Camino de Santiago - Day 5

The last morning and we are about to explore the city of A Coruña.

Quiet time in the lounge.

Some of the team...

...and breakfast orange juice is always served with a smile.

The remaining group on the last morning, a couple of people had left the afternoon before...

...and the crew with the 2 chefs who had presented us with very fine meals over the last few days.

The most important man on board, the driver.

This is Carolina, who administered every activity with precision throughout the entire trip with Benito...

...our wonderful driver standing proudly in front of his incredible luxury coach.

In A Coruña there are no open balconies due to the weather.

The closed in balconies are known as galerias.

This is the most important area in the city, Maria Pita Square, with the town hall and you can see the statue of Maria herself.

All the best places are under cover not to shade from the sun but to keep dry out of the rain.

We were hoping to see the Roman Tower of Hercules, a lighthouse that has been working since the 2nd century AD and we drove past it...

...but it was too foggy and couldn't be seen so here is some street architecture instead.

A Coruña was shrouded in mist and we had light rain. At least this made us feel at home as the weather is often like this in England!

Fishermen at work.

The home of Deportivo de La Coruña one of the local football teams.

The flowering calendar garden...

...and flowering clock.

It's time for morning coffee...

...remember the symbol of the scallop?

...and to share a little cake with the locals.

Maria Pita, who in 1589 saved the city from being taken by the English invaders, and Margaret.

And so to our last meal of the trip which we had on bard a the train headed back to León. We start with Iberian Ham with Melon Bonbon,...

 Galician Sautéed Seasonal Vegetables....

Duck Confit,...

and Apple Pie with ice cream meringue. Talk about saving the best till last!

And these are the 2 chefs who prepared all the marvelous food we ate on board.

The train is making good progress...

...and the stations fly by.

And then to a tasting of the local cheese. You can find out about these 4 most important Galician cheeses by clicking HERE:

This is the San Simón da Costa, a smoked conical cheese.

This is the famous Tetilla cheese, the name Tetilla being Galician for "small breast". The milk comes from the Galician Blond cow.

This is Cabreiro cheese, which looks like a chef's hat.

This is the Arzúa - Ulloa, a soft and creamy cheese.

Our friend Matias serves some cheese.

I just had to take this picture of the stained glass window in the gent's toilet.

And so back to León for the final night at the Parador before returning home the following day after a veritable "journey of a lifetime". We have already had a few "journeys of a lifetime" - how many are you allowed?

To see the slideshow of the entire experience, click HERE

To see the video, click HERE.