It’s December, which means that my exchange program ends soon. The exam season is near, but I want to spend as much time exploring Galicia as possible. There are many places I want to see, and this weekend I was able to visit Noia. My friend and I took a bus to an hour-away town we heard about from a lady working in a shop here in Santiago. The weather was perfectly Decembery, and Noia was so beautiful and peaceful.
It’s not a tourist destination, it felt like we were the only foreigners there, but we felt welcome. We spent the day walking the area. The bus station was close to Grúa, which is an old crane left from the marine engine factory. From that point, you have a nice view of Noia and the bridges Ponte de Noia and Puente a Testal. We walked over to the Bridge of Noia and sat there, enjoying the view. If you google that area now – the road from Grúa to that bridge – you’ll see an older version of the road. Now there’s a promenade, where we spent some time admiring the view and filming everything.
I could sit there all day, listening to seagulls, breathing in the chilly December air, and just taking it all in. Spending a day in Noia could pour nicely onto paper and into art.
The church of Saint Martin of Noia took our breath away. We were wandering the streets and ended up in front of it. It was closed, but the facade was beautiful, with many details to admire. We took some time appreciating the beauty and taking pictures. The church is near the Bridge of Noia, so we circled back on the promenade to enter the town again. Alameda de Noia was all Christmasy, with pretty lights, that invited families out for a walk. The vibe was perfect, cozy, peaceful, and bright. Noia is one of those towns you can read about in the book situating a cute story.
We wanted to visit some cute cafés, but I always forget about siesta, so just a little reminder if you’re in Spain: from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., most businesses are closed for a break! We did go to this Italian place called Mamma Mia, and, of course, we ordered pizza. It was delicious, but the interior design was real fun.
If we were to come back, we would visit Dominga. Here we only stopped by to grab some coffee because we didn’t have more time before the bus back to Santiago. We didn’t see it in time, which is sad because it smelled deliciously of coffee and different pastries. It’s more of a breakfast place, but even at 7 p.m., the fresh aroma coated us and made us warm. In Galicia, they usually give you a cookie or a piece of cake when you order coffee. We got an almond cake. One other place that looked nice and cozy was A Taberna De Lelo. We only saw it passing by – again, too late – but they have traditional Galician food, so it’s a place to have in mind when visiting Noia.
Before I go, guys, look at this!
Okay, thanks, bye!
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