Galicia Day

Destination Galicia decided to spend the 25th July in Santiago de Compostela. This is a special date for Galicia, it's the official day celebrating Galicia, a day when Galicia and its culture are celebrated.

The main party takes place in Santiago as it's the capital of Galicia, the party goes on for a whole week. The weather this year was not great but the streets of Santiago were still full of locals and tourists from Spain and abroad, everyone taking in the special atmosphere, the mix of tradition and modernity. The big party started at 12am on the 25th when a huge fireworks/visual display takes place in front of the Cathedral, the display was incredible and 20.000 people filled the Obradoiro Square, this is considered one of the best fireworks display in all of Spain.

After the dazzling display, a short walk to the Franco full of tapas bars, time for a plate of Galician octopus, green peppers and a bottle of the local white wine, Albariño. The party then continued in the Quintana Square where the famous Galician folk band Milladoiro was about to play. The square was full of people, the setting was magical with the Cathedral as a backdrop and the beautiful celtic folk music of Milladoiro. After two hours of music and dancing the party continued around the cobbled streets of Santiago where there are many traditional bars and modern fashionable clubs. Around 6 am the party ended for me, it had been a long day of work and partying. Headed for the hotel to replenish the batteries for other fiestas. Summer is a long fiesta in Galicia.

Little Green Peppers

Galicia is a land that produces many culinary delights, one of these are the "Pimientos de Padron" or Peppers of Padron. These are small green peppers, or chilies, grown in the area of Padron which is near Santiago. It is a variety of chili brought back to Padron by franciscan monks who were placed in Mexico in the 16th century. These peppers soon started growing and probably due to the mild climate of Galicia they took on a more aromatic and subtle flavour, and also smaller in size.

These peppers are in season and can be found in any restaurant or bar, they are usually fried in olive oil and then seasoned with coarse sea salt. They are served either as a tapa or part of a main dish, and the small tail is left to allow it to be handled.

They are perfectly accompanied with an ice cold beer or local white wine, but careful there is always one pepper that can be hot, making the experience more fun. As we say in Galicia about these peppers: "Os pementos de Padron, uns pican e outros non" (The peppers of Padron, some are hot and others not)