Burgos day 1 (Tuesday, September 30th)

We spent the morning in Burgos' number one attraction, the cathedral. It was started in 1521 and took  300 years to complete the many additions, and contains the grave of the Castillian hero El Cid, or as the locals call him - El Theed.  The cathedral is impressive even if you are not religious, and its myriad of small chapels were commissioned by a veritable who's who of the Spanish church, or as in Randy's words, the Catholic Hall of Fame.

It is difficult to explain all of the different styles of the main church and various chapels, but it took two hours just to walk around the interior, and if the church sold off all of the treasures inside they could probably pay off the US national debt.  So I will add a few photographs, and leave it at that for the cathedral. 

The Main Altar

The Sacristy Ceiling

The Original Pope Mobile?

In the afternoon we walked 3 miles up the river to Cartuja de Miraflores, a Carthusian monastery, which is also the burial place of King Alfonzo VIII and his wife (daughter of England's King Henry II).  Timing is everything, and we arrived 15 minutes before the monastery closed at 3 pm for siesta, so it was only a quick walk through, before the trek back to town.  The monastery was founded in 1442 and currently has 20 members, who observe strict silence.

The Altar and tomb of King Alfonzo VIII

We were too late in the season for the night train, but did an evening tour on (Tomaso?) El Tren Turistico, which took us all over town and into some areas that we had not yet explored.

El Tren Turistico 

In the evening we sat outdoors at a bar, with a cold drink, and watched the locals go by, after our 19 km day.