Christina left Tønsberg, Norway in the Summer of 1257 – the procession consisting of more than 100 people. After crossing the North Sea to Yarmouth, England, they crossed the English Channel to Normandy – continuing their journey across France on horseback to the Spanish border of Catalonia. In Barcelona, the party was met by King James I of Aragon, (father of Violant of Aragon, wife of King Alfonso X), who was taken with Christina's beauty. On Christmas Eve, 1257, the party lodged at the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas at Burgos; an abbey that has survived intact to modern day.