!