More Adventures

I said goodbye to my parents early on a Wednesday morning in Madrid only to say hello to come friends traveling back from France. We had decided to meet up in Madrid for a quick trip to Segovia, northwest of Madrid, before heading back to Sevilla.

We were 20 minutes away from Segovia when it began to snow. It was the Wednesday before Easter and SNOWING. We did our best to see the sights in our spring jackets and under umbrellas. My lips were turning blue in the 32 degree weather and my hands were icicles, but I managed a few pictures.

The castle is the one that Walt Disney modeled his after, and the aqueducts were large and impressive.

Needless to say, it was a fairly quick trip. Back in Madrid, we ran into massive people traffic. Both Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are holidays in this country, and EVERYONE was leaving town. There wasn’t a seat to be had on the train to Sevilla the entire day. I managed to secure the last bus ticket, and nine hours after leaving Madrid, arrived at 1am to an awake and alive Sevilla.

Semana Santa, Holy Week, is a very special time in this country. If one didn’t know better, one would think it was a week of Klu Klux Klan demonstrations, but the costumes, floats, and processions are actually part of acts of penance. Each church carries large, ornately decorated floats of Jesus carrying the cross and of the Virgin Mary through the streets. Nazarenos (the one who look like KKK members) pay for the opportunity to walk for hours through the streets carrying crosses, candles, and the floats. The processions begin on Palm Sunday and run continuously until Easter Sunday. All hours of the day and night one can find a procession. It took me almost two hours to walk home from the bus station at 1am on Wednesday night due to the streets being packed with people. Families with small children dressed in their best flood the small streets, becoming silent when the pazo passes. Through the dark of night, these processions continue.

This is a cherished time of the Spanish year; my senora watches the processions on direct TV the entire week. Everyone seems to have their favorite pazos, and many are moved to tears when they watch them pass. Spaniards from all parts of the country travel to Sevilla for Semana Santa. Holy Friday is one of three days of the year the bread shops are closed. Mass is full, and families are together. In many ways, it is the Spanish version of the American Christmas: there are special foods, special songs, special outfits especially for the week.

Semana Santa is a unique time; so uniquely Spain in all of its form and function. I didn’t get very good pictures, but there are a few to see. Check them out at: http://picasaweb.google.com/sgauche, Espana, Part 11.