Hello again:) I have had more fantastic journeys worth sharing!

A few weeks ago Nacho, the choir director at IES La Serna (the school Sarah and I work at), told us about a choir competition in a little town in Northern España called Burgos. Of course, we ended up going to both the choir competition and wonderful city!

The journey all begins with the car ride to Burgos where we met Nacho’s wife, Paula! They have three kiddos: Manuel who is around 6, then Santi and Mateo are twinssss and are about 3 or 4 years old. Straight up cuties. However, they were still 3 or 4. So, our 2 1/2 hour drive was a giant cry-fest, BUT well enjoyed. We got to know more about Paula and Nacho actually! They are both music teachers in central Spain and their parents all live quite close! Burgos is where Paula’s family lives. This was extra nice because Sarah and I had a traditional Spanish dinner from Paula’s parents. There is a kind of food called Cocido [koθido] which is pretty much chickpea soup with a large assortment of meats. I was not able to take part in many of them, but the ones I had were quite delicious.

One of the first things we were able to see/learn was about a man called “El Cid”. From the 11th century. Yes, 11th century. This guy, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, was a Castilian warrior who hailed from around Burgos. The Moorish gave Rodrigo the name “El Cid” which means “The Lord” in the old language they spoke back then. El Cid’s fame in the city is from his integral role in the defeat of the Moors. Sending them out of Spain.

The city was fortunate enough to have 2 amazing relics from El Cid. They had one of the swords he fought with, which was in a small museum, and his remains. His remains happened to be buried in the Burgos Cathedral, which has become one of the most amazing cathedrals I have ever seen…truly…

 

 

The cathedral was one of the largest I have been to. Not only was its size impressive, but also the things inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right when you walk in, there is a separate section with one of the most colourful and gorgeous roofs I have seen.

The only problem was a wedding was going on so no one could enter. I have never seen so much gold or polychrome on a single structure in a cathedral. Also pictured is the wedding photographer haha.

Something that was very amusing was a little man’s torso hanging from a corner in the roof. Turns out, it was more than a man’s torso. Usually, a church has a collection of bells that play a little diddle and strike a large bell a certain number of times depending on the hour. This guy’s mouth flies open for every ding of the bell! It is a hoot.

Also within the cathedral was this set of real gold plated stairs. I cannot recall its significance other than that it was built in the 16th century or that it is gold plated. Either way, it is worth a look-see.

The choir stalls and organs were also quite beautiful! Amazing woodwork and the wood is so dark! I always like to imagine singing in of these old stalls. A lot of churches have individually carved scenes above the stalls, which is so amazing to me. Such seriousness in their work.

Here are several angles of the cathedral itself:) The architectural layout of the building is one that I do not think I have seen often…

So, we went to the cathedral in a rush because we had to go to a choir competition that night, which was a blast!

There choir competition was part of a choir director conference and the performance night was similar to an ACDA performance night. However, it was still a competition. I am not sure if it was just a different environment or if this one choir was trying too hard. Some director wrote an opera and had 2 or 3 scenes from it in his slot, which he went roughly 15 minutes over… For this “choir” competition, the majority of his composed piece was a duet and then a guy in stilts with a lion head came on stage. So very weird. It was wonderful to listen to different kinds of music I am not used to! 2 of the 3 pieces were required to be from Spanish composers. So, I was very excited to experience more of the Spanish culture.

The last thing Sarah and I did before catching a bus home, was visit the monastery  Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas. It was a lovely 12th century monastery which housed the Las Huelgas Codex 😀 This codex contains 13th century polyphonic manuscripts. Therefore, it is said that this is where polyphonic music first appeared in Spain not half a century after Notre Dame in Paris. Definitely had a couple goosebumps. The only thing that was a littttttle bit of a downer was the tour being 100% in Spanish. It was free, though! I just had to pay attention and think really really hard.

It felt really good to reconnect with music and I am saving another blog post to talk all about more personal things that are happening in my life, particularly, musically. The last thing you would have seen from this trip would be Sarah and me sprinting, jogging, fast walking, running, and occasionally walking for a moment (probably in that order) to make it to our bus on time. So, my lesson or advice from this trip is to be spontaneous, but always remember that some things/people do not care about that and will leave without you haha. Some times there are limits:)

 

 

I wanted to include another adventure in this blog since these two were so close together! Shortly after returning from Burgos, Sarah, her roommate Abbie, Abbie’s friend Olivia, and I took a day trip to Toledo, Españaaaaa.

Toledo had a crap ton of knives. Kind of wanted to say that first… Sadly, I did not get one. HOWEVER… A mental list is being made because I will return. Every month, for 20 Euros, I get my transportation card called an Abono Tranpsorte, if you remember. Everyone just calls it an Abono, though. Anyways, with this card, I can take a 50 minute bus ride to Toledo rather than pay some separate transportation fee! I am just saying that I am not worried about returning. The four of us started in Toledo by trekking up a hill by way of the streets. That is where the picture you see above came from as the street turned into a bluff.

When we were not looking at swords and knives, we were looking at all the history Toledo had to offer as well as its everyday people. The Toledo Cathedral was one of the greatest the city had to offer. Toledo Cathedral was a little different from some of the others I have seen because the cathedral is surrounded by the city life and apartment buildings. There is not really an open area to showcase the facade. Mostly because of this, the inside was much more impressive than the outside, in my opinion.

The estate is actually rather large. Just hidden, as I mentioned earlier. Some of my favorite parts of this cathedral were the choir stalls, the organs (yes plural), and this one beautiful architectural choice for making a whole in the roof.

These choir stalls were carved by two different woodworkers and can clearly see where each worked. These stalls are probably the most beautiful I have ever seen. (Better step up your gain Westminster Pres). I included the picture of this seat that seems to sit a little higher than the rest. Something indescribable came over me as I pictured this stall and I imagined the choir director sitting there conducting. That feeling. That moment is where I will exist one day and it felt great. All in all… that’s my seat. The guard just would not let me sit in it.

 

 

Preface: I am kind of a nerd about organs… Every church, cathedral, or basilica we visit I take a picture of the organ. I do not usually share them but I feel like I took some great photos of these. Also, I do not think I have really seen an organ like this first one–being on the side wall of the cathedral and being placed like so–let alone having three in one location! Stunning.

Another large part of the cathedral was what they called the Oculus. It was the first Baroque addition to this 13th century cathedral and they cut this hole in the roof in order to light in on the gorgeous fixture. Again, I am amazed by human beings’ motivation and seriousness in the church from such a long time ago. You can see all of the thought that was put into this and it gets me every time.

Okay. So, last little bit about the cathedral. I just took this picture of this roof just because it was amazing, but the painter included a portrait of himself above a corner window. The last last thing I want to mention is about this painting of a man in red. His name was St Paolo III and was the Archbishop of Toledo. If you do not know this name, (I did not at first) he was the pope around the mid-16th century and was also the pope who convened the first 8 sessions of the Council of Trent. If I recall, this was rather important for the music world!

Not much else had happened in Toledo other than looking at other shops and knives. However, we did eat some good food! I plan to go back and visit some more because we tried to go to a few more places but it just did not work out. I continue to see more of the world with my friends and loved ones and I feel like things are going well:)