The first thing you see when you enter through the front portal of the cathedral in Santo Domingo is a loft with a huge, live rooster striding back and forth. There is a very pretty legend behind this. Sometime in the middle ages a group of pilgrims on the way to Santiago were staying in the pilgrim's hostel (now the parador) when one of them accused a companion of having stolen his purse. After having been convicted of the crime by a kangaroo court, by the draconian laws of the day, the culprit was condemned to be executed the next morning. That evening a group of his friends called upon the local magistrate to protest his innocence. They found this dignetary at his dinner. As he was listening to their argument the roast chicken on his plate suddenly jumped to the floor and began to crow. At this the judge ordered the man to be released immediately and to this day a chicken lives in the cathedral to commemorate the miracle.
As for the parador, it is all warm wood and Gothic arches, some of the rooms have grand four poster beds and the food in the dining room, as befits the parador's location in La Rioja, justly famous for having the best cuisine in the whole of Spain. A room costs around $130. Actually there is now a second parador, called Bernardo de Fresnedo, just outside the town walls. It's located in a former convent and is extremely quiet and some thirty dolllars cheaper. Either one is a good choice if you are there on business, which in the Rioja most often means the wine business as the province is the most famous wine producing region in the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment