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

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

That evening, we checked in at a nice, modern hotel, just ten minutes away from the Santiago de Compostela Shrine, but with a completely different atmosphere. It sits across a park and a small lake. The view from my room was beautiful and relaxing, but quite generic and devoid of any of the character that defines the city of Santiago. The walls were immaculately white with a chocolate brown and apple green motif on the room’s minimalistic furniture and décor. This unexpected

After covering the four corners of the Santiago de Compostela Shrine, my travel amigas and I decided it was time to have dinner. Galicia is known for its fine seafood dishes, most notably, the local octopus delicacy, Pulpo a la Feira . We walked a few blocks away from the cathedral, where there was a myriad of restaurants, bars, and cafes catering to the tourist crowd. We assigned one of our travel amigas to pick a place. I was excited to try the pulpo , so I asked her to ch

Although the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is impressive by itself, it is also surrounded by magnificent squares filled with distinguished monuments within the city's Old Town. The church, its grounds, and the outlying Santa Maria de Conxo Monastery, constitutes an extraordinary ensemble of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassicist buildings. This Old Town is not only a harmonious and very well-preserved historical city, but also a place deeply imbued

The most remarkable sight I witnessed while inside the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela was the arrival of a group of pilgrims who had come to join us while we were in line to hug the statue of Saint James. They looked exhausted, sweaty, dusty, and dirty, but their faces exuded that special kind of ecstatic glow, their smiles were genuinely resplendent, and there were tears of joy in their eyes. They were simply beaming. I couldn’t describe the ethereal radiance that seeme

We knew we were getting closer to Santiago de Compostela as we saw more and more of the scallop symbols – on cardboard posters glued to sidewalks, or wooden signs nailed on tree trunks - and as we encountered more and more pilgrims by the roadsides. In a little over two hours, we arrived at the square facing the Cathedral of Saint James. It was bustling with activity. There was a huge group of bikers having a picnic party beside the pile of mountain bikes and equipment in one

Our first destination in Spain is Santiago de Compostela, the capital of Galicia in the country's northwest region. This city is known as the culmination of the Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James). The Camino de Santiago is the collective name for the numerous Christian pilgrimage routes leading to The Cathedral of Saint James, the shrine dedicated to the apostle, Saint James the Great. This is the place where the remains of the saint are said to be buried. Since the Mid

We left Portugal and headed for Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. We crossed the Minho River, which sets Portugal’s border with Galicia, Spain for about 80 kilometers. It flows from its source north of Lugo in Galicia towards the southwest until it reaches the Portuguese border, then empties into the Atlantic Ocean. During our drive, we passed by the coastal Spanish cities of Vigo and Pontevedra, overlooking the same ocean. Vigo is the largest city in Galicia and

Our bus descended down the hill and made its way to downtown Braga. We were to go there for lunch and a bit of sightseeing. As we approached the city centre, our Tour Director mentioned that Braga was founded by a Celtic tribe and later became a Roman stronghold. It was made the administrative centre of Gallaecia (now encompassing Portuguese Minho and Spanish Galicia) and the country’s religious capital, as well as the headquarters of the Portuguese bishopric in the 11th cen

We journeyed north from Fatima to go to Braga, one of the oldest Christian cities in the world, the oldest in Portugal, and nicknamed the “Portuguese Rome.” Our main stop is the Santuário Bom Jesus do Monte (Good Jesus of the Mount Sanctuary) located on the hillside of Tenoes, outside the main city of Braga. We drove straight to the church perched on the slopes of Mount Espinho more than 300 feet above the ground and surrounded by lush forests. Our Tour Director said that asi