The Return; Sola in Ferrol

After a lengthy hiatus, I have returned to ¨the blog.¨ I can barely keep up with my personal journaling, let alone maintaining this. So many noteworthy things happening, and I don't feel like sitting around to write about them. I should note that this Christmas I went home for two weeks. It was a great time to see family and friends live and in person, since it had been a while.

Back in January shortly after my return to Galicia, I went to Ferrol. As one of Galicia's Seven cities, it had been on my to-see list for a while, although people warned me there wasn't much to see there. But it has the sea and a fortress, which was enough for me. While researching a day trip, it came to my attention that there was going to be a tribute to grunge in one of Ferrol's concert halls. Nirvana! Pearl Jam! Alice in Chains! Oh my! I asked around, but not even my grungiest friends were able/willing to travel over an hour for a concert. But being desperate for live music, and not having many options in good old Lugo, I decided to go anyways.

Ferrol City Hall

Friday afternoon I went in a rideshare with two women from Ferrol. They were amazed that I was going alone--not because it was a dangerous place, but because I was a foreigner and it seemed like a random destination. Their surprise only made me feel braver. If I could travel alone for a weekend in a foreign country, I could certainly go to a nearby city where I'm actually fluent in the language. By the time I arrived, it was already dark (blasted winter hours!). I had reserved a hotel room, knowing full well I would be incapable of going home de reenganche (staying out until the morning bus back to Lugo).

After checking in, I headed out in search of dinner. I wandered around for about half an hour, taking in all of my dining options. I banked on a deal in a nautical restaurant: 6€ for a white wine and 4 scallops. Delightful! But I still had time to spare and was a bit hungry so I went to O Lagar Sidrería. Now, in Lugo we are spoiled and get a pintxo and tapa with every drink. I wasn´t expecting as much in Ferrol. But in that cider house were the Best 2€ I've ever spent: I ordered myself a white wine. Soon arrived the tapa, a small bowl of fabada (Asturian white bean soup). A nice tapa, like at home. After the waitress took the plate away, she returned with another plate of boiled potatoes and 2 chunks of meat. For me?! A two course tapa! But that's not all, because lastly she brought a small plate of ham! All for me! Incredible. Lugo could learn something from this restaurant eh!

Statue of their Holy Week parade figure

Around midnight it was finally time for the concert. For some reason I expected a big concert hall, but it was just a bar not unlike my favorite haunts in Lugo, except with a nice-sized stage. It started with a guy covering Alice in Chains and STP, then a band playing Pearl Jam for a long time, and finally Nirvana. Of course they saved the best for last! But that meant the set was quite short and they sped up the rhythms. It was a fun time regardless.

The next morning I did some strolling. I saw part of the port, but didn´t actually glimpse the sea. There was a bus at 11, so I decided to take it rather than staying for the day. Thus I missed some of the sites I had hoped to see, but I guess it'll be for another day...