On Sunday in Barcelona most of the retail shops are closed. The cafes and restaurants are mostly open. I'm getting the hang of moving around Barcelona, and speaking Spanish, well just a little, but you will pick it up quickly too. This is my first time in Spain, and as Spanish is the 2nd most spoken language in the world, it's important to be able to speak and undertsand at least a small amount of Spanish.
Fortunately, there's a fair amount of Spanish in popular culture; like, "Hola" - hello, 'adios' - goodbye', 'por favour' - please, 'una, dos, tre,quatro' - 1,2,3,4. 'No problema' - no problem, 'Gracias' - thankyou, 'nada' - nothing, 'Hombre' - man, 'Senorita' - woman. Then it's just a matter of combining them all. For example, "Hola, una expresso, por favour.' which means, Hello one coffee please. Helpful things to know are; 'La Quenta' - the account or bill, 'bolsa' - bag (they will ask you at Supermarket & you will have to pack your own shopping bag), "Si entiende' - I understand, 'Habla Inglese?' - Do you speak English? 'Bueno' - good. 'malo' - bad. 'mulchos' - many,
It's important also to know something about Spanish history. In 711 the first Islamic invasion began in Spain, and much of Spain was conquered by the Muslim warriors, who were called, 'Moors'. The Reconquista or in English, the 'Reconquest' took until the fall of Granada in Southern Spain in 1492. On Thursday we will be travelling to Granada, so you will see the influence of the Moors on art and architecture in Granada, and probably Seville and Cordova too.
The signficance of the alleged discovery of the holy bones of St James at Santiago de Compostela in the north west of Spain cannot be overstated. The effect on the badly shaken morale of the Christian forces was huge. In Spain the other name for St James is 'Matamooros' - slayer of Moors. The Knights of Santiago rode into battle shouting, 'Santiago, Santiago!' It was the beginning of the Reconquista.
St James is the patron saint of Spain, and the Cross of St James (above) is the symbol. Pilgrims from all over Europe started the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela to worship and seek an indulgence from temporal sin. The pilgrimage route became the Comino de Santaigo or the Way of St James. Unfortunately, I won't be able to do it on this trip, but I will, one day.
Today was a special service at Barcelona Cathedral, which took place outside in the packed plaza. The feast of Corpus Christie.
Further information:
Reconquista - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconquista
