Dec. 8-The Immaculate Conception: Spanish Style

The Immaculate Conception is a day celebrated by Spaniards almost the same way they celebrate Christmas. They visit their family, have a large dinner and EVERYTHING is shut down. Julio, Edita and Pacho (in Pacho's car) were planning to visit two villages up in the mountains of Burgos, about 2 hours away, for the day and they invited me to go with them.

We drove the two hours north passing through various small Castellano villages along the way that were so adorable looking. We even passed a convent that used to make one of the most famous chocolates in Spain. The weather was sunny, yet very cold.

The first village we visited was Santo Domingo de Silos. It was a very small village, situated on the lower part of the mountains near Burgos, that had a very large medieval influence. There we had a coffee and attended mass. As you all know, I am not Catholic, but I still enjoy seeing other religious services and finding the similarities and differences between protestant religions and those of other religions. Unfortunately, mass lasted a lot longer than any of us anticipated, but it was still nice to see.
Santo Domingo de Silos and some medieval homes.
The Plaza Mayor en Silos.
The bell tower of the beautiful cathedral in Silos.
Old medieval architecture.

After mass, we walked around the streets for maybe 15 minutes and then headed to another village for lunch. We ended up stopping in Pineda. This is a village that Edita, Julio and their children used to visit when they were kids. They showed me the home they used to rent, where they played, etc. This town was even SMALLER than the last and if you walk around for 5 minutes, you have seen the entire town. It is beautiful because it is on the top of the mountain and you can see another part of the mountain, which on this day had some snow on the top. It was very beautiful. Some of the homes were decorated for Christmas, there were children playing football (soccer) outside in a courtyard, and a few friendly dogs were wandering around. We ended up eating at a very old fashioned restaurant that was heated by a very early 1900's fireplace. The food was great and it was fun doing something different with the family.
Me with Julio and Edita in Pineda. Typical for them to not be paying attention to Pacho taking our picture.
Snow on top of the mountains in front of Pineda.
Some of the fun xmas decorations. This one amused me; Santa Clause (Papa Noel) climbing up one side and the Three Kings (they are who bring the gifts to the children) on the other side.
Pacho, Julio and Edita in front of a beautiful holly bush.

After lunch, we walked around a little and then got another cup of coffee because it was so cold. Then, we headed back to Valladolid. All in all it was a nice relaxing day. Even better, I was able to see more of Castilla-Leon, which is my goal by the end of my stay here in Spain this year.

Love, Celeste