Cordoba, Spain

It's another cold day in Spain. Our tour group stops in the afternoon to the historic town of Cordoba. There are lots of pictures to see here! It was a beautiful, quaint town with a rich history and a Mediterranean feel. 

Bridge into Cordoba

 Outside City Walls of Cordoba

  

We took a tour of the Jewish Quarter first. The Jews were exiled in 1492 and I'm sure you can guess why.  Religion and money of course.... 

Typical street in the Jewish Quarter

These flower pots are all over the town
hanging on walls

I love the use of tiles in the
concrete walls used as street signs

Cordoba is home to the Mosque-Cathedral, a world heritage site. The Moors took over this cathedral in the year 784. Over two centuries the Islamic rulers built the most important mosque of western Islam at a size of 23,000 square meters! In 1236 Cordoba was captured by the Christians and the mosque was converted into a Cathedral. What is most impressive about the building now is the chapel in the centre of the mosque. In the 1500's King Charles V tore out a number of the grand pillars and archways to create a stunning chapel.  Unfortunately, my camera battery died so I had to rely on my trusty blackberry camera, so the quality isn't the best.

 

Spain Bus Tour

I met my new tour group at 8am in Barcelona and we made our way south to Cordoba. 

On this trip I will also visit Seville, Granada and Valencia. 

Map of Barcelona to Madrid

Map of Madrid to Cordoba

This is my 3rd bus tour and I find them of excellent value and a very comfortable way to travel but it does require patience. The mornings are very early, you have to go with the flow of when we make stops, how long they are, the slow walkers etc. But its all a small trade off. I love the interesting information the guides provide, the weather has been cold and wet and we conveniently get dropped off at the front door of monuments. 

Here are some interesting facts about Spain:

- they are the largest producer of olive oil and honey and in the top 3 for oranges

- unemployment rate is 20% :(

- the history is complex and very interesting with the struggles between the Arabs, Christians and the Jews

- Next to Italy, they are ranked 2nd as the worlds largest museum

There are mostly South American's on this trip, a couple from Italy, Australia, and a gent from New Zealand. The guide can speak all three languages! I was one of the last to get on the bus and I luckily sat in front of Tony. Tony is traveling on his own and is from Auckland. He was lots of fun to chat with and we took turns taking each others photo. 

Tony from Auckland, NZ

Our tour guide Ana (in middle) with
Wendy & Andrew from Australia

Madrid and the Flaminco Dance

I arrived in Madrid in the early evening after a long bus ride from Barcelona. I have signed up with a bus tour for the week and the first day I am with people only from South America (no English) before I switch to the English group the next day. But I will tell you they were the friendliest and kindest people to spend the day with!

From what I could tell from my short visit in Madrid is I love the layout and energy of the city! I had a hard time getting a feel for Barcelona. In Madrid, its a sunday night around 7pm and the streets are just hopping with people and all the shops are still open! But I couldn't get too carried away with sight seeing. I was due at Corral De La Roreria at 10pm for a Flaminco Dance show.

This place is listed in the book "1,000 things to do before you die", and one of the dancers has preformed for the Spanish Royal family. So they must be good right??? They were fantastic! The dancers would come out as a solo female, or 3 females or a solo male, accompanied by 3 vocalists (who clap with their palms) and guitar players.

I also went to a Flaminco performance in a cave in Granada. I wanted to include some video footage but it just won't upload. So these photos do not do the events any justice, but at least you get the idea...it's a lot of fancy tap dancing!

Barcelona, Spain

I recently arrived in Spain and my first stop is Barcelona. Even though it was only 12* I was so happy to see sunny skies, mountains and palm trees.  I spent a couple nights in the city and had one full day to tour. The highlight of the time was my visit to Park Guell. This place is mind blowing and the photos tell it all.

It is currently a municipal park located on a very large hill and features the architecture of Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi's architecture is rather unusual, flamboyant and the majority of his works are in Barcelona. 

It was a fair walk uphill to get to the park which continues higher to see the panoramic views of the city. 

One of the buildings at the entrance

Above these pillars is a public square

Angle D made it to Barcelona!

Me at the top of the park and Barcelona in the backdrop 

Bubble blower in the public square

Catalunya Musicians in the public square.
It was cold but the sun felt great and the
vibe from the musicians made for a perfect setting.

Close up of some of Gaudi's mosaics
 from the interior of the 'Serpents Bench'.

This is a photo of the exterior of the Serpent's bench
which encompasses 2/3's of the public square.

More of Gaudi's mosaics on a wall near
the entrance of the park.

Dragon in Guell Parc

Here is a sample of some of Gaudi's ceiling mosaics
in a covered area of the park.

The Galbraith-Versailles Curse!!!

 If your last name is Galbraith don’t bother going to Versailles! I had great difficulty getting to this palace. It a full day journey since it is an hour outside of the city. Right off the bat I had a hard enough time finding the proper metro station to leave from. I got to the write platform and see there are a number of other tourists around me waiting for the train to arrive….and we keep waiting. Then an announcement comes on in French.  I could translate enough of the message to understand that something just ain’t right. So I asked around. The train is delayed for 2 hours! At this point a ‘mini tour group to Versailles’ if formed:) A photo of the group is below: A mother and daughter from Austrailia and a couple from Washington DC. Through a maze of finding other metro lines, receiving inaccurate information from misinformed attendants, we moved out of the metro system and onto the train line to Versailles. By the time we arrived we said we may have been better off to wait the 2 hours for the delayed train…..but, we decided lets never speak of that again and just be happy we made it!

Mini Tour Group of Versailles

The funny thing about this for me is my x-in laws John and Gayle, have been to Versailles twice and BOTH times it was CLOSED!!! The first time was due to a strike and I am guessing the second time it was because it was a Monday (lots of museums are closed on Mondays). Obviously, if your last name is Galbraith you are cursed in your pursuit to Versailles!

Angel D and the Hall of Mirrors

View of the fountain area and the palace gardens

So, now to the palace. Its huge, and beautiful but I was more impressed with the gardens and the landscape. I must admit I have been a bit spoiled. A few years ago Darryl and I were in Munich for Oktoberfest and rented a car to go to Salzburg. On the way we visited a palace on a lake built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Ludwig was know as a “fantasy king” (he was a little out there) and built a replica of the palace and the grounds as a tribute to King Louis XIV of France.  Unfortunately, Ludwig II died during construction and ran out of money. The 2 palaces and the gardens look almost the same, Ludwig’s is just missing the wings on the right and left. 

This is a photo of Darryl and the replica in Bavaria (2006)

Photo of the real Versailles in France

Photos in Paris...

A number of people have commented on how much they have enjoyed looking at the photos on the blog. Here are some images to check out. The video at the bottom is taken in the park by the Louvre museum. The buildings were jaw dropping....another moment where you just had to be there to appreciate the scale and the beauty. 

Welcome to my Paris office! This is the studio apartment that I stayed in.

That little door left of Barthelemy is the door to my apartment complex.
If you don't look closely you could easily miss it.
Barthelemy is a cheese shop....which gives the hall a funky odor!

I decided to dine in one of the nights......

Enjoying a glass of Brouilly at a near by Brasserie

Just another day in Paris....

One of my mornings in Paris I got on my winter warm athletic gear and headed for a jog in some of the green spaces in the city. I’m staying in a small studio apartment in the 7th arrondissiment – great location (thanks Demeure!). I jogged in the Esplanade des Invalides, Parc du Champs de Mars, then jogged around the Effiel Tower and walked to find a bakery that I had read about. I got back to the apartment and my legs were in need of a rest! Just as well to have a lazy, rest of the day, it’s cold and there is a bit of a drizzle.

Esplanade des Invalids

Lionel Poilane bakery and enjoying one of his croissants