Armed only with some guide books, two laptops, high speed Internet access, our previous experience planning and executing our trips to the UK and to Europe and an over abundance of gumption we are started out plotting our next vacation.
Jay and Cynthia are going to Spain!
Our plan is to fly in to Madrid where we plan to see:
- The Palacio Real
- Parque del Buen Retiro (Park of the Pleasant Retreat)
- Museo del Prado
- Centro de Arte Reina SofÃa (Guernica by Pablo Picasso!)
- Plaza Mayor
- Almudena Cathedral
While in Madrid we have mapped out several day trips.
- El Escorial and Valle de los CaÃdos (Valley of the Fallen) to verify that Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
- (Holy) Toledo – Toledo Cathedral
- Segovia – Roman aqueducts
- Cuenca – Hanging Houses
From Madrid we catch the high speed train (Ave) to Seville to see the barber of as well as the Seville Cathedral and climb the Giralda Bell Tower. Well also see the Basilica De La (hey!) Macarena and the Tomb of Columbus.
From there it’s on to Cordoba to see The Mezquita and then by bus to La Linea where we walk to Gibraltar to see:
- The Rock Of
- Europa Point
- Gibraltar Barbary Macaques (the Barbary Apes)
Then it’s back to La Linea (by Bus), to Algeciras and from Algeciras (by train) to Granada.
In Granada we plan to see:
- The Alhambra
- The Generalife Gardens
- The Granada Cathedral and the Tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella
From Granada we will catch a short flight to Barcelona (The land of outrageous Gaudi architecture!) where we will see:
- La Rambla or Les Rambles (Catalan) / Las Ramblas (Spanish)
- Christopher Columbus Monument
- Sagrada Familia Basilica
- Casa Mila
- Casa Batlló
- Palau de la Música Catalana (Palace of Catalan Music)
- Park Güell
- Montjuic
- The Magic Fountains
- Plaça d’Espanya
While in Barcelona we have one day trip planned and that’s to Figueres to see the Salvador Dali Theater and Museum.
And then it’s back to Madrid to catch a flight back home.
All mapped out the trip looks like a crooked coat hanger.
All in all it looks like we’ll be gone for about a month. We’ve put our vacation requests in to our bosses and once approved we’ll secure the air fair and nail down the particulars in terms of hotel reservations, rail passes and so forth.
