Requiem's pipe journal

06-15-2009, 07:35 PM

Trip to Galicia (part 1)

Me and the wife were really needing to take a few days off of routine and relax. The Spanish border is just 3 hours away from our hometown, and to A Coruña it´s another 2 hours. Having only 5 days to spend, it seemed like a perfect destination, plus... I could grab myself some baccy!

I already knew what pipe tobaccos were available in Spain (including Dunhill's) and where to buy them. Even so, I decided not to take any risk and packed a tin each of Squadron Leader, Black Mallory and Best Brown Flake, along with my four favorite pipes (3 dedicated to english blends, 1 to VA's).
The tobacco store I was looking for is located right on the border, in a town named Tui. Great place for cigar smokers (I guess) and very fine for pipers. There were available all the tobaccos from Peterson, most of MacBaren, and some Dunhill's (EMP, MM 965, Standard Mixture Medium, Standard Mixture Mild, and Aromatic). Royal Yacht was sold out, while Nightcap and Navy Rolls aren´t sold in Spain, I think. Some other brands like Capstan, W.O. Larsen and most of the stuff that comes in pouches were also for sold. Samuel Gawith's tobaccos were not sold at the shop, although the owner told me they are getting them in a few weeks. The shop was crowded, almost exclusively with portuguese people looking to buy their stuff for cheap.

I ended up getting 5 tins of Early Morning Pipe, 5 of Standard Mixture, 1 Sherlock Holmes, 1 Capstan Mild Navy Cut Flakes, and 1 Paul Olsen MOB Balkan (100g.). In Portugal I wouldn´t be able to get any of it except for the Sherlock Holmes (which would cost me €22), while buying it all online (from Germany or Denmark) would cost around €140 to €150 plus shipping... total cost at Spain... €77.
Thanks to a spaniard friend, who send me some samples, I passed without buying My Mixture 965, as I didn´t like it very much... I'm not a big fan of cavendish in english blends.

at Riazor beach

Happy with my score, we headed towards A Coruña where we would stay at Hotel Riazor, very well located between Riazor Beach and the old town center, 10 minutes walk away from every touristic point.
A Coruña is much more cosmopolit then what I was expecting and it was a little hard to step out of the city's rythm and relax... 4 to 5 bowls a day did help, though. I always carried 2 pipes everywhere, and was very happy to almost smoke no cigs... just a few before breakfast and a few more while in the hotel room, before sleep.

at Plaza de Maria Pita

to be continued ...

06-15-2009, 07:35 PM	#1
Requiem Guest Posts: n/a	Requiem's pipe journal Trip to Galicia (part 1) Me and the wife were really needing to take a few days off of routine and relax. The Spanish border is just 3 hours away from our hometown, and to A Coruña it´s another 2 hours. Having only 5 days to spend, it seemed like a perfect destination, plus... I could grab myself some baccy! I already knew what pipe tobaccos were available in Spain (including Dunhill's) and where to buy them. Even so, I decided not to take any risk and packed a tin each of Squadron Leader, Black Mallory and Best Brown Flake, along with my four favorite pipes (3 dedicated to english blends, 1 to VA's). The tobacco store I was looking for is located right on the border, in a town named Tui. Great place for cigar smokers (I guess) and very fine for pipers. There were available all the tobaccos from Peterson, most of MacBaren, and some Dunhill's (EMP, MM 965, Standard Mixture Medium, Standard Mixture Mild, and Aromatic). Royal Yacht was sold out, while Nightcap and Navy Rolls aren´t sold in Spain, I think. Some other brands like Capstan, W.O. Larsen and most of the stuff that comes in pouches were also for sold. Samuel Gawith's tobaccos were not sold at the shop, although the owner told me they are getting them in a few weeks. The shop was crowded, almost exclusively with portuguese people looking to buy their stuff for cheap. I ended up getting 5 tins of Early Morning Pipe, 5 of Standard Mixture, 1 Sherlock Holmes, 1 Capstan Mild Navy Cut Flakes, and 1 Paul Olsen MOB Balkan (100g.). In Portugal I wouldn´t be able to get any of it except for the Sherlock Holmes (which would cost me €22), while buying it all online (from Germany or Denmark) would cost around €140 to €150 plus shipping... total cost at Spain... €77. Thanks to a spaniard friend, who send me some samples, I passed without buying My Mixture 965, as I didn´t like it very much... I'm not a big fan of cavendish in english blends. at Riazor beach Happy with my score, we headed towards A Coruña where we would stay at Hotel Riazor, very well located between Riazor Beach and the old town center, 10 minutes walk away from every touristic point. A Coruña is much more cosmopolit then what I was expecting and it was a little hard to step out of the city's rythm and relax... 4 to 5 bowls a day did help, though. I always carried 2 pipes everywhere, and was very happy to almost smoke no cigs... just a few before breakfast and a few more while in the hotel room, before sleep. at Plaza de Maria Pita to be continued ...