SPAIN: ART, CASTLES,
CATHEDRALS, EL CID, AND PILGRIMS
October 18-28, 2012
Maria, Steve, Anna, Kate, Bill, and Jean
Bill and I paid our first visit to Spain in May of 2006 with Insight Tours, followed by a few days in Benicassim with the Axelrod/Fuerch family. It was a fantastic trip and left us with a desire to see more. The opportunity came in October of 2012, when Steve and Maria invited us to accompany them on their family trip during the fall school break for Anna and Kate.
Instead of riding in a big bus and going only where big buses
can go, we traveled in a rented Citroen Jumpy, expertly driven by Steve on
complex motorways, down muddy byways, and through narrow streets. We seldom saw
a big bus, and on many occasions wondered if we’d make it in the Jumpy. We were
very proud of Steve as he returned it to Europcar without so much as a tiny
scratch—dirty, but unscathed.
The Jumpy |
As on our previous trip, we enjoyed watching for “Mr. Osborne”
along the motorways and attempting to take his picture from the window of a
speeding vehicle. We’re told that the Osborne sherry company erected about 200
of these bulls as advertising billboards. The bulls were to be removed after a
law was passed in 1994 prohibiting roadside advertising. After a public hue and
cry to save them, 91 were painted solid black with no advertising text and
spared. They have now become quite a national symbol of Spain.
Mr. Osborne |
Wherever we are, we attempt to enjoy regional cuisine.
However, this generally becomes an opportunity to see just how culturally narrow
I am when it comes to eating meat. Even though I buy local, humanely raised
meat at home, it still comes packaged neatly from the butcher and it doesn’t
stare back at me from the plate. So I stayed pretty much in my comfort zone when
it came to eating. The four-star Hotel Preciados in Madrid provided a breakfast
that could last all day. I think this hotel provided more variety in fruits,
vegetables, cheeses, meats, eggs, pastries, and breads than I have ever seen on
a breakfast buffet. Of course, there was unlimited access to freshly-squeezed
orange juice and great coffee as well. Our two- and three-star hotels offered
more basic fare, but we always had a breakfast sufficient to start the day. For
lunch we often ate Tapas, which are small snacks. Favorite dinner mainstays for
me were hake, a mild, flaky white fish; and paella. I also enjoyed grilled
vegetables, salads, and the ubiquitous French fries that seem to appear in
every country.
Paella in Santiago de Compostela |
Our hotels ranged from four-star chains in Madrid (Hotel Preciados
Madrid) and Burgos (Abba Hotel Burgos, which had a swimming pool and tennis to
give Anna and Kate a break from museums and cathedrals) to small, simple two- and three-star boutique
family operations in Segovia (La Casa Mudejar Hotel and Sephardic Restaurant),
Salamanca (Hotel Placentinos), and Santiago de Compostela (Hotel Entrecercas). All of the hotels were near the old city
centers, allowing us to walk to many places we wanted to see.
We set out with
some specific objectives in mind. These are indicated by the words in bold type.
We wanted to
visit castles. Bill has been “collecting” and studying castles for
years and Steve has taken up that hobby as well. We saw several types.
I still
remember watching El Cid with Charlton Heston and
Sophia Loren in our VW bug at the Drive-In fifty years ago. I loved that movie.
So I was ready to jump right into the plan for visiting the sites and legends
of The Cid, Rodrigo DÃaz de Vivar (1043 –
1099). Bill and I watched the movie again before we left home. I cried at the
end. Again.
On our 2006
trip to Spain, as well as on visits to France, we heard about the pilgrimage to
Santiago de Compostela, which pilgrims have followed for over
a thousand years. Tradition has it that the remains of St. James are buried
there. Before the trip I watched The Way, a 2010 film that was a collaboration
between Martin Sheen and his son Emilio Estevez. This was a good
preview for our stay in Santiago de Compostela.
While we had
been on an excellent guided tour of the Prado during our Insight visit to
Madrid, we were eager to go again. We also visited the nearby
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which was featuring a traveling exhibit, Gauguin
and the Voyage to the Exotic, in addition to its own large collection of 13th to
20th Century masterpieces. Madrid has an amazing amount of
really great art!
I have no words
for the feeling of awe and reverence I experience when entering great cathedrals, many
of which were built over a thousand years ago. This trip provided opportunities
in all the cities in which we stayed: Madrid, Burgos, Segovia, Salamanca, and
Santiago de Compostela.
We had visited
Salamanca on our Insight tour, but it was fun to return and see how much we
remembered of this center of learning. The University of
Salamanca was founded in 1134 and given the
Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. According to
Wikipedia, it is the oldest founded university in Spain and the third
oldest European university in continuous operation.
It
seems that on every European trip we encounter evidence of the Roman
Empire and this was no exception.
MADRID
The 18th Century Royal Palace had several predecessors on
this site
|
Madrid’s Opera Plaza
Market in the Plaza de San Miguel
|
Inside the Market in the Plaza de San Miguel
|
Plaza Mayor, a hub of activity in Madrid
|
Flamenco Show in Madrid |
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
|
The Prado |
Penafiel Castle--Long and Narrow Like a Ship |
View of Penafiel Castle from its Tower
|
Stork Nests on a Bell Tower
We saw many of these
nests, but no storks.
|
Monument to El Cid in Vivar, his birthplace
|
A Street in Vivar
|
|
Burgos Cathedral Altar |
Sword in Museo de Burgos, believed to be El
Cid’s “Tizona”
|
Avenue of Plane Trees in Burgos |
Santa Maria Gate in Burgos |
SEGOVIA
Casa Mudejar Hotel and Sephardic Restauran
|
The Alcazar in Segovia |
Ferdinand and Isabella Sat Here! |
The Kings and Queens of Castile Crown this Room |
Ferdinand (Center) and Isabella (Right) |
A Painting of El Cid in the Alcazar of Segovia |
Window in the Segovia Alcazar showing Moorish Architectural Influence |
Bartizan and Wall Decoration are also Moorish architectural styles |
Segovia Cathedral |
Segovia Cathedral Choir
The four copies of
the book in the center provide music for the monks.
|
Close-up of Choir Music |
Roman Aquaduct in Segovia |
SALAMANCA
The great University of Salamanca dominates this city of golden architecture. Its 30,000 students give the city a vibrant, energetic atmosphere. In 1929 the university added a Spanish Language and Cultural Studies program in which 3,500 foreign faculty and students currently participate.
Anaya Plaza, part of the University of Salamanca
|
Fr. Luis de Leon at Salamanca University
Father
Luis was a teacher at Salamanca University who was imprisoned from 1572-1576 on
charges under the inquisition. His major offenses were translating the Song of
Solomon into Spanish and criticizing some text in the Vulgate Bible. He is said
to have begun his first lecture after being released from four years in prison with, “As we
were saying yesterday...”
Salamanca has a New Cathedral and an Old Cathedral, which are next to each other.
The New Cathedral is on the left, with a bit of the Old on the right.
I couldn't get far enough away to take a picture of the Old Cathedral.
This image is thanks to Wikipedia.
|
New Cathedral Door |
Our Room at Hotel Placentinos in Salamanca
|
Plaza Mayor in Salamanca The Cameos over the arches are of famous Spanish heros and legends. |
Roman Bridge in Salamanca Madrid and Salamanca were the only cities on the trip that Bill and I were revisiting. We had walked across the Roman Bridge in 2006. This time I walked it with Steve and Maria. |
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA AREA
Ponferrada, a Castle of the Knights Templar |
Zamora Castle |
Zamora Castle and Cathedral
|
Plaza of different wineries at Cambados
|
The Beach at Illa de Arousa
This was Kate’s
favorite day. She didn’t notice that the air was cold and the water frigid.
|
The Beach at Illa de Arousa
This was Kate’s
favorite day. She didn’t notice that the air was cold and the water frigid.
|
Shell Symbol Marking The Way of St. James
As we drove toward
Santiago de Compostela, we saw many of these markers where the path crossed the
road.
|
![]() |
Pilgrimage Routes
(from Wikipedia)
Major starting points
in France are Paris, Vezelay, Le Puy, and Arles.
Thanks to Wikipedia for the map. |
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela at Sunset
|
Botafumeiro, Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
This is an incense burner that swings from a pendulum. It was especially useful during the Middle Ages to dissipate the body odors of pilgrims who ate and slept in the Cathedral.
|
Altar, Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
|
Tomb of St. James |
Family going to Mass on Saturday evening at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
|
Arriving for Mass at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
|
Praza do Obradoiro following a 12K Run on Sunday Morning City Hall on the West Side of the Plaza Opposite the Cathedral |
IT WAS A FANTASTIC TRIP AND A GREAT FAMILY VISIT!
No comments:
Post a Comment