Northward bound: Silos, Burgos, y León

The most difficult question currently confounding my thoughts and turning my normally smooth writing into a jumbled mess of rambling phrases is this: when it comes to northern Spain, where can I begin? Can my words possibly do justice to this most marvelous land so flawlessly mixes city life with green lush countryside?  I already know that this post will not even come close to doing my excursion to Silos, Burgos, and León the proper justice it deserves, but I am willing to take the plunge with hopes of transmitting even an inkling of my experiences this past weekend to my friends and family back in the states.

Our first stop was in the city of Lerma, where we soon realized that the majority of our group had not properly dressed for cooler climate of the North.  We had done a bit of research on the weather as we were packing, but we made the dire mistake of only paying attention to the highs and not factoring in the large temperature difference between morning, midday, and evening.  Luckily most girls had come equipped with extra jackets and cardigans, so what might have been an extremely cold and uncomfortable few days for me was quickly remedied with the help of some willing and dear friends in my group.  However, we took advantage of the blustery day and had a sort of mini photo shoot near the ancient Roman walls that we explored in the city.  Not to say that we don't already make a photo shoot out of every historical site that we visit, but this city was full of a lot of picturesque mixtures of ancient architecture and vast green countryside.

Shot of the Covarrubias
Plaza

Next was Covarrubias, one of my favorite small towns that we have visited thus far.  As we got off of the bus I felt as if I had never really awakened from my short nap on the bus; all of the white buildings with the typical contrasting flower decorations combined with the small antique shots and cobblestone streets gave me the distinct impression that I was on the set of a small town, European romance movie.  After exploring the small shops and the various knick-knacks and treasures within, we took a small tour of the church and I was again blown away by the immense detail and effort that past Catholics had put into building this small town church building.  Little did I know that this beautifully constructed church and the details within would soon pale in comparison to what I would witness in the days to come.

Coming out of the Desfiladero
de la Muela

About an hour or so later we arrived in Silos, but were forced to change our original itinerary a bit since we arrived in the city at approximately 2:30 pm, also known as siesta time.  I cannot recall whether or not I went into depth about this most wonderful Spanish tradition, but nevertheless I will offer a quick review.  Every day from about 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, everything across the country in Spain shuts down.  The stores close, the streets are empty, and all for the common purpose of obtaining a little mid-afternoon shut eye.  It is, in a word, amazing.  I am already planning on trying to alter my class schedule winter semester so that I can continue to take my daily siestas that I have already grown so accustomed to while living here in Spain.  Anyhow, back to Silos: while we waited for the Monasterio de Santo Domingo (monastery) to open up, we went to a mountain pass by the name of Desfiladero de la Muela.  This mountain path led us through a series of nooks and crannies between, underneath, and through large establishments of mountain rock that had a shocking resemblance to something that one might encounter in Zion's Nat'l Park in southern Utah.  Walking along this desfiladero was a refreshing experience to mix in with all of the historical sites we had visited, because as much as my appreciation for history has multiplied during this program, I have always had a deep appreciation for the miracles and mysteries that can be found in nature.  We then returned to Silos and were some of the first to enter the monastery once it opened back up after siesta.  We were guided by a lovely woman (whose name now escapes me) that led us through the monastery, sharing her abundant knowledge of the Roman columns and overall construction of the monastery as well as pointing out the specific carvings of Christ and other Saints that were so intricately carved throughout.

El Monasterio de Santo
Domingo

My favorite ceiling shot inside the
Catedral de Burgos

That Thursday evening, we arrived in the city of Burgos and were given free reign to explore the city and find our own place to dine out.  Three of my friends and I found a slightly sketchy looking, hole-in-the-wall restaurant that served Doner Kebabs, which I had yet to try since arriving in Spain.  The meat was fantastic and we had a great time conversing in Spanish and walking around in the crisp evening air.  The next morning after taking advantage of the continental breakfast buffet, we began walking with our guide toward the Catedral de Burgos, one of the most famous cathedrals in all of Spain as well as in Europe overall.  This cathedral did not just exceed my expectations, it blew them completely out of the water.  It is still hard to fathom the amount of hours and labor put into constructing this one building; every inch, every stone, every fragment of stained glass window possessed more detail and beauty than I had ever dreamed possible previously.  The idea that so many artists and so many brilliant minds put so much effort and time into creating such a place devoted to pure worship absolutely blows me away.  There are certain constructions in that cathedral that to this day cannot be recreated or imitated, even with the plethora of advanced technology and cast knowledge that we now have at our disposal.  This cathedral is, in a word, a miracle.  After exploring the most captivating secrets and details of this mind boggling cathedral, we had a few hours to walk around the city of Burgos and it didn't take long for us to all fall head over heels for this northern Spanish city.  I purchased not one, but two pastries simultaneously, quickly realizing that everything I had ever heard about European pastries could not have prepared me for the sweet, rich flavors that those babies packed.  During our meandering, we also observed that men from the North seem to be much better looking, but we still have a lot of traveling to do so we will see which region wins for the highest percentage of hombres guapos. ;)

With heavy hearts, we said goodbye to the lovely city of Burgos and made our way to León.  Once again, after getting settled in our hotel rooms we had the afternoon to ourselves and the evening free to explore and dine in any way we pleased.  That night a group of six of us went out in search for a trendy tapas bar in a hot spot of the city and after a bit of searching were able to find a relatively affordable place that fit our criteria.  As is custom in tapas bars, we all shared a bit of what we ordered with each other, but consumed the majority of our own tapas ourselves.  My choices of the evening were croquettas, which resemble giant mozzarella sticks but are filled with a mixture of potatoes ham and other substances rather than cheese, and a plate of jamón, which was a portion of nothing but ham that more resembled perosciutto.  Both plates were wonderfully delicious and I walked contentedly back to the hotel with my friend Sarah with a full stomach and a happy heart.

El Catedral de León

On Saturday morning we arose early and met our guide for our tour through León at about 8:30 in the morning.  Our tour began on our bus, first receiving more general information about the overall layout of this large northern city and some of its main attractions as our guide spoke to us in Spanish over the intercom system.  We parked the bus near an ancient Roman wall and proceeded to walk along the ancient wall and view some of the most famous spots in León, beginning with a brief stop at la Basílica de San Isidoro, an old Catholic church funded by an ancient king with several depictions of stories in the New Testament throughout the interior and exterior.  Next we saw the Casa Botines, a large building constructed by Antonio Gaudi with a statue of the prestigious artist included on a bench, capturing the man admiring his work permanently in stone, much to the delight of photograph-hungry tourists.  We then proceeded to walk along the very old yet still functional road running through downtown León known as the Calle Ancha (ancha meaning wide) to reach the crowning jewel of our tour: the Catedral de León.

The East interior of the Catedral de León

I could write an entire blog just about the historical information we received in the Cathedral of León with detailed descriptions to pair with each of the dozens of photographs I took while there, but I will simply share my favorite symbolic information that I acquired.  Before I launch into my description, it is important to note that this cathedral has the second largest amount of stained glass windows of all the the cathedrals in Europe, and it is nothing short of breathtaking.  The East side is made up of the largest amount of windows, the most important being the one in the center depicting Christ.  The window depicting Christ was built on the East side so that His would be the first window to be illuminated at the dawn of each day, symbolizing that He is indeed the light and the life of the world.  The northern side was comprised of windows with cool colors and images depicting stories of the Old Testament, the cool colors symbolizing the cooler climate of northern Spain and the cold and dark place that the world was before the birth of Christ.  In contrast, the southern side of the cathedral included warm colors and depictions of the New Testament, symbolizing the world as it was after the light of Christ shined upon it.  Also included in the southern windows were depictions of produce and the working class of southern Spain, flawlessly combining the religious history of the Bible with the history of Spain into a wonderful masterpiece of stained glass window artwork.

Castrillo de los Polvazares

On our way home to Alcalá, we also visited a small town by the name of Castrillo de los Polvazares, a small pueblo characterized by European architecture and bright green doors.  This weekend was another reminder of how blessed I truly am to be here in Spain studying for the semester, I am truly amazed by the history, culture, and wonder that Europe continues to reveal to me on a daily basis, especially during our weekend excursions.  I don't know how any of my future excursions could be more eye opening and life changing than this one, but I said the same thing last weekend.  I know that this weekend will surely hold unique and wonderful life experiences for me, and being able to say that every week makes me one of the luckiest girls in the world.