Some nice little design bits I picked up along the road.
PECADOS is a sweet shop in Santiago de Compostela. The walls of the shop were lined with boxes of coloured sugar and cakes made from marshmallow and fizzy jellies sat on tables down the center. I felt like I had won a ticket to Willy Wonka’s. The rainbow branding, which really caught the eye among the shop fronts of stone, ran through the whole shop even as far as the little cups which were used instead of plastic bags. I loved the design so much I had to take a few pictures and post them up.
The sweets were nice too though!!
The colouring pencils I thought were a nice little touch from Renfe, which is the Spanish train system. I love the way the picture was printed across all the pencils and I have to look into prices for getting this done here, it’s a really nice effect. It also is a nice little idea for parents and kids to stop boredom on train journeys. I have them sitting on the shelf here though, the poor pencils are probably dying for a work out, a bit of colouring in to sooth the soul but they are too nice to use I think!!
Camino Scallop ShellAnother version of the shellThe beginning of the walk in my beautiful new trail runners!My Camino Passport complete with Shell Stamps!Colourful Shells and Pilgrims
So I am back and blogging again… where was I…well partly work, partly travel brought me to the shores of Spain and a little around Europe. I began my mini adventure in Santiago de Compostela and undertook 110km of the pilgrimage walk, I was a puppy snapping at the heels of walkers with more than 400k under their belts. I hadn’t researched this walk at all, I knew I wanted to do it but research would have taken the adventure out of my adventure, Indiana Jones surely never researched. So I set off for the city of Lugo with no clue of how to find my way back…
They appeared like a beacon on a misty Spanish morning, a yellow signal amongst the grey. I thought it was a once off but these yellow shells just kept going and without question I followed them across the north of Spain. Sometimes the shells turned to spray painted yellow arrows and at the beginning I wasn’t sure if I could trust the imposters, were they leading me down a path the shells wouldn’t follow, after a while I was won over and I eagle eyed the stone walls and back roads for my little yellow friends. I was hooked, needed my milage fix and found myself in a panic if one didn’t appear but like rain on an Irish day they didn’t let me down and lead me the whole way to Santiago where I sat with other weary pilgrims on the Cathedral steps and rubbed my weary feet happy.
My designer head sat on my shoulders quiet a bit as I walked the route, what a brilliant signage system I thought. I haven’t ever seen anything so effective. Each pilgrim I met swore by and at the signs depending on their humor. The symbol (as you can see above) is simple, it comes from a mythical tale relating to the arrival of St Jame’ bones on a ship to Spain. The story tells how a bridegroom was riding to his wedding on a horse as the ship pulled in. Spooked, the horse jumped with rider on board into the sea and was thought by all to be lost. Miraculously (with a little help from St James) both emerged from the sea unharmed and covered in scallop shells, famous in that part of Galicia. The bridegroom rode off into the sunset forgetting his fiance, must have been second thoughts! The shell also works two fold, the grooves on its surface represent the many routes of the pilgrimage which all meet in Santiago. The yellow colour is very effective for view finding and it means the shells and arrows are easy to spot.
Have a look at some of the images above and see what you think yourself…
