Abby, our friend Kara, and I traveled to nearby Vitoria, the capital of the Basque Country, to visit a cathedral that is under restoration. It was a special situation because most cathedrals in restoration aren't open for visitors. This cathedral is an exception. We had to get reservations ahead of time, and when we got there we had to wear helmets for the tour! It was fantastic. We walked through the cathedral on scaffolding and saw all of the different projects inside the giant church.
Besides the cathedral, we also toured the city a little bit also. The Basque Country is the autonomous community in Spain directly above La Rioja, so it shares a similar climate and culture for great tapas and food. This tapa shown above was probably one of the best I have ever eaten. I don't know it's specific name, but I can tell you the contents. Bread on the bottom, then a slice of jamon serrano (special Spanish ham), then some really rich goat cheese, and on top a caramelized onion. I think they call it pure heaven... I'm not sure.
Here is a typical Spanish cafe at around midday (not really lunch time, not really breakfast time). And when it's not mealtime in Spain, that means that it's perfect time for tapas; so, you can see all the tapas out on dishes. You don't even have to know Spanish... just look, find something good, and point.
Here is a main plaza in Vitoria where they had an afternoon street sale the day we were there (Sunday). I bought a book at one of the tables: El Alquimista (in English, The Alquemist). I've read it in English, and it's a pretty straightforward read, so I thought I'd read it in Spanish too. Abby got the same book and we're now reading it together.
Here is me standing in front of the new cathedral in Vitoria. We didn't get to go inside this one... it's not the old one under restoration that we toured... This is the new cathedral they built after the Basque Country became an autonomous community of Spain and Vitoria became it's capital. They decided that they needed a new bigger cathedral, so they built this monstrosity.
Abby, our friend Kara, and I traveled to nearby Vitoria, the capital of the Basque Country, to visit a cathedral that is under restoration. It was a special situation because most cathedrals in restoration aren't open for visitors. This cathedral is an exception. We had to get reservations ahead of time, and when we got there we had to wear helmets for the tour! It was fantastic. We walked through the cathedral on scaffolding and saw all of the different projects inside the giant church.
Besides the cathedral, we also toured the city a little bit also. The Basque Country is the autonomous community in Spain directly above La Rioja, so it shares a similar climate and culture for great tapas and food. This tapa shown above was probably one of the best I have ever eaten. I don't know it's specific name, but I can tell you the contents. Bread on the bottom, then a slice of jamon serrano (special Spanish ham), then some really rich goat cheese, and on top a caramelized onion. I think they call it pure heaven... I'm not sure.
Here is a typical Spanish cafe at around midday (not really lunch time, not really breakfast time). And when it's not mealtime in Spain, that means that it's perfect time for tapas; so, you can see all the tapas out on dishes. You don't even have to know Spanish... just look, find something good, and point.
Here is a main plaza in Vitoria where they had an afternoon street sale the day we were there (Sunday). I bought a book at one of the tables: El Alquimista (in English, The Alquemist). I've read it in English, and it's a pretty straightforward read, so I thought I'd read it in Spanish too. Abby got the same book and we're now reading it together.
Here is me standing in front of the new cathedral in Vitoria. We didn't get to go inside this one... it's not the old one under restoration that we toured... This is the new cathedral they built after the Basque Country became an autonomous community of Spain and Vitoria became it's capital. They decided that they needed a new bigger cathedral, so they built this monstrosity. 
2 comments:
Your pictures are firing everyone up here at home. We're especially looking forward to the warmer weather and the scenery. Yes, the food, too. It'll be such a shift from Greece to Spain. Except for talking, we're ready to go.
DAD
benhameen! this is super guay, but as i was looking up information about english academies in logroño just now, i found your blog! also, chile says hello - i think of you when people say cachai! o, mas bien, i think of your sweatshirt! hope semana santa and the south of spain are treating you well! besos. kara
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