better late than never in Spain

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Better late than never. I’ve been so busy on this trip that I haven’t had time to post anything to my blog. This trip is a little different than the last as I decided to take a tour instead of going by myself. It has its’ pluses and minuses. On the plus side, I always have someone to talk to and eat with. On the minus side, you don’t have much free time and you go where they take you. I’m fortunate to be travelling with a great group of people, most of which are from Australia. I might return home with an Australian accent.

Our guide is very knowledgeable but his voice lulls me to sleep! We started our trip in Madrid. I have to say that I wasn’t all that impressed. Madrid could have been any large city. Other than the old city, it was like any big city in the US. It did have nice wide streets in the modern part and was pretty well kept up.

From Madrid, I took a side trip to Segovia. Now that was impressive! It has one of the largest intact Roman Aqueducts in the world. The ingenuity it took to build it is incredible. The city is quite old and very charming. The Alcazar, or castle, was the inspiration for Cinderella’s castle by Disney. We spent some time at the local tapas bar which was quite good. As long as you drink, the first several tapas are free.

From Madrid, we headed south to Granada but stopped in Toledo first. My favorite stop so far.
The city sits on the side of a mountain. It is incredibly picturesque. I told our guides that I wanted to stay for a few months, but unfortunately they wouldn’t allow it. Darn! Of course, my camera died in the place I most wanted to photograph. I will have to wait until I get back to the States to have them emailed to me by my new friends. While in Toledo, we went to the old Jewish quarter and visited a previous temple which was converted to a Christian Catholic church by Queen Isabella after the Spanish Inquisition. The entire country was forced to convert to Catholicism or leave Spain. Many of the people converted but secretly practiced their religion at night.

After leaving Toledo we travelled on to Granada for the night. The next morning we went to the famous Alhambra. According to Islam, it is frowned upon to show outward signs of wealth and beauty, so as not to invoke jealousy, so the outsides of buildings are quite plain, but the insides are stunning. The amount of detail that they put into the construction is amazing. We saw where all the wives and concubines lived. They are allowed 4 wives as long as they treat each one equally! Fat chance of that happening back home or anywhere, for that matter. But it is an interesting concept, to be sure. The colors and designs are almost overwhelming. They didn’t believe in the “less is more” theory. Hopefully my pictures do it justice.

After Granada we headed to the Costa Del Sol. It is Mecca for sun-worshippers. It is so built up with hotels and resorts and restaurants. The view from my hotel of the Mediterranean was beautiful. During January it wasn’t busy at all but I can imagine what it is like in fall, spring and summer. Packed to the gills, I bet. We took a side trip to an old village of Mijas, in the mountains. You can take a donkey cart ride around the town and see all the white-washed houses built on the side of the mountains. The shop vendors hassle the hell out of you to buy their leather products. They follow you down the street trying to coax you into their shops. Despite this, the town is very picturesque with incredible views and gorgeous homes. Our dinner that night was back on the water at a seafood restaurant where we were served so much food that it is hard to remember how many courses we had. The wine and beer was unlimited and very good. The main course was sea bass, packed in salt. They chisel away the salt and the fish was amazingly good.

Tomorrow is on to Morocco and the ferry ride to the African continent.

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