Last night before I turned off the mobile phone at midnight 1,000 people had died in Spain as a result of COVID-19. While I lay there waiting for sleep to do its thing, I could feel myself trying to physically distance myself from the virus by thinking of those living closer to the epicentre. In […]
Many of you will already know I don’t get out on the trainera much these days, but for the past year, I’ve been part of the team behind a new rowing fixture in Santander Bay called Navigatio. Inspired by the hugely successful Ocean to City race which attracts 650 competitors into Cork Harbour each year […]
When Brittany Ferries announced the sea connection between Cork and Santander back in Spring, I felt like I’d won the lottery. This elation made no sense as I already have a direct flight from Santander to Dublin but somehow this sea connection felt so much more significant. Keen to check it out, I boarded that […]
What can I say about Centro Botín? That it is every bit as good as I had hoped and even better? That I was rendered almost speechless after my visit? That I didn’t want to leave? That I am more enraptured by the beauty of great design than ever before? A Golden Ticket As you […]
In 14 days I get to explore inside Centro Botín for the first time so I thought I’d give one last look at the site beforehand and explain why this patch of land in Santander means so much me. Back in 2007, when I moved to this coastal city in Northern Spain, I described it to […]
It happened just before Christmas. El País published a full-length article about Renzo Piano’s Botín Centre in Santander. Around the same time, the Botín Centre was included in an article on the BBC website entitled Buildings to Look Out For in 2017. In a bid to head off the inevitable “Guggenheimification” of Santander, I jotted down “10 Reasons Why […]
Inspiration for my blogposts often comes from family and friends who comment or ask a question about a place in Santander and this one is no different. If you know me personally you know my knowledge of the city’s football team, Racing Santander (pronounced Ra-thing San-tan-der) is pretty basic. It’s taken me 24 years to attend a match […]
Gaudi is a name we associate with Catalonia but I’m still here in Cantabria – just under 50km from Santander to visit El Capricho de Gaudi in Comillas. This privately-held former holiday home designed by Gaudi is open to the public and welcomes 100,000 visitors every year. It celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2015 and […]
It’s been years since I smoked a Fortuna but the old Tabacalera building in Santander does hold a special place in my heart. It’s been one of my favourites since I first caught a glimpse of it rowing on the bay. When I realised it was designed by the same architect who did the petrol station (now a café) beside […]
Some words in Santander carry a burden of sadness about them and one of the saddest must be the word Machichaco. 600 people died and 2,000 were injured in Santander’s port in 1893 as a result of two explosions that went off on board a ship named ‘Cabo Machichaco’. Last Saturday, a number of associations including my rowing club, […]
My camera and I have spent the last month hanging around park benches in Santander looking suspicious. In addition to helping a woman into an ambulance and wondering why so many kids weren’t back in school when they should be, I did manage to survey the work since I last blogged about the Botin Centre one year […]
I’m back in Santander just over two weeks now. I was in Ireland presenting a paper at the Limerick Literary Festival in honour of Kate O’Brien. Over in Limerick My session was about the book ‘Farewell Spain’ written by the Limerick writer in 1937 and I focused much of my talk on her time in Santander which […]
This is my fifth Christmas in a row in Santander. As you’d expect, ‘Navidad’ is very different here in Spain and nowhere is that more evident than at the dinner table. Fish and fishing are an important part of Cantabrian life and for the next two weeks (Christmas lasts right up until January 6 when the Kings […]
Sometimes you only appreciate what you’ve got when you change your surroundings. A few weeks* ago, I went to Bilbao (just one hour away – no need to change time zones) and it was there I realised I should be careful what I wish for. It was a follow-on trip from my Foodies Tour of Santander when a group of […]
One of the joys of writing this blog is that I never know where it will take me. Three weeks ago, thanks to a post back in February, it brought me to a memorial for six Limerick men who died in the Spanish Civil War. Last weekend, I found myself standing in front of a group of 20 […]
There’s something special about great city parks in the Summer and this year I’ve been more than happy to explore the newly re-opened Pereda Gardens in Santander beside the Botin Centre. The space has been THE topic of discussion with everybody in the city and the subject of much commentary on social media locally. One month […]
If we’ve met in person over the past few months, I’ve probably told you about my trips out on the bay. And I’ve probably said that I’ve seen more of Santander in the past year than I have in the past two decades. Writing about the city is one of the reasons and rowing an […]
There are many reasons why I write about places in Santander. Sometimes it’s to find out a little more about a building that isn’t well known. Or to get a few paragraphs out there about a location or an architect that isn’t documented in English. This time it’s a bit different. I’m writing about the Magdalena Palace to develop a […]
I get my fair share of visits from friends and family – and really enjoy seeing the city of Santander through their eyes. In fact, most of these blogposts are inspired by questions or observations from my out-of-towners. When one such visitor told me that I’d missed a great Kate O’Brien (1897-1974) Literary Weekend last […]
It’s been a tough start to the year in Santander. Not only have the waves been beating the coastline and the wind howling non-stop but those of us who like to follow the progress of the Botin Centre have been trying to do our sums. Is A Project Overrun Likely? We’re combing the usual sources […]
This is the time most of us reflect on the past calendar year and I’m no exception. The big difference is this year I have hundreds of photos to jog my memory. It’s been an interesting year. I’ll remember it as the time when I started blogging, got interested in photography, bought a nice camera, […]
Parks are complex elements of any city. Not only do they provide recreational space, they also define the shape and feel of a city and its neighbourhoods. The most famous park in Santander, Magdalena Park, was a royal residence one hundred years ago. There’s no denying that the royal connection gives it caché and the […]
It’s been a while since I brought you on a walk around Santander. When I heard about a memorial to an English man who had died by the cliffside near the lighthouse I grabbed my camera and went in search of it. The walk is wild and rough and beautiful. And the story is one […]
One of my favourite places to spend some time and cash in Santander is the city’s main food market. For me, it’s a perfect blend of architecture, history, food & drink all rolled into one. It’s called Mercado de la Esperanza – meaning Market of Hope – and is located immediately behind the town hall in […]
If you know me – you know I am interested in the new Botín Centre by Renzo Piano in Santander. It’s been a few months since I blogged about it so I thought I’d show you some snaps of a model of the building and the actual work in progress. Not just one but two […]
I love the beaches, the art-deco buildings and the whole of Puertochico in Santander but until recently I’ve struggled to understand the city centre. Most of the mediaeval city was burned in the fire of 1941 and I never really liked what was put in its place and tended to avoid the area. This has […]
I’ve always been drawn to this building and this island. I was on the beach the other day combining the dangerous task of having a coffee and testing my shiny new camera (it’s a LUMIX GX1 for those of you that might be interested) when I set my sights on the island and was trigger […]
I’ve walked past these sculptures quite a bit recently – and the more I see them – the more I like them. They are ‘Los Raqueros’ – and the sculptures pay their respects to the city’s children that worked for a living. In Santander, the raqueros were children who scraped a living from the docks […]
Santander is one hilly city. If you are in town for a day or two you might not notice – but if you live in the city – chances are you have a serious hill or two to climb a few times a week. There are buses, tunnels and escalators to help residents avoid the […]
Almost every post to date has involved me walking down ‘Paseo de Pereda’ in Santander. It’s the best-known street of the city with spectacular views of the bay. Whilst the buildings themselves are impressive and interesting, I was even more struck by the doors and thought I’d bring them to you here. Numbers 1 – […]
Pamela Cahill 
Recent Comments