Today we took off for Spain. Had to say good-bye to Natasha (our schnauzer). I'm a little worried about her as she has been having seizures. She's getting old. Our friend, Ernest, is staying with her, so hopefully she will be fine.
As most flight to Europe are, this one was long and boring. Flew to Philadelphia and then on to Madrid. Cleared customs and took a taxi to our hotel. After checking into hotel we walked down to the Hertz place on the corner. I had reserved a car for our trip but decided that since they had a place in town to pick it up and it is just around the corner from our hotel, it would be better to pick it up there, instead of trying to find our way to the hotel on our own. Great plan, but the execution of the plan was a little different. Yes, the car rental place was right there, easy to walk to. And all we had to do was get the car back to the hotel and leave it in the parking lot until we leave Madrid. However, roads in Madrid are not set up to make it easy to get from one location to another. All the streets are one-way, and you have to get to a round-about in order to turn off the street you are on. So 3 hours after we picked up the car we ended up at a parking garage within walking distance of our hotel and left it there. We had spent that 3 hours driving around in circles, getting farther and farther away. Things were coming out of George's mouth that I had never heard. He is not a happy camper. We never had any intention of driving in Madrid, the car is to get us from city to city on the trip. Anyway, it's parked now, not at the hotel like we planned, but close by.
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| Plaza Mayor |
Now we had the rest of the day to explore Madrid. Took a walk to the Plaza Mayor and the Puerto del Sol. Had a beer and shrimp Ajillo for lunch. Walked around and looked in some stores. We were a little tired, so headed back to hotel for a short nap and a shower. Refreshed, we headed back to the Plaza Mayor around 9PM and went to dinner at Botin, which is the oldest continuing operating restaurant in the world. Had their specialty – roast suckling pig with gazpacho, bread and wine, and lemon ice cream with walnuts for dessert. It was all delicious.
Walking back to the hotel around midnight, we were checking out some street vendors when a team of pick pockets attempted to pick George's pockets. Thank goodness he saw the one wallet (mine, which he was carrying), and grabbed it back. His wallet was taken, but another person had seen what was happening, and chased the guy down, and got George's wallet back to us. We were very lucky.
September 3rd.
Slept really good last night. Had a continental breakfast at the hotel with really good fresh squeezed orange juice.
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| Plaza de Espana, Madrid |
Once we got on the freeway, all was well. George said he didn't mind driving there. Headed for Cordoba. Stopped in Puerto Lapice, which is where Don Quixote was knighted. We had lunch in a nice courtyard that had a statue of Don Quixote. Did a little shopping and headed out. Got off the freeway and drove on smaller roads that took us via Parque Naturale. It was a pretty drive. Passed through a very picturesque town, Montero on the river Guadalquivir, which Cordoba and Sevilla are also on. Finally arrived in Cordoba, found our hotel relatively easily.
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| Cordoba |
After getting settled, we set out on foot to explore. Walked down to the river. Found the Alcazar and Mesquite but both were closed, will have to check them out tomorrow. We walked down the Caleja de Flores, a pretty street with lots of flowers. Found a place to sit and have a couple of beers to cool off and do some people-watching. Bought Kim a nice leather book bag she can use for school.
Decided to walk to Plaza de Cordoba. I love the plaza's. Everyone congregates in the plaza at night and they relax, eat, visit with their neighbors. The kids play, they walk their dogs. It's just such a friendly atmosphere. Had some more beers there and some great tapas (some bites of food). Walked back to our hotel. Heading for bed. Turned on the tv while I write this. Just saw Hitler in a pink dress dancing – maybe 4 beers are too many!
I did see 4 schnauzers today while we were out. They were all flop-earred like Natasha, glad to see people aren't cropping them. I got to stop and pet them. I do miss Natasha.
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| Alcazar and gardens, Cordoba |
September 4th
Well, didn't sleep all that well. We got up fairly early and had breakfast at the hotel. Headed into Cordoba on foot and went again to the Alcazar and Mesquite. Both were open. The main thing at the Alcazar are the gardens, they are very pretty. The Mesquite was fantastic. Originally a Muslim Mosque, it then became a Christian church. I'm assuming Catholic as Spain is a Catholic country. Like most Catholic churches, it had lots of statues, but because of the Muslim influence it was certainly different from any cathedral we've ever been to. It was really spectacular.
Then we took a horse and buggy tour of the city. The driver did not speak English, so we were on our own as to what we were seeing. Got a good over-view of the city.
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| Mesquite, Cordoba |
Went back to hotel, checked out and drove to Sevilla. Thanks to directions from the Cordoba hotel, we found our way to the new hotel with no problems. Checked in and signed up for 2 tours, a night tour for tonight which includes tapas and a flamenco show, and a city tour for tomorrow.
After taking care of that, we went for a walk and found a place to have lunch, just a sandwich and some horchata (a white drink – rice milk). Went back to the hotel and took a short siesta. Now we are getting ready to go out again for our evening tour.
September 5th
The show last night was great. Good tapas, and good dancing. Got back to the hotel after midnight. Slept pretty good. Got up early, had breakfast and took the city tour.
First stop was the Plaza de Espana, which was built for the 1929 exposition. We also passed some of the buildings from the different countries that exhibited during the expo. And we passed the Torre del Oro – a tower next to the river. Then we went to the Alcazar, which is still used as a royal residence when the royal family visits Sevilla. We toured the cathedral, which was beautiful. The Giralda is part of the cathedral, it is the bell tower.
The tour guide left us downtown to find our way back to the hotel, so we had lunch. I had paella which was quite good. After lunch we got a taxi back to the hotel and headed out of town.
Got to Santa Maria and checked into our hotel. The drive was short from Sevilla, and Santa Maria is a small town, easy to find our hotel. We have a cute little bungalow with a front yard.
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| Cadiz |
Decided to go explore Cadiz, which is very near here. Cadiz is the oldest city in Europe. Drove through the new part of the city and through the old city gates. The streets got very narrow. Found a parking spot and went on foot. Walked through the park to the beach area and then up through the streets to the cathedral and plaza area. The cathedral was closed. Walked through several more streets, lots of shops along the way. Finally got back to the Plaza San Antonio where we left the car. Drove back to Puerto Santa Maria. Found a restaurant for dinner and had garlic chicken and beer – delicious.
It is now about 11PM. We have showered and are exhausted.
September 6th
As we sit on our balcony at the Caleta Hotel at the base of the Rock of Gibraltar, looking out over the Mediterranean Sea towards Africa, I will recap our day.
We started out in Puerta Santa Maria. We had a lovely breakfast. After checking out of the hotel, we headed for Jerez and the sherry bodegas. We decided to stop at the Gonzalez Byass and take their sherry tour. It was very informative. I purchased several bottles of sherry and some very special brandy to take home for Leonard's 70th birthday next month. We got to do some sherry tasting – wonderful!
Then we headed south. We stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant and had a wonderful shish-kabob lunch of lamb, tomatoes and eggplant. Stopped at a lookout point where we could see the coast of Africa. The hillside was covered in wind turbines.
Finally arrived in Gibraltar. We had to drive across the airport runway in order to get into Gibraltar. The Caleta hotel is on the backside of the Rock of Gibraltar, at the base of it, next to the sea. We have a lovely view from our balcony. We've only explored as far as the beach area, where of course, I had to go wading. Then we dressed for dinner. We ate at Nuno's, the Italian place here at the hotel. We sat outside and I had the tomato, mozzarella salad, the cod with a white wine sauce and vegies, and for dessert the orange caramel flan. George had a pumpkin soup and a pasta dish and the same dessert. Everything was delicious, the cod particularly, it melted in my mouth.
Tomorrow we explore the city of Gibraltar and we stay here again tomorrow night. It is such a nice hotel, glad we have 2 nights here.
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| Apes on the Rock of Gibraltar |
September 7th
Got up at sunrise, which fortunately is about 8AM here, haven't figured out why, but it is dark until 8AM, and light at night until after 9PM.
Had breakfast at the hotel, a typical English breakfast, after-all we are in an English country now. After breakfast we headed into town. Had trouble finding parking, its a very crowded little town/country. Walked up and took the cable car to the top of the rock. Great views. Walked down to the ape dens. The apes are all over the place and not at all shy of people. They are really cute. They came right up to us, and one of them tried to pull my earring off.
Continued down the rock and into St. Micahel's caves. They are spectacular. I've never seen anything like them. They have concerts inside the cave, the acoustics would be wonderful.
After we got back to the hotel, I went to the beach for a swim. It felt really good. George took a nap. Then we headed to the hotel lounge where we had English tea. Retired early this evening. Relaxed in our room.
September 8th
Had breakfast at the hotel and checked out. Filled the car with gas (either we are getting good mileage or the car has a huge gas tank, this is the first fill up).
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| Ronda, Spain |
Drove on from Ronda to our timeshare. We have a week here, in the lower town of Mijas. Our condo is a duplex, 2 bedroom with a kitchen, living room and a patio out front, which has a view of the sea. Its really nice. The resort is huge and has everything right here. When we arrived our neighbors were sitting on their patio, so we visited for a few minutes. They are Myra and Malcolm, and they are from Scotland.
We unpacked, washed 2 loads of clothes (we have a washing machine), went grocery shopping and then went out to dinner at a restaurant at the resort.
September 9th
Spent the day relaxing. Had breakfast in our condo, then went up to the reception area and booked 2 tours for later in the week. We are doing Granada on Monday and Tangiers, Morocco on Thursday.
Spent the afternoon at one of the many pools, swimming, reading and relaxing. Had lunch there also. Came back late afternoon, showered. Called Kim, woke her up. Everything is okay at home.
This evening is a welcome party at the resort, and then we will have dinner and retire early. Need to be rested for an early start tomorrow to Granada.
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| Alhambra, Granada, Spain |
September 10th
Took a tour bus to Granada today. We had to meet it at 6:35AM. It was dark out and we walked to the entrance arch and met the bus. Long drive to Granada and we slept part of the way.
Granada itself is a fairly large city. We did walk around the city for a little while. I bought a CD for Ernest. Then we went to the Alhambra. The Alhambra is a Moorish palace, the last one built it Spain. It was started in the 1200's and took 300 years to complete. The Alhambra and the gardens were really fantastic.
We had lunch with the tour, then headed back. It was 7PM by the time we got back. Rested for about an hour and headed into Fuengirola for dinner. Found a seafood place by the sea. Fish was good. Got back around midnight.
September 11th
| Balcon de Europa |
Drove up to a small hill town of Frigliano and wandered around. Then went to the caves of Nerja. They are pre-historic and have the worlds largest stalagtite. Very impressive.
Then drove to Malaga and found the lighthouse and the beach. I went for a very pleasant swim. Got dried off and then drove around Malaga. Found a place for dinner about 10PM. We had the paella for 2. Got back to the condo about midnight.
September 12th
Got up late, had breakfast and then went to the pool. Spent an enjoyable morning and part of the afternoon there. Came back to the condo. I saw Scottish neighbors on their porch so went over to say hello. Myra said that she was “sorry about what was happening in our country.” I had no idea what she was talking about. She told us about the acts of terrorism against the USA and the World Trade Centers and Pentagon incidents. We were in shock! 4 US planes were hijacked and used. We're not sure how that will affect us on getting home in a few days. Myra invited us to come to Scotland to stay with them until we can get home. That was so nice of her.
| Donkeys at Mijas Pueblo |
Now we are watching CNN. We have an early morning tomorrow – 5:45AM pick-up for our trip to Tangiers, Morocco. We almost cancelled it because of the events yesterday, it is a Muslim country, but decided it was something we had planned on seeing, and if we let the events change our plans, then the terrorists win.
September 13th
| Casbah, Tangiers |
While there we had a vendor get mad at us because we wouldn't buy the crap he was selling, and he told us he was glad that America went "boom boom." George grabbed ahold of me and told me to ignore him, and I did, but I was a little angry. We did have a wonderful lunch in the city.
We were hot and tired when we got back. Showered and changed. Packing up tonight, we leave for Toledo tomorrow.
September 14th
Packed the car and said good-bye to Myra and Malcolm. Promised to let them know when we got home. Headed for Toledo. Stopped on our way out of town at Sohail Castle. Couldn't go in, it's permanently closed, but took some pictures.
Stopped in the city of Jaen for lunch. We drove all over the city and found the old section, but no parking. Had to park several miles away and walk back. When we got to their Cathedral we noticed an American flag had been drapped over the fence and people were placing flowers in front of it. The church itself was closed for siesta time, but the display impressed us. We had lunch across the street, some good sandwiches.
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| Historic city of Toledo, Spain |
Arrived in Toledo and found our hotel. Went out shopping, bought knives and scissors – Toledo is famous for its knives. Walked all over the city, uphill and down and back up again. Narrow streets, winding all over the place. I love this city. Had dinner – I had the garlic soup and partridge, and we drank a bottle of wine, and a bottle of water. Guess we were thirtsty. Long walk back to the hotel, got back around midnight.
September 15th
Had breakfast at the hotel. Called US Air and it looks like we will fly home tomorrow after all. Told us to allow 3 ½ hours for complete search of our bags. Security will be at the max. We were surprised we would even get out. They said that those who have been waiting for flights to start will be worked into flights, and special flights would be brought in for them, but those scheduled had to go. Tomorrow is the first day flights are leaving from Europe.
George called his “cousin” who is an actor and lives in Madrid. His name is Jack Taylor and he seemed really nice. They visited for awhile.
Walked all over Toledo again today. Went inside the cathedral, which is beautiful and also went into the Alcazar. Had lunch at Zocodover Plaza – pizza and beer. Bought some marzipan. George found a beer mug for his collection.
Left Toledo late afternoon and drove to Madrid airport. Turned in the car and took a taxi to our hotel. Showered and repacked our bags so that we are ready to go tomorrow. Will have dinner at the hotel and turn in early.
September 16th
Today was a long day. Had breakfast and checked out of hotel. Because of the terrorist acts, security has been tightened. It took us all of 4 hours to get through the security and to our plane. When we landed in Philly the plane was very quiet, and then everyone clapped when we touched down. I think everyone was feeling a little patriotic, and glad to be on home ground.
It was a madhouse in Philly, trying to get through customs and get the bags checked back in to go to San Diego. We had to run from one end of the airport to the other. When we got to our gate, it was empty. The plane was ready to leave. They actually had to re-open the doors for us to let us on. We made it home and Kim and James picked us up at the airport. Natasha was so happy to see us when we got home.
