Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo

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Before roaming the main street of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Mommy, Daddy, and I first dropped by the Carmel Mission. The basilica was founded in 1771 before the Anza Expedition began. 


The garden outside the basilica is very pretty. This is why it wasn't very surprising that a wedding was being set up in this church.




Inside the basilica, the reredos reminded me of the old churches in the Philippines. The decorations in the basilica were less ornate than those in I've seen before (mostly heavily gilded). But I have a niggly feeling that those reredos were newer than this one.


The side chapels contain more statues of saints and paintings. People have lit candles by some of these images, particularly those of the Virgin Mary.



Aside from the basilica, there were other exhibits in the mission. One of them featured life for monks or priests back in the day. They had the barest facilities but they had a lot of books.


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