Thursday, August 29, 2013

Ivy-covered Cloisters and Celtic Cathedrals

Not surprisingly, our travels around the northern coast of Spain involved visits to some beautiful churches.
The ivy-draped cloister at Santillana del Mar was one of my favourites.
The outside of the church in that medieval town was also beautiful, but didn't quite compare to the Baroque splendour of Santaigo de Compostela in Celtic Galicia:
We visited the cathedral by day and returned at midnight, when Celtic music was playing and locals or visitors were dancing in the square:


Even on our road-trips between campsites we encountered incredible churches. We parked our car and trailer in front of this edifice when we popped into a small town to find some much-needed toilets!
There are plenty of ancient churches in France, but they are seen more as historic monuments in our secular country. We enjoyed spending time in a country where faith seemed at least as important as tourism!

8 comments:

Catherine said...

Amazing churches Floss. If you ever get to Barcelona the Sagrada Familia is quite extraordinary. Glad you had a wonderful holiday.

Elderberry-Rob said...

First picture of ivy covered cloisters, absolutely beautiful. If only we could still build like this in modern times.

Sherri B. said...

These photos are spectacular..I had no idea that Spain was a country of such faith, very interesting indeed. xo

Marigold Jam said...

Was interested to see that you visited Santiago de Compestala. My French friends are doing the pilgrimage to there in 150 km bites. I picked up a fabulous book all about the cathedral which I gave to them to act as a carrot!! It certainly looked amazing.

Jane and Chris said...

I absolutely love armchair travel,especially somewhere so beautiful. Thanks for the mini tour .
Jane x

Unknown said...

What a great holiday you seem to have had. Love all the photos, but the first one is wonderful.

Lululiz said...

I have a passion for church architecture as well, I am lucky that there are so many beautiful little churches in just about every tiny village here in France. I thoroughly enjoyed your photographs of the lovely churches you visited on your trip.

Pom Pom said...

Hi Floss! Beautiful! When we were in Munich and Amsterdam, I was captivated by the churches/cathedrals as well.