Toledo March 14

We left Madrid




And we were off to Toledo






just the first view took my breath away






I even had to pose for a picture







Our first stop was a damascene factory. Damascening is the art of inlaying gold or silver into darkly oxidized steel background to produce intricate patterns. This technique was brought to Toledo from Damascus.





Here is a sample above.









We took escalators up to the old town







Check this narrow street.






Lola, our tireless tour manager, treated us to marzipan, a speciality of Toledo, the best marzipan I have ever tasted.






Toledo is a UNESCO world heritage site







We had an excellent local guide, Carlos, who took us first into the beautiful cathedral, a gothic cathedral dating from the 13th century, built on a former mosque













There are beautiful paintings by such painters as Goya and El Greco. Below is a portrait of Jesus done by El Greco who used colour the way Goya used light.








I loved this Baroque alterpiece called El Transparente.











This floor shows the Star of David. Toledo was a place where Jews, Moslems, and Christians co-existed.










This cathedral was just amazing.
























We had time to explore the town a bit.











And a chance to buy marzipan.








It was amazing what they could create with it.






Even a marzipan cathedral










It really was a







Sweet time in Toledo...

Segovia

After our morning touring Madrid and the Prado we were off to Segovia.








Originally Celtic but then the Romans arrived...








They built aqueducts built to last













The cathedral was the last gothic cathedral to be built in Spain











I discovered a delicious chocolate shop...I had a raspberry one.









They were ready for Easter

















The cathedral












The alcazar, castle, here apparently inspired Walt Disney for the famous castle in Disneyland.













It really is everything a castle should be. Queen Isabella, who was Columbus' benefactor, lived here.










Lovely tile work...












Beautiful ceilings











Paintings...











Looking down...












On the way home we saw storks nesting. Sue got a great shot!!!











That evening we had pizza in a shopping area just near our hotel, with a couple from our tour group.

Madrid day 2-March 12,2016

I have had difficulties posting my blog posts so I am quite behind...Our second day in Madrid we took a city tour in the morning. Above is the King's palace, not that he was actually staying there.








Below is a bit of the old city walls










A sample of the lovely architecture














Beautiful windows














Statue in honour of Cervantes, the writer












And his most famous creations, Don Quixote and Poncho.











Next to the the famous museum, The Prado, where we couldn't take pictures in the exhibits but we only wished we had more time but learned more about El Greco and Goya especially.











Here is a lovely church just by the entrance!











Here is the museum itself.

It was a great morning

We finally reached Madrid March 12, 2016 a day later than expected

I wrote a post all about our delays with travel so that we arrived in Madrid at least 14 hours later than we were supposed to arrive and had to stay in a hotel in Heathrow Friday night rather than Madrid, but I haven't been able to post it!!!
But eventually we did get to Madrid, more than a little tired. Our hotel seemed lovely, located right across from Plaza Colon (Christopher Columbus Square)





















We couldn't check in until 3:00 so Lola, our Insight tour director, recommended places to see and where to eat so we went to explore into the old town.


















It was fun looking at all the beautiful buildings





















We had a tasty lunch at the Puerto Rico Restaurant just off Grand Via, the Main Street of Madrid. It was a busy Saturday afternoon.













We were happy to see a sign welcoming refugees on Madrid's beautiful city hall.











When we returned we got to put our feet up in our beautiful hotel room at the Gran Amelia Fenix and put our feet off before going off to a welcoming reception and dinner and a bit of a night tour




































The streets were alive with people on a Saturday night.



































Dinner was lovely and our tour group seem very nice.











The streets at night were stunning, even a new moon!!!



































But we were a little exhausted and looked forward to not having to get up at 4:30 am. Stay tuned for the Prada and Segovia!!!

Spain and Portugal

In a few days I will be leaving for a trip to Spain with my friend, Sue.  Almost four years ago Sue and I with other friends spent two and a half weeks in Spain, initially walking the last 100 kilometres of the Camino in Galicia, then renting a car and driving to San Sebastian (the centre of the Basque region) and using that city as a base as we explored that area.   We flew via Dublin to Santiago and then flew out of Bilbao to Dublin where we spent a weekend and then a week in Northern Ireland.  To read about our adventures just click here.

This time we fly to Madrid via London and then will be on a Insight bus tour that you can check our route above on the map.

After an extra night in Barcelona we fly to Mallorca where we will be staying for a couple of days with old friends of Sue's then we fly back to Barcelona and via London home.

I will do my best to keep this blog updated each day.   It's exciting to return to Spain and to see more of this beautiful country as well as a bit of Portugal.  Last year I wondered a bit how I would make out 18 days on a cruise ship, and this time I wonder a bit how I will make out on a bus tour, but always time for new adventures.  I definitely worried  on my first trip to Spain how I would make out walking the Camino with no real time it seemed for training.  I survived of course, and honestly really enjoyed it.

It is always so exciting to see new places!  So I hope you will enjoy virtually travelling with me! Plus you won't have the long flight to endure!  See you here soon!