Our final week of adventure around Spain!
(This post is going to be starting from the end of the trip, sorry if that confuses anyone.)
Our last stop on our last trip around Spain was in Coca to see this castle. Sadly, we arrived just in time for siesta and it was closed. On our way back to Alcalá it snowed. And we thought we had seen the last of winter. Ha!
We spent Friday in León. The main highlight of the city is the beautiful cathedral full of stained glass windows.
Outside the cathedral paper chains made of hand cut-outs hung on the fence and up to the windows. I never found out the reason for the garlands, but I think it was for a celebration.
We took a tour of the cathedral and learned about the restoration project for the cathedral.
Medieval stained glass window.
A león in León.
How fitting to visit the pilgrimage site Santiago de Compostela on our final week-long trip around Spain! I'm so glad that we saved this incredible place until the end. The patron saint of Spain is the apostle James, or Santiago in Spanish. In the cathedral are the supposed remains of the apostle. At the center of the cathedral is a statue of gold and jewels of James and you can go up behind it and hug him. Kind of strange, but it is a big part of the pilgrimage to finally be able to hug St. James at the end of your journey. We spent Wednesday and Thursday in Santiago de Compostela and we were able to attend the pilgrim’s mass (held every day at noon). It was my first mass and I really enjoyed it even though it felt very different and foreign. I'm glad I sat by Megan who had been to many masses before.
The architecture of the cathedral is extraordinary.
Saints. Who is the only one without a beard?
A poor shot of the inside. The gleaming gold mass in the center is the main and the statue of James.On Thursday evening we went to an orchestral and choral concert at the cathedral. The music was beautiful and the setting perfect. Sound filled every corner of the vast cathedral. There is a strong spirit of beauty and there are moments where it can drench our souls.
There was a bagpipe player next to the cathedral.
A guy dressed up like Moses(?) outside the cathedral.
The symbol of St. James (Santiago) is the scallop shell, it is found all along the pilgrimage trail and in the city.
On a street near the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. It was like the "Costco" of Spain because people were handing out samples in the doorways of the restaurants, enticing the tourists.
We saw the Holy Grail in a tiny villagey sort of place, high in the mountains, called Os Ancares.
This place is famous for the Celtic-style stone huts, called pallozas.
Wildflowers and moss on an old stone wall.
Imagine living in a palloza and having this view to wake up to every morning. I would do it in a heart beat.
Pilgrim walking sticks, notice the shells tied on to the tops.
Tuesday afternoon we spent in Salamanca. 
We visited La Casa de Las Conchas. A house with scallop shells all over the outside and fantastic gargoyles in the courtyard.
One of the most famous sites of Salamanca is the Plaza Mayor, famous because of the movie "Vantage Point." It was fun to see people plopped right down on the ground in the middle of the plaza, just taking a little sun, chatting with friends, people watching (I was at least), and eating lunch.
Here is the plaza all lit up at night.
There was a bagpipe player next to the cathedral.
A guy dressed up like Moses(?) outside the cathedral.
The symbol of St. James (Santiago) is the scallop shell, it is found all along the pilgrimage trail and in the city.
On a street near the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. It was like the "Costco" of Spain because people were handing out samples in the doorways of the restaurants, enticing the tourists.
We saw the Holy Grail in a tiny villagey sort of place, high in the mountains, called Os Ancares.
This place is famous for the Celtic-style stone huts, called pallozas.
Wildflowers and moss on an old stone wall.
Imagine living in a palloza and having this view to wake up to every morning. I would do it in a heart beat.
Pilgrim walking sticks, notice the shells tied on to the tops.
Tuesday afternoon we spent in Salamanca. We saw the cathedral (above photo).
We visited La Casa de Las Conchas. A house with scallop shells all over the outside and fantastic gargoyles in the courtyard.
One of the most famous sites of Salamanca is the Plaza Mayor, famous because of the movie "Vantage Point." It was fun to see people plopped right down on the ground in the middle of the plaza, just taking a little sun, chatting with friends, people watching (I was at least), and eating lunch. 
Here is the plaza all lit up at night.
We began our trip on Tuesday morning by stopping in Ávila to see the preserved city wall. The whole town had a medieval atmosphere about it. "Ávila is important because of its association with the great mystic and reformer St. Teresa de Jesus, better known as St. Teresa of Ávila. Teresa was a 16th-century Carmelite nun who reformed her order, had many ecstatic visions, and wrote several books. She is the female patron saint of Spain and was the first woman to be named a Doctor of the Church."
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