With another Puente (three-day weekend) on my hands and with a travelling-bug getting under my skin, I jumped at the opportunity to take a road trip with some of my colleagues. Talking to Stef and Isabel, we decided that the northern part of Spain was a bit of uncharted territory for us. Speaking specifically of Galicia region—I heard of its terrific cuisine and breathtaking scenery. The typical cities of Galicia including Santiago de Computense and la Coruna are must sees for tourists but having only a few days and no desire to mingle with tourists, we decided on the little-big city of
Vigo.
Stef said she had some other friends interested in going as well. I had heard stories of Lena, the crazy New Yorker that could put Courtney Love to shame with her antics and Sonia, the sweet litte Spanish girl that makes you wonder how she got involved with such insane Americans. So with a decent sized group of ladies, we realized the cheapest option of transport was just to rent a car. Between the 5 of us, we got a nice 4 door- BMW. Sounds fancy but Beamers here are actually quite affordable. Stef found us a really nice hotel for relatively cheap, especially since it wasn´t anywhere near tourist season.
So early Saturday morning, we all met on the subway to pick up our car. 5 hours later we arrived in Vigo. The city itself doesn´t have the majesty of Toledo or the vastness of Madrid but the countryside driving into the city itself was absolutely awe-inspiring. Rolling green hills with scattered boulders and hidden towns was something out of Don Quixote. (though Don Quixote was placed nowhere near Galicia)
We checked into our rooms and after deciding where we were all sleeping, we took a little siesta and got ready for the night. Isabel´s sister and friends gave her some recommednations of bars and resturants we had to try. First we stopped and this nautical/ astrology themed bar with amazing drink specials and yummy tapas. We sat around the 5 of us talking about life, culture, our futures and whatnot while we steadily drank beer, wine and the bar specials. I could already tell that I was going to get along great with Lena and Sonia. Though we all had completely different personalities and backgrounds, we had many more important things in common: laughing, drinking and just having fun! This was also one of the first big experiences I'd had with Stef. After this trip, we were new partners in crime and gossip. When we had our fill, we headed off the find this amazing resturant Isabel´s sister said was a must: EL CURUXA
Well, the ancient part of the city is a maze of winding streets and hidden entrances. So everyother person we stopped to ask for directions sent us in the opposite direction of where we wanted to go. Eventually, we came across it and got our table. At first, I was a little disappointed and crabby. The place didn´t look like anything special, especially having walked around for like 45 minutes trying to find it. But as soon as food arrived, all my doubts disppeared. Never have I had such delicious seafood in my life. People always told me that Galicia had incredible pulpo (octopus) and mariscos (shellfish) but MADRE MÍA! Adding a few bottles of wine, it was one incredible dinner.
Finishing our last glasses of wine, we ventured to meet one of Sonía´s old roommates from la universidad that lived in Vigo. She agreed to bring us to some of the hottest clubs in Vigo. And man, she wasn´t joking. As we arrived to the main street, we were surrounded by groups and groups of attractive men. Almost as if Vigo puts attractiveness in the water! We went bar hopping, talking up the guapos as we went. Then we arrived to 20th Century... the most amazing bar I have been to to date. Completely decked in Americana and full of single men, we spent the majority of the night in a complete haze. We finished the night at another club but I couldn´t remember much of it if you´d paid me. Around 6am the group of us came stumbling in, in amazement of Vigo´s nightlife.
We got up relatively early, considering our late night. We decided to take advatage of the rented car and drive to a nearby little town called Baiona that has one of the most spectacular Fortresses in Spain. When we first arrived to this little piece of heaven, we parked and walked around the beach at the 'ria' that led to the Atlantic Ocean. We strolled along the shores and into this old missionary turned church. After exploring and taking our fill of fotos, we got back in the car and headed closer to the fortress. We stopped and looked in a few shops, ate some icecream, explored an exact replica of the Pinta, one of Christopher Columbus's ships. Finally, we made it to the Parador de Baiona (The Fortress).
Have you ever had one of those moments when you first walk into a place and know that you will remember this for the rest of your life? This is how I felt when I walked into the walls of the Parador. Words cannot even explain the beauty of this place. I really felt that I had time travelled from 2010 into the 17th Century. Everything seemed so untouched by the outside world. Everything grew wild and I could feel the history seeping through the cobble stones. I had transported myself into my own little fairy tale of Kings and Noble Knights. I imagined myself even getting married in the lush gardens overlooking the water. I think all of us were in awe of this breathtaking place. We took advantage of the photo-ops but for the most part, we walked in a sublime silence. Like we all knew that this was something special.
Sadly, after a few hours and countless pictures, we left this magical place. We decided for enerygy and money sake, that we'd buy a few things at the local supermarket and eat dinner inside our hotel room that night. Isabel went and had dinner and drinks with a few of her friends while the girls and I ate, drank, danced and gossiped for hours. Once we got to the point where we could go to sleep or head out for night 2 on the town, we opted to quickly get ready and down the rest of our drinks. We knew that we wanted to make one more appearance at 20th Century and a few other bars/ clubs before we left. We danced the night away, filled with the bubbling joy of todays excursion. Still exhausted from the previous late night and knowing our long journey home, we came back to the hotel at a modest 3am.
The morning came ever so quickly as we all slowly climbed out of our beds to get back in the car for our long journey back to Madrid. As we individually said goodbye to each person as we got dropped off, I knew that we had done more than just bond on this super-puente. We built memories that would last a lifetime :)
I was first introduced to this place 2 Christmas' ago by my good friend Michelle. She and her students were having a tapas/ holiday party there and she asked if I wanted to tag along. I had no plans so I agreed figuring it would just be like a big bar or something. It was anything but.... 
The food in gourmet and delicious. The wine flows with a sense of elegance and sophistication without a huge dent in your wallet. It's a fantastic escape to the tourturous Madrid summer heat. However, one would need to get there early or without being in a hurry, as it can be quite difficult to find a table especially for larger groups of people.
