11 Reasons to Visit Santiago de Compostela, Spain

I have been fortunate to have lived in Santiago de Compostela, Spain for nine months of my life. I had never heard of this intriguing town before signing my study abroad papers. Now I know that it is a place rich in history, a place perfect for the traveler to visit.

1. Santiago de Compostela is rich in religious history, known as the final stop of the pilgrimage of St. James, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. In the beginning of the Old Town is the Cathedral of St. James, a cavernous church that even an agnostic like me can be in awe of. Quiet on the inside, the cathedral invites peaceful tourists to wander freely throughout its interior or simply sit and gaze at the golden pulpit.

2. Santiago is one of the holy cities according to the Catholic religion, which also include Vatican City and Jerusalem. The city also has many more churches and smaller cathedrals to explore, such as Igrexa de Santa Maria Salomé and Parroquia de San Fernando.

3. There are pilgrims from all over the world completing their journey after hiking for several weeks or even months on the Way of St. James, a path that traditionally begins in the Pyrenees Mountains and ends in Santiago. You won’t find more excited and exhausted tourists anywhere. The cathedral even holds special masses just for the pilgrims. It was so packed I had to sit on the steps near the door.

4. Santiago has the best churros con chocolate I’ve had in Spain. Something about the cooking at Galician cafés makes those long fried doughnuts taste amazing with chocolate.

5. Speaking of desserts, there isn’t one much better than a thick slice of rich Tarta de Santiago. Specifically from the Galician region of Spain, the rich almond cake is from the Galician regions of Spain and goes perfectly with café con leche and an afternoon siesta.

6. The old town is a maze of medieval alleyways and buildings. The cathedral itself was constructed in 818 and rebuilt in the eleventh century after a war against Islam and the rest of the Old Town was then reconstructed around the cathedral.

7. What is so fascinating about the Cathedral of Santiago? Legend says the bones of James the Apostle were brought by boat from Jerusalem, laid to rest there, and that they continue to lie within the cathedral in a beautiful silver tomb. You can visit the tomb for free.

8. Santiago de Compostela is a budget-friendly town. You’ll have no problem finding a decent menú del día (menu of the day) for less than ten Euros in many restaurants. You might even want to wash it down with the region’s local beer, Estrella Galicia.

9. The Celtic influence is present in the music scene of Santiago. You can hear the Irish-based music and live bands throughout the city. There’s even a bagpipe player right next to the cathedral who plays day in and out.

10. You can hear a new language that you might not have known existed. The locals here don’t speak English – many of them don’t even speak Spanish (or what Spain refers to as Castillian). They speak Galician, or galego, which sounds like a mixture of the southern Portuguese influence and Eastern Castillian. Everyone in Galicia needs to learn and speak Galician and all street signs are in the local language (which is very confusing for tourists who have only brushed up on their Spanish). For example, “street” is “rúa” instead of “calle”.

11. Santiago is a beautiful and underrated weekend stop on the way to Madrid, so it’ll be easy to add it to your Spanish itinerary. If you’re already in Madrid, a quick RyanAir flight of 40 Euros will take you directly there to Santiago de Compsotela. I guarantee you the town is absolutely worth a couple days’ visit!

¡Buen camino!

Featured Blogger: Elena of Gone With the Backpack

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10 Signs you were born and raised in Wisconsin

Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin: a land known for truly happy cows, hundreds of deer-crossing signs, and a rivalry with every other Midwestern state. In the Dairy Land of America the Cheeseheads know the difference between a native and one of those Illinois flatlanders. Here are 10 fool-proof ways to tell that you were born and raised in Wisconsin.

1. You order cheese curds.

A popular bar food and festival snack in the state, Wisconsinites make sure to always have a bowl of deep-fried golden cheese curds within arm’s reach. The Wisconsin State Fair supplies many individual vendors, so you find yourself automatically going to one of the stalls before heading over to the beer tent.

2. You love to boo the competition.

In a world of green and gold, sporting the colors of other Midwestern professional football teams is considered treason. Wearing any combination of purple and gold or navy and orange is cause for suspicion. A true Wisconsinite is a Packer fan through and through and only offers glares and turned backs to a fan of any other kind.

3. You talk about how much you miss the warm weather.

Winter in Wisconsin can start in October and stick around through April. The moment you walk into a bar, you dramatize a, “Brrrr.” When it finally does warm up outside, a you won’t ever complain about how hot you feel because you’ll surely be reminded that just a few months ago, you were wishing for shorts and sandals.

4. “How ’bout dem Packers?”

To you and all true Cheeseheads, nothing is more important than the Packers. Even in the off-season, you’re discussing the draft, Fantasy Football competitions, and Aaron Rodgers’ love life. Support for the Packers is 24/7 no matter what the circumstances. You’ll even suffer sub-zero temperatures to support your team during the coldest winter months.

5. You love deer hunting.

All year round, you find yourself roaming Fleet Farm for hunting rifles and neon orange gear in preparation for deer hunting season. During the week before Thanksgiving, you, along with your Cheesehead comrades, mysteriously disappear only to turn up with either fresh venison or frustrated looks on your faces. More of a rite of passage than sport, you will spend days at a hunting cabin, waking up before the sun in order to snag the perfect buck.

6. You forgive Ryan Braun… but not Brett Favre.

As long as Ryan Braun keeps hitting home-runs and looking like a Greek God, you can forgive his steroid scandal and accept his heartfelt apology. He’s still a dedicated Brewer, after all, and keeps the ladies swooning while they down their Cracker Jacks. At least he didn’t pretend to retire and then try to make a comeback as star of a rival team. Nowadays Favre jerseys can only be found rotting away in second hand stores while Braun shirts are proudly sported all over Wisconsin. You also know that the only appropriate item to wear at an ugly sweater party is a Favre jersey.

7. You loathe the neighbors to the south.

As far as you’re concerned, Wisconsin is superior to Illinois in every way except that there is no Wisconsin city comparable to Chicago. A minor inconvenience, as Wisconsin surely wins in most other aspects. You frequently comment on how badly those flatlanders drive when you’re bar hopping with other Cheeseheads, which surely wins you a free Miller Lite.

8. You understand the art of eating a bratwurst.

The ultimate test to prove your Wisconsinite-ness is to choose the correct method of brat (pronounced braht) consumption. You know that a brat, even though its shape is the same as a hotdog, does not belong inside a hotdog bun but inside a hard roll (which is actually a very soft hamburger bun). To put ketchup on a brat is nothing short of ridiculous. Commit these crimes and you might as well say, “Go Vikings!”

9. “Don’cha know”

Wisconsinites have a specific accent and tend to nasalize vowels. When you travel to other parts of the country, people can easily detect that you’re from Wisconsin due to your accent and other quirks, like saying, “Don’cha know” and “Oh, ya”.

10. You don’t understand why the University of Wisconsin isn’t in the Ivy League.

Only the smart kids in your high school got accepted to Madison while everyone else was stuck going to Milwaukee and Whitewater. Big things are expected from people who attend UW-Madison as it’s known for its difficult classes. There have even been petitions trying to place Madison in the Ivy League, and you agree that’s where it belongs.

Featured Blogger: Titania of Backpacks and Baby Grows

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9 Things an American Learns After Visiting Australia

Ameristralia? Please. After spending five weeks in Australia, I can definitely consider myself an expert (okay, not really) when it comes to the differences between the United States and Australia and how each has its perks and pitfalls in its own right.

1. “How are you going?”

When my cousin first asked me this, I wasn’t sure how to respond. I don’t know – I’m walking right now? After some confused stares, I realized this meant, “How are you doing?” This is a very popular country-wide phrase, I assume, as I heard it in Melbourne, Sydney, and Darwin.

2. Australia has beautiful wildlife.

When I first landed in Melbourne, I was astounded by the rainbow-colored rosellas and bright white cockatoos. They made American cardinals and blue-jays look like cuckoo-clock pieces. Australia has other famous wild animals, of course, such as koalas, kangaroos, and kookaburras, but the country is also loaded with wild emus, wombats, dingoes, buffalos, and the world’s happiest animal: the quokka. The main point that I took away from Australia’s wildlife is that these animals would only be found in the zoo in America.

3. Australia isn’t “welcoming”

Don’t take this the wrong way, Australia. I love you and you’re definitely welcoming. But why oh why doesn’t anybody ever say, “You’re welcome”? Any time I thanked a server, their first response was, “No worries.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that… well, I do find it a little annoying. Just say, “You’re welcome”, okay?

4. Americans say, “Excuse me” or “Pardon” a lot.

Another bone to pick with Australia: Why doesn’t anyone ever say, “Excuse me” or “Sorry” when bumping into another person? I can’t count the number of times I was in a crowd in Sydney and acknowledged an accidental bump without getting anything in return. You hurt me bad, Australia. You hurt me bad.

5. America is very… America.

Being in Australia made me think about how strange America is to the rest of the world. Most other countries aren’t obsessed with peanut butter (I mean, Americans add peanut butter to everything and consider it an improvement!) nor do they use dryers for their clothes. Thankfully Australia is mostly warm/ungodly hot and can use good old Mother Nature for all their clothe-drying needs. It amazed me how necessary it is to have a dryer in my life when the majority of people don’t even own one let alone use it. And can you get on it with the metric/Celsius systems, USA? Jeez.

6. Australia’s toilet water doesn’t spin.

I was all excited when I finally got the chance to see which way the water spins in Australian toilets. It’s a huge urban myth in America that its spins the opposite way. So I was completely surprised when the toilet water did the exact opposite of what I expected: it just seemed to shoot down very quickly. There was no spinning that I could detect – the hole just opened and down rushed the water. Talk about a let-down.

7. Australian shopping centers close at 5PM most days.

This just seemed crazy to me. What do you mean the Chadstone shopping center closes in ten minutes? Then it hit me: America doesn’t care about you spending time with your family. America wants to milk you for all you’re worth until 11PM every day.

8. Australians seem generally thinner than Americans.

Most people already know that America is full of… big-boned people. I guess I’m just so used to seeing such big and tall men and women that it was like a breath of fresh air to be around people who can actually fit into skinny jeans. Even the customers in Macca’s (McDonald’s) were pretty fit.

9. America is obsessed with its girlfriend Penny.

The coin with the lowest worth in Australia is 5 cents. When your payment is an amount that doesn’t end in a 5, the business either rounds the total up or down to the nearest $.05 – and everybody wins. If the penny were done away with in the US, there would be chaos. Utter chaos.

Looking at all the differences, I think America could learn a lot from Australia!