Iberia and SW France

Bon dia! This is the official greeting in Catalan, as opposed to the Castilian phrase, "Buenas dias," that I learned from my Spanish class and often use to greet Spanish and Hispanic friends. In Barcelona, it is quite handy to know a few Catalan expressions, especially when speaking with the locals. Barcelona, the capital city of Catalonia, is a large metropolis. My first impressions as we drove along the busy streets of its many districts could be summed up into a few words

On the bus ride from Carcassonne to Barcelona, I was catapulted from my medieval fantasy mode to our present reality by the racket created by Ms. Lady Leader and her gang (a clique of seniors that comprised almost half of our tour group and who had recently embarked on a new hobby of playing poker while on the road to pilgrimage sites). Fifteen minutes into the ride and the merry group of card players were already resuming their game. I could tell that majority of the other p

Carcassonne is home to some sophisticated French fare. Since it lies within Languedoc-Roussillon, one of the largest wine producing regions in Europe, it takes its gastronomy very seriously. After all, one requires a a cuisine capable of soaking up all that wine! At the same time, due to its proximity to Spain's Catalan region, their most cherished dishes brilliantly combine the aromas of French Provence gastronomy with the influence of Spanish cuisine. Carcassonne is situate

Perhaps you are familiar with the board game, "Carcassonne," the tile-laying game in which players fill in the countryside around the fortified city. But did you know that this was inspired by a real city by the same name? The real Carcassonne is a hilltop town in southern France’s Languedoc-Roussillon area, well-known for its medieval citadel surrounded by imposing stone walls with turrets and towers. This settlement was built on the ruins of an old Roman fortress and was at

At two o'clock sharp, we met the “The Prayer Group” faction of Ms. Lady Leader's gang. Looking at them, I started to wonder how they fitted in with the rest of their tour group. They were the exact opposites of the boisterous gambling gang. Their patience must be greater than ours because they had to spend more time with their comrades. At least, all four of us, my solo traveler amigas and myself, had the choice to do our own thing. I guess this time, they were able to "esca

Outside the Sanctuary, we saw the little tourist train. We found out it was to leave in five minutes for a 7.5-kilometer tour through the old streets of Lourdes, the uptown area, and its monuments. The complete loop would take about 45 minutes. What perfect timing! Our feet were rather sore, so this was an opportunity to take a rest and do some more sightseeing at the same time. My new-found friend, who had to leave his wheelchair at the Sanctuary, and who unflinchingly did t

From the Sanctuary, we continued on with another tour in the footsteps of the visionary, Saint Bernadette. To get to know the saint, we visited her birthplace, the house where she grew up, and her neighbourhood. It was a short walk to the aptly named 2 rue Bernadette Soubirous, but in those few steps, we saw up close how bad the devastation was in Lourdes. Debris from the recent floods still littered the sidewalks. Damaged and unsalvageable belongings were still sitting in bi

We began our second day in Lourdes with an early morning Mass in French at the Upper Basilica, also known as the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. It is the second of the churches at the Sanctuary to be completed. Built in the Gothic style, the church seems to emerge directly from the rock of Massabielle and features a 70-meter spire and two smaller spires on both sides. Above the entrance is a mosaic depicting Pope Pius IX. At the entrance on the right is a marble plaqu

Our group had agreed to meet at the lobby twenty minutes after we concluded our meal. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes was a five-minute walk from our hotel, according to our Tour Director. We were going to join the Torchlight Marian Procession scheduled at 9:00 p.m. It was a good thing I went with him. There were others that left the hotel earlier and others that left after us. I wouldn’t have known the “short-cut,” if it weren’t for him. He led us to the back alley wher

As we got closer to Lourdes, we saw more and more of the Pyrenees. Lourdes is a small market town lying on the foothills of this mountain range. It rises at an elevation of 1,380 feet and is overlooked from the south by the Pyrenean peaks of Aneto, Montaigu, and Vignemale, while around it are three summits reaching up to 3,280 feet – the Béout, the Petit Jer, and the Grand Jer. It’s my kind of place…high elevation with mountains all around. I also like the climate which is mi

I knew we had crossed the border to France when I saw road signs written solely in French. Our Tour Director finally started telling us about our next destination - Lourdes, the location of the famous Catholic pilgrimage site, Sanctuaires Notre-Dame de Lourdes and the Grotto of the Apparitions. During the past few days, we had been wondering if we would be able to go. This was in the summer of 2013, when heavy flooding swept through the towns and villages in the Pyrenees and

Our main destination in Azpeitia was the Sanctuary of Loyola. But the town itself is very interesting. According to ancient documents, its name comes from the Basque word, aitz , which means "rock," and beitia , which means "from below." Curiously, the rock or mountain that it refers to is Mount Izarraitz and it is located between Azpeitia and the town of Azkoitia, whose name means "below the rock." So, I am guessing that koitia must mean "from above." Azpeitia does offer am

After the Mass at the Basilica and the tour of the Loyola Tower House, my travel amigas and I explored the sanctuary grounds. Within the compound also lie a retreat house, a library, a hostel, a museum, a small café, and a park. The Loyola Spirituality Center, also known as Arrupe Center, has served as the formation house for the Society of Jesus for decades since 1972. It also functions as a retreat centre and adjacent to it is a guest house. The building contains accommodat

We headed to the Tower House of the Loyola Family, and the birthplace and home of Saint Ignatius (now known as The Holy House). The structure dates back to the 14th century, with the lower floor built in stone, which recalls its past as a fortress, and the upper half in brick, that indicates its evolution into a palatial house. At the entrance, we were greeted by a bronze statue depicting the arrival from the battlefields of the wounded Iñigo (Saint Ignatius’ baptismal name d

We soon reached our destination in Spain's Basque Country - the emblematic Sanctuary of Loyola in the idyllic town of Azpeitia. It lies within the Urola Valley and along the scenic Urola River. The sanctuary was established as a major place of worship by the Jesuits because it is where their founder, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was born. The religious complex consists of the tower house of the Loyola family, which was the birthplace of Saint Ignatius, along with the grand Basil

We were up early that morning to drive to the Basque Country. Though called "country," it's not an independent territory. Rather, it straddles two different countries - the northwest of Spain and the southwest of France. The Northern Basque Country lies within France, thus its other name, French Basque Country. It consists of the provinces of Labourd, Lower Navarre (where Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the most common starting point of the pilgrims' Camino de Santiago journey, is l

As my travel amigas and I walked back to our hotel, we wondered if the hotel restaurant would serve us the local specialties we had heard so much about, like the Morcilla de Burgos (pork blood pudding stuffed with white rice), Queso de Burgos (fresh cheese with a slight goat-milk flavour), the local yemas (dessert made with egg yolks and sugar), and the Vino de Ribeira del Duero (the local wine). Aside from being famished, our expectations were high because we heard tha

We heard some music and saw a crowd gather by the western side of the Burgos Cathedral, so we hurried to see what it was all about. Apparently, the preparations that were underway before we did the church tour were for a late afternoon wedding, and a traditional one at that. We were just in time to witness the wedding march preceded by a band of elderly villagers in colourful costumes playing merry tunes on their instruments bedecked with paper buntings. The entourage followe

After that brief interlude with the Papamoscas (please see previous story), the Burgos Cathedral floorplan I was holding and the voice on the audio guide reminded me that within this immense sanctuary are 19 chapels in the side naves with valuable altarpieces, religious images, sculptures, and paintings waiting for be explored. I proceeded to the first chapel and for the next 90 minutes, became thoroughly immersed in the tour, marveling at each and every art piece that the au

After a hearty breakfast of traditional Galician fare at our hotel’s famed restaurant, we Santiago and drove to Burgos, the historic capital for five centuries of the unified Old Castile-León region in Spain. Burgos is situated on the "Pilgrim’s Road" to Santiago de Compostela and boasts an array of Spanish Gothic architectural masterpieces, most notably the Catedral de Santa Maria de Burgos, declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO, and is also the burial place of the legend