Cities en route: Burgos, Leon, Astorga
In addition to small villages and pretty countryside vistas, while on the camino we also saw a number of historically important, larger cities like Burgos, Leon and Astorga. Below are pictures of all three cities:
BURGOS
...our first larger city that we visited along the camino, and what a pretty little place.
I especially liked the fascinating trees that created natural walkways throughout the city:
Burgos was an important way station along the camino in medieval times, and statues abound throughout the city center that harkens back to this time period:
But the big draw in Burgos isn't the trees or the statues. It's the monstrous cathedral--utterly stunning! I took way too many photographs.
(It's really so rare to be able to photograph inside a church that I couldn't help myself.)
Below are images of the interior of the church:
ASTORGA:
...a charming city, surrounded by Roman walls and chock full of cathedrals, small chapels, and even a fairly-recent castle designed by Gaudi:
My favorite of Astorga's cathedral is pictured here, with its spectacular and unique pinkish facade. This is one of the prettiest church exteriors I've seen in Spain. Unfortunately, we were not able to go inside.
And, just as ever-present as cathedrals and castles in Spain are groups of old men sporting caps and canes (or sometimes umbrellas) and gathered together in public squares to chat and people watch. It's like a dress code, a very adorable dress code.
LEON:
Leon is a really important city with really important buildings, but I had a really big headache when we were there so I don't have much to show for my visit. Here's a shot of Leon's main cathedral--beautiful but curiously French in style. In fact, it's actually more similar Paris's Notre Dame than to any other Spanish church I have seen.
CAMINO MARKERS:
Even through the larger cities like Leon and Burgos, the camino is very clearly demarcated with little shell tiles, engravings and street signs. Spain has done a very good job of making the logistics of the pilgrimage trouble-free. It would be very hard to get too far off the camino with so many signs everywhere.
BURGOS
...our first larger city that we visited along the camino, and what a pretty little place.
I especially liked the fascinating trees that created natural walkways throughout the city:
Burgos was an important way station along the camino in medieval times, and statues abound throughout the city center that harkens back to this time period:
But the big draw in Burgos isn't the trees or the statues. It's the monstrous cathedral--utterly stunning! I took way too many photographs. (It's really so rare to be able to photograph inside a church that I couldn't help myself.)
Below are images of the interior of the church:
ASTORGA:
...a charming city, surrounded by Roman walls and chock full of cathedrals, small chapels, and even a fairly-recent castle designed by Gaudi:
My favorite of Astorga's cathedral is pictured here, with its spectacular and unique pinkish facade. This is one of the prettiest church exteriors I've seen in Spain. Unfortunately, we were not able to go inside.
And, just as ever-present as cathedrals and castles in Spain are groups of old men sporting caps and canes (or sometimes umbrellas) and gathered together in public squares to chat and people watch. It's like a dress code, a very adorable dress code.LEON:
Leon is a really important city with really important buildings, but I had a really big headache when we were there so I don't have much to show for my visit. Here's a shot of Leon's main cathedral--beautiful but curiously French in style. In fact, it's actually more similar Paris's Notre Dame than to any other Spanish church I have seen.
CAMINO MARKERS:
Even through the larger cities like Leon and Burgos, the camino is very clearly demarcated with little shell tiles, engravings and street signs. Spain has done a very good job of making the logistics of the pilgrimage trouble-free. It would be very hard to get too far off the camino with so many signs everywhere.