Subject: Re: Spain Trip
Hi David,

You have quite a trip planned. If I am not wrong, I suspect that your Ezcaray stay has something to do with tasting the Echaurren cuisine (if I am wrong, put it in the list). http://www.ezcaray.org/ http://www.echaurren.com/

The Costa Vella has been mentioned a few times, it seems that it is getting popular. I am sure you have plenty of recs for Santiago. A place I like, because it is simple and not fussy at all, is Casa Camilo in Raiņa, 24. Just opposite from it you can find El Gato Negro (good tapas). My sister likes a lot El Asesino, near the History School, mostly because itīs supposedly the oldest restaurant in Santiago and Valle-Inclan and Castelao used to eat there. Itīs kind of typical (or enxebre, as the galician people say ...). O Dezaseis can also be good fun, hearty cooking (quite different of Toņi Vicente and Casa Marcelo, the usual suspects).

As you like cheeses, check out the San Simon and the tetilla. The San Simon must be eaten beginning from the top, in round cuts, the tetilla should be eaten in wedges. I am afraid that it I was going with you, I would be able to bring you to a most wonderful tiny cheese shop, not far away from the Rua do Franco, but alas, I donīt remember the name of the street. You should go to the market and do a bit of shopping. One of the best tetilla cheese is the one from Bama brand. http://www.guiamiguelin.com/quesos/tetilla.html

In the northern coast I wouldnīt miss places like Viveiro (good chocolate) or Cedeira. The Estaca de Bares landscape is also very impressive http://www.puertos.es/externo/clima/Rayo/baresdes.html and another not-missable place is San Andres de Teixido ( vai de morto o que no vai de vivo - if you didnīt go there while alive, you will go once youīre dead ...), near Cedeira, in the Sierra de la Capelada. But bear into mind that the drive can be nerve racking. The cliffs there are some of the highest in Europe. http://www.viajar.com/reportajes/$f=208886 Cariņo, not so far away, is also a good place. The Playa das Catedrais ( Cathedral Beach), in Lugo province, if you catch it during the low tide, can be breathtaking. I will just mention Mondoņedo and Villalba , in case you want to check the inland (the area around Villalba is called the Terra Cha, the plains, good veal and good cheeses ...)

The place near Gijon you mentions could be Cudillero (great white beans with clams). If not, put it into the list. Other places to visit in the asturian coast are Tapia de Casariego, Candas, Ribadesella (I know itīs well-known, but I like it). I spent some summers when I was a kid in the area between San Esteban, Piedras Blancas and Salinas, not far away from Avilés, and it was a great place.

It's funny, the more I think, the more names come to mind :) http://www.infoasturias.com http://www.turgalicia.com

You are right about buying the cheese in Sotres. Most of the people buy it either in Cangas de Onís or in Arenas de Cabrales, and although you can find good ones, itīs easier to get stuck with a very sanitized version of it :))

Bye, Covadonga Bilbao, Madrid - Spain