Following this we headed to the impressive
Plaza de Maria Pita, named after the 16th Century woman who warned of Francis Drake’s invasion. We found a bar with an interesting offer – the tequeño, which turned out to be a fried dough stick stuffed with cheese (Venezuelan in origin, I believe).
We were delighted to finally see the iconic galleried buildings on the seafront that A Coruña is so well known for. These were once fishermens houses as they provided interrupted views of the sea and Brian likened their appearance to that of a Viennetta ice cream- which sounds a bit out there, but I knew what he meant!
Lunch was fast becoming a pressing issue for us and we opted for a leisurely, and perfectly good “menu del dia” at A Portela in the shady Rùa Franja.
Later, we headed down the hill on the other side of our neighbourhood to catch the sunset at the famous
Torre de Hercules lighthouse. This Romanesque beauty is apparently the oldest, still functioning lighthouse! We ambled around the beautiful sculpture park with some impressive pieces, perched like sentinels, staring out to sea.
We spent a relaxing evening dotting about the local bars of this regular neighbourhood, Montealto. Our favourites included
O Polvorino and
Cafe La Luna, where I have to say we met the friendliest and most helpful people. We got the feeling that tourists might be a bit of a novelty here and the welcome we received everywhere was so lovely. The chap at O Polvorino, sent us to La Luna as his bread delivery had not arrived. In turn, the chap at La Luna set about knocking us up a couple of fish/cheese based tapas, all off menu.
On the next day, our final one, the weather was less kind to us, but nevertheless after a coffee and a croissant requiring a knife and fork at O Polvorino (note to self – we must return here one day for their vermouth/music sessions!) we headed to the municipal market in Plaza de Lugo.
This was an impressive operation with different floors for meat, fish and vegetables. We noted the deliveries being packed and the refrigerated bike set up outside to take the goods to peoples homes. Just outside the market, we also saw a great Ecotienda vending machine, selling eco friendly products 24/7 and mused on where we could put one in our town centre…
Lunchwise, I followed my nose back to a small place we had passed on the walk in. I can’t say particularly why Bar Amsterdam appealed to me, but it did! Our curiosity paid off – we were far from disappointed, with the food, the vintage decor and the hosting. Here we had one of the best menu del dias on our trip.
With a simple but excellent cucumber salad (just delicious with smoked paprika and parmesan) and super fresh grilled mackerel with the best garlic chips. The guy who owned the place, was so generous that he brought us more mackerel and it was so good, we couldn’t refuse!
No Comments