We heard some music and saw a crowd gather by the western side, so we hurried to see what it was all about. Apparently, the preparations that were underway before we did the church tour were for a late afternoon wedding, and a traditional one at that.
We were just in time to witness the wedding march preceded by a band of elderly villagers in colourful costumes playing merry tunes on their instruments bedecked with paper buntings. The entourage followed and at the very end of the procession, the radiant bride in her beautiful white gown and the handsome groom in his dapper suit. The wedding party traipsed down the stairs heading to the Plaza del Rey San Fernando before it turned left, to where I am assuming would be the reception venue.
As the music faded away and the crowd dispersed, we lingered at the plaza for a few more minutes to take photos. Across the street are several cafes that offer cold beer and a variety of tapas, but we opted not to eat anything. Our Tour Director reminded us when we arrived in Burgos earlier that day that we were going to have a big Spanish welcome feast at the hotel that night. We didn’t want to ruin our appetites. Instead, we headed to Calle de la Paloma for a leisurely stroll and some window-shopping.
The narrow, but well-tended pedestrian street is lined with five-storey buildings painted in vibrant colours – lemon yellow, ochre, ocean blue, and lime green. The first levels are either shops or restaurants and above are residential apartments or hotels. The stone pavements, old-fashioned lamps, and the little balconies with potted flowering plants bring the quaintness of this promenade up a notch, and it seems to be the theme for all the other streets crossing and running parallel to it that we randomly explored.
Every now and then, we would find a little corner with benches and interesting sculptures behind, beside, or on them. Burgos sure has a lot of statues perfect for Instagram shots, though at the time of my visit, this app was not even in existence yet!. My amigas and I had a lot of fun taking some wacky photos. We joked that after our serious artistic jaunt inside the cathedral, this was our opportunity to relax and be a little crazy.
Our walk took us to the Plaza del Mio Cid, where the statue of Burgos’ famous son proudly stands atop his equally-famous horse, Babieros. We continued on to Plaza Mayor, a hexagon-shaped plaza where you will find the Town Hall and a statue of Carlos III. It was quiet but starting to get busy. We slowly traced our way back to Plaza del Rey, where the crowd has tripled.
One of my amigas spotted a group of police officers and commented on how regal they looked in their blue uniforms. I offered to take a picture of her with them but she thought it was a ridiculous idea. I told her, “Hey, this is Spain. The Spanish cops are supposed to be really friendly.” And as if they heard me, a couple of them looked our way and smiled. Encouraged, I said, “See? I think they would like a picture with us as well. Shall we go and ask? It looks like they are on their break.” My shy amiga pulled me back vehemently as I started to walk towards the cop standing closest to us.
Instead, we crossed the Arco de Santa Maria to get out of the city centre. I was shaking my head in disappointment for I truly wanted a photo of us surrounded by Spanish police officers. How cool was that going to be? I’d never know.
I guess another one of my "less shy" amigas had the same thought and it was quite ironic that as we were exiting the gate, the first thing we saw was none other than a shiny, white police car parked on the side, and was at that moment unattended. “Lo and behold! There is hope!” We both laughed and almost said in unison, “I have an idea!”
So off we went and alternately took solo shots of us posing beside the cop car, as if we owned it. I caught a glimpse of one of the officers peeking from the gate. When he saw what we were doing, he just shrugged his shoulders and waved. Like I said back there, “This is Spain.”
Before crossing the Puente de Santa Maria that spans the Arlanzon River, we turned right towards Paseo del Espolon, an elegant promenade shaded by plane trees and lined with cafes and shops. This extends along the river, all the way to the other bridge, Puente de San Pablo, but we did not walk that far. We just checked the menus displayed outside the restaurants and sat for a bit on one of the park benches and people-watched. It seemed like this riverside road is a favorite of Burgos residents. We saw locals jogging, walking their dogs, biking, or shopping.
Opposite the paseo is a quiet garden of meadowland and banks of reeds filled with what looked like frogs. It was a peaceful pastoral scene amidst historical monuments nearby. It would have been nice to stay longer but as the sun was setting, we were reminded, not just by the darkening sky, but also by our grumbling tummies, that it was time to walk back to the hotel for our grand dinner.
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