Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela is the capital of Galicia and the end of the Way of St. James pilgrimage route.

There is a very nice Parador in the center of town.

The Santiago de Compostela Cathedral houses the tomb of the apostle James.

Saint James the Great is said to have brought Christianity to Spain.

His burial place in Galicia was allegedly rediscovered by Pelagius the Hermit in 814.

King Alfonso II of Asturias and Galicia conducted a pilgrimage to the site and ordered the construction of a chapel there.

The King of Leon built a larger church at the site, but it was destroyed in the 10th century by Al-Andalus.

The bells at the old church in Santiago de Compostela were added to the Aljama Mosque in Cordoba, then later used in the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo when Cordoba was captured by Christians during the Reconquista.

Construction on the cathedral that stands today started in 1075 by order of the King of Castile.

After the Reconquista was complete, Pope Alexander VI declared the Way of Saint James one of the three official pilgrimage routes of Christendom.

An offering from 1704

A banner from the Battle of Lepanto.

These people are celebrating finishing their pilgrimages. Fireworks could be heard going off around the city throughout the day.

My favorite motif of Saint James is Saint James Matamoros. He supposedly appeared at the Battle of Clavijo, a battle that (probably didn't) take place in the 9th century, and helped the Christians beat the Moors.

A lion head from the 13th century

It is estimated over 200,000 pilgrims hike the Way of Saint James each year.

Death by giant sword

From what we could tell on our trip, the Way of Saint James is still very popular. It made our ticket to Santiago de Compostela cheap because most people fly out from there, but few fly in. And of course, there are a lot of St. James souvenirs along the route. 

London 2022

This time in London we visited the Victoria and Albert Museum. A highlight is Tipu Sultan's tiger. It had a crank that made sounds like a dying British soldier when used.

A wish fulfilling cow from Southern India

A betel-nut container owned by the last King of Burma. When the museum gave back the king's regalia to Myanmar, they let the museum have this...

The Dacre beasts, Tudor heraldic statues that decorated a castle in Cumbria

The Victoria and Albert Museum also has a few large rooms full of casts of some of humanities greatest monuments.

We had a good time at the National Army Museum.

A wooden spoon awarded to the worst shot in the unit in the early 20th century. Hazing done right.

Dragoons had intimidating hats.

Elephant foot liqueur sets aren't really kosher anymore.

We also went to Rules for a classic British dinner.

Beef Wellington done right

Excellent!

 

Hampton Court

Hampton Court was built by Cardinal Wolsey starting in 1514 outside of London.

Henry VIII "was given" it in 1529 when Wolsey fell out of favor.

The fountain in the center of Hampton Court used to dispense wine.

An oven that helped power nightly feasts.

Orenge

The palace is still owned by the royal family.

Anne Boleyn helped decorate Hampton Court, but Henry VIII tried to eliminate all traces of her from the place after executing her. Her heraldic falcon that used to be in the roof of the great hall was recently found.

Spooky Hercules

After the separation of the Church of England from the Catholic Church, Henry VIII commissioned this paining of the writers of the four Gospels crushing the Pope with rocks.

Fancy incense burners

All royals worth their salt commemorate their court dwarves

When William of Orange became King of England, he enlarged Hampton Court to rival Versailles in the 17th century.

King George II was the last King of England to use Hampton Court as his primary residence.

King Henry VIII built the Royal Tennis Court. It is one of the oldest in the world still being used today.

Hampton Court gardens are extensive and well kept.

Charge!

It is said George III never visited Hampton Court upon becoming king because he associated it with mistreatment from his father.

The largest grape vine in the world was planted in 1768 at Hampton Court. It produces sweet grapes not suitable for wine (sadly).

Hampton Court could still probably defend itself if it had some ammunition...

 

Cowdray Ruins

Cowdray was a Tudor nobleman's mansion.

It took over 20 years to build in the 16th century.

The owner, Sir William Fitzwilliam had to get a special license from Henry VIII to develop his 600 acre estate.

A fire burned down much of the estate in 1793.

The ruins of Cowdray House are now used as a rentable event space.

 

Winchester

 

Winchester Cathedral is the longest medieval cathedral in the world.

Construction on the cathedral started in 1079.

The first churches in Wessex were constructed in the 7th century.

Jane Austen was buried here in 1817.

She was brought to the city for treatment and never recovered.

A lot of name sharing going on

Winchester was has been inhabited since the Iron Age, and was a center of the British Belgae tribe. The Tournai font above was built by Belgians in the 12th and 13th century.

After Roman rule, the city became the capital of the Kingdom of Wessex.

King Alfred the Great completely redesigned the city to protect against Vikings. Many Kings of Wessex and King Canute are amongst many royals buried here.

The Normans instigated the construction of Winchester Cathedral, built out of the Saxon Old and New Ministers.

During the early 1900s William Walker laid over 25,000 bags of concrete, 115,000 concrete clocks, and 900,000 bricks to prevent the cathedral from sinking.

One of the best things about medieval cathedrals are their painted tile floors.