Burgos, Castilla y Leon (Spain)

Abby and I visited nearby Burgos in the neighbor autonomous community (province) of Castilla y Leon--also the largest province in Spain. Burgos is on the east side, however, and so it was only about a two hour train ride from Logroño. We left on Saturday morning, got a hotel, and came back on a late afternoon train on Sunday. It was plenty of time to see the city.

Burgos has around 200,000 people, which is a little more than Logroño. It also has a small river running through it, not unlike Logroño either. The top things to see in Burgos are the Cathedral of Burgos, the Santa Maria Arch, and the Monastery de las Huelgas. We had a tour of the Monastery, which is special because it is actually a royal monastery (there are kings, queens, and other royalty buried there), and it is pictured below.


This monastery is from the 12th century. The inside is very well kept and has got beautiful chapels and altars. It´s called Monastery de las Huelgas because it is located on the outskirts of the city, and because this site used to be where the farmers had their little plots of land, which are called Huelgas.


These cool trees are actually trimmed constantly to look like this. There are really nice pathways on either side of the river there lined with these trees. You walk underneath them and notice how some of their limbs have actually grown together--I don´t know if they were helped to do this or what.



The most famous site of Burgos is its cathedral. It´s a Gothic style cathedral because of the rivoted spires and tall portals. It´s located in the center of the city in a nice plaza surrounded by restaurants, touristy shops, and basically everything else. You can walk up a hill and look down on the cathedral and the rest of Burgos from above. It´s a very cool sight with the cathedral amidst all those red tiled roofs.



The picture above her is of the Santa Maria Arch, a gateway into the city center. Walk through the arch and you´ll be in the plaza with the Cathedral of Burgos. It´s a really pretty little city, and it´s usually a lot colder there than in Logroño. They frequently have snow every winter. Abby and I were lucky to score a few days with hot sunny weather!


Another Menú del Día... the common Spanish restaurant meal for lunch. The ´Menu of the Day´is basically a three course meal with wine and bread. It seriously kicks butt if you find the right place, and it usually costs anywhere between €10 to €15 (Euros), which is $15 to $20. Here I think I have some Lomo a la Riojana (Pork loin with red peppers and potatoes). Abby´s got the chicken and fries.


Burgos, like Logroño, is also on Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James)... the second most famous Christian pilgrimage toward the legendary resting place of St. James (Santiago) in a western Spanish city called Santiago de Compostela. Abby is sitting with a bronze pilgrim who liked Burgos and the cathedral so much he decided he´d rest there for some hundred years or so.
Saludos a todos! (Greetings to everyone!)