December 2010/January 2011 Trip to South Spain

(click on thumbnails to view larger picture)

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,December 27-29, 2010

I was supposed to go on a tour to Ethiopia, but Heathrow was closed due to a huge snowstorm, so after several days of flight cancellations, the tour agency cancelled the tour. I was lucky to find a last-minute trip to southern Spain instead. Flew to Madrid on Monday, then on Monday we drove to Toledo to visit the Synagogue, the Church of Santo Tome and a local steel workshop.Then we returned to Madrid where we had a bus tour of the city. On Wednesday we drove to Cordoba to visit the Mosque of the Caliphs and learn of the Moorish history of the region. In the evening we had dinner at a local hacienda.

View of Toledo

Visit to steel shop

Roman bridge to Cordoba

Roman bridge to Cordoba

Mosque of Caliphs (part changed to church)

Mosque of Caliphs

Thursday, Friday,Saturday, December 30-31, Jan 1, 2010/11

Walked through the tree-lined (especially orange) streets of Seville and visited Christopher Columbus’ tomb in the cathedral. We also had an optional tour to Moorish Reales Alcazares with beautiful gardens (one of the oldest palaces in Western Europe and place where Columbus met Queen Isabel). W also visited the Spanish Square where the Expo 1929 was held (and a scene from Star Wars II was filmed). Friday drove to Granada to visit the Royal Chapel (tombs of monarchs such as Queen Isabel) and the Alhambra Palace (definitely the highlight). Saturday we visited a Troglodyte dwellings of Guadix, and drove to Valencia where we took a bus tour of the very modern city.