One of the hazards of using unfamiliar computers in far away places is that you frequently lose your nice long posts. grrrr.
I am in Madrid, arrived this morning at 7:30 from Chicago, and by 10 am I had checked into my hotel (near one of my favorite little squares in Madrid, the Plaza de Olavide, where the tortilla de patatas is quite good), mailed my duffle bag up to Santiago and was drinking a cafe con leche in front of the Iglesia de Santiago waiting for the priest to come and stamp my credencial.
I was wondering how I was going to fill my after walking hours (since it´s pretty clear it won´t be spent witha lot of other peregrinos), since my travel day was so hectic with so many rushes and delays that I was unable to buy a book or two for the walk. And, you guessed it, St. James does provide, on the way to the church, on Calle Campomanes 15, there was an English language used book store. So for 7 euros I got two paperbacks! Very nice staff and a little bit of everything on their shelves.
Lots of Santiago Matamoros in the church, but there was one nice peregrino statue as well, so I ignored the alter-ego. After a chat with the priest, who insisted on drawing me a map from Madrid up to Valverde del Camino, I walked from the church up to Plaza de Castilla and saw the first arrow, where I will start tomorrow. I´ve had good hints from caminando, crackmrmac, and alipilgrim,so I will just follow their footsteps. Thanks to everyone for all the help.
Buen camino a todos, Laurie
I am in Madrid, arrived this morning at 7:30 from Chicago, and by 10 am I had checked into my hotel (near one of my favorite little squares in Madrid, the Plaza de Olavide, where the tortilla de patatas is quite good), mailed my duffle bag up to Santiago and was drinking a cafe con leche in front of the Iglesia de Santiago waiting for the priest to come and stamp my credencial.
I was wondering how I was going to fill my after walking hours (since it´s pretty clear it won´t be spent witha lot of other peregrinos), since my travel day was so hectic with so many rushes and delays that I was unable to buy a book or two for the walk. And, you guessed it, St. James does provide, on the way to the church, on Calle Campomanes 15, there was an English language used book store. So for 7 euros I got two paperbacks! Very nice staff and a little bit of everything on their shelves.
Lots of Santiago Matamoros in the church, but there was one nice peregrino statue as well, so I ignored the alter-ego. After a chat with the priest, who insisted on drawing me a map from Madrid up to Valverde del Camino, I walked from the church up to Plaza de Castilla and saw the first arrow, where I will start tomorrow. I´ve had good hints from caminando, crackmrmac, and alipilgrim,so I will just follow their footsteps. Thanks to everyone for all the help.
Buen camino a todos, Laurie