Royalty

Well, we thought today would be a nice, quiet day—and it was, sort of. We relaxed, enjoyed the morning, and went out for a walk at high noon (2 pm) to the park alongside the river. We dozed in the sun, shivered in the cool breeze, watched the birds hunting for insects, listened to the weeping willows rustling. And then we started home.

We paused in front of an interesting looking arched doorway and a plaque: “Casona de San Benito.” What was that, we wondered? An old man was leaning on a cane, standing nearby. I (Elyn) walked over to the large door and peeked inside. I (Elyn) saw a courtyard, an archway, and beyond that open fields and blue sky.

The old man, who was watching the German tourists who had disembarked from a tour bus, motioned to us. We went over to him.

“Want to go in?” He asked in Spanish. (The following conversation was all in Spanish.)

We looked at each other. “We can go in?”

“Of course!”

So we walked over to the large doorway, which he pushed open, and in we went. We saw a large patio, with a woman watering flowers at one end and a man (her husband) working on something at the other. The old man (Leonora’s father, it turned out) explained he had invited two Germans to see the place. I (Elyn) explained that we were Americans and lived in Sahagún.

Leonora’s husband exclaimed, “Oh, you’re German’s friends!”

And Leonora exclaimed, “I met you during Semana Santa, remember?”

Ah. These were the friends German had told us about. He and Peggy had held their medieval wedding pageant last August in their home, the House of the Arch. This house. Small world.

We were taken on a tour of the place, including the immense banquet hall, still sporting medieval banners and 19^th-century tapestries. This was probably the refrectory of the immensely powerful Cluny Benedictine monastery (hence the “San Benito” on the entry plaque) that had once controlled Sahagún. In the 19^th century, during the desamortización, monastic lands and buildings were confiscated, often destroyed, and bought by anyone who had the money and interest. Leonora’s great-great-great grandfather (more or less) had bought the monastery (or what remained of it), along with a few other monastic buildings in Sahagún and a nearby town. Now, some 200 years later, the descendants used one wing as a sort of vacation home and were turning another wing into a tourist/pilgrim hostal.

The husband pointed out the long, narrow Mudejar bricks, from the 12^th century, that made up the walls of the huge room. He said there were some Roman bricks mixed in, if we looked closely…. The ceiling was much newer—17^th century.

And then, downstairs to the huerta (garden) that had been the monastery’s cloisters and gardens, several centuries ago. And on to other buildings and outbuildings, including the so-called Palace of Queen Constance, the second wife of Alfonso VI, the remains of which were now used as a garage, a storeroom, and a chicken and rabbit shed.

Just this morning we had read in the newspaper that 2009 is the 900th anniversary of the death of King Alfonso VI, who at one time was forced to retire as monarch of León and seek refuge in the Benedictine monastery of Sahagún. Later, after he regained power, he liked to return here, and he and most of his five wives (and various concubines) are buried here. Alfonso’s second wife, Constanza (from Burgundy), had had a special set of rooms built for her use in the monastery. Later those rooms became a place that gave hospitality to pilgrims….

So here we were, standing in the midst of 900-year-old history!

Amazing.

I could just see the marketing ploy for the new hospice: "Alfonso VI slept here."

A Romería (April 25)

Today (April 25) was the Romería de San Marcos, which takes place each year at the Hermitage of the Virgin of the Bridge just outside of Sahagún and located on the Camino de Santiago. It is of special interest and importance to us since this hermitage has been under the care of our Spanish “family” for many generations. Paca, the matriarch of the family, is in charge of maintaining the building and its contents. She does this in spite of her general opposition to the Church and the priests. Every day she and a group of her friends walk out to the hermitage (about 1.5 miles each way) to spend some time, play cards, and visit. Bear in mind that Paca is 82 years of age this year. She is an amazing woman, very young and vital, as you can see in the photo showing her dancing with her daughter, Piedad. 

At the romería, which was attended by nearly one thousand people, (Correction: Make that two thousand) Paca was selling candles to light before the statue of the Virgin. The figure is quite beautiful; her wig is made from hair taken from Piedad some 35 years ago. Women who need some special blessing are given one of the pins that are fastened to the bottom of the Virgin’s costume. This Virgin is known for helping women to successfully bear children.

There was a small folkloric band, which led a procession of the Virgin, who was carried on a small float by a group of women. The crowd followed her around the grounds, returning her to her place of honor inside the hermitage. The place is named the Virgin of the Bridge because there was a bridge over a small stream beside the hermitage. The bridge remains, but the stream has long since been diverted to provide water for the crops.

After the procession the local government distributed small baguettes and a piece of cheese to all the attendees and there were stands selling limonada (a wine and lemon drink similar to sangría), beer, hazelnuts (part of the tradition of the romería) and ice cream. (Another tradition is to eat snails, which are distributed in the afternoon.) There was much dancing, singing, and festivities. These Spaniards just love to party!

A Day in the Life (April 23, 2009)

For those who might think that living in a small, out-of-the-way Spanish town would be boring, here is a day for you.

We awoke and looked out on the plaza in front of our apartment to find a motorcycle club filling the plaza with cycles of all vintages. There was a hospitality table set up in front of the town hall and the cyclists were enjoying morning coffee and juice as they talked and compared their machines, which were all restored to mint condition. We had the bird’s eye view of these proceedings.

At 10:30 our friends German and his Peruvian wife, Peggy, picked us up for a day’s outing. Our primary destination was a tiny village called Villalar de los Comuneros where in 1520 there was a peasants' uprising against King Carlos V. Under the banner of “Traitors NO! Defenders of liberty, YES!” they fought and lost against the Spanish king’s army. Their brave attempt to throw off the monarchy is remembered 500 years later by all left-leaning political parties in Spain. The event is a fair with many tents set up by all the leftist political parties from the Communist on to the center left PSOE, which is currently in power. 25,000 people, including us, descended on this tiny village overwhelming all public services, creating a line of cars stretching for miles, and joyfully eating, drinking, and partying as only the Spanish can do.

The fair coincides with the annual “Day of the Book” so many of the displays were from publishers. Elyn enjoyed the displays very much and purchased several books for our library.

After lunch (late afternoon by American standards), we left Villalar for a visit to a walled medieval town, Urueña, which is designated as Spain’s “Villa del Libro,” the Town of the Book, part of an organization with other Book Towns in other countries. Behind medieval fortified limestone walls is a perfectly preserved village, where every other shop is a book store. There is a museum which is dedicated to book printing and binding and the usual contingent of bars and shops, all doing a great business. Elyn found a Spanish/American/British lady who speaks perfect English running her shop, which specializes in chocolate, tea, regional foods, and wool items. She sampled all the teas and picked out a wonderful tea scented with cinnamon and lemon. She also bought some artisanal, raw-sheep-milk cheeses that are delicious! Elyn felt like a real Spanish "insider" when she asked the clerk if the soft torta de Cañarejal was like torta de Casar. The clerk was amazed that she knew about that cheese.

Leaving Urueña, German and Peggy drove us to a monastery called Santa Espina, which has a thorn from the crown of thorns, thus its name. This is a huge complex with a church and double cloisters, all in simple, but monumental style. The complex is now used as a school to train people in agricultural techniques. It is recently restored by the provincial government.

Leaving the monastery, our younger companions drove us home, while Elyn and I napped in the back seat. Honey Bunny and Brown Bear also had a great outing, which you can read about on their blog HERE.

Market Saturday

In contrast with the tranquil scene from our apartment yesterday, this is the scene today. Saturday is market day and the market you see stretches over nearly 10 blocks in town. The streets are blocked to traffic and everyone in town is teeming up and down the market, buying, selling, looking, and visiting with friends. It is a lively scene and only about 30 feet from our door. You can buy everything from underwear, through outer clothes and shoes, along with wonderful fruits and veggies, cheese, meat, etc. The town fairly pulses with activity and we stroll through the streets, standing out as foreigners I’m sure, but the venders are friendly and accommodating and the other shoppers elbow their way through, just as Spaniards always do. What a happy scene. We get oranges (organic, no less) that are sweeter and juicier than we get in the US. The lettuce is grown right outside of town and is considered to be the best in the country by the locals. Not a trace of bitterness there. Nuts, olives, other provisions in abundance. I’m waxing eloquent because I love this market.

Our US friends have wanted to see the interior of our apartment and we took these shots to give an impression. We tried to keep the boxes and unstored stuff out of sight as much as possible. The apartment is tastefully decorated—not OUR taste, but the best Spanish taste.  Notably absent are the plaster and porcelain figures and other nicknacks that adorn most Spanish homes. What a relief. There is hardly anything that we have had to hide away to be comfortable here. As we clear and store more stuff we’ll put up other photos.

A New Home in Sahagún

We have been looking for a better apartment all the time we have been here in Spain. The place we had rented was OK, but it was old and far from the center of town. We have many friends here, and they have been looking for us. Our friend German, an English speaker and computer guru among his many talents, found this place quite by accident. It is a newly remodeled apartment just one flight above a pharmacy on the central plaza in town. We are literally in the center of all activity in Sahagún. Our concerns about possible noise were relieved when we came here during the Holy Week celebrations. The door to our balcony has double-pane glass and lowers the noise level to a comfortable buzz, even during the busiest times.

I took these pictures today at 4 PM, during the afternoon siesta, when all the shops are closed and the people are at home having lunch and resting. As you can see, there are no people to be seen. At any other time there will be knots of people in conversation, children playing, people shopping, and the business of the town going on. The yellow building directly across from our apartment is the town hall.

We now have a local telephone and high-speed internet, so we are totally connected to the rest of the world, just like our place in the US. We are just a few steps from three restaurants, a clothing store, a bread and sweets store, office supply store, and the banks. Of course we are very near a bar, and it would be impossible here in Sahagún to be far from a bar. There must be thirty bars in the town!

The last photo is a view of our private terrace in the back of the apartment. We will get some plants and outdoor furniture very soon so we 

can use this space as well.

We are so very happy to have found this beautiful place, which we will be happy to share with friends when they visit. During the many fiestas and celebrations we will have the primo view of festivities from our balcony. We feel quite “regal” with our perfect view above the crowds. The bare trees in the photos will leaf out and provide a beautiful green setting for us to enjoy. So we invite all our friends to come to Spain and visit us.

Semana Santa in Spain: Sunday

Semana Santa in Spain: Friday Morning

Semana Santa in Spain: Thursday Evening