Today we left the mountains and drove through beautiful Andalucia countryside to Seville. My wife and daughter often have a problem riding in the backseat of a car in the mountains, so my wife drove while my daughter navigated.  When we arrived in Seville, I knew I had made a very wise decision to let her drive.  The streets in the Santa Cruz area were unbelievably narrow.  In fact the street of our hotel was pedestrian only.  After the three of us dropped our things at our hotel while my wife double-parked, I waited at the hotel while they drove to the parking garage and maneuvered the car into a very small spot.  I was relieved to see they were smiling and laughing when they returned to the hotel.

After lunch we visited the Alcazar which is still used today as a royal palace.  It was originally built by the Moors in the 10th century.

Part of the interest here is that it was extensively remodeled in the 14th century by Moorish workmen for the Christian king, Pedro I.

In the Admiral’s Apartments is the earliest known portrait of Christopher Columbus as well as a model of his flagship Santa Maria.

We also enjoyed seeing the Patio of the Lions, King Pedro I Palace, Court of the Maidens, and the lovely gardens.

In the Gothic wing of the Palace are copies of 16th century tapestries from Brussels.

On to the cathedral which is the 3rd largest church in Europe.  As you probably know, the largest is St. Peter’s at the Vatican followed by St. Paul’s in London.  This is, however, the largest Gothic church anywhere.  Some of the works included in the art pavilion are by Seville’s 17th century masters, Bartolome Murillo and Francisco de Zurbaran.

As one would expect in such a large church, the 65-foot tall high altar is the largest altarpiece ever made.  It shows 44 scenes from the life of Jesus carved from walnut and chestnut and covered with an enormous amount of gold leaf.

The 7,000-pipe organ, the chapels, the sacristy, and the treasury were all very interesting to see.  One of the most photographed sights is the tomb of Christopher Columbus.

The Giralda Bell Tower was originally built as a Moorish minaret, but is now the cathedral’s bell tower.  Of course we climbed 330 feet up for a view of the city.  Instead of steps, there’s a spiraling ramp designed for riders on horseback to answer the Muslim call to prayer five times per day.

You know the saying “when in Rome….”   Well, when in Seville, one must experience flamenco.  Seats were on a first come basis, so we arrived in plenty of time and were very glad we did because we had a perfect view.  The guitarist was outstanding, the singer was very soulful, and dancers were great fun to watch.  The show was a real highlight of the trip.

A glass of port, then off to bed following a busy day of sightseeing.

We retrieved our car from the Barcelona airport parking area and headed toward the coast.  Although it was cloudy, we could see the beautiful  Mediterranean Sea.

Heading inland, we saw almond, orange, and olive trees for miles and miles.

After a while we began to see mountains.

As we came close to Granada, the mountains were very high and snow-covered.  It was truly a day of beautiful scenery!

We arrived at our hotel which was directly across the street from the Alhambra.  We walked to Plaza Nuevo to find a spot for a tapas dinner.  We decided to go to Bodegas Casteneda since it was one of Rick Steves’ recommendations.  The place was packed with lively people!  We felt a bit like vultures, but we finally found a small stand-up table and ordered a bottle of wine to go with the free shrimp appetizer the personable waiter brought us.  We had been sitting in the car for most of the day so decided to go ahead and order tapas at our table rather than wait for a sit-down table.

It was a very fun evening with great food, wine, and atmosphere.

The next morning we crossed the street to enter the grounds of the Alhambra.  Fortunately, our daughter had ordered tickets online so we could go right in.  We began by strolling the Generalife Gardens.

The summer palace was home to the Moorish kings.  The gardens were planted over 600 years ago and still look almost the same as they did in 500-year-old paintings.   The original residents enjoyed the fresh fruits and vegetables which were grown here.

The Palacios Nazaries is a fabulous structure which highlights the refined elegant Moorish civilization of Iberia.  We visited all the magnificent rooms.

Much of the decoration is writings from the Quran.  The phrase “only Allah is victorious” is repeated 9,000 times in the palace.

One can hardly imagine what it must have been like in its prime with such vivid colors.  At one time the Alhambra was a city of 2,000 people.

The largest room is the Grand Hall of the Ambassadors which was used mostly as a throne room.  After a 700-year battle, the Reconquista was completed in this room as Boabdil signed his surrender before leaving for Africa.  It was also the room in which Columbus pleaded with Isabel and Ferdinand to fund his voyage to sail west in order to reach the East.

The Courtyard of the Lions is being restored, so the original 12 lions have been restored and are on display inside (no photos) awaiting their return to the courtyard.

The conquering King Charles V built his own palace with funds from the defeated Muslim population.  The circular courtyard is still used for music since it has outstanding acoustics.

His son, Philip II, then built his own massive palace, El Escorial.  (See Days 1 & 2 to read about it.)

We visited the Alcazaba which is the original “red castle” or “Alhambra.”  The view from the top makes the climb worthwhile – Plaza Nueva, the Albayzin neighborhood, the Sierra Nevada mountains.  This is where the Aragon and Castile flags were raised along with the Christian cross as the Moorish king Boabdil fled in 1492.  Much later Napoleon had troops here who left substantial damage.

After returning home, I read Washington Irving’s “Tales of the Alhambra.”  He wrote it during a romantic time in Spain while he was staying in the Alhambra in 1829.  His writings rekindled interest in the Alhambra and caused it to become a national treasure.

After a very interesting day at the Alhambra, I was ready to relax for a while.  The rest of the family pushed on.  They stopped at the lavish Royal Chapel to see the tombs of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand.  Isabel made Granada the capital of Spain since that was where Christianity had overcome Islam in Europe, and it’s where she agreed to sponsor Christopher Columbus.  One of the most interesting sights is the painting in the lobby of Boabdil giving the key of the city of Granada to King Ferdinand.

We had heard that the Alhambra is especially beautiful just before sunset from San Nicolas viewpoint, so they continued on wandering up through the Albayzin to the viewpoint.  It was a difficult walk, but they were not disappointed.  What a view of the Alhambra with the snow-capped mountains in the background.

As the sun went down, they looked for a taxi, but there was not a single one to be found, so they made the trek back to the hotel.  After a long busy day, we decided to do something we almost never do – eat at the hotel.  It was a fine choice as the food was good and we were serenaded by an ensemble from Universidad de Granada.

Having no need for a car in Madrid, we took the Metro to the airport to pick up our car to begin our travels to Barcelona.  The landscape and scenery along the way were varied and beautiful.  The highways were excellent with little traffic.  The almond trees were in full blossom.

We drove to the Barcelona airport to park the car to avoid driving in the city.  It worked very well.  We were warned to leave absolutely nothing in the car while it was parked anywhere.  Our daughter inadvertantly left 2 2-Euro coins in the cup holder and worried (unnecessarily) about them.  No problem!  We took the bus to Placa de Catalunya and walked to our hotel near the cathedral.  We were pleasantly surprised that we had been upgraded to their sister hotel across the street.  As we left the hotel to find a tapas spot for dinner, we enjoyed watching people in front of the cathedral doing patriotic Sardana dances.  These take place on most Saturday evenings and every Sunday noon.

The next morning, after a quick breakfast at Starbucks and LaMie, we were off the see Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia (Holy Family Church).

It is spectacular, unbelievable, and like nothing else we had ever seen.  Antoni Gaudi worked on it from 1883 until his death in 1926.  Construction is still being done and is not expected to be finished for another 25 or so years.  We thought both the interior and exterior were beautiful, but like all art/architecture, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  The original design calls for 18 towers – 12 apostles, 4 evangelists, Mary, and the tallest one in the center representing Christ.  So far 8 have been erected – 4 apostles on each of the Passion and Nativity Facades.

The three facades chronicle Christ’s life – birth, death, resurrection .  We started at the Passion Facade by Josep Subirachs, not Gaudi, which depicts much symbolism from the Bible with figures carved in stark straight lines.  It’s difficult to believe this impressive facade is actually just a  side entrance.

Entering the church, it seemed as if the massive columns reached all the way to heaven where daylight streamed through little windows high above. 

There are stained-glass windows, a horseshoe-shaped choir halfway up the columns, an organ, and a spiral staircase.  No matter which way we looked, there were endless geometric designs.  An awe-inspiring crucifix is suspended above the altar.

To give our necks a break from looking up for so long, we took the elevator up 215 feet, climbed a few stairs, and got quite a view of the city and a close-up view of a few of the church towers. 

Returning downstairs we went outside and walked around to see the Nativity Facade.  This is the best example of Gaudi’s cake-in-the-rain style.  

The sculptures are ornately decorated with scenes from nature.

By now we were pretty hungry, so we found a nice restaurant with tables outside to enjoy tapas and sangria.  On the map it didn’t seem very far to Park Guell, so we started out walking, refreshed from our lunch.  What was missing on the map were the elevations showing the steep hills we needed to climb to reach the park.  It was quite a hike, but we enjoyed seeing the neighborhoods along the way.  Gaudi designed this park as a high-income housing community, but he was ahead of his time.  As a park, however, it’s very much a success.  Even though we were there on a rather cool cloudy Sunday afternoon, there were lots of couples and families enjoying the day and seeing what the street vendors had for sale.

From there we took a taxi to the harborfront which was also bustling with people.  The 200-foot Columbus monument marks the place where Ferdinand and Isabel greeted him on his return from his first trip to America. 

After a nice walk along a crowded pier, we started walking up the Ramblas toward Placa de Catalunya.  My son-in-law and I returned to the hotel somewhat earlier than my wife and daughter.  It had something to do with stopping (or not) at all the little shops along the way.

My wife and daughter ordered squid for dinner.  Rather adventuresome, but they said it was very good.  Anyway, our dinner was a nice way to cap off a very full and interesting day.

Since our daughter was limited on vacation time, we almost skipped Barcelona.  We were all very glad we didn’t since it proved to be one of our favorite places.

Day 3-Madrid:  I picked up a late breakfast at Starbucks and we waited for our daughter and son-in-law at our hotel.  They arrived right on schedule via the airport and the metro.  Notwithstanding their fatigue from the long over-night flight from Oklahoma, we immediately started off to see the Royal Palace. 

King Philip V, who ruled Spain for 40 years, commissioned this huge palace.  He was the grandson of Louis XIV and was born in Versailles.  His French style, coupled with his wife’s Italian heritage, can be seen throughout the more than 2,000 rooms.  We didn’t see them all.  It is very beautiful and it is still used today for formal affairs.  The throne room was especially impressive.  This is where King Juan Carlos greets his guests before dinner.  The Stradivarius Room has the only in tact Stradivarius quartet (2 violins, a viola, and a cello) in existence.  The armory is full of interesting armor and other instruments of battle, attractively displayed,  from the 1400s on.  The oldest piece is the shield of Boabdil who was the last Moorish king.  No photos are allowed inside the Palace, so you will have to see it for yourself. 

We went for lunch at the market that Barbara and I had found the day before.  The food (small servings of a variety of selections) was  interesting and quite good.  Daughter and Barbara, proving the adage that woman is the stronger sex, immediately took off to see the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia to view its modern art collection, while the males returned to the hotel for a (for them) much needed nap.  Meanwhile, the “girls” enjoyed the works of Goya, Miro, Dali, Picasso, El Greco and lesser (?) lights at the Modern Art Museum.  The highlight, considered by many to be the most impressive work of art in Spain, was Picasso’s “Guernica“. In shades of stark black and white, this expansive canvas shows the horrors of modern warfare (the Spanish Civil War bombing of Guernica by Hitler operatives at the request of Franco) in modernistic form.  This painting, shown only in New York until after the death of Franco, generates one’s interest in the history that it illumines. 

In mid-afternoon, we all met at the Prado.  This huge facility houses more art than can possibly be viewed in a day, or perhaps a week.  The most important masterpieces and their locations are listed in the brochure, so we made it a point to find them.

That evening we enjoyed a Spanish specialty, Paella, at a local restaurant recommended by our hotel staff.  This capped a very long and busy day. 

Day 4-Friday the 25th:  We walked from our hotel, the Preciado, through Puerto del Sol, to the train station to board for a trip to Toledo.  The next couple of trains were fully booked, so we reserved seats on a later morning departure.  With an hour or so to spare, we walked around the park for a while.  The ride to Toledo is only about 30 minutes, through interesting open country-side.  Toledo was once the Capital of Spain.  The mix of Jewish, Moorish, and Christian heritages makes it very interesting. 

The train station at Toledo is a neo-moorish style, very attractive. 

From the train station we took a taxi up the “hill” to the Cathedral.  Our first objective was to find a place for lunch.  The hilly terrain makes walking a bit difficult, but we located a little open-air cafe and enjoyed a typical Spanish mid-day repast.  Thence, to the Cathedral. 

How ornate!!!  Some would say “over-the-top” with its vast array of gold and jewels located throughout: at the high altar, the choir area, the side altars, the sacristy full of masterpieces of European artists, the room full of old, ornate vestments, etc.  The most interesting is the Treasury, the resting place for the 10-foot tall, 430 pound monstrance, layered in gold.  One day a year, Corpus Christi Sunday, it is taken from the Treasury and carried through the streets of old Toledo.  Again, no photos inside, so there’s another place for you to see for yourself. 

From the Cathedral we walked to Santo Tome Chapel to see El Greco’s, “The Burial of the Count of Orgaz”.  Some consider this to be El Greco’s finest work.  It certainly is impressive and especially since it is still in the place where the artist placed it 400 years ago.  We all spent many minutes, fascinated by the lovely colors, shadings and details of the painting.  El Greco was the resident artist here and called it home. 

After Santo Tome, I relaxed a bit while the others went to the Santa Cruz Museum to see the lovely old tapestries. 

We then sampled a little of the local specialty, marzipan, produced, apparently by the bushel, by the nuns in the local convents, and sold in many small shops.  We are all big fans of marzipan, so the local specialty was especially enjoyable for us. 

The sun was going down by now, so we hailed a taxi for a  ride to the train station and the fast train trip back to Madrid for another late Spanish schedule dinner.

On February 21, 2011 we boarded Delta in Des Moines to fly to Madrid through JFK.  We arrived in Madrid the next morning (a 7 hour loss of time included).  The arrival process through passport control, etc., was quick and easy.  We chose not to have a car in Madrid, so we did not rent a car at that time, but chose instead to take the Metro from the airport to downtown Madrid, where our hotel, the Preciados, was very well located for the purpose of walking or connecting to the Metro in Madrid.  The Metro ride involved some walking to find the right platforms, but it worked well and we arrived at a stop just a block from the hotel.  The hotel welcomed us even though we were quite early (about 10:00 a.m.) and our nice room was already prepared for us.  After a short rest, we began our tour of Spain by walking down to Puerto de Sol,

over to the Plaza Mayor, 

the Royal Palace, and then back to the hotel.  Madrid is beautiful, and crowds of people were out and about, walking, visiting, shopping, etc.  We found a fantastic market with fruits, vegetables, fish, pastries, and much more.

This is indeed a very nice city for a walk about. That evening we were introduced to the Spanish custom of late dining.   The “sit-down” restaurants do not open until 8:30 and we were, of course, the first ones there, at the El Senador, when we arrived at 8:30.  The food and wine were excellent.  The language differences were not a big problem. 

We planned to travel in Spain and Portugal from February 22 through March 9.  We were to be joined in Madrid by a daughter and son-in-law on the 24th.  They were returning on March 7th from Lisbon, Portugal, whereas we were driving back from Lisbon to Madrid for a day of birding with a local guide on the 8th (which you have already read about here in an earlier post) and departing Madrid on the 9th.  With the help of the invaluable Rick Steves 2011 books on Spain and Portugal and a significant amount of online research, our plans were quite detailed before we departed from Des Moines.  We had made all of our hotel reservations except for 2 nights in Lisbon, which we deferred because of uncertainty about our schedule in Portugal.  We had reserved a car for pickup at the Madrid Airport on the day, the 26th, when we left Madrid to drive to Barcelona.  The decision to rent a car came after cost comparisons for the four of us traveling by train or plane on our itinerary in Spain and Portugal.  Car rental was far less expensive on a per person basis.  Although the rental agency would not guarantee us an automatic transmission car, we were offered one when we went to the rental counter at the Madrid Airport on the 26th, much to the relief of my wife.  She had been concerned about driving a stick-shift, and neither of our “children” had ever driven a stick-shift, so it could have resulted in my being the sole driver, except on the open roads where not much shifting would have been required. 

On the 23rd Barbara and I went to Escorial to see the Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial.  To get there, we walked from our hotel to the metro station, took the metro to the bus station, and rode the bus from Madrid to the bus station in Escorial.  We were on a very nice highway with nice views of the snow-capped mountains and pleasant farm fields along the way.  Escorial is a nice, smaller town.  We arrived at the palace/monastery/basilica about 11:30, but it was closed to the public until 2:30 because Queen Sofia was there for an event.  We spent our open hours having lunch at a little sidewalk restaurant in the old town and walking in the gardens.

The Palace is huge and elaborate.  About 25 kings and queens are “encrypted” there in an amazing facility, the Royal Pantheon.  We understand that the “rotting room” adjacent to the crypt still contains the remains of the father of the present King, Juan Carlos, who died over 30 years ago.  He, Don Juan, was technically never King because Franco took control of Spain before he was crowned, and Franco appointed his son, Juan Carlos, as King when the monarchy was reinstituted.  So, controversy exists as to whether “King” Don Juan was really a king, and therefore, whether or not his remains can be placed in the Royal Pantheon.  And, to make matters worse, there is only one spot left, so where does that leave Juan Carlos and Sofia?

The Palace, Church and Monastery at Escorial are full of beautiful art and objects, many plated with gold.  The sculpture of Christ on the cross is magnificient.  We became a little disoriented making our way through the labyrinthian facilities and had to hurry to get out before the 6:00 p.m. closing.  In the distance on the bus ride back to Madrid, we could see the the 500-foot-tall ganite cross marking the Valley of the Fallen (victims of the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s) which is the mausoleum of Franco.  We understand that it is currently closed and undergoing a long process of restoration, though it is not that ancient. 

Tomorrow our kids will arrive and meet us at the hotel.  From there we will spend a day of sight-seeing in Madrid, to be followed the next day by a train ride to Toledo and a day of sightseeing there.