Avenida da Mariña
I have a suspicion I will be spending a lot of time in this area of A Coruña–something draws me to this spot: maybe it’s the unique architecture, maybe it’s the sprawling walkways, or maybe it’s the waterfront with ever-changing vistas … I don’t really know but I really like it. I decided to take advantage of another sunny day to spend a little leisure time in the large Jardínes de Méndez Núñez, with its many benches surrounded by sculptures and well-maintained gardens. This area is also home to an art gallery I had noticed earlier and made a note to visit eventually. I guess eventually was today.
Quiosco (Kiosco) Afonso gallery is located in a modern-ish building alongside the main promenade. It isn’t a large gallery but it was free to enter, and, as always, this was enough for me. The artist on exhibit this time around was Soledad Penalta, a local (Galician) artist who specializes in sculpture and ceramics. Unfortunately, I was followed quite closely by a stern-looking man who had the look of someone I wouldn’t want to cross paths with so there are no pictures of any of the pieces, I am truly sorry but there is only so far I am willing to go to provide cultural material for the likes of you (I love you all 🙃).
After the gallery, I spent quite a bit of time just sitting around in the park reading my book and watching people walking by. The number of tourists is certainly increasing all throughout Spain, but not many make it as far north and west so the majority of people I was watching were locals: parents and grandparents walking their little ones, old couples hand-in-hand (my favourites) enjoying a quiet stroll in the sun, and workers from the nearby businesses stealing a bit of free time to rest and eat a lunch or snack in the shade of the palm trees. It really was a very pleasant way to spend my time.
On the way back I, once again, tried a different narrow street that leads through the isthmus to the peninsula where Fely’s house is. This whole area is so full of interesting spots it will take me a while to discover them all. One I did spend quite a bit of time in was a ceramics shop, Sargadelos, where I found so many beautiful dishes I swore to myself I will, one day, order a whole set to grace my future dining room table. And tableware wasn’t the only thing that caught my eye: some decorative pieces had me fawning and snapping pictures like crazy, especially since there wasn’t anyone here to stop me.
