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Alan's
and Sheila's Homepage
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Spain Vacation... |
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- In June we left the kids at home and traveled to Spain!
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- It was a great time and a wonderful country to visit and
as a result we probably took too many pictures.
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- So, if you are in a hurry, see the Condensed Spain Vacation Highlights
photos.
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- Otherwise, you can click on any of these cities on our itinerary:
- Or simply scroll down through the thumnails and descriptions
to get an overview before diving in fully.
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- Note: When you click to enlarge a thumbnail, you
will be able to scroll through the full size pictures very quickly
as it buffers ahead and there is no waiting for them to download.
- Madrid
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- Day 1 - We arrived in Madrid around noon local time
after a long flight from Colorado and checked into the Hotel
Catalonia Las Cortez. This hotel is perfectly situated in
a great location and we were basically able to walk to everything
that we wanted to see during our short stay in Madrid. After
taking a short nap immediately upon arriving, we awoke and began
exploring the city.
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- We began with a stroll through the Parque
Del Buien Reitro, a beautiful 320 acre park in the heart
of Madrid originally created in 1632 as a royal retreat for King
Philips IV. The park was full of Spaniards enjoying the day especially
at the Estanque del Reitro, a lake overlooked by a monument to
Alfonso XII.
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Reitro
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- After the park we strolled through the high end Salamanca
district and its shops and cafes mostly along the popular Calle
Serrano. On the way back to the hotel we passed the Puerta
de Alcala, a neoclassical monument completed in 1778 and
the iconic Palacio de Comunicaciones in
the Plaza
de Cibeles.iWe also took in other sights on the Calle
de Alcala, the longest street in Madrid.Text
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- Later that evening we strolled over to Plaza
Mayor, passing several other busy and vibrant plazas along
the way. The Plaza Mayor is the central plaza in Madrid and its
origins go back to 1576, though it was most recently rebuilt
in 1790 after a fire. Later we had some tapas at a wonderful
cafe in Plaza de Angel and finally capped it off with dinner
at Vinoteca
Barbechera in Plaza
Santa Ana which was a lively plaza popular with locals and
less touristy than the chaotic Plaza Mayor.
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- Day 2 - On our second (and
last) day in Madrid our first priority was taking in the renowned
Museo
Del Prado which houses one of the world's finest collections
of European art. Many pieces are from the former Spanish Royal
Collection including many works by Spanish masters such as Velazquez,
Goya, Ribera and El Greco. One of the most famous pieces is Las Meninas,
one of most analyzed works in Western painting and one which
would later fascinate Pablo Picasso.
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- Las Meninas
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- Later in the day we visited the astounding Palacio
Real de Madrid and the adjcent Plaza
de Oriente home to the Opera House. The Palacio Real de Madrid
is the official Royal Palace of the King of Spain and is used
now only for ceremony.
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- On our last evening in Madrid we again breifly visited the
Plaza Mayor and some very interesting neighboring streets. We
also visited the Mercado
de San Miguel, a wonderful covered market near the Plaza
Mayor. That night we ate at the Sobrino
de Botin, the oldest continously operating resturant in the
world, founded in 1725, just to say we did.
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- Seville
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- Day 3 - We departed Madrid early in the morning via
the amazing Renfe high speed rail system. We arrived a scant
2 hours later in Seville and checked into the Hotel
Amadeus in the Barrio
de Santa Cruz quarter near the center of Seville. The Barrio
de Santa Cruz is the city's old Juderia or Jewish Quarter and
is the most visited part of Seville with many important historic
sites and charming whitewashed houses and its labyrinth of narrow
streets.
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- Seville is in the Andulasia
province of Spain which was conquered by the Islamic Moors between
711 and 1492 at a time with Islam was more enlightened and tolerant
than Christian Europe which was mired in the Dark Ages. Consequently,
there is a wealth of beautiful Islamic inspired architecture
in Andulasia and Seville. The Christians re-conquested Seville
in 1252 (leaving only Granda to the Moors until 1492) leading
to some interesting mixes of architectural styles.
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- After checking into the hotel we grabbed lunch and ventured
through the Jardines
(gardens) de Murillo until we reached the Cathedral area.
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- The Cathedral
of Saint Mary (better known as the Seville Cathedral) is
the third largest church in the world and features the largest
altar piece in the world which stands at more than 60 feet high.
The Cathedral took over 100 years to build and was started in
1402 and was built on the site of an ancient Mosque to demonstrate
Christian power after the re-conquest. The Cathedral features
80 chapels. The altar was designed by Pierre Dancart and took
80 years to complete. The detail is almost overwhelming and impossible
to photograph. The builders of the Catherdal are recorded as
saying "let us build it so great that those who see it
will think we were mad."
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- Two other features of the Cathedral are the famous La
Giralda tower which precedes the actual Cathedral being completed
in 1196 and the beautiful courtyard or Patio de los Naranjos.
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- Cathedral alter
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- View from Patio de
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- View from La Giralda
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- Bull Fighting Ring
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- Later that evening we wandered the streets of Seville near
our hotel. We found an interesting bar named the La Antigua Bodeguita
in the Plaza
del Alfalfa where lots of locals were congegrating for early
evening cervezas. Later in the night we had fabulous seafood
payea at Modesto
a great Tapas bar and terrace packed with locals.
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- Day 4 - On this day we used
the Renfe high speed train to take a day trip to Cordoba. To
keep the webpage organized by city, you can find the Cordobal
day trip photos below.
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- View Cordoba Pictures Here
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- When we returned from Cordoba, we again ventured into the
streets of Seville for its vibrant night life scene. We walked
across the River Guadalquivir and past
the Tore
del Ora, a 13th century military watchtower
and prison. We returned to the Cathedral area where the La Giralda
is bueatifully lit at night and finally ate at the Casa Tomate
Tapas Resturant.
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- Music Room at Hotel
Amadeus
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- La Giralda
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- Casa Tomate Tapas
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- Day 5 - On this day we rented a
car in order to drive to Arcos de La Frontier, one of the many
"white villages" that can be found in Andalusia. From
Arcos we planned to drive down to the Atlantic coast to the city
of Cadiz. Again, to keep the webpage organized by city, you can
find the Arcos and Cadiz day trip photos down below along with
the story of our adventure of driving back into Seville.
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- View Arcos de la Frontier Pictures
Here
- View Cadiz Pictures Here
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- Returning to Seville proved to be quite an adventure. It
is literally impossible to drive in Seville without GPS or without
having memorized the labyrinth of streets. The street names are
not easily visible even on the major roads. We ended up having
to follow a cab back to the hotel. By the time we returned it
was late and we simply enjoyed a quiet night at the hotel.
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- Day 6 - On our last day in Seville we took in the
marvelous Reales
Alcazares of Seville, a royal palace in Seville which was
originally a Moorish fort dating to the 9th century. The Alcazares
was built in the 14th century though many changes have been made
since then. It is the oldest palace in the world that still serves
European royalty as the current King of Spain stays there when
visiting Seville.
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- The Alcazar is the one of the most complete examples of Mudeja architecture
in Spain -- built by Moorish craftsmen in the Moorish style for
Christians after the Reconquest. The amount of detail is impressive
and overwhelming. A wing built by Isabella features the painting
St. Mary of the Fair Winds which is said to feature the
most accurate portrait of Christopher Columbus and the first
to depict Native Americans.
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entrance
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- After visiting Alcazar we spent our last afternoon in the
streets of Seville including a brief visit to the Plaza
de Espana in Maria Luisa Park. (Maria Luisa of Spain was
a prominent figure in Spanish history and was Holy Roman Empress
by virtue of marriage to Leopold II. She was prominently featured
in many paintings in the Prado.)
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- The Plaza de Espana was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American
Exposition World's Fair. It features tiled alcoves representing
the history of each province in Spain. And was used as a location
for the movies Lawrence of Arabia and Star Wars II:
Attack of the Clones.
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- For our last night we went to a local Flamenco Show. Flamenco
originates in Andalusia and so this was our last chance to see
an authentic representation. We caught a very intimate show at
the Casa
de la Memoria de Al Andalus, a cultural center converted
from an 18th century palace and features very authentic style
and locally well known performers.
- The show exceeded our expectations and it was a great way
to end our experience in Seville and Andalusia.
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- Seville really struck a chord with us despite not being overwhelmed
by its initial appearance. In the morning we said goodbye and
boarded an airplane to Barcelona...
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- Cordoba
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- Day Trip to Cordoba (Day 4 from Seville) - On this
we day caught a short range Renfe high speed train from the Santa
Justa station for the 45 minute ride to Cordoba.
Cordoba was an ancient Roman city in Iberia which later became
a capital of an Islamic caliphate. In the 10th and 11th centuries
it was possibly the most populus city in the world.
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- The most prominent tourist attraction in Cordoba is the Great
Mosque of Cordoba, also known as the Mezquita, a mosque whose
origins date back all the wasy to the year 600. The Mezquita
reached its current dimensions in 987 and most of its 856 columns
were taken from Roman ruins. In 1236 Cordoba was captured by
the Christians and the mosque was converted into a Christian
church with a huge Renaissance cathedra build right in the middle
of the mosque. It was very interesting to contrast the natural
forms and patterns of the Islamic architecture with the highly
ornate and busy look of the Christian features.
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- After a nice lunch and after walking through the narrow streets
lined with white Moorish buildings, we visited the Alcazar
de los Reyes Cristianos (Palace of Christian Kings) which
was originally a Visigoth Fortress before being made into a retreat
in 1386 for Spanish royalty after the Reconquest. The most prominent
feature of the palace is its lavish and beautiful gardens.
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- Palace Gardens
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- Typical old town
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- Back to Seville Day 4....
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- Arcos De La Frontera
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- Day Trip to Arcos De La Frontera (Day 5 from Seville)
- On this day we rented a car in order to drive to Arcos
de La Frontera, one of the many "white villages"
that can be found in Andalusia. Perhaps the most famous white
villiage is Ronda,
but we deemed too far to make if we also wanted to go to the
coast. Arcos sits upon a high sandstone ridge and gots its name
because it was on the front lines in Spain's 13th century battles
against the Moors during the reconquest. Driving on its narrow
and very steep streets was a major challenge and there is really
barely any room for a car to fit betwen the walls of the buildings.
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- After spending a few hours in Arco de le Frontera we continued
down to the Costa Del Sol to the port town of Cadiz.
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- Cadiz
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- Day Trip to Cadiz (Day 5 from Seville) - We departed
Arcos De Le Frontera and continued to Cadiz
on the Spanish Atlantic coast. We didn't really know where we
were going but managed to find a decent beach. After lunch and
a few hours relaxing on the beach we visited the old center of
town with its cathedrals and fortresses.
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- Back to Seville Day 5....
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- Barcelona
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- Day 7 - We flew from Seville and landed in the sleek
and modern Barcelona airport in the late morning and proceed
to our Hotel in the L'Eixample neighborhood of Barcelona. Barcelona
is a cosmopolitan city that rivals Paris as the most hip and
fashionable city in all of Europe. Barcelona is the capital of
Catalunya,
a province of Spain with fiercely independent roots and its culture
is distinctly Catalonian. Barcelona
was founded by the Romans some 2,000 years ago. Its oldest currently
surving neighborhoods such as the Gothic Quarter and El Born
go back to Medieval Times.
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- We stayed in the L'Eixample, a neighborhood built in the
1800s a model of modern city planning and features many "Modernista"
houses constructed at the dawn of modern art and architecture.
While the L'Eixample is beautiful, it turned out to be too far
from where we spent most of our time in Barcelona. The upside
is that all that walking allowed us to burn off those lavish
meals.
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- On the first day we walked past several Modernista houses
including the Gaudi
designed Casa Mila on our way to the iconic Gaudi designed
Sagrada
Familia. The Sagrada Familia is nothing short of mind blowing.
It is Gaudi's most famous work started in 1882 and still under
construction today. The Sagrada has overwhelming detail, but
everything has a purpose and a reason. It was fascinating to
take the tour to learn about the history of this iconic structure.
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- View from Hotel Cram
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- Day 8 - On this day after a late night and sleeping
in, we grabbed some pastries at a lovely pastry shop in the L'Eixample
and walked to the famous La
Rambla, a long pedestrian street running through the heart
of old Barcelona adjcent to the Gothic Quarter and running from
the Plaza de Catalunya down to the water front. There you will
find shops, cafes, bars, street performers and thousands of tourists.
One of the landmark places on the La Rambla is La
Boqueria, is a market (similar to a Farmer's Market) whose
origins date back to 1217. The current structure was built in
1840. One of the most famous stand in La Boqueia is the Pinotxos
Bar, a Tapas Bar run by legendary server Jauanito Bayen who
is in his '70s and has been working there forever.
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- After the La Boqueria, we strolled throught the Gothic Quarter
(Barrio Gotic) and walked down to the Medeteranina Sea where
we hopped on the Bus Turistic for a sight seeing ride of the
south part of Barcelona including the Olympic area and Mt. Montjuic with its fabulous
views of the city and former palace.
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- Later that night, we ate at Origens in the Gothic Quarter where the best nightlife
is and we also visited several tapas bars and enjoyed the people
watching.
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- Plaza in Barrio Gotic
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- Columbus Monument
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- Egg shaped Torre
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- The old Cathedral
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- Day 9 - On this morning we awoke to the sound of bicycles
and roller bladers riding down Arago as part of the annual Bicycle
and Skate Festival. Later we visited the famed Park
Güell, a park designed by Gaudi for his biggest patron
Count Eusebi Güell at the turn of the 20th century.
- Biking Event
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- Gaudi's Park Guell
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- Gaudi's home, now
museum
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- View from top of
Park Guell
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- Ceiling Detail in
Park Guell
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- Famous Gaudi Iguana
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- In the afternoon we took the famous blue tram to the top
of Mt. Tibidabo. For those who have read Shadow of the Wind,
the mansion shown below is the childhood home and grave site
of Penelope Aldaya. We also saw other locations from the book
such as the previously mentioned Santa Maria Del Mar in the Gothic
Quarter, and the Sempere & Sons bookstore on Calle Santa
Ana near the Ramblas.
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- At the top of Tibadabo is the Sagrat
Cor, a church built in the 20th century in the neo Gothic
style. It features a large crypt on the bottom (the brownish
stone) and a towering cathedral above. Views of the Pyrenees
foothills and of the city of Barcelona are plentiful.
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- Later that day back in the Gothic Quarter we ran into a huge
protest of Austerity Measures that was part of a larger nationwide
string of protests. There was a sea of protesters as far as the
eye could see down the major artery of Via Laietana.
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- Blue Tram to Mt.
Tibidabo
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- Tibidabo Mansion
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- Sagrat Cor Church
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- Interior of the Sagrat
Crypt
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- Main Interior of
the Sagrat Cort
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- Inside Tibidabo Tram
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- Day 9 - On our last day in Barcelona we visited the
Picasso Museum
in the El Born and ate lunch at the Irati's Basque Tapas restaurant.
In the late afternoon after having thoroughly taken most of what
Barcelona had to offer we decided to spend a few hours at the
beach....
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- Gothic Quarter Plaza
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- Hotel Cram in L'Eixample
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L'Eixample
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- Hotel Cram Rooftop
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- Stiges
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- Day Trip to Stiges (Day 9 from Barcelona) - As previously
mentioned, we decided to spend our last afternoon at the beach
in Barcelona, but instead were steered to visit the seaside resort
town of Sitges. Thanks to the wonder of high speed trains, we
arrived in Sitges in no time and enjoyed the afternoon on the
beach and topped it off with a dinner before heading back to
Barcelona for the night.
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- Sant Bartomeu Church
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