So today we went on a little excursion into the surrounding areas of Madrid with Alvaro and Angela.
Alvaro mentioned a cathedral that was being built on the outskirts of Madrid made entirely of recycled materials. He was kind of laughing when he told us about it- he said how the one man who was building it became famous for his work a few years back when he was featured in a soda commercial. Since then, the man has had a few documentaries done about his work and his story is known throughout Spain.
Angela kind of laughed about the story- neither of them had ever been there before. They knew where it was located, but insisted that this was a really weird thing to see and they weren’t sure if it would be worth the trip. I mentioned the idea to Pilar and Luis, who also laughed, and said they had not been there either but were eager to check it out. Apparently, this is one of those rare and strange oddities that everyone is intrigued by, including
us! So we decided to go.
So this Sunday morning, Alvaro, Angela, and Lizzy came by my place to pick me up and we were on our way to the One Man Cathedral!
FUN FACT #36: Justo Gallego Martinez was born in 1925, which now makes him 89 years old. In 1953, he joined a monastery, but was forced to leave in 1961 when he contracted tuberculosis. He made a promise that if he recovered from the tuberculosis, he would build a cathedral on the tract of land left to him by his parents. His prayers were answered and he has been constructing this cathedral ever since!!
The town that the cathedral is in is called Mejorada del Campo and is definitely not the kind of place you would want to walk around alone at night. The town was DEAD while we drove around looking for parking- but that is typical on a Sunday in Spain.
Personally, I wasn’t expecting much. A small church with some stained glass or something. Nothing compared to what we actually saw.
HOLY GUACAMOLE THIS PLACE WAS GIGANTIC!!
No joke, it’s actually the size of a real life cathedral.
FUN FACT #37: The outer dimensions are 20x50 meters (or 65x165 feet). The main dome is 131 feet high and 40 feet in diameter.
So ya, this thing is pretty freakin’ big.
The four of us honestly were in a bit of shock by the whole thing. It’s free entry, they just ask for donations at the door. Angela, and architect, was pretty concerned about the support beams and the materials used to hold everything up. Yet for some reason, we still thought it would be chill to walk around the balconies and rooftops of the whole cathedral. Typical. My Grandma would have had a heart attack. But I think my Grandpa would have volunteered his services to help make it structurally sound. That is totally something he would do.
Anyways, we laughed and explored for a while. I couldn’t get over how the man painted some frescos on the walls, and yet didn't have coverings over the dome yet. His building methods are definitely a bit unorthodox.
He even built a crypt under the church! Which seems a bit odd as I’m assuming no one is buried under there yet. Maybe he means it to be for himself… I mean, he’s gettin’ up there.
After we made a few donations and got back in the car, Angela and Alvaro told us they wanted to take us to lunch to a city called Alcala de Henares.
When we arrived at the city, we immediately knew that there was some big event happening. Many of the streets were closed down, we didn't see many people, and there was ZERO parking. Sure signs of a fiesta!
Every city in Spain has it’s own holiday, it seems, and this one was to celebrate Cervantes. Although Alvaro and Angela were a bit disappointed that we wouldn't be able to easily walk the streets and see the sights, Lizzy and I were pretty excited to see the festival. Everyone was dressed up in medieval garb and had their own tents selling things like smoked meats, cheese, and arts and crafts. The city was packed with people, and there was food everywhere.
Alvaro and Angela paid for our entry into Cervantes’ original home, which was pretty cool. It was one of those very traditional Spanish homes with the courtyard in the middle. All of the rooms were kept in original condition as much as possible which was very cool. One room had puppets of Don Quixote characters, which immediately prompted Lizzy and I to sing, “High on a hill was a lonely goatherd, Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo!!”
After we had some food and walked around a bit, we hopped back in the car and headed back to Madrid. We had a really nice relaxing only adult day, saw some interesting sights, and enjoyed great company.
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