Advertisement
Published: July 16th 2008
Edit Blog Post
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 is genuine and total. We drove around Burgos for a few minutes, which was all it took. It’s a small town.
We passed the statue of El Cid and the bandstand. Luis was very emphatic that El Cid is the grandest warrior of them all and the father of all of Europe’s monarchs. After the short trip, we were
El Cid
The father of all Europe according to Luis. A bit of a stretch. back on our feet and entering the gate to the old city.
Burgos is famous for many things, including, but not limited to… home to St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican order and inventor of the rosary; the place where Ferdinand and Isabella received Columbus after his second voyage to the New World (think Sacramento); the capitol of Spain during Generalissimo Francisco Franco’s rule, and, of course, the home of El Cid.
The most imposing structure in the old city is the Cathedral of Santa Maria. This imposing structure has 20 chapels within its walls and was built in the same style as Notre Dame. The cathedral has many ties to St. James and is on the pilgrim trail. Even today, thousands of people walk, bike or motor from all over Europe to the coastal city of Santiago, to pay homage to St. James, who brought Christianity to Spain.
In Santiago, the relics of St. James lie in that city’s cathedral, Santiago de Compostela. The pilgrim trail is easily identified by the presence of the scallop shell. Many pilgrims carry the shell with them and use it for drinking water along the way. There are many reasons
why the pilgrimage is still so popular: spiritual awakening, the challenge of the journey, to regain physical health, and immersion into the Spanish culture.
Finally, El Cid is interred in the Cathedral of Santa Maria. He lies directly under one of the spires. If you look up into the spire, you will see the Arab star with its unique eight points.
After a leisurely lunch in the Plaza Mayor (yes, each town has one), we were back on the bus to San Sebastian on the northern coast of Spain. Our hotel, the Hotel San Sebastian, is roughly 400 meters from the beach/boardwalk. Upon our arrival, we strolled along the boardwalk for an hour and were mesmerized by the beauty of the town. After the stroll, we went to dinner in the hotel. Amazingly, the beef was replaced by chicken. However, those fries still showed up as the side dish. The more I think about it, the more I believe someone in this group has stashed a bag of potatoes on the bus, and is secretly handing them out to the chef.
That’s about it for now. I hope you enjoy this crop of potatoes, Oops, I meant
this crop of pictures. Bon Voyage.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.265s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 7; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0399s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Larry and Michelle
non-member comment
Thanks
We really appreciate these blogs and the group looks happy and very busy. We race to the computer to see if there are any new blog entries! Stay safe and have fun!