The Galician coastal town of Noia.Written by Martin Lambert
The holiday town of Noia is located at foot of Muros bay in region of Galicia, just above Portugal, in Northern Spain. It is some 35 km from historic city of Santiago de Compostela and lies adjacent to coastal region of Porto do Son, popular with Spanish holiday makers.Noia started life as a fishing village, but now has a population in excess of 16 000 with many of its inhabitants working in Santiago. During spring and summer months Noia becomes a thriving holiday town, primarily catering for Spaniards wishing to escape heat of Costa’s. In August alone, some eight million Spaniards travel north from cities like Madrid and Barcelona to more temperate climate of Galicia with its green scenery and spectacular beaches. Over recent years foreign visitors have started to frequent Galicia, exploring its scenic countryside and visiting cities like Santiago de Compostela and Galicia’s other towns and villages.
| | A Stay At Old San Juan In Puerto RicoWritten by Clint Leung
One of most used departure ports for cruise ships in Caribbean is San Juan in Puerto Rico. We decided to arrive a day early to San Juan in order to see some sights before our cruise ship departure. San Juan, known as 'La Ciudad Amurallada' (the walled city), was founded in 1521 and is oldest city under US flag. During 16th century, Spanish used it as a point of departure for expeditions to New World. Fortifications in Old San Juan section of city repulsed numerous attacks from English and Dutch during those years. Today, Old San Juan is a charming seven square block commercial and residential area with cobblestone streets.The cruise ship terminal is actually located near south side of Old San Juan so instead of booking a hotel in beach resort area of San Juan, we decided to book one right in old section for close proximity to terminal as well as local sights. The $17 US taxi ride from San Juan's airport to Old San Juan was about half an hour. During ride, I was impressed by how developed city was compared to many other cities I've visited in Caribbean. The beach high-rise hotels along north side of San Juan were visible from highway. Our stay for night was at Hotel Milano which is right on Calle Fortaleza, which is one of major commercial streets in Old San Juan. The hotel was clean and comfortable but not luxurious which was okay with us as price was very affordable. Its quality was probably comparable to a Travelodge or Days Inn. A very pleasant surprise was free continental breakfast at hotel's rooftop restaurant. It gave a nice view of neighborhood from top. We spent day and evening walking many cobblestone streets and alleys in area. There are over 400 restored colonial buildings from 16th and 17th century here. There were also several plaza squares and parks. One of nicest services offered in Old San Juan is a free shuttle bus which covers two different routes through district. There was a bus stop about 1/2 block away from our hotel which was very convenient. Riding on shuttle buses through both routes gave us a
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