Posted by Chris Showers on December 31st, 2009.
 As part of the Christmas festivities in Burgos, a "Christmas Fair" was set up in the Plaza Mayor in which people purchased crafts from local vendors. I’ve decided to title this post “Merry (ongoing) Christmas.” You may be asking yourself why I’ve put the word “ongoing” in the title and the answer is really rather simple: in Spain, Christmas is not over yet. In fact, I’ve discovered that the Spanish love to “make the most” of their holidays — no matter how big or how small they are — and that’s exactly what they’ve done with Christmas (you’ll see what I mean in a moment). Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on November 29th, 2009.
 During the winter, churros stands like this one begin to crop up all over Burgos. It’s easy to eat these delicious delicacies; however, it’s somewhat more complex to order them. The winter has finally arrived to Burgos. The days are darker, the temperatures are lower, and the people of the city are sporting their “Eskimo attire” to combat the cold. Of course, if you don’t like bundling up to stay warm, you could try another “heat-seeking” technique: eating freshly made churros.
Since the weather has begun to get colder, churros stands (like the one pictured above) have been popping up all over the place around the city. For those of you who don’t know what churros are, they’re basically rod-shaped pieces of fried dough that are covered in sugar — the Spanish version of the doughnut. The truth is, nothing quite warms you up on a winter day like some freshly fried churros along with a little hot chocolate to accompany them.
Despite their delectable goodness, ordering churros from a street vendor posed a bit of a problem for me when I first moved to Spain. It turns out that ordering churros is more difficult than you might think. Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on November 21st, 2009.
 A spectacular view of one of the largest altarpieces in the Cathedral of Burgos. Whether you’re Catholic or not, it’s impressive to look at. Not too long ago I wrote a post about the exterior of the Cathedral of Burgos, a thirteenth century Catholic Cathedral. As far as cathedrals in Spain go, this one is a bit on the famous side — and it’s no wonder why. The building itself is beautiful.
Just the other day I paid another trip to the Burgos Cathedral and I decided to expand upon my last post by taking some photos of the interior of the building to share with you. As you can see, the interior is very ornate and beautiful. Still, what’s really amazing to me is the fact that practically all of the art housed in this cathedral (sculptures, statues, altarpieces, etc.) dates back centuries. To put it in perspective for you, work on this cathedral began before the continent of America was even discovered by Christopher Columbus — that’s a long time for a bunch of “old statues” to survive. Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on September 5th, 2009.
 La Yecla is a narrow pass that many rare birds call home. As most of you who read this blog probably already know, I recently took a trip to the Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos. What you probably don’t already know is that I made another stop on that trip in addition to visiting the “singing monks.” That other stop was to a nearby natural park known as “El Desfiladero de la Yecla.”
As you can see from the photo above, La Yecla is basically a very narrow canyon which happens to have a path constructed right through the middle to allow visitors to explore its depths. The interesting thing about La Yecla is that it is home to many rare bird species — especially vultures. I didn’t manage to see any vultures during my recent visit; however, I did enjoy the rock formations and the various man-made fountains that are fed by the river which runs through the bottom of the canyon. Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on August 23rd, 2009.
 The cloister of the monastery. I just got back from visiting the Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos and thought I would share a little information with you about the monastery and the monks that live inside it.
The monastery is located about 45 minutes outside the city of Burgos in a quaint little village known as “Santo Domingo de Silos.” It’s home to a group of Benedictine monks. Certain parts of the monastery are open to the public and visitors can pay three Euros to have a guided tour. On the tour you will see things like the beautifully landscaped cloister of the monastery and some very interesting (and very old) religious sculptures and carvings which line the walls of the complex. Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on August 20th, 2009.
 I never tire of walking past the Cathedral of Burgos on a sunny day. Here in Burgos, we are lucky enough to have a Gothic-style cathedral known as the “Cathedral of Burgos” (unique name, right?). Construction on the cathedral began way back in the year 1221 and the marvelous building has been standing ever since then. As far as Spanish cathedrals go, this one is actually a bit on the famous side and, during the summer months, tourists flock to see it.
You know, I have been living in Burgos for about a year now, have walked past this cathedral hundreds of times, and have made numerous visits to see its interior. Still, I can’t help but stop and admire it every time I walk by. When I think of the age of the building and the fact that its ornate artwork had to have been done by hand, I simply can’t help but be impressed — and believe me, the building is impressive both inside and out. I guess having it here is just another “perk” of living in Burgos.
For those of you who are interested, you can visit the interior of the cathedral any day of the week (the times vary by season). If you’re going to be in Burgos either the second or fourth Sunday of the month, you can enter the cathedral for free after 4:00 PM; otherwise, entrance costs four or five Euros. The visit includes seeing the actual cathedral itself and a walk through a small museum that explains how the building was originally built and later restored. Continue reading this post…
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