On September 28th I arrived in Madrid, Spain for my first vacation since 2018. The reason I went to Madrid was because my mother, who is a hair stylist for a prestigious salon, goes on an annual work trip this time of year to different cities around the world, and this year she invited myself and my two older sisters along with my aunt (her sister) to join her. The plan was to stay in Madrid from Sunday September 28th till Thursday October 2nd, after completing her scheduled work appearances, then we would all go to Barcelona via train to enjoy a few days there until Sunday October 5th. Usually when I go on trips I like to constantly move and take in as much as possible in the few days I have, but since I was with others I had to slow my pace a bit, though I still was able to see a lot.
Sunday and Monday I focused on touring Madrid with my oldest sister Anastasia and my mom as much as she was able to join us. In Madrid I did the typical tourist things, including eating at historic restaurants over a century old, touring the Royal Palace, enjoying a Flamenco show, walking the historic streets, and visiting a few noteworthy churches, including the oldest active church in the city and all of Spain which is dedicated to Saint Nicholas from the early 13th century.
My goal was to visit more churches and historical places in Madrid than I already did, but I felt I needed to go explore other towns outside of Madrid before my departure. For this reason I went to the medieval walled city of Toledo on Tuesday with my sister, about an hour from Madrid, where we visited the astounding 13th century medieval Gothic cathedral, which was probably the most amazing Catholic church I have ever visited and widely considered the magnum opus of the Gothic style in Spain. Inside it is so big you feel like it is an indoor city. After roaming this jaw-dropping church for a few hours, and seeing the relics of the fifth century martyr Saint Ursula of Cologne in the crypt, because we only had about 6 hours total to explore, the rest of the time we toured historical places associated with the painter El Greco, who lived in Toledo. In the Church of Santo Tomé we saw his masterpiece called the Burial of the Count Orgaz, then we saw many of his works at the Museum of El Greco, which was built over the place he once lived.
On Wednesday I decided to go by myself to the medieval walled city of Avila, about 90 minutes by train from Madrid. I had my taxi drop me off outside the wall of the city so I could visit the Basilica of San Vincent, in order to venerate the relics of three Holy Martyrs of the 4th century - Saints Vincent, Sabina and Christeta. These Holy Martyrs during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian were buried after their martyrdom on the spot where this Basilica was later built. Their relics today rest in a box under the altar, while a main attraction in the church is their cenotaph. From there I walked into the walled city and headed for the Cathedral, which was another marvel of a church from the 12th century and is considered the oldest Gothic cathedral in Spain. Then I walked over to the sites associated with a popular Catholic Saint, Saint Teresa of Avila who was a 16th-century Spanish Carmelite nun, mystic, and writer. I only had time to visit the church built on the site of her birthplace, as well as her relic room and the crypt of the church which has been converted into a museum. I wanted to visit the monastery outside the wall where she lived for 30 years as a nun, but my time was running short and needed to return to Madrid. When I returned just before sunset, I visited the marvelous Egyptian Temple of Debod, but I was too late to go inside so I enjoyed the sunset from the outside.
Thursday at noon we took a train to Barcelona, where we met my other sister and aunt who had just flown in from Boston that day. Barcelona has a lot to see and do, but I only had a few days, so I did as much as I could. Our first stop was to visit the magnificent Basílica de la Sagrada Família, designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) whose amazing and unique architecture can be seen in many places throughout Barcelona. I was only able to walk around the Basilica from the outside, as inside tours had been sold out for a few weeks prior. After touring the city with the family all day Friday, and Friday night going to the Picasso Museum and the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar in the Medieval district by myself, on Saturday I was free to do what I wanted. In the morning I started off in the Medieval district, where I visited many historical places and churches. The highlight for me was to visit the Cathedral and the relics of Saint Eulalia in the crypt. Saint Eulalia was martyred under the Roman Emperor Diocletian at the age of thirteen and is a co-patron of the city. She is noted for having to endure many tortures for her faith in Christ, among which was being placed in a barrel with shards of glass and rolled down a street in the Medieval district today known as Baixada de Santa Eulàlia ("Saint Eulalia's descent"), which I also searched for and visited and where there is a small shrine dedicated to her. I walked outside the Medieval district to the main plaza of the city, and took a tour bus around the city. I wanted to visit a few more places, but there were Pro-Palestinian protests that day that were causing a lot of traffic and shut down roads, so I decided to call it a day early.
Sunday I had planned on going to the Saint Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church for the Divine Liturgy then visiting the Museum of the History of Barcelona, which contains the ancient Roman ruins of the city as well as the ruins of a fourth or fifth century church, but it was raining all morning and I was worried the protests may still be causing traffic issues, so I skipped it and the family went to lunch. By 3pm we left for the airport to return to Boston.
I really enjoyed Spain, saw a lot more than I thought I would, but would still liked to have seen more as I learned more, but you can only do so much in a short trip. My hope is to visit again, and be more prepared to take in as much as possible. I plan to write more details about my exploration of various Saints of Spain on their feast days, when I will also share some photos I took.
Sunday and Monday I focused on touring Madrid with my oldest sister Anastasia and my mom as much as she was able to join us. In Madrid I did the typical tourist things, including eating at historic restaurants over a century old, touring the Royal Palace, enjoying a Flamenco show, walking the historic streets, and visiting a few noteworthy churches, including the oldest active church in the city and all of Spain which is dedicated to Saint Nicholas from the early 13th century.
My goal was to visit more churches and historical places in Madrid than I already did, but I felt I needed to go explore other towns outside of Madrid before my departure. For this reason I went to the medieval walled city of Toledo on Tuesday with my sister, about an hour from Madrid, where we visited the astounding 13th century medieval Gothic cathedral, which was probably the most amazing Catholic church I have ever visited and widely considered the magnum opus of the Gothic style in Spain. Inside it is so big you feel like it is an indoor city. After roaming this jaw-dropping church for a few hours, and seeing the relics of the fifth century martyr Saint Ursula of Cologne in the crypt, because we only had about 6 hours total to explore, the rest of the time we toured historical places associated with the painter El Greco, who lived in Toledo. In the Church of Santo Tomé we saw his masterpiece called the Burial of the Count Orgaz, then we saw many of his works at the Museum of El Greco, which was built over the place he once lived.
On Wednesday I decided to go by myself to the medieval walled city of Avila, about 90 minutes by train from Madrid. I had my taxi drop me off outside the wall of the city so I could visit the Basilica of San Vincent, in order to venerate the relics of three Holy Martyrs of the 4th century - Saints Vincent, Sabina and Christeta. These Holy Martyrs during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian were buried after their martyrdom on the spot where this Basilica was later built. Their relics today rest in a box under the altar, while a main attraction in the church is their cenotaph. From there I walked into the walled city and headed for the Cathedral, which was another marvel of a church from the 12th century and is considered the oldest Gothic cathedral in Spain. Then I walked over to the sites associated with a popular Catholic Saint, Saint Teresa of Avila who was a 16th-century Spanish Carmelite nun, mystic, and writer. I only had time to visit the church built on the site of her birthplace, as well as her relic room and the crypt of the church which has been converted into a museum. I wanted to visit the monastery outside the wall where she lived for 30 years as a nun, but my time was running short and needed to return to Madrid. When I returned just before sunset, I visited the marvelous Egyptian Temple of Debod, but I was too late to go inside so I enjoyed the sunset from the outside.
Thursday at noon we took a train to Barcelona, where we met my other sister and aunt who had just flown in from Boston that day. Barcelona has a lot to see and do, but I only had a few days, so I did as much as I could. Our first stop was to visit the magnificent Basílica de la Sagrada Família, designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) whose amazing and unique architecture can be seen in many places throughout Barcelona. I was only able to walk around the Basilica from the outside, as inside tours had been sold out for a few weeks prior. After touring the city with the family all day Friday, and Friday night going to the Picasso Museum and the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar in the Medieval district by myself, on Saturday I was free to do what I wanted. In the morning I started off in the Medieval district, where I visited many historical places and churches. The highlight for me was to visit the Cathedral and the relics of Saint Eulalia in the crypt. Saint Eulalia was martyred under the Roman Emperor Diocletian at the age of thirteen and is a co-patron of the city. She is noted for having to endure many tortures for her faith in Christ, among which was being placed in a barrel with shards of glass and rolled down a street in the Medieval district today known as Baixada de Santa Eulàlia ("Saint Eulalia's descent"), which I also searched for and visited and where there is a small shrine dedicated to her. I walked outside the Medieval district to the main plaza of the city, and took a tour bus around the city. I wanted to visit a few more places, but there were Pro-Palestinian protests that day that were causing a lot of traffic and shut down roads, so I decided to call it a day early.
Sunday I had planned on going to the Saint Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church for the Divine Liturgy then visiting the Museum of the History of Barcelona, which contains the ancient Roman ruins of the city as well as the ruins of a fourth or fifth century church, but it was raining all morning and I was worried the protests may still be causing traffic issues, so I skipped it and the family went to lunch. By 3pm we left for the airport to return to Boston.
I really enjoyed Spain, saw a lot more than I thought I would, but would still liked to have seen more as I learned more, but you can only do so much in a short trip. My hope is to visit again, and be more prepared to take in as much as possible. I plan to write more details about my exploration of various Saints of Spain on their feast days, when I will also share some photos I took.
