rewind: project EU, part 2.
and so the saga continues…
after an amazing time in barcelona, our family flew to madrid to kick-off our guided bus tour with cosmos. we rendezvoused with the tour group at our hotel for the customary meet-and-greet and welcome dinner. it was full-on “social butterfly” mode for the next few days. LOL! ;)
» THE TOUR: JEWELS OF SPAIN & PORTUGAL
the tour we joined with cosmos was called “jewels of spain & portugal”. it took us to the major cities of the iberian peninsula — six cities in spain, and four cities in portugal, all in a span of seven days. since it was my second time to join a bus tour, i pretty much knew what to expect. think early call-times, same continental breakfast at a different hotel everyday (you bet, we saw plenty of eggs, ham, sausages and yogurt), and two hours at a time spent on the bus traveling from one city to the next. so for a full week, we lived off our suitcases, and surrendered our lives to a schedule. the typical morning went something like this: by 7am, you’d expect a wake-up call from the front desk; in 45 minutes, bags should be outside our doors for pick-up and loading onto our coach since we found ourselves sleeping in a different city almost every night; by 7:45am, breakfast was served; and, by 9am, we should all be on the bus and ready to go. it was a pretty exhausting morning routine, if you ask me, especially for someone like me who’s not really a morning person. but the bus rides gave me plenty of time to catch some zzzzs…of course, in between listening to our tour director’s introductory lectures on the cities we visited.
now brace yourselves for a bunch an overload of photos highlighting each city we visited…you have been forewarned. * photo credits go to my bro-in-law keith and sister pinky since my point-and-shoot was cranky throughout the trip *
» AVILA (SPAIN): TAKE ME BACK TO THE MEDIEVAL TIMES
(1) & (2) fortified town of avila
(3) & (4) we found ourselves in the midst of a folklore festival
(5) & (6) convent of st. teresa: pilgrimage site for catholics
» SALAMANCA (SPAIN): OH WHERE, OH WHERE COULD MY LITTLE FROG BE?
(1) & (2) plaza mayor: where the movie “vantage point” was filmed
(3) entrance to the oldest university in spain: if you find “froggy” unaided, you will either pass your exam (if you’re a student) or get married within the year (if you’re single)
(4) froggy sitting on a skull head
(5) my brother was giddy to find it…now we’ll see if there’s any truth behind their local belief ;)
(6) & (7) wine and dine by a roadside restaurant
» COIMBRA (PORTUGAL): STEADY SUNDAY MORNING
(1) coimbra is empty on a sunday morning
(2) mi familia with our tour director, julian
(3), (4), & (5) we heard mass in portuguese at the santa cruz monastery
(6) & (7) having some fun at this quaint old town
» FATIMA (PORTUGAL): KEEPING THE FAITH
(1) & (2) a throng of tourists and faithful pilgrims flock to the basilica of our lady of fatima
(3) & (4) as customary, wave your white hanky to send off the statue of our lady of the rosary
(5) & (6) that’s what we call devotion!
» OBIDOS (PORTUGAL): “FOLK” ME, BABY, ONE MORE TIME
(1) another folklore festival was going on
(2) the walls of the castle in this old fortified city
(3) & (4) tiny shops lined the cobbled streets of obidos, featuring beautifully hand-painted tiles in all shapes, forms and sizes
(5) view from the top
(6) peek-a-boo, i see you!
» LISBON (PORTUGAL): HOPSCOTCHING THROUGH THE CAPITAL
(1) tour’s second night pit stop at the portuguese capital of lisbon
(2) went to rossio square to have some dinner
(3) we feasted on seafood rice — this version of spain’s paella was overflowing to the brim
(4) tried out their local delicacy, bacalhau (codfish)
(1) & (2) icons of the age of exploration: the belem tower and the monument to the discoveries
(3) & (4) church of santa maria & the jeronimos monastery
(1) off to the posh coastal town of cascais for lunch at dom manolo
(2) starting off healthy with some tomate mozzarella
(3) & (4) signature dishes: chicken piri-piri and grilled sardines
(5) gelato break
(6) my dad & mom take in cascais — one of portugal’s richest municipalities
(1) sintra national palace: the best preserved medieval royal palace in portugal
(2) smoke stacks of the kitchen
(3) & (4) intricate wall and ceiling details were prominent throughout the palace
(5) token shot of the young ones ;)
(6) walk-up for some shops and restaurants
» SEVILLE (SPAIN): THE SIGHTS, SOUNDS & TASTES OF SOUTHERN SPAIN
(1) & (2) sevilla, the artistic, cultural and financial capital of southern spain
(3) & (4) pinky, keith & my mom went to the local bullfighting arena for a night of flamenco
(5) & (6) performers dance the night away
(1) & (2) meanwhile, my brothers, my dad and i trooped to el rinconcillo: founded in 1620, this is the “mother of all tapas bars” in sevilla
(3), (4), (5) shabby chic: complete with hanging serrano ham and chalked-up specials menu
(6) & (7) when in spain, do as the spaniards do: eat tapas. (pork cheeks & serrano ham)
(1) the ruins of italica
(2) & (3) the amphitheater (and my flashbacks of scenes from “gladiator”)
(1) & (2) catedral de santa maria: the world’s largest gothic cathedral, and third largest church
(3) remains of christopher columbus (all 150 grams of it) carried by the four heralds
(4) i love all the fine details on this cathedral
(5) at the santa cruz quarter: sevilla, can’t get enough of you!
» CORDOBA (SPAIN): THE “MOOR”, THE MERRIER
(1) & (2) visited a synagogue in cordoba’s old jewish quarter
(3), (4) & (5) cordoba is tagged as spain’s most moorish city
(6) & (7) “la mezquita”: due to its history, its architecture is part-mosque, part-cathedral; but today, it is 100% roman catholic
» TOLEDO (SPAIN): IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK
(1) toledo is picture perfect
(2) & (3) view of puerta del sol and alcantara bridge
(1) & (2) toledo is a former capital of the spanish empire, and belongs to UNESCO’s elite group of world heritage sites
(3) & (4) the cathedral of saint mary of toledo
(1) & (2) the art of damascening gold strands of thread onto a metal piece
(3) & (4) touché: these swords and rapiers are products of toledo’s metal-working industry
(5) boys with the man from la mancha
(6) with my knight in shining armour :)
» MADRID (SPAIN): THAT’S A WRAP!
(1) class picture: our tour group
(2) & (3) close encounter with the “headless kind” at madrid’s plaza mayor
(4) & (5) tapas night: sat with julian, katie & mark at our farewell dinner
(1) & (2) plaza de toros: this bullring doubles as a sports stadium & concert arena
(3) & (4) cervantes monument in plaza espana: don quixote & his sidekick sancho panzo
this wraps up our road trip around the iberian peninsula. definitely had a swell time, and wouldn’t mind traveling back to spain to see more of its other cities. think granada, leon, and the list goes on… but for now, as julian aptly puts it, “hasta la vista…baby or no baby!”
next stop: the city of light. allons-y!
