As we ended our first year teaching in Thailand, we decided before we went HOME, to spend some time in Europe. Spain was number one on our list. First we arrived in Madrid in the pouring rain, and we aren't lying when we say is was "chilly" even though it was 80 degrees out. We stayed in downtown Madrid for two nights.
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| Downtown Center of Madrid |
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| Subway |
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| Museo Del Prado |
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| Sellers along the cobblestone streets |
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| Plaza Major |
After getting our car that we rented, we hit the road down south of Madrid to a Medieval town called Toledo. There we stayed just one night with a great couple who lives in the town. Toledo has the Tagus River that runs right along side the walled city. The history dates back to 192BC with it being ruled by Rome.
Our next stop was 3 hour south of Toledo in the city of Granada. This city sits on the foothills of the Sierra Nevada's and is known for Alhambra, the palace of Isabella and Ferdinand, there is major Arab influences, gypsy caves, flamenco dancing and free tapas :)
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| Grounds of Alhambra |
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| Streets of Granada |
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| Gypsy Caves |
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| Arab Bath House |
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| View of Granada |
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| Arab Architecture |
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| Alhambra |
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| Olive Orchards |
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| Lake by the Sierra Nevadas on a h |
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| Alhambra Palace grounds |
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Alhambra Palace grounds
Next stop was the ocean town of Valencia. There we met our friend Meghan who flew in for a long weekend with us. Valencia had beaches, paella, bike riding and wine wine wine!
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| Bodega EL Angosto |
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| City of Arts and Sciences |
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| Mercat De Central |
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| Vi-Ci Bike Share |
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| Valencia Beach |
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| Jamon y Mercat Central de Valencia |
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| City of Arts and Sciences |
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| City of Arts and Sciences |
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| Valencia Paella |
We then went to a small town called Miravet that is 2 hours North of Valencia. This town is small, quiet and in a beautiful setting with trees, mountains and a river. The house we stayed at was built by two architects into the rocks of a castle just above. This was truly a town with traditional Spanish influence still in tact.
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| Wine Co-Op |
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| Co-Op Interior |
Finally the last leg of our trip was in beautiful Barcelona. In Barcelona we did a city walking tour in the gothic quarter, went to the man made beach, saw Gaudi's arcitecture all around the city, went to the Picasso Museum and Sagrada Familia. Sagrada Familia is the Catholic Church that is still being built even after 185 years!
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| La Sagrada Familia- Nativity Facade |
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| Beautiful Stain Glass inside |
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| The Passion Facade side of the church |
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| Interior that was designed to look like tree trunks |
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| Picasso's Art work |
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| Gaudi's Work |
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| Sculptures were everywhere |
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| Favorite Sour Candy Store |
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| La Rambla Street |
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| Favorite Tapas Bar |
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| Amazing Tapas |
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| Bird's eye view of Barcelona |
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