Fatima

Today we are at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. Our Lady is said to have appeared to three shepherd children in 1917 - Lucia dos Santos (age 10) and her cousins Jacinta (age 7) and Francisco Marto (age 9) - in the fields outside the village of Aljustrel near Fatima. First we visited Aljustrel where the three children lived and where they first saw the visions. While we were there, we noticed a lovely old lady dressed in black saying the rosary. She told us later that she was 92 years old, that she had had 10 children and that she was the niece of Lucia. 

We then drove into Fatima to our hotel and went and had some lunch. I chose a typical Potuguese dish of codfish. Thank goodness we chose the 'half portion', I couldn't finish it all!

Then we wandered up to the Basilica to Mass as we were told that the 3 o'clock Mass was to be in English. It's the first English Mass I have ever been to that was spoken entirely in Portuguese...LOL! But we managed to work out when to sit, stand, kneel and go to communion! After Mass we saw where the three children are now buried in the Basilica and went for a wander around the enormous square. Apparently on the anniversary of the visions up to 75 000 people gather here...unbelievable!!! Some people choose to approach the shrine on their knees as an act of penance and we saw a few people doing this. Later tonight we are going back for the candlelight procession. 

Fatima is very different to Lourdes. Over dinner tonight we were trying to verbalise how we thought it was different. The best explanation for me was that Lourdes seemed to be more about healing and the want of the people there to be made well again. The people at Lourdes were requesting or asking for the intercession of Mary. Fatima on the otherhand seems to be more about devotion and penance and people saying...what am I going to do to atone for my sins. Of course the common theme for both is the Rosary and while Fatima is a lot more modern looking than Lourdes the entire shopping area of both towns is crowded with stores that sell religious items. I am really glad that I have been able to experience these two similar and yet completely different destinations.

Santiago de Compostela & Porto

Today we visited Santiago de Compostela. The relics of Saint James the Apostle are believed to be buried beneath the cathedral altar. Legend says that St James preached in Spain before returning to Jerusalem in 44AD where he was martyred. His body was then returned to Spain. Pilgrims travel the Camino walk to Santiago to pray at the tomb of St. James and gain religious merit. We saw many weary travellers in Santiago today.

Galicia is known as the seafood capital of Spain...so

of course I had to try the famous octopus for lunch! Pulpo a Feira (Octopus) is beaten to tenderise it, then boiled and cooked with salt, paprika and with olive oil, and is then served on a wooden platter. It was delicious! Of course it had to be accompanied by some White Albarino wine that is produced along the coast, I quite enjoyed this too. I didn't get to try the Tarta de Santiago, a dense almond cake which honours the memory of St James, but it is a popular cake in this region.

This afternoon we arrived in Portugal and we are now in the city of Porto. It is such an interesting place. It is the second largest city in Portugal and located on the Douro River. It's internationally famous export is port and we went to the Ferreirra cellar and got to do some tasting of the port! We also visited the Church of St Francis where the interior is decorated in gold gilt work...it was amazing! The city contains so many old buildings with terracotta coloured roofs and it is very hilly. I think the city has a lot of character and charm.

Leon Cathedral

Today we visited the city of Leon in northwest Spain. The city is along the Camino de Santiago (The way of St James), a medieval pilgrimage route across northern Spain which is walked by millions of pilgrims even today. We saw many pilgrims making the trek today towards Leon and in the city itself visiting Leon Cathedral before they set off for Santiago. We to have followed this way of St James, however, we got to do it in the luxury of the bus. When you meet pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago you say to them "Buen Camino" which means 'have a good way or walk'. What a challenge it would be to actually walk this pilgrimage!

The Cathedral in Leon (Catedral de Santa María de Regla de León) is a French style Gothic Cathedral built in the 13th century. In a side chapel of the cathedral there is a statue called 'Virgen de la Esperanza'. It is a statue of the Virgin Mary (dating back to the 13th/14th century) depicting when she was pregnant with Jesus. I thought she was one of the most beautiful statues I have ever seen. The guide with us today was telling us of her challenge in explaining the idea of a pregnant virgin to non Christians! Another glorious aspect of this cathedral are the amazing stained glass windows. With the sunlight beaming through it is easy to see why this cathedral has the nickname 'House of Light'. While today was cold enough for us to wear jackets the sun was shining and the sky was a beautiful blue. Yesterday, however, the temperature in Leon was 3 degrees and raining! We have been extraordinarily lucky with the weather!

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

This morning we left a misty Lourdes and travelled back into Spain into Basque Country. We had planned to have lunch in Bilbao but heard along the way that the whole city was on strike which meant that nothing was open and that there was going to be a mass demonstration in the city. We were assured that our destination of the Guggenheim Museum remained open.

We arrived in Bilbao around 3pm and we saw crowds of people leaving the city centre as the demonstration had finished. We stopped at a park in the old part of the city to have a picnic lunch before our guide took us on a tour of the city. Bilbao is the capital of Basque country and is located on the Bay of Biscay. It is the fourth largest city in Spain. In the late 1980's the Basque authorities embarked on major redevelopment plan for the city. Part of this redevelopment was securing the location of the next Guggenheim museum as the Guggenheim Foundation had been looking for a new location somewhere in Europe. The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao was designed by Frank Gehry and opened in October 1997. The building is made of limestone, glass and titanium and the curves of the building were designed to catch the light. This building is truly spectacular! The building houses art by many Spanish and international artists. I loved the big ball sculpture outside and the reflective surface of it. I took a photo of one of the balls with my reflection in it. Out the front of the museum is a dog sculpture made of flowers. While in the museum we saw the work of David Hockney, an English artist that creates various vivid coloured landscape art works, some of which were originally created on ipads and then transferred onto paper. Guess what the kids at school are going to be doing!

Below are some pictures of an old church in Bilbao as well as some images of the Guggenheim Museum and the art installations outside.

Lourdes

I loved Lourdes and would like to come here and spend a few days. I'd like to wander through all the streets and explore all the little shops, even the ones that sell the tacky souvenirs. I'd like to spend more time examining more closely the inside of the churches and chapels. There is so much to see inside that it is impossible to take it all in in just one afternoon. I found the whole experience quite surreal. I remember as a child getting a postcard from when my Aunty visited and then thinking how sacred it was that she had brought us back real water in a bottle from Lourdes. I remember watching the movie about St Bernadette and thinking how one day I would love to visit...never really believing that I would. So to stand at the grotto yesterday and wash my hands and drink the water was truly amazing. I felt completely at peace in Lourdes and despite the crowds of other pilgrims the whole place was so quiet and peaceful. 

Lourdes is the sight where the Virgin Mary appeared to a young girl Bernadette Soubirous on the 11th February 1858. There were 18 apparitions in total. The 'lady' that appeared to Bernadette told her to bathe in the water, at the time there was no water at the site, but Bernadette followed the lady's instrutions and dug, and a spring did appear. On 25th March the lady told Bernadette that she was the Immaculate Conception. Today thousands of pilgrims visit the grotto to pray and many sick and disabled go there to bathe in the water in the hope of a miracle. To witness the faith that the people who were gathered there yesterday had in the healing powers of the water was a moment of grace. Last night we went back for the candlelight procession where we walked with hundreds of other pilgrims from around the world and said the rosary. It was an unforgettable experience.

La Merce Festival

Today in Barcelona is the La Merce Festival which is held in honour of Mare de Deu de la Merce, the Patron Saint of Barcelona. This festival bids goodbye to the summer with a bang and welcomes the cooler months of Autum. (The weather today was 28 degrees). What a great day to see some of the most amazing sites in Barcelona.

First stop...Park Guell.
Park Guell is a garden in the Gracia district of Spain. It was designed by Gaudi and built from 1900-1914. The mosaics are amazing and we got to sit on the longest bench in the world.

Then off to Sagrada Familia

This is the Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family and was also designed by Gaudi. Gaudi did not live to see the church finished, but work continues today and the current estimated completion is 2026. (Looks like I'll have to come back then!) The church will have 3 grand facades, the Nativity to the East, the Passion to the West and the Glory to the South. It is an architectural masterpiece. The genius of the man is out of this world.

After that some tapas for lunch we drove to Montserrat, a Benedictine abbey which hosts the Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary. The rock formations in the area were quite spectacular.

Last stop for the evening was to take another look at Casa Batlo, a building restored by Gaudi. It seems from what we saw today was that the goal of the designer (Gaudi) was to avoid straight lines completely. It has been a beautiful day in Barcelona. Tomorrow we have a long drive ahead of us, over the Pyrenees Mountains and onto Lourdes.

La Rambla

This afternoon we took a stroll down La Rambla. We had been warned to be watchful for pickpockets but luckily we didn't encounter any. La Rambla is a street in central Barcelona, a tree-lined pedestrian mall that stretches 1.2km between Barri Gotic and El Raval and down closer to the port is the Christopher Colombus monument. Some amazing 'street performers who looked like sculptures' drew in the crowds.There were ships in port and a 'Herbalife' convention so it was a very busy place with people everywhere. We had a lovely pistacchio icecream and cold drink before heading back to the hotel.

And yiiipppppeeee, no more smelly clothes for me! The suitcase arrived!!!

Tonight it was drinks on the terrace overlooking the city...my first Mojito :) Then dinner and now about to head for bed.