Take our first stop, Pazo de Oca. Known as the Galician Versailles, it was once a palace owned by some lucky Galician family. I think the family still owns it, but now it's an attraction that reminded us of The Secret Garden. I'm extra glad we came this weekend in particular because all the trees were in spring bloom. If I had to describe it with one adjective I'd choose idyllic. It's better just to take a gander for yourself...
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| The hórreo was used to store corn, and is popular in Galicia, not all of Spain. |
After strolling the gardens, we returned to the curving country roads. We stopped on the way to get some sandwiches bigger than our faces. The restaurant was deserted, and when we said we wanted to sit outside to enjoy the sun, the woman went "WOWW". Odd. But as we were eating outside we realized how windy it was. In the end, we got full for less than 5 euros, so good decision.
Next stop, Castro de Viladonga, which is actually just 20 minutes outside of Lugo. A castro is a Celtic neighborhood, basically. Well, because they are obviously ruins they are 1-2 feet high stone walls of what used to be the Celtic village. This specific castro is surrounded by a terrain wall, which you have to wonder how they constructed. There is also a free museum which gives a history of the people who lived there based on artifacts they found. They estimate 300-350 folks lived in this specific community. Some of the glass pieces and jewelry seemed like they could be from the past century. Overall it was a neat stop. I liked to imagine that an enemy was spotted on the horizon and they were calling an assembly to prepare for battle, but that's just me.
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| Two housewives exchange gossip from their respective castros ;) |
Next stop, Las Médulas. But like this weekend, that'll be for another day.
