Leon and Burgos: Day 2

Next day! Woke up pretty early, ate got ready for the day, ate breakfast at the hotel (which was pretty fancy, I might add!), then left with the group and walked to the Plaza Mayor (it was completely empty today because all the shops were closed for the holiday) and then to La Catedral de Burgos. WOW! Man, these people who built the cathedrals are geniuses. I keep saying this, but it's absolutely amazing to see all the detail and handiwork that went into these buildings, especially knowing that they didn't have modern technology and machinery to assist them.

We met up with our guide, then took a tour through the cathedral that lasted a couple of hours. This cathedral took hundreds of years to build, so there are many different styles inside. Each family of royalties would put their own kind of designs into their part of the castle, complete with their own coat of arms inscribed everywhere. Patrons who donated money to the cathedral were also entombed here. Apparently there were catacombs underneath the cathedral, but sadly, we didn't get to see them!

Like I said before, the detail in this cathedral was absolutely immaculate. So amazing to see! Your neck gets tired from looking up the whole time!

The stained glass was amazing as well!

I have to say that one of my favorite parts of this cathedral were two paintings that we saw: one by Leonardo da Vinci depicting the Virgin Mary, and another one by Velazquez of Christ on the cross. These are absolutely famous paintings throughout history, names known by many, and I was sitting right in front of them, in real life. Jaw drop! It was so amazing! Europe is so cool. This is when I wish the U.S. had a bit more history to it.

This painting of Mary has the same style as the Mona Lisa, if you look carefully! :)

Next, our guide took us on a quick tour of the main square of the city, telling us some of the brief history, then the tour ended. Afterwards, we stopped at a pasteleria real quickly to buy some treats for later, then loaded up the bus and hit the road!

After driving for another hour or two, we came to another little town with an old church (and also to have a bathroom break!). I want to say that the church was Moorish, but I really can't remember. As you can tell, we saw a lot in these three days! It's hard to keep everything straight. I really liked the design of this church though! It was very cool to see.

More driving, then we came to Leon, another larger city with a cathedral and other cool history. Professor Pratt was telling us that the Romans invaded this city and left their own influence on it. Throughout the city, we saw a few random Roman style pillars that were still standing. On top of one, there was a huge stork's nest! There's a legend of sorts here that says if you see a stork in Spain, then you're going to return someday. Well, let me tell you, I've seen a lot of storks! :) I'll take that as a good sign. We did a little tour of the city and saw another old church, and then this building.

This is a castle built by Gaudi! Cool cool cool! It reminded me of Cinderella's castle. It's actually a bank, interestingly enough.

In Leon, they've taken a lot of the old castles and other buildings and turned them into banks, hotels, shops, or apartments. Pretty sweet. A few minutes later, we came up to another cathedral! I'm telling you, they're everywhere! This one was also very grandiose and beautiful. This cathedral is currently under renovation to restore some of the parts that are getting too old to stand any longer. Half of the reason that these buildings still look so good today is that they've been renovated and restored throughout the years. We didn't tour this cathedral this night (that was for the morning), but we walked all around the outside, then throughout the city as well. I love walking through the cities! Cobblestone roads seem to be a city code because they're everywhere. It really takes you back in time! I also love to see the small streets that look completely European. Even though I've seen hundreds by this time, I still can't help taking a picture of them. They're so quaint and fun. I love to see them! Next on the agenda: dinner time!

Our professor showed us places where he loves to go, then we were free to try whatever we wanted. I decided to stick with the professors for dinner, and we went to this little bar/restaurant. A few friends from the group chose the same course. I must say, it was a lot of fun! It's really a lot more enjoyable to tour when someone knows what they're doing.

Professor Pratt has been to Spain like 18 times, so he's definitely an expert when it comes to things to do! However, we did not have the same taste in what to choose for dinner... He ordered tapas for everyone to share, but almost all of them included seafood. BLAH!!! Everyone quickly learned of my aversion to seafood. Plate 1: mini octopus, complete with tentacles. There was also a potato salad of sorts with seafood, mutton that tasted like silk meat (that's a bad thing...), a fried potato dish, and lots of bread. I definitely ate a lot of potatoes and a lot of bread! Even though I wasn't too fond of the food, I still had a lot of fun!

Busy day, but it was lots of fun! After dinner, we walked home in the rain, then I completely crashed at the hotel. Everyone was doing something fun, but I fell fast asleep as soon as I got back. :) These trips are awesome, but they wear me down! Oh well. It's worth it!