Barcelona, Spain

 Day 1

Today, we left Madrid and began our bus ride to Barcelona. Our midday stop was in the Spanish city of Zaragosa. In the center of this city is a huge square dominated by the Our Lady of Pilar Cathedral-Basilica. We had a chance to walk around inside of the cathedral and saw the beautiful domes painted by Francisco Goya. Afterwards, we crossed the Puente de Piedra bridge for a great vantage point for viewing the outside of the cathedral-basilica. We then meandered down an adjacent street to find some lunch. Before we had to reconvene on the bus, we checked out the ruins of a Roman wall that borders Old Town Zaragosa.

The inside of Our Lady of Pilar Cathedral-Basilica

One of the domes painted by Goya

Our Lady of Pilar as seen from the bridge

A street in Zaragosa

In front of the cathedral-basilica

Our Gate 1 group

By late afternoon, we had arrived at our Barcelona hotel - the Catalonia Plaza Hotel. After getting settled, we walked across the street to see Montjuic (meaning Jewish Mountain) where the Palau Nacional building sits on top of the hill overlooking the Montjuic Fountain (unfortunately, due to drought, the fountain was not working). We then walked around the back of the complex to reach the Olympic Park where many of the 1992 Summer Olympic events were held. A quick taxi ride took us to Las Ramblas, a tree lined pedestrian street, where we wandered for a bit before finding a place to eat dinner. After our meal, we made it to the end of Las Ramblas where the Christopher Columbus monument sits and then took a taxi back to the hotel to rest up for a full day of sightseeing in Barcelona tomorrow.

Our hotel in Barcelona

Looking toward Montjuic

From the Palau Nacional looking over the Montjuic Fountain toward our hotel

Day 2

Our Barcelona city tour started by taking us to a spot high up on Montjuic that afforded views (albeit hazy/smoggy) of the city. Next, we drove down to the water and saw the Gold Fish Sculpture. A guided walking tour took us through the streets of the Gothic Quarter and past the Arc de Triomf. 

By the Mediterranean Sea

The Gold Fish

In the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona

In the Gothic Quarter, excavation below the Mercat del Born, uncovered medieval ruins

Arc de Triomf

After a quick lunch back at the hotel, we joined Gate 1 for the afternoon Gaudi tour. On our way to Park Guell, we drove by two houses that were designed by Barcelona's most famous architect - Antoni Gaudi. Park Guell was also designed by Antoni Gaudi and is classified as an UNESCO World Heritage site. This park was unlike anything we have seen before with its bright tile work on walls/benches and modernist style. 

Gaudi's Casa Mila

Casa Batllo

Reenacting a scene from The Cheetah Girls movie for my girls

Park Guell

Lots of colorful tilework at Park Guell

The last stop of the Gaudi tour was at his masterpiece - La Sagrada Familia. La Sagrada Familia is a catholic basilica that Gaudi became the chief architect of in 1883. It combines gothic and art nouveau styles and is still in the process of being built. The current estimated completion date is 2026. The outside of the cathedral is very odd; however, the inside is gorgeous as the light filters through the stained-glass windows.

La Sagrada Familia

The interior

The glow from the stained-glass windows was beautiful!

After touring La Sagrada Familia, we took an Uber back to the hotel to attend the Farewell Reception and then walked across the street to the bullring that has been converted into a shopping center. For dinner, I had some delicious Paella!

Tomorrow our trip comes to an end as we must fly back to the US. We have thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Gate 1 and will definitely travel with them again!

Madrid, Spain

Day 1

We left Seville early in the morning with a long day of driving to get to Madrid. We had a stop part way through the drive at the amazing little town of Cordoba. We toured Cordoba's Mosque-Cathedral which was erected in 785. This is a fascinating building which was originally built as an Islamic Mosque but was converted to a Christian cathedral in 1236 during the Reconquista. It is an interesting mix of Moorish inspired architecture with Christian influences.

We walked across this Roman bridge built in 1st Century BC to get to the town of Cordoba 

The inside of Cordoba's Mosque-Cathedral

After touring the Mosque-Cathedral, we had a quick lunch and then spent our remaining time in Cordoba wandering through the narrow streets.

A pretty courtyard in the Jewish section of Cordoba

Callejas de las Flores in Cordoba

We arrived in Madrid in the early evening and checked into our hotel - The Melia Serrano.

Day 2

This morning, we joined the Gate 1 city tour that took us to Plaza Mayor and walked us past the Cathedral and the Royal Palace. For lunch, we patronized several vendors in the San Miguel Market.

The Cathedral in Madrid

In front of the Royal Palace

At Plaza Mayor

After lunch, we met back up with the tour group for the 30-minute bus ride out to Toledo. We had a local guide for our walking tour of the old town section of Toledo. The tour took us past the Toledo Cathedral and into the Iglesia de Santo Tome to see an El Greco painting. We then continued on into the Santa Maria de Blanco Synagogue before walking through the Puente de Alcantara arch, across the Roman built bridge, to our bus.

At an overlook with Toledo behind us

A street in Toledo

El Greco's Painting in Iglesia de Santo Tome

Santa Maria la Blanca Synagogue

We finished the day with dinner at Cafe Botin - the oldest restaurant in continuous operation in the world.

Seville, Spain

Day 1

We had an early departure from Lisbon aboard our Gate 1 tour bus with a stop in Zafra, Spain for lunch.  We arrived in Seville by mid-afternoon and got checked into the Novotel hotel. 

A street in Zafra

Rui, our Gate 1 Tour Manager

Lunch in Zafra, Spain

More of Zafra

Since we had some free time, we decided to Uber over to the Metropol Parasol to check it out. We got there as some sort of parade/celebration was passing through the streets. Our timing was perfect to be up on the Metropol Parasol (AKA "The Mushroom") as the sun was just beginning to set. It was a great view over the city of Seville.

In front of "The Mushroom"

We took an Uber back to the hotel where we changed clothes and boarded the bus to take us to the Flamenco Show. The show was great!

Day 2

This morning we joined Gate 1 for the optional city tour which took us by bus past many of the buildings that were erected for the 1929 World's Fair which was held in Seville. We also stopped along the Guadalquivir River where we saw the Gold Tower, a replica of Christopher Columbus' Santa Maria ship, and the city's bullring. One of the most impressive buildings we saw on our tour was the Plaza de Espana. This was also constructed for the 1929 World's Fair and has also been featured in many movies (like Star Wars). It was so beautiful with its central fountain, bridges, moat, towers, and more! The final part of the morning tour took us by foot through the quaint winding streets of the Jewish Quarter.

Looking across the river toward Triana

The Seville Bullring

Tower of Gold - constructed during the 13th century

Plaza de Espana

The fountain at Plaza de Espana

The Jewish Quarter

After the tour, we wandered around the Jewish Quarter a bit further before finding a restaurant to try some Tapas. After lunch, we crossed the river to the Triana Market - unfortunately many of the stalls were closed on Sunday. We walked back across the bridge to the Seville Cathedral where we toured the inside, saw Christopher Columbus' tomb, and went up into the Giralda Tower. We then crossed the town square to tour the Royal Alcázar (a royal palace). Although we were tired from so much walking, we finished the day by going back to Plaza de Espana and the neighboring Maria Luisa Park for a few more picture. 

The Seville Cathedral

Inside of the Seville Cathedral