Seeking La Coruna Information

Well, it seems it´s for the seafood menu. Galicia is known all over Spain for the quality of its scallops, octopus, barnacles, razor clams, clams, mussels,..., very fresh and very well cooked, normally.

We did a day trip to La Coruna to see the Tower of Hercules. It was amazing, far more interesting than I expected. We did not go up the mountain you mentioned. The seafood in Galicia was amazing, esp the octopus.

Good luck with your trip planning.

Yes the seafood in Galicia is arguably the best quality in the world, pair with a nice local Albariño wine, and you will have a experience of a life time.

I have been watching youtube videos and am very excited about visiting La Coruna.

I had not even heard of La Coruna when i booked my cruise. That is one thing that I love about cruising. You get acquainted with places that you have never even heard of .

I love seafood but surely I can have a good seafood feast in La Coruna for much less than $299.00.

Is La Coruna in Basque Country. And what about Bilbao and Vigo? Are they all Basque Country

I am trying to learn the history of the countries that I will. be visiting soon. I recently watched a movie about :"Mad Julia" on Amazon Prime. I never heard about this queen until I watched the movie.

And now I am watching one about Jeanne D'Arc who I have heard about but I am taking a different interest in her story since I will be visiting London and France. (perhaps Rouen where Jeanne was burned at the stake)

La Coruna (A Coruna) is in Galicia, as is Vigo. You may notice that some of the locals speak Gallego, not Castillian Spanish. Gallego sounds (to me) somewhat like Portuguese. If you are a bit familiar with Spanish or another Romance language, you'll probably be able to figure out some of the signs.

Bilbao and San Sebastian are in the Basque Country. The Basque language is, well, different. The signs are incomprehensible to the rest of us.

Galicia and the Basque Country are both lovely regions--partly because of the amount of rain they get.

I love seafood but surely I can have a good seafood feast in La Coruna for much less than $299.00.

The only restaurant I can find that is located on San Pedro Mountain is the Michelin starred Arbore da Veira. But if it is this restaurant it seems strange not to have named it. If it is, it looks like your lunch will be extra special.

From west to east, the regions of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, Navarra, Aragon, and Catalonia make up Northern Spain.

Regarding history, Northern Spain used to be populated by a variety of independent Christian Kingdoms that sprang up during the middle ages' Reconquista. Which is why now these diverse regions, that can be traced back to these original Kingdoms, have their own culture, customs, and even languages.

This is a great documentary about the nature of this area: Spain's Green Northern Coastlines - Wild Spain - Full Nature Documentary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdifgEBizg0&ab_channel=Get.factual)

And this answers the question How Did Spain Become One Country? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xmLTdlTLTE)

Spain has 4 official languages: Spanish (that many of us call "castellano" or "castilian"), Catalan (in Catalonia), Galician (in Galicia, where A Coruña is located) and Basque (which is not related to any other language or language family in the world), spoken in both the Spanish and French Basque Country. Spain is very heterogeneous, very different from west to east, from north to south, in landscapes, climate, meals, accents, languages, customs,..., so do not expect to find the typical ideas about Spain in the northern area (quite rainy, very green and mountainous, no paella, no flamenco at all...)

Well, I am learning about Spain. I have never been to Spain and really know very little about its history. Or iis beauty. Or its culture. I booked this cruise because it begins in London and ends in Lisbon. But now I am finding out there is so much to discover about Spain. I am going to three ports in Spain.

I plan on eating a very good seafood meal in La Coruna. it is very easy to get off the ship and do your own thing but I get $50 towards shore excursions plus an additional 10% off. I want to use my amenities.

Right now, there are only 8 shore excursions offered by Norwegian and I am not real happy with any of them. So I am going to take a wait and see attitude. Hopefully NCL will drop some more.

Carlos, thank you for the links. I watch a lot of youtube videos and so I subscribed to them and do plan to watch them later.

And all others, I thank you for your input and advice and knowledge.

To be continued.

Carlos

Thank you for the YouTube links.

I watched both videos and I will need to rewatch "How did Spain Become One Country". I loved it but so many names and events were thoroughly unfamiliar. So interesting.

Hi bostonphil7, happy you liked those videos, I am very passionate about the history of my country, and love to share it with others! I can definitely understand how tedious it must be to keep up with all those different invasions/cultures/historical figures of Spain lol. Through your research you'll soon see that Spain (and Portugal) packs the historical, cultural, and ecological diversity of an entire continent in the single Iberian Peninsula.

Once you're done digesting the "How did Spain Become One Country" video I can also recommend this YouTube video: History of Spain: A brief history of Spain (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbf_PfkYp2Q)

I think it does a good job summarizing the vast history of Spain in a fun and visually engaging format, while not getting too "into the weeds".

And if your interest lies in the various languages of Spain here is a good video too (although very in-depth): The Languages of Spain (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOab-m7JXZI)

I gave History of Spain a first watch but plan to go back and watch again. Most of these names and events are new to me.

It is interesting that The Inquisition was never mentioned. Ferdinand and Isabella were and so was Columbus but not The Inquisition.

I first booked this cruise because it began in London and ended in Lisbon but now I am very excited about all the ports I am going to visit.

Thank you for helping to educate me.

It is interesting that The Inquisition was never mentioned. Ferdinand and Isabella were and so was Columbus but not The Inquisition.

I recall that video was more focused on the broad strokes of Spanish history from a geographical perspective.

Regarding the so called "Spanish Inquisition", you may be surprised to hear that it is probably more infamous outside of Spain than actually inside of Spain, mainly due to sensationalist historiography and media (The Pit and the Pendulum, Monty Python etc.) which often propagated centuries old anti-Spanish myths and black legends by rival northern European powers at the time. One need only to look at Hollywood and ask the question "Why do they make Spaniards always the bad guys?"

In reality Inquisitional Investigations in Spain rarely ended in execution, those accused were given a months notice before the trial, and evidence gained by torture was inadmissible. If you look up the statistics you will find that the 3 centuries of Spanish Inquisition ended being far less deadly than the shorter lived Italian Inquisition, Anglo-Germanic Witch Trials, and the French Revolution.

By modern standards of course the Spanish Inquisition was horrible, by the standards of the time it was fairly tame and lenient.

If you are more interested in the subject I can recommend some follow up academic literature:

Religious Dissent and Minorities: The Morisco Age by Mercedes García-Arenal

Toleration and Dissent in Sixteenth-Century Spain: The Alternative Tradition by Henry Kamen

The New Social History and the Spanish Inquisition by E. William Monter

Yes, the Spanish Inquisition was far more "just" and way less criminal than the German, Holland or French ones...but it´s always the black legend that pursues the Spaniards. Same with the "Spanish flu", which really originated in an army settlement in Kansas, and spread rapidly with the US soldiers that went to Europe. As most of Europe was in a deadly war (First World War), no country wanted to admit the huge amount of soldiers dying from the strong flu...and Spain was the only country that published the dead toll in Spanish newspapers (as Spain did not participate in WWI, there was nothing to lose and info flew freely), so everyone identified Spain with the flu...hence its name.

And what about Franco? You must have lived during his rule. Was it as bad as we Americans are led to believe?

I am curious how is Franco portrayed in the USA? Do many people know of him? Do they know Francoist Spain was a big ally of America during the Cold War?

Franco was before my time, but his legacy is still a very complicated one in Spain. You will get a variety of answers depending on who and where you ask that question in Spain, a good number of older folks still say "things were better under Franco" and such things. Best not to bring it up in your travels in Spain as it's still a thorny issue and many people don't like to talk about it publicly or with strangers.

If you are interested in the history of modern Spain, including the Francoist legacy, I can recommend the book The Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past by Giles Tremlett there is also an audio book version, though it is a bit dated by today's standards as the book is set circa 2004.

You probably are not aware that in Spain we had a civil war from 1936 to 1938, promoted by Franco and part of the military, who rose in arms against the legal government (the Republicans, which in Spain is not the right, but associated to the left). During this war Franco ordered the bombing of Gernika (aka Guernica), the symbolic town for Basques, a bombing carried our by the Luftwaffe and Italian planes. Many parts of Spain suffered the dictatorship of Franco...also true that many people supported him and his ways (associated with the Catholic church, strict morals, and a one and only country). Franco prohibited Basque language, ended with many Basque institutions, and everything was under a tight control. But again, for many Spaniards he was a necessary person, while for many others it was evil. Since then, Spain is a very divided country. In the US you mainly have two parties to vote for and they are the only ones that get representation. In Spain there are at least 10 parties represented, minorities get represented too.

I know of the Spanish Civil War but very little about it.

I only know that Franco was supposedly a dictator and that many suffered under him. That is according to the American view.

I am going to have to go to Prime and see if I can find any movies about The Spanish Flu, The Spanish Civil War and Franco.

My knowledge of Spain is lacking and I have to educate myself.

I will be very polite when on this cruise. I try to not bring up politics or religion but I am expecting that when on my cruise excursions, the guide will talk some about the past and present history of Spain.

Yes no worries with a professional guide, I'm sure they will be happy to share about Spain's history.

There are a number of good Spanish movies, if you would be interested in learning about our culture and history through cinema, though I'm not sure where to find them in the States, but I'd recommend:

Ocho Apellidos Vascos aka "Spanish Affair" (for Basque Country and Spanish regional differences)

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (for Madrid in the 80s)

Biutiful (for modern day Barcelona drama)

Mientras dure la guerra (for Salamanca and Spanish civil war)

23-F (Transition to democracy + 1981 Falangist coup attempt)

La Isla Mínima (Murder mystery in Andalucía's deep south during transition to democracy)

-

Also, if you are interested in Spanish television, we have good tv shows too, I'd suggest:

La Catedral del Mar (Barcelona during the middle ages)

Isabel (life and times of Isabella I of Castile)

Carlos, Rey Emperador (rise of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor)

El Ministerio del Tiempo (historical fiction about Ministry of Time of Spain, which deals with incidents caused by time travel in Spain's history)

Hope this helps :)