<<Mainly photos>>
Itinerary
Day 1 Singapore - Barcelona - Madrid
Day 2 Madrid - Ourense
Day 3 Ourense - Lugo
Day 4 Lugo - Sarria
Day 11 Santiago D.C - Madrid
Day 12 Madrid
Day 13 Madrid
Day 14 Madrid - Barcelona
Day 15 Barcelona - Singapore
Ourense
We arrived Ourense by train from Madrid.
It is a city in northwest Spain, known for its hot spring. We visited the main square, Ourense Cathedral, and also Burga de Abajo, the neoclassical fountain with thermal water.
The Millennium Bridge is a work of marked avatn-garde aesthetics, featuring an elliptical shape with it pedestrain walkway rising 22 metre. An extraordinary view over river Mino can be view from the top.
The iconic Ponte Pomania bridge is a medieval footbridge that spans across River Mino.
We took a taxi to the the thermal area of A Chavasqueira-Outariz with both pubic open-air baths and privately-run baths.
We shopped at the general stores, and bought fruits from groceries. Although we only spent a night in the city, we managed to take in the city's sight.
Lodging : Barcelo Ourense (~$160)
Lugo
Lugo is located on the banks of the river Mino, and it preserves major remains of its Roman past. Its ancient wall is a UNESCO World Hertiage Site. We took a bus from Ourense to Lugo.
Inside the wall, the city has its wide squares and gardens, pedestrain streets, restaurants and shops.
The Lugo Cathedral is located within the wall. It was built in the early 12 century.
The lunch set was tasty and reasonably priced. The dinner of lobster, pulpo (Octopus) and steak were delicious and enjoyable. We also had our thick chocolate and Churros too 😋
I'm glad we visited Lugo. We left Lugo for Sarria on a local morning train.
Lodging: Sercotel EsteOeste (S$142)
Madrid
We took a train to Madrid on our arrival in Barcelona, and also from Santiago de Compostela after our walk. We had about 3 days in Madrid, and visited many of its popular tourist attractions.
We walked and shopped at Gran Via. We also visited the small Chinatown at the Rio Park.
We walked through El Retiro Park, and visited the Prado Museum.
We walked by the palace, museum, theatres, squares and streets.
We had various kinds of Spanish cuisine - Paella, steaks and tapas, and alway have hot chocolate + churros for breaks and dessert. 😋
We had different tapas in the Mercado de SanFrancisco, and also Chinese Food at Galeria Food Hall.
I enjoyed Madrid. 😘
Lodging: Sleep'N Atocha Day 1 (S$291) AC Hotel : Day 11-13 (Points redemption)
Barcelona
We had about half a day in Barcelona. We visited the Sagrada Familia.
The Musica Catalana was unique and interesting.
We took the subways to different places.
Although our stay in Barcelona was very short, it was good to have revisited some of the tourist attractions.
Lodging: Hotel Sants, Day 13 (Points Redemption)
Thoughts
We extended three days (earlier than the original departure date) because of a mistake in our booking. We decided to visit Ourense and Lugo as they were along the route towards Sarria, our starting town for our Camino Walk. I enjoyed both cities. <The bus ticket was also booked on the wrong date 😒😒. Fortunately, the driver allowed us to use them>
Spain is a big country and has many interesting regions and attractions. I'll like to visit it again.