Recommended Reading
Asturias Adventures – Trekking Through the Pandemic – The GR-109 A summer of Covid bliss. 2020
NY TIMES – April of 2013
International Travel News Feb. 2008 “Northern Spain’s Celtic roots” Peg O’Brien, the Celtic Bard raves about Spanish Steps
L.A.Times “TRAVEL” Nov 11, 2001 Our Readers Recommend : SPAIN by Bob Lennan,Cambria Spanish Steps Adventure Walking Tours. “Wonderful two-week hiking-and-van tour of the Camino de Santiago, from the village of Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela. We hiked more than 100-miles of the more than 450-mile route. Guide Judy Colaneri was very organized and had a great personality. First-class lodging, excellent food.”
San Francisco Chronicle Magazine Mar 16, 2003 “PILGRIMS PROGRESS” (page 11-14) By author and pilgrim, Catherine Watson, about her journey along the pilgrims’ road in Spain known as the Camino de Santiago with Spanish Steps.
The Robb Report. Feb 2004 Look for Glen Craney’s article about his experience with Spanish Steps along the Camino de Santiago.
El Pais: Peregrinos de Lujo – May 10, 2010 Ruta de alojamientos para hacer un Camino de Santiago de cinco estrellas. site
Things to do and see in Santiago de Compostela
SPAIN
The Santiago Cathedral and Museums For breathtaking views of Santiago de Compostela, climb the narrow staircase of the cathedral and enjoy the birds-eye view of Santiago. The entrance and ticket office for this adventure is located in the Pazo de Xelmírez, to the left of the main staircase on the main plaza of Santiago.
Museo de Peregrinos. This small but fascinating Museo de Peregrinos is dedicated to the thousand years of history that precedes the famous pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. mdperegrinacions.com
Cathedral Museum also located on the main plaza in Santiago,housed in the lovely 16th-century Cathedral cloisters, the Cathedral Museum holds relics of the long history of Santiago de Compostela, as well as the Archive and Library. The Cathedral treasures stored here, include the botafumeiro (giant incense burner), when it is not being used for the mass. The archaeological section includes fragments of the original Romanesque Cathedral structure, while the tapestry galleries have splendid French and Spanish hangings.
Galego de Arte Contemporánea
ASTURIAS
Hotel Fuentes de Lucia Enjoy the quiet side of Spain in the beautiful mountains of Asturias. This hotel was designed and built by the owners of Spanish Steps. Come stay with us or participate in one of the workshops we host here.
Suggested Reading
SPAIN
A Million Steps by Kurt Koontz
The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: A Cultural Handbook by Gitlitz and Davidson
Following the Milky Way by Elyn Aviva
The Age of Pilgrimage by Jonathan Sumption
The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho
Iberia by James Michener
The Road to Santiago by Walter Starkie
El Camino: Walking to Santiago de Compostela by Lee Hoinachi
The Artist’s Journey by Maria Shaver
FRANCE
The Fire and the Light: A tale of the Cathars and the lost teachings of Christ. An epic novel of crusading fanaticism, courtly romance, and esoteric mystery set during the infamous Albigensian Crusade. Readers with a passion for well researched historical fiction will enjoy this book. For more information on The Fire and the Light and the Cathars, watch his book trailer at glencraney.com Order directly from
Glen at this same website.
The Yellow Cross: The Story of the Last Cathars (1290 – 1329) René Weis. Set in the 13th century, a group of heretics in southwest France, the Cathars, became a serious threat to the Catholic church. During this time, thousands of Cathars were killed. Yet so ardent was their faith that, early in the next century, the Cathars rose one last time. One of the most vividly documented fragments of medieval life concerning the late Cathar community in south-west France.
The Albigensian Crusade Jonathan Sumption The book explains the chain of events since the advent of the Cathars into Southern France to the creation of the Inquisition and the annexation of Toulouse into the French crown.
France on Foot Bruce LeFavour A handsome and terrifically useful guide for anyone
considering seeing France on foot. France has 110,000 miles of well-maintained walking paths that cross both public and private lands and a detailed system of walking maps for navigating them.
Little Saint by Hannah Green *Set in Conques and along the ancient Chemin de Saint Jacques in southern France. Hannah Green and her artist husband Jack were drawn to Conques, in south-central France, when they heard about the route of Notre Dame du Puy, one of the four pilgrimage routes that cross France to Santiago de Compostella. In the valley is the Plô, the healing spring praised in the twelfth century ‘Guide for the Pilgrim to Saint James of Compostelle’, and the village of Conques, housing the relics of a 12-year-old-girl who was martyred for her faith in the year 303. Travel with Hannah and Jack as they walk from Le Puy en Velay to Conques, where they lived for several years.
The Good Life France articles about Spanish Steps in the Cathar region, on The Chemin de St Jacques and the Chartres Laybrinth.