We started off Tuesday off with a giant chocolate covered cookie.
We have seen them in all the bakeries and decided to finally get one today. It
was delicious!
We ate as we walked along towards our destination for the
day, Catedral de La Almudena. We got quite a few looks and that’s when we
remembered that in Spain, you do not eat and walk. I think it is considered
rude. So we hurried up and finished our huge cookie.
El Catedral de la Almudena was of course, beautiful. There
was a museum at the top. The first gallery is dedicated to the history of the
Church of Madrid and its two patrons, Our
Lady Santa María la Real de la Almudena and San Isidro Labrador. The gallery talked about the various bishops
who have reigned over the Diocese, created by Pope León XIII in 1885. On
display where the emblems and vestments of the bishops. They were quite
elaborate! We also got to see the crowns and various objects they use in
worship ceremonies. We couldn’t tell exactly what everything was used for but
there were a few objects that had literally thousands of diamonds, rubies and
emeralds. It looked as if it was made out of real gold too. (Again, no pictures
were allowed.)
King Alfonso XII started the building of the cathedral in
1883 in memory of his first wife, Queen María de las Mercedes. The cathedral
was not consecrated until June 15, 1993 by his Holiness John Paul II and it is
the first cathedral to be consecrated out of Rome by a Pope.
The history of the Patroness, Our Lady Satnat Mariía la Real
de la Almudena dates all the way back to 1085 when King Alfonso VI found an
image of the Virgin inside the city wall of Madrid. It was hidden in the year
712 before the Arabic invasion. The King named the image “Almudena” which comes
from the Arabic word almudaina which
means “city wall”.
The view from the top of the cathedral was breathtaking! We
had a 360 degree view of the city and a great view of the Palacio Real.
As we were leaving the cathedral, someone stopped me and
asked for directions…in Spanish. And I was able to answer! I told Ben that I
must be looking less American if someone asks me directions in Spanish and
expects me to answer in kind. It made me happy. J
After the cathedral we walked around a bit more. We found a
basilica called San Francisco el Grande. We plan to visit there tomorrow. We
also saw another basilica called Pontifica de San Miguel but that one doesn’t
look as if it is open to the public. It had beautiful carvings on the outside
though. We continued south and headed down to Toledo and saw Glorieta Puerta de
Toledo. This puerta was a lot more elaborate than Puerta de Alcalá.
A little funny anecdote from day: Ben kept asking me what signs would say today and as I looked over to read them, I would turn around to him and say "Benjamin, why don't you read the English on the sign?!" He would look at me and say, "Well I just keep assuming I won't know what it says!"
A little funny anecdote from day: Ben kept asking me what signs would say today and as I looked over to read them, I would turn around to him and say "Benjamin, why don't you read the English on the sign?!" He would look at me and say, "Well I just keep assuming I won't know what it says!"
El Caterdal de la almudena:
Ben standing there sure puts the size of the statue into perspective!
Carved in stone it says: Pedro, te daré las llaves del reino de los cielos Mt. 16:19 (I will give you the keys to the heavens.)
These doors have the most amazing designs!
An early model of the cathedral.
View from the top:
This is the courtyard with the wall from when Madrid was occupied by the Islams.
The ceiling of the dome of the cathedral.
An aerial view of the cathedral and Palacio Real. Closest is the cathedral and the big open space is the courtyard in front of the Palacio Real.
Capilla Santísma
Trinidad
The symbol of Madrid: El oso y el madroño
Our Lady Santa María la Real de la Almudena:
One huge pipe organ.
This is the front of the cathedral where the priest will stand to preach.
Estela de la almudena.
There is a slot below where you can slide in prayers or donations.
Santa Angela de la cruz.
Santa Josefa Sancho Guerra.
The amazing details on the door entering the cathedral.
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Basiclica Pontifica de San Miguel.
Calle Toledo and Puerta del Toledo.
Notice the tiny pink car in the middle?
First, way to look like a local and give directions!
ReplyDeleteSecond, I like the posing by both of you in front of the statue :)
Glad you are able to really see the city you are living in!! Those panoramic pictures are breathtaking! xoxo