Blogs from Burgos, Castile & León, Spain, Europe - page 9

Et oui, je suis encore vivante. Je vais commencer par vous décrire le voyage, ensuite je continue avec la famille et ma première journée en Espagne! Je suis partie Mardi dernier, le 16 de Juin, de l'aéroport de Montreal pour Toronto, et ensuite Madrid. Nous sommes arrivé en Espagne a 11h le 17 juin. Les 8 heures en avions se sont passées bien, se sont les 3 heures suivant en autobus de Madrid a Burgos qui m'ont semi-achevée. Nous (le groupes de dix étudiants) sommes arrivé à Burgos à 13h30. Arrivé à la ville, nous avons été répartie directament dans nos familles. Ma famille est constitué de 4 enfants et deux parents. La mère se nomme Martha, le père Oscar et les quatres enfants : Hélène (qui présentement étudie dans une autre école, hors de la ... read more

Spent a whole day in Burgos, the city with one of the most beautiful cathedral in Spain, spent over 4 hours within its walls. Burgos Cathedral or Cathedral de Santa Maria was built in the 13th century and combines many different architectural styles applied over the centuries. My favourite style is the Gothic sections with the gargoyles. The tall spires are a delight to look up at and the surrounding medieval streets are just full of life. The famous El Sid and his wife are buried directly underneath the huge star lantern at the heart of the cathedral. Also known as Count Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, born in 1040, he was a Muslim. ... read more

Also Spain is suffering from the crisis. About 18% people jobless. Lots of beggars in the streets and selfbuilt cartonbox houses. Even if you deduct the big informal workforce in Spain probably there are still 10% real without job. I suffer only by taking Metro instead of taxis. Madrid has a very efficient clear system. There are even info points and people for selling tickets. Went by metro early this morning to catch the train to Burgos as station on my way to Paris another 1.200 km approx. Spanish people are readers. Not only lot of bookstores but also people reading in the Metro. Real heavy hardcovered books. Since the bombing in trains in 2004 Spain checks all the luggage before entering the train in the same way as they do at airports. People are used ... read more

... and i am really looking forward to heading back home for a while so i can see all my family and friends! i am going to make a list of all the food i want to scoff while i´m back as camp food hasn´t exactly been a great dining pleasure - fried stuff with cheese and watery soup, mmmmmm! on the plus side, i have lost a lot of weight and trousers which i actually split before i left home because my legs were too chunky are now like hipsters on me! so if anyone is trying to lose weight i recommend the camp diet - eat very small portions and drink nothing but water! obviously i am going to be sad to leave as well... i´ve been really fortunate that all the teachers i´ve ... read more

I didn't have an internet connection last night, so I missed uploading this blog..... El Cid’s Burgos Our day in Burgos began with breakfast again, and once again it was the classic European fare full of meats, cheeses and fruits with a croissant thrown in. Scrambled eggs, of course. All of the hotels have a curious way of cooking our style of bacon. They don’t. It’s very limp, almost like it was boiled, not broiled. There haven’t been many takers. The European “bacon” is actually thinly sliced ham that has been salted for preservation. It’s more like prosciutto that is found in Italy. After breakfast, it was out to the bus where we met our guide for the day, Luis. He is a very proud Spaniard and an even prouder “Burgos-ian”. His love for his city ... read more