Category Biographical
Brittany Ferries Cork to Santander – so much more than just a ferry!
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 […]
The Wait is Almost Over – Santander’s Centro Botín by Renzo Piano
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 […]
Talking about Talking about Kate O’Brien
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 […]
The Fish Market of all Fish Markets – Santander’s Lonja in Northern Spain
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 […]
A Walking Tour of Santander’s Gastronomy
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 […]
Rowing Traineras in Santander Bay
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 […]
A Palace Revisited – Santander’s Palacio de la Magdalena
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 […]
Santander’s Cliffside Pantheon – El Panteón del Inglés
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 […]
Urban Spain and why I love living in Santander
So what’s it like – Santander? You’ve been there for a while. What’s it got going for itself? It’s hard to describe why I would choose to live on the seventh floor of a 1960s apartment block in a city of 180,000 people with my three small kids. But all it takes is a visit […]
Wherefores
“THERE IS no fool like an old fool. Vanity grows with the years. So do eyeteeth, toenails and warts. But these do not obtrude themselves on others or lead their owners into indiscretions. Vanity does both.” That was my great-grandfather, Joseph O’Connor, aged 75, in 1952 in the opening paragraph of his biography called ‘Hostage to […]
At this precise moment, I am…
My first post. It’s 19th March – Father’s day in Spain or ‘El Dia de San Jose’ in my part of the world – Santander, Spain. Best wishes to fathers and Jose’s everywhere – especially all the Jose’s in my life and those who sadly have passed away. It feels like a big moment – […]
Pamela Cahill 
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