It's hard to believe, but this is our last post. Tomorrow Jeff and Denise are off to Prague to meet up with some friends and continue on to Budapest where they will embark on a two-week river cruise to Amsterdam. We are headed back to the states and will be spending about a month in Denver before flying home to Puerto Vallarta the middle of October.
This entire trip has been unbelievable and to be able to share it with Jeff and Denise has truly been very special. As you've read, we have covered a lot of ground, seen a lot of wildly different places and had some extraordinary experiences. And, I can say, that these last two weeks in Spain were a great way to finish the grand tour. So, read on and enjoy, along with us, "Spain, Part II".
Upon leaving Portugal we pointed our car almost due east and ended up in Carmona, one of the oldest towns in Europe. Remains nearby date to the seventh century BC. From there it was on to Marbella, Granada, Madrid, and Valencia before ending up in Barcelona. Here's our itinerary.
Though we had originally thought that we would spend a couple of nights in the Parador Carmona using it as a base from which to explore Seville, we were so charmed with not only the Parador but also the city that we never made it to Seville. Once again, this Parador was extraordinary. It sits on the ruins of a 14th Century Moorish fortress with views over the entire Andalusian plain.
We spent our days exploring the city which you enter through one of two remaining gates, originally built during Roman times.
With its charming streets, many churches, convents . . . .
. . . . . and even a Roman necropolis, it wasn't hard to fill our time.
But, we made sure to get back to the Parador in time to laze by the pool in the late afternoon before ending the day with a cocktail on the terrace.
Our last morning here we were up early enough to catch the sunrise before breakfast. What a marvelous way to say goodbye to this very special place.
Then we headed to the Costa del Sol and the town of Marbella. Our apartment was in the middle of Old Town and it was perfectly located to explore this sun-drenched town that mixes a modern day resort atmosphere with hints of its former Moorish occupation. This town dates to the 15th Century and is charming with its winding streets dressed with hanging flower pots filled with brightly colored flowers.
And, the beach is magnificent. It actually stretches 18 miles though the Promenade that we walked isn't quite that long.
As we had three days here we took one day to make a trip to Ronda. This is a mountain-top city that spans a very deep gorge. One side is the "New City" dating from the 15th Century and the other is the Old Town dating to Moorish rule.
We had hoped to see the Arab baths dating from the 13th Century but unfortunately we got to town a bit too late so we had to settle for exploring the Moorish King's Palace. The main attractions here are the gardens
and, the old mine that descends to the river below via 200 steps that were carved from the rock.
The descent (and climb back up) was definitely worth it though as the river and views of the gorge with the town perched atop it were amazing!
Our next stop was Granada. What a place. The town itself is very interesting with cobblestone streets and charming buildings.
but the highlight here was The Alhambra, of which our house had an incredible view.
We had a guide to give us a tour of this incredible place which is actually a city unto itself with a Palace and Fortress. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Islamic world. It was started in 1238 and has had a varied history falling into disuse through much of the 17th and 18th Century. It got international attention, however, in the 19th Century with the so-called Romantic Travelers, one of the most famous being Washington Irving who squatted there in 1832 and wrote "Tales of the Alhambra". There is so much to see its hard to capture it all in pictures. Here is just a small glimpse of this special place.
We were then off to Madrid with an overnight stop at the Parador Almagro. What a find! It is in a Castilian city that has been named An Area of Artistic-Historical Importance. It is said that it was originally an Arab castle known as Almagrib (named after the reddish-ochre clay of the region "almagre").
While we didn't find the town to be all that interesting, if you are ever traveling to Madrid and need an overnight stop, this is the place. The Parador was originally a monastery dating from the 16th Century.
And, those monks must have been very short. Though our room was a lovely suite, the door (and all the other doors on our floor) were quite small.
Then, Madrid. We had never been to Madrid and really didn't know what to expect. Were we surprised. Again, we were lucky enough to have rented an extremely well-located apartment
from which we did a lot of exploring on foot,
by bike,
by Tuk-Tuk,
and even by cable car.
We definitely got around. But, the highlight was a guided tour of The Prado. It was amazing. You're going to have to take my word for it, though, as no cameras allowed!
After Madrid we had two nights in Valencia. This town also surprised us. Not only is the main part of town lovely with wide boulevards lined with beautiful old buildings and stately trees.
There was also a very impressive Old Town with spectacular Markets,
churches (this is San Nicolás - we heard it had fantastic frescos but had no idea the entire ceiling and walls were covered with them. It was the most amazing church we had seen).
and other historically important buildings like this one, La Llotja de Mercaders.
In addition, there is a newer part of town called The City of Arts and Sciences. The whole complex has a Science Museum, Aquarium (largest in Europe), Opera House, etc, etc ,etc
Then there are the beaches . . .
. . . . and the bike paths that wind all over the entire city. We all came away impressed.
After a day filled with exploring it was time to leave for Barcelona and sadly, say goodbye to the car that took us on the majority of this fantastic voyage. We put a mere 12,750 kilometers (almost 8,000 miles) on this baby. Amazing.
It was very hard to give it up but with a well-located hotel we were able to walk to all the places we wanted.
First up was the Sagrada Familia. Dale and I first saw this 20 years ago and, boy, has it changed! It is almost complete and it is stunning.
Barcelona, much like Madrid, is filled with wonderful buildings, markets, and interesting sights. Really a feast for the eyes. We took in as much as we could in the two days that we had.
Pretty much all of our exploring was on foot and we really covered a lot of ground. Even did some "poodling" by foot in the lovely side streets and alleyways.
An interesting sight that Jeff and Denise took in one night was the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc. This was a water/light show that went on for about an hour. They said it was magical.
But, if you're in Barcelona, the main highlight is the architecture of Gaudi. He was instrumental in the design of the Sagrada Familia, but also designed a lot of Parc Guell. . . . .
. . . . . and, a number of other buildings around town. And, to think that all of this was done in the late 19th Century/early 20th Century (he died in 1926).
As you can tell by the length of this Post, we have packed a lot into these last two weeks. Adding the miles we put on the Porsches, we covered 8,500 miles total and that doesn't count the nautical miles we racked up along the Turquoise Coast. Needless to say, it has truly been an adventure to remember not the least of which is because we were able to share it with family.
But, Jeff and Denise are off to continue their adventure and we are headed back to the states. Thanks for coming along for the ride. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.
Rhen, Dale, Jeff and Denise