A Week in Spain….and then Marrakech
So how do I begin to describe another wonderful trip? The sights, the sounds, the smells….how do I capture all of these memories? After 2 weeks of traveling, my senses have been bombarded with all that we have experienced. The places we visited continued to amaze me and I have, once more, been mesmerized with travel and all the personal broadening I have gained.
This time, it’s with Tauck and we are on their “Week in Spain” trip. (actually, we spent 10 days in Spain). The basic itinerary is Barcelona, Granada, Ronda, Seville, Cordoba and then Madrid and we had an amazing tour director, Silvana Lusso, traveling with us. A little about each place:
Barcelona:
As the capital of Catalunya, Barcelona has morphed into the most visited city in Spain. We were there many years ago, prior to the Olympics and it was a seemingly undeveloped place…not too impressive an airport, not too many tourists, a little run down. Fast forward to now! The Olympics literally precipitated the reinvention of Barcelona. The cruise industry further catapulted the city such that it is now, maybe, overrun with tourists…people everywhere! New buildings everywhere! Refurbishing everywhere!
So, what’s a tourist to do and see there? Gaudi, Gaudi, Gaudi! Without a doubt, one of Barcelona’s top attractions is admiring the city’s modernista architecture and Antoni Gaudi is celebrated as the city’s favorite “architectural” son. From the “unique”….and I must stress “really strange” Sagrada Familia—probably the most bizarre church created–to Park Guell, a fairy tale sort of park, to La Pedrera and Casa Batllo, Gaudi’s works offer visitors a form of architecture which is different from “ANY” other place I’ve visited. I can’t say that I really like his buildings but, for sure, they are great conversation pieces which you’ve got to see to believe.
Things we loved:
1. A Brahms concert at the Palau de la Musica—fabulous old world concert hall with great acoustics.
2. Tapas crawling—around the city. Food was great!
3. Hop On/Off Bus tour –great weather, beautiful city, what’s more to ask? Seeing the Sagrada Famillia!
4. Strolling on the beach and paella in a seaside restaurant
5. Regional food festival in front of “The Cathedral“—lots of food and wine vendors with locals trying everything. We had a ball!
6. Watching locals dance the “Sardana“–Catalunya’s regional dance of unity–performed every Sunday in the courtyard of the Cathedral.
7. Eating more tapas at the Boqueria—a wonderful regional food market off La Ramblas
All in all, Barcelona was wonderful–a great city for just rambling—easily navigable, friendly people, great weather.
Granada:
Located in the foothills of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada, Granada is the home to the famous Alhambra–the city’s main attraction. Our tour there took a minimum of 4 hours and at no point were we less than enchanted. Fortunately for us, Tauck had entry tickets awaiting because without reservations, it’s hard to get into the Alhambra on a given day. It’s critical to book one’s tickets as far in advance as possible…Just an FYI!
So what’s the Alhambra? It’s a great example…one of the best…of a Moorish fortress palace—the former summer palace of sultans. Originally constructed as a small fortress in 889, it was converted to a royal palace in 1333. Great gardens, mosaic tiles, scenery, lots of places to get lost..lots of rooms for the harems maintained by the sultans!!!
Our hotel in Granada–Hotel Alhambra Palace--was located right outside the palace grounds. Built in 1912, the hotel also resembles a Moorish castle and had wonderful views overlooking the city. This place proved to be not only a hotel with a great location but it also had wonderful ambience and fabulous service. I could have easily stayed here for days.
What else did I love about Granada?
1. Cathedral and Royal Chapel– (Capilla Real)–Small in scale, but contains works by Botticelli, tombs of Queen Isabella & King Ferdinand & her crown, his sword, magnificent alter piece.
2. Shopping….smaller city but cute, manageable shopping area
3. Overall scenery. Really pretty little town–hilly and charming, cobblestone streets
Ronda:
Just a drive through stop….a city walking tour and a fabulous lunch at the Parador de Ronda…a beautiful hotel sitting atop the Tajo Gorge which surrounds Ronda. For sure, the hotel is set on cliffs with an almost sheer drop down to the gorge. Just stunning!
Seville:
Oh my goodness! Be still my heart! I LOVE Seville…aka Sevilla. Was it the city or was it our fabulous hotel (Hotel Alfonso XIII)…or was it both? Don’t go to Spain without going to Seville.
Highlights:
1. The Hotel Alfonso XIII—old world elegance awaits you in the heart of Seville. Walking distance to practically everything, this place is majestic and magical. Built in 1929 for the Seville EXPO, this hotel is the creme de la creme for Seville hosting royalty, celebrities, heads of state and ME! I practically swooned when I saw our room and David had a hard time getting me to leave (smile). So, aside from the Oberoi Hotels in India, this has become my new “bestest” hotel!
2. Flamenco Show—what a workout
3. The Seville Cathedral--the 3rd largest Roman Catholic church in the world (St. Peter’s at the Vatican is 1st, Basilica of the National Shrine of …Brazil is 2nd) BTW….burial site of Christopher Columbus
4. Strolling around the streets….easily walkable
5. All of the beautiful buildings—leftovers from the World’s Fair
6. Plaza de Espana-–fabulous architecture, beautiful setting
7. Horse carriage ride around the city
8. Shopping….pretty good
Cordoba:
Another stopover town but wish we could have spent more time there. As a city vastly influenced by the Moors, our walking tour of the former Jewish Quarter and visit to La Mezquita, a combination Catholic Cathedral and Muslim mosque (a one of a kind with the cathedral built within the mosque)…really unique and interesting.
The stroll through their old town was really wonderful and I would have enjoyed staying there for at least an evening.
Madrid:
Madrid is not my favorite city in Spain. It’s a distant 4th …after Barcelona, Seville, Granada. Although it’s the capital city, it feels much like any “big” city with lots of people but not too much charm. Okay….so I have now implied that it’s not a great place but there are some redeeming features.
Highlights:
1. Guernica: Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso which was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, a Basque Country village in northern Spain, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War. Located at the Museo Reina Sophia (Queen Sophia’s Museum)—Madrid’s version of a modern art museum, this painting is intense and the lines to view it are generally very long.
Guernica shows the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians. This work has gained a monumental status, becoming a perpetual reminder of the tragedies of war, an anti-war symbol, and an embodiment of peace. Although it’s a must to see this when in Madrid, I left there amazed and horrified at its images. Not a pretty painting, it’s kinda bizarre and evokes images of tragedy and horror.
A side note: Though this was painted in 1937 when Picasso had exiled himself to France as a way of denouncing the Spanish dictator FRANCO, Picasso indicated that that the painting should not be delivered to Spain until liberty and democracy could be reestablished there. As a result, the painting was not delivered to Spain until 1981.
2. Museo del Prado–aka The Prado Museum— As the main Spanish art museum, this place is a “must see”. It houses numerous works by Francisco de Goya (for sure, the favorite son) and works by Diego Velazquez, El Greco, Titian and Rubens.
Though Goya has the most paintings at the Prado, perhaps the most famous individual painting is that of Las Meninas by Velazquez. Commissioned to paint a picture of the “Royal Family”, Velazquez depicts them in a unique way with their daughter, (only child) as the central character surrounded by her entourage and the King and Queen painted into a small portrait in the background as if they were observing their child. Just behind the young princesses’ entourage, Velázquez portrayed himself working at a large canvas.
While viewing this picture, it was interesting to note the crowds of people around it. For sure, every tour group had its guide stopping to explain the painting’s intricacies. Individuals without guides often stretched their necks to listen to the guides to better understand what they were seeing and the crowds here felt much like the crowds around the Mona Lisa in the Louvre.
3. The Palacio Real de Madrid —aka the Royal Palace—is the Spanish Royal Family’s official residence—used only for state ceremonies. Massive and tours can either be self-guided or with a guide….or, in my case, self-roaming without an audio-guide, done quickly. Others with me chose to wander with their audio-tapes delving into the details of each room. I, having reached my point of castle overload, chose to glance at each room periodically reading details if the room contained something beyond the normal ostentatious furniture, tapestries, etc. If this is your 1st time seeing a massive European castle, it’s probably worth exploring this in detail. If you’ve been on the “I’ve seen a lot of castles tour”, this is worth seeing but not in extreme detail.
4. Plaza Mayor..historical center of the city….huge plaza, people gathering place, street artists. Great place for a coffee and people watching. A happening place.
5. Our Hotel–The Westin Palace. Elegant, well-located, majestic! Need I say more?
6. Strolling along the Gran Via up to Plaza de Espana….a major thoroughfare which ends at the plaza which has masses of people, day or night. We were there at midnight and wondered “why” there were so many people milling about. Learned later that this is the thing to do among the locals. For sure, we were overwhelmed with the crowds…really claustrophobic!
Are you getting the sense that I am not as as enthusiastic about Madrid? All in all, it’s not a bad city. As an entry point for Spain, it’s actually impressive. The challenge is when you have visited other places….e.g. Barcelona and/or Seville, Madrid pales in comparison. Though its museums are world-class, it otherwise lacks the charm I tend to expect in European cities. By all means, go there if you are going to Spain but make it a minor part of your trip rather an a major one.
So that, in a big nutshell, sums up the Spain part of our trip. We LOVED this trip and would gladly repeat this whole itinerary….even Madrid…again. For sure, if we repeated this trip, we would absolutely want to have the same tour guide as Silvana made our trip soooooo very special! Aren’t we adorable posing with her…smile.
All good things must end and at our farewell dinner, we loved posing together as a group. For some, the trip ended with this dinner but for others, our trip continued with a side trip to Morocco.
On to Morocco!
Marrakech….ah Marrakech. As the tip of Spain is only about 10 miles from Morocco, I felt compelled to add a side trip to Marrakech to provide us with yet another experience.
So….if you want to hear about our adventures, stay tuned for my next blog. More to come…