Well, it's Sunday night and our last day in Spain. It has been great and we have covered a lot of ground. Today we decided to visit the Prado Museum whose permanent collections include the works of Velasquez, Goya, El Greco, Rubens, Tintoreto and many Dutch painters as well. We decided to go there first and then to the Reina Sofia Museum afterwards to see Picasso's Guernica. We spent 4 hours in the Prado Museum and we know we only scratched the surface. We saw many incredible works by the Masters and used the audio-guide to help direct us to the most representative works of each master. We ordered 5 digital prints of paintings which we especially liked. After picking up some small souvenirs in the gift shop we headed to the Reina Sofia. Unfortunately the museum closes at 2:30 on Sunday and we missed our opportunity to get there.
We opted to go back to the cathedral to see the inside of this gothic masterpiece. We arrived just in time for a Mass and without planning, we ended up attending Mass in the Cathedral. Afterwards, Mario took some pictures and I said the rosary which was led by one of the women who is obviously part of the staff. We were shooed out of the cathedral before the next Mass started as no "visiting" is allowed during Mass.
We called Pepe and agreed to meet between 8 and 8:30 for dinner. He picked out a Belgian place which is informal and specializes in breads, cheeses and middle Eastern spreads (hummus, etc.) Mario and I had gazpacho and the three of us shared a bottle of red wine. It was quite relaxing and a perfect way to wrap up our last day of our trip. Tomorrow, it will be back to reality. Thanks for following us!
Our last night in Madrid
Dinner with Pept
Sunday, May 22, 2011
May 21, 2011
This morning we decided to take the double decker tourist bus around the city with multiple stops allowing you to get on and off all day long. We finished the first line in about an hour without getting off the bus. Again, we had spectacular weather. It was cool and sunny on the bus. We took the second line to the Bernabeu Stadium, home of the Real Madrid Soccer Club. This club has incredible economic resources and has been the object of marketing cases in the Harvard Business School. There was a game scheduled for the evening, but the self-guided tours were available for about $25.00 (dlls) each. Of course, we had to do it for Mario because his favorite player and idol, Cristian Ronaldo (#7) plays for Real Madrid. After spending close to 2 hours walking through the stadium, going through the museum, the trophy room and even sitting in the players' spots on the sidelines, you clearly understand why this is a case for Harvard. The marketing is masterful and of course, we picked up a few goodies for Mario.
We got back on the bus and finished up the second line and then got "lunch" about 5. We shared a paella and then walked back to our hotel. We rested for about 40 minutes before our friend Pepe came back to get us for the evening. Our schedules are entirely screwed up due to the night life here which we could not do forever. I don't get how the people are out and about night after night until 2 or 3 in the morning and then go to work.
Pepe took us to one of his favorite bars where we had a beer and a light snack and then we took a taxi to his friend Menchu's house. (Her name is Carmen, but she is called "Menchu.") She had prepared a beautiful spread of typical Spanish fare and lots (LOTS) of wine. There were friends of Pepe and Menchu there and in all, there were about 8 of us. We had "dinner" around 11:00 on her rooftop terrace which overlooks the cathedral lit up at night. It was so wonderful to be in that environment and we are very grateful to Pepe and Menchu for including us.
Tomorrow, we will visit the Queen Sophia museum and the Prado. I don't think we will see the same people we saw at the stadium museum. Just one more day in paradise and then back to our real lives.
We got back on the bus and finished up the second line and then got "lunch" about 5. We shared a paella and then walked back to our hotel. We rested for about 40 minutes before our friend Pepe came back to get us for the evening. Our schedules are entirely screwed up due to the night life here which we could not do forever. I don't get how the people are out and about night after night until 2 or 3 in the morning and then go to work.
Pepe took us to one of his favorite bars where we had a beer and a light snack and then we took a taxi to his friend Menchu's house. (Her name is Carmen, but she is called "Menchu.") She had prepared a beautiful spread of typical Spanish fare and lots (LOTS) of wine. There were friends of Pepe and Menchu there and in all, there were about 8 of us. We had "dinner" around 11:00 on her rooftop terrace which overlooks the cathedral lit up at night. It was so wonderful to be in that environment and we are very grateful to Pepe and Menchu for including us.
Tomorrow, we will visit the Queen Sophia museum and the Prado. I don't think we will see the same people we saw at the stadium museum. Just one more day in paradise and then back to our real lives.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
May 20, 2011
We left Seville today to travel by train to Madrid. We had decided to get first class so we could rest as we knew by this time, we would be super tired. We shared the car with a couple, the grandmother and a baby who is overall terms was well-behaved. She was noisy and towards the end of the ride needed to sleep. We did not rest really on the train. The grandmother brought the fussy baby back to our area and sat next to Mario so the baby's parents could rest. Mario was very excited about that as you can imagine!
We checked into our hotel which is in the "old" Madrid-beautiful old buildings in the downtown area. There is activity here 24-7. We went out and walked over to the Tourism office and it was a sea of people...all kinds...working folks, kids, goths, some homeless, a few that looked like addicts living on the street and lots of tourists like us. It looked like any other big city in terms of the people. We are located near the two main squares where there are massive protests taking place, mostly by the young and well-educated who are unemployed and frustrated by the government's ability to create opportunities and career growth. The local elections are Sunday and we will be steering clear of the conflicted areas. There is a heavy police presence.
In the evening, our friend Pepe Cajigas, AKA "el pasito" met us at the hotel and we did an extensive walking and eating tour. [Pepe (and Rocio) were our neighbors in Mexico City and were the first to see Mario when we brought him home from the hospital.] It was wonderful having someone who really knows the history and developments explain all that we were seeing. We walked down to the cathedral, the palace and many of the historical landmarks. We even found a Mexican restaurant-bar and we all cracked up as we saw the "Chapulin Colorado" flanking the entrance. Inside there was a display of all the wrestler's masks. We had a beer and moved on. We ate in a restaurant called "Los Huevos de Lucio." Pepe knows a lot of the people there and got us a nice table and we ate like kings. Saturday we will do the Tour-Bus and Sunday we will do the Prado and Queen Sophia Museums. This is a fabulous city with so much culture and history and we feel very safe here.
We checked into our hotel which is in the "old" Madrid-beautiful old buildings in the downtown area. There is activity here 24-7. We went out and walked over to the Tourism office and it was a sea of people...all kinds...working folks, kids, goths, some homeless, a few that looked like addicts living on the street and lots of tourists like us. It looked like any other big city in terms of the people. We are located near the two main squares where there are massive protests taking place, mostly by the young and well-educated who are unemployed and frustrated by the government's ability to create opportunities and career growth. The local elections are Sunday and we will be steering clear of the conflicted areas. There is a heavy police presence.
In the evening, our friend Pepe Cajigas, AKA "el pasito" met us at the hotel and we did an extensive walking and eating tour. [Pepe (and Rocio) were our neighbors in Mexico City and were the first to see Mario when we brought him home from the hospital.] It was wonderful having someone who really knows the history and developments explain all that we were seeing. We walked down to the cathedral, the palace and many of the historical landmarks. We even found a Mexican restaurant-bar and we all cracked up as we saw the "Chapulin Colorado" flanking the entrance. Inside there was a display of all the wrestler's masks. We had a beer and moved on. We ate in a restaurant called "Los Huevos de Lucio." Pepe knows a lot of the people there and got us a nice table and we ate like kings. Saturday we will do the Tour-Bus and Sunday we will do the Prado and Queen Sophia Museums. This is a fabulous city with so much culture and history and we feel very safe here.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
May 19, 2011
First of all, Mario says that I was venting yesterday. That is what a blog is all about-reporting the immediate. Last night we did have a nice dinner after all in Miguel Angel, right next to the hotel. Today was much better but we walked for hours. It will be impossible to communicate the opulence, grandeur and magnificence of everything we saw today, but I will give it a try. Just to give you an idea, we took over 500 pictures TODAY only! We have a lot of editing and choices pending when we get back.
We signed up for a tour in the morning which included lunch. Our first stop was the Cathedral of Seville. It is the third largest in the world, after St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London. Christopher Columbus' remains are located there. There is so much silver and gold that you realize how much Spain pillaged Mexico and Peru. In one monstrance (to hold the Holy Eucharist) the Spaniards used 3 and 1/2 tons of silver from Guanajato, Mexico. We were considering asking to take some back but thought better of that idea. It is really a magnificent structure. The architecture is unbelievable but we were hurried due to the tour. One detail that I thought was interesting is that the front door of the Cathedral is only opened for the Pope or the King and Queen of Spain. Oh to be a member of the privileged class.
Our next stop was to the Macarena Basilica. There is an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe there as soon as you come in on the right. It is another very beautiful but much smaller church. We also walked around the typical neighborhood of Santa Cruz in Seville. There are tons of little cafes and restaurants, shops and boutique hotels. The streets are super narrow and I will try to find a photo (of the 500) that clearly shows the intimacy. We went back in the afternoon when we were on our own. There is also a Jewish neighborhood of the Sephardic Jews who made Spain their home. There are flamenco and gypsy
souvenirs everywhere. Seville is the most famous for the flamenco and there are shows nightly.
Our last stop after lunch (on our own) was to visit the Real Alcazar, which is the summer "home" to the Spanish royalty. It is an unbelievably grandiose example of Arabic and Spanish architecture. It took us an hour and a half just to walk through the many rooms. This is a place that you would really need to see, so again, we bought the DVD and with luck, it will not be stolen! The intertwined history of the Arabs, and the Catholics in the south of Spain is evident throughout this site. I thought that Connie and Ajaz would find this place absolutely fascinating.
Tomorrow we will take the train at 9:45 to Madrid to spend our last weekend with Pepe, our former neighbor, from Mexico City. We are excited to see him and it will be a nice way to finish our trip.
We signed up for a tour in the morning which included lunch. Our first stop was the Cathedral of Seville. It is the third largest in the world, after St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London. Christopher Columbus' remains are located there. There is so much silver and gold that you realize how much Spain pillaged Mexico and Peru. In one monstrance (to hold the Holy Eucharist) the Spaniards used 3 and 1/2 tons of silver from Guanajato, Mexico. We were considering asking to take some back but thought better of that idea. It is really a magnificent structure. The architecture is unbelievable but we were hurried due to the tour. One detail that I thought was interesting is that the front door of the Cathedral is only opened for the Pope or the King and Queen of Spain. Oh to be a member of the privileged class.
Our next stop was to the Macarena Basilica. There is an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe there as soon as you come in on the right. It is another very beautiful but much smaller church. We also walked around the typical neighborhood of Santa Cruz in Seville. There are tons of little cafes and restaurants, shops and boutique hotels. The streets are super narrow and I will try to find a photo (of the 500) that clearly shows the intimacy. We went back in the afternoon when we were on our own. There is also a Jewish neighborhood of the Sephardic Jews who made Spain their home. There are flamenco and gypsy
souvenirs everywhere. Seville is the most famous for the flamenco and there are shows nightly.
Our last stop after lunch (on our own) was to visit the Real Alcazar, which is the summer "home" to the Spanish royalty. It is an unbelievably grandiose example of Arabic and Spanish architecture. It took us an hour and a half just to walk through the many rooms. This is a place that you would really need to see, so again, we bought the DVD and with luck, it will not be stolen! The intertwined history of the Arabs, and the Catholics in the south of Spain is evident throughout this site. I thought that Connie and Ajaz would find this place absolutely fascinating.
Tomorrow we will take the train at 9:45 to Madrid to spend our last weekend with Pepe, our former neighbor, from Mexico City. We are excited to see him and it will be a nice way to finish our trip.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
May 18, 2011
Today we left Lisbon in the morning, but first stopped to pick up the laundry. The good news is that our underwear was not dry-cleaned or starched. The ladies were very excited to me and helped me pack the clothes. We then stopped at a supermarket after a bit of an odyssey to buy some "white" port which we had tried last night in the restaurant. They did not have the one we had tried so I bought another brand. The little supermarket was crowded with women doing their daily shopping and it was not an efficient system. We are spoiled in the US. The worst thing is that most of us don't realize HOW spoiled we are. It rained most of the way from Lisbon to Seville. It took about 4 hours, after filling the tank which was ONLY $130.00! If you think gas prices are high in the States, imagine here!
Our adventure today began in earnest in trying to find our hotel. The GPS sent us down winding one way tiny streets into a real maze in a so-so district. After about an hour of trying to get to the hotel, one gentleman gave us some help in circumventing the construction on the street where the hotel was located all torn up. He told us we would have to go just about half a block in the wrong direction, but there was no other way to get where we needed to go. Sure enough, as soon as we got to the end of the half block, we ran right into 4 police officers who pulled us over. After a big lecture and taking all our information from Mario's FL driver's license and the international license, he let us go, apparently without a ticket. We decided to call the hotel, have them send us a taxi to pick me and all the luggage up and drive us back to the hotel. Mario had to return the rental car. The girl at the hotel gave us directions, but did not understand why we wanted a taxi. Even though we spoke Spanish, she did not understand our dilemma or the frustration we were feeling about driving around in circles. It was getting later and later and Mario had to return the car and handle all the stuff about the broken window, so we decided to look for the rental place and then get a taxi. OMG!! We finally got out of the maze and I said, we can't stay at this hotel. The area is patchy. I can't imagine this place at night and we will have no car. We ended up going to another hotel which ironically is right in front of the train station, which we will need on Friday morning when we go to Madrid. Of course, this hotel is a lot more expensive, but we decided that it was worth losing the other two nights at the other hotel just to feel safe.
I checked us in while Mario went to fill the car to deliver it 100% full and then to drop it off and do all the paperwork. Mario left and the people at the second hotel were fantastic. (They should be at the price they are charging.) I called the travel agent and told him what happened. He said he would try to get the second night back for us. Mario called about 30 minutes later that as he pulled into the gas station, he remembered he had given me his wallet after talking to the officers, so he did not have enough Euros to fill the tank and no paperwork for the car rental place, so he came back to the hotel. He got his wallet and started out again. I prepared our room so that when he came back, he would have clean clothes in the drawers, etc, He was gone a long time. Finally he came back and said that no one really knew where the rental agency was, but it turned out to be at the train station-yes- across the street from the hotel!! Then the kicker was that instead of being reimbursed for the acrylic plate in the wing window, they informed him that he would be paying for a new window via the deductible on the insurance policy. The deductible is around $1200.00!!!! They did not care that we had a police report, had gotten the window taken care of to protect the car or anything else. So, we will have to wait for the bill. Mario will contact the travel agent because that was certainly not what we thought would happen. In the meantime, I called the first hotel to let them know that we could not get to the hotel, that we had been stopped by the police and that they would not send a taxi to help us (even though we were willing to pay for it). The girl at the hotel got very defensive, made it all our fault and said we would be charged for two nights. I told her that frankly at that point, I didn't care.
So, about 8 o'clock we finally had lunch (dinner) next door and decided that tomorrow is another day. We will do a bus tour of Seville and look on the bright side. We are safe and comfortable.
Our adventure today began in earnest in trying to find our hotel. The GPS sent us down winding one way tiny streets into a real maze in a so-so district. After about an hour of trying to get to the hotel, one gentleman gave us some help in circumventing the construction on the street where the hotel was located all torn up. He told us we would have to go just about half a block in the wrong direction, but there was no other way to get where we needed to go. Sure enough, as soon as we got to the end of the half block, we ran right into 4 police officers who pulled us over. After a big lecture and taking all our information from Mario's FL driver's license and the international license, he let us go, apparently without a ticket. We decided to call the hotel, have them send us a taxi to pick me and all the luggage up and drive us back to the hotel. Mario had to return the rental car. The girl at the hotel gave us directions, but did not understand why we wanted a taxi. Even though we spoke Spanish, she did not understand our dilemma or the frustration we were feeling about driving around in circles. It was getting later and later and Mario had to return the car and handle all the stuff about the broken window, so we decided to look for the rental place and then get a taxi. OMG!! We finally got out of the maze and I said, we can't stay at this hotel. The area is patchy. I can't imagine this place at night and we will have no car. We ended up going to another hotel which ironically is right in front of the train station, which we will need on Friday morning when we go to Madrid. Of course, this hotel is a lot more expensive, but we decided that it was worth losing the other two nights at the other hotel just to feel safe.
I checked us in while Mario went to fill the car to deliver it 100% full and then to drop it off and do all the paperwork. Mario left and the people at the second hotel were fantastic. (They should be at the price they are charging.) I called the travel agent and told him what happened. He said he would try to get the second night back for us. Mario called about 30 minutes later that as he pulled into the gas station, he remembered he had given me his wallet after talking to the officers, so he did not have enough Euros to fill the tank and no paperwork for the car rental place, so he came back to the hotel. He got his wallet and started out again. I prepared our room so that when he came back, he would have clean clothes in the drawers, etc, He was gone a long time. Finally he came back and said that no one really knew where the rental agency was, but it turned out to be at the train station-yes- across the street from the hotel!! Then the kicker was that instead of being reimbursed for the acrylic plate in the wing window, they informed him that he would be paying for a new window via the deductible on the insurance policy. The deductible is around $1200.00!!!! They did not care that we had a police report, had gotten the window taken care of to protect the car or anything else. So, we will have to wait for the bill. Mario will contact the travel agent because that was certainly not what we thought would happen. In the meantime, I called the first hotel to let them know that we could not get to the hotel, that we had been stopped by the police and that they would not send a taxi to help us (even though we were willing to pay for it). The girl at the hotel got very defensive, made it all our fault and said we would be charged for two nights. I told her that frankly at that point, I didn't care.
So, about 8 o'clock we finally had lunch (dinner) next door and decided that tomorrow is another day. We will do a bus tour of Seville and look on the bright side. We are safe and comfortable.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
May 17, 2011
The day started with the mundane: find a laundromat to do a quick wash for the rest of the trip and find the place where we can get the glass replaced in the wing window. We found the laundromat without too much trouble although their window really was advertising dry cleaning. I had to convince Mario they were not going to dry clean his boxers and I had an interesting conversation with the woman in charge who wrote down every piece of clothing we were bringing in to wash. She did not speak any Spanish or English and again, I muddled through with limited, very limited Portuguese and lots of hand signals. Tomorrow we will pick up the laundry, I hope. Next we went to find the Glass Express to replace the window. Eduarda, the hotel receptionist, had done a lot of prep for us on the phone after we realized that the place we had the appointment with was more than 40 miles away. We found a closer location. The solution was to put in an acrylic piece into the window as a temporary, but satisfactory fix. That was 25 Euros and about an hour's wait at the garage. They were super efficient and really nice. Then we left for Fatima, about an hour away.
We had a phenomenal day at Fatima and were so blessed to have few tourists and great parking. May 13th is the annual celebration at Fatima and there are always hundreds of thousands of people at the shrine and in the little town. Since it was over a weekend, and Monday was the 16th, we were some of the few to visit after the big celebration. We got to pray the rosary in the chapel, in Portuguese, and attend Mass at 3 in the afternoon. We lit candles for our Emmaus community, for all our families and friends and one for our little family of three. We took lots of pictures, bought lots of little mementos and left around 6 in the afternoon. We spent 5 hours at the shrine. If we had gone with a tour, it would have been only 2 hours and I know we would have been rushed. It is immense and we did not see a lot of it. I don't know how people can get through it less.
Tonight we saw a little of Lisbon which is a very cosmopolitan, sophisticated city, thanks to our cab driver, Luis. He is very proud of his city, his nationality and heritage. We went to dinner in a minimalist, very modern restaurant called Bocca. Rodolfo, the hotel clerk had recommended it. It is nouvelle cusine. Great food, beautiful atmosphere and a bit pricey, but worth it.
Tomorrow we will leave for Seville. It is a five hour drive and we have to turn in the car. That will be an interesting conversation.
We had a phenomenal day at Fatima and were so blessed to have few tourists and great parking. May 13th is the annual celebration at Fatima and there are always hundreds of thousands of people at the shrine and in the little town. Since it was over a weekend, and Monday was the 16th, we were some of the few to visit after the big celebration. We got to pray the rosary in the chapel, in Portuguese, and attend Mass at 3 in the afternoon. We lit candles for our Emmaus community, for all our families and friends and one for our little family of three. We took lots of pictures, bought lots of little mementos and left around 6 in the afternoon. We spent 5 hours at the shrine. If we had gone with a tour, it would have been only 2 hours and I know we would have been rushed. It is immense and we did not see a lot of it. I don't know how people can get through it less.
Tonight we saw a little of Lisbon which is a very cosmopolitan, sophisticated city, thanks to our cab driver, Luis. He is very proud of his city, his nationality and heritage. We went to dinner in a minimalist, very modern restaurant called Bocca. Rodolfo, the hotel clerk had recommended it. It is nouvelle cusine. Great food, beautiful atmosphere and a bit pricey, but worth it.
Tomorrow we will leave for Seville. It is a five hour drive and we have to turn in the car. That will be an interesting conversation.
Monday, May 16, 2011
May 16, 2011
Well, our words were prophetic about crime. Our side wing window was broken overnight or early in the morning even though we left it in a parking area and paid the meter. We even paid the watchman in the neighborhood. Our hotel reception clerk assured us that the only thing we needed to worry about was making sure the meter was paid at 8 AM because they start towing cars at that hour. We lost some souvenirs including the DVD from El Soplao and a necklace. They looked in all the nooks and crannies obviously-left the dirty clothes and the car tools. The car is insured, but we needed to take care of the window.
The biggest hassle has been doing the police report and trying to get the window replaced. We started with the local police station-pitiful-but the cop, an older gentleman did feel sorry for us but spoke no Spanish or English. We muddled through in Portuguese. We ended up at the Police Station for the Ministry of Tourism and completed the report. The officer there was completely fluent in English and Spanish. He told us to drive to the Porto airport and have the car exchanged by the rental agency. We drove to the Porto airport-about 30 minutes. It turns out that there is a National car rental place there but they are agents of the leasing company in Spain. Again, no Spanish or English. We did manage to hear the supervisor say she was going to eat breakfast when we were asking for help. We sat outside the agency (disgusted) and tried to contact the office in Spain for customer assistance. When we finally got through on our cell phone, the girl, who was very nice, told us to contact the Bilbao office where we had picked up the car. She had been trying and they were not answering, so we tried too, and they did not answer. By this time, our Mexican resourcefulness took over and we taped up the window with paper and a plastic bag so we could at least protect it somewhat. I sat in the back seat as there was glass everywhere. We also contacted to travel agent in Germany for guidance and he was helpful, did a lot of the leg work on the phone for us and promised to call later, which he did with some options.
We decided to drive to Obidos, a quaint little town about 3 hours on the way to Lisbon. We couldn't go to Fatima today because there was no way we could leave all our luggage in the parking lot with a broken window. Obidos was lovely, but crowded and again, we took turns looking around while one of us stayed with the car in the parking lot. This has been a very stressful day. Hopefully, tomorrow, we will go to Fatima with a repaired window, but in the worst case scenario all our stuff is here in a great hotel room in Lisbon. So we will go with or without a broken window. We tried to get a tour to avoid driving all together, but it only runs on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Of course! Right now, it is 9:30 PM and our hotel clerk here in Lisbon has been helpful in getting us some names of car glass places that make house calls. We just sent an email to the place-in Portuguese-hope that works out! More tomorrow.
The biggest hassle has been doing the police report and trying to get the window replaced. We started with the local police station-pitiful-but the cop, an older gentleman did feel sorry for us but spoke no Spanish or English. We muddled through in Portuguese. We ended up at the Police Station for the Ministry of Tourism and completed the report. The officer there was completely fluent in English and Spanish. He told us to drive to the Porto airport and have the car exchanged by the rental agency. We drove to the Porto airport-about 30 minutes. It turns out that there is a National car rental place there but they are agents of the leasing company in Spain. Again, no Spanish or English. We did manage to hear the supervisor say she was going to eat breakfast when we were asking for help. We sat outside the agency (disgusted) and tried to contact the office in Spain for customer assistance. When we finally got through on our cell phone, the girl, who was very nice, told us to contact the Bilbao office where we had picked up the car. She had been trying and they were not answering, so we tried too, and they did not answer. By this time, our Mexican resourcefulness took over and we taped up the window with paper and a plastic bag so we could at least protect it somewhat. I sat in the back seat as there was glass everywhere. We also contacted to travel agent in Germany for guidance and he was helpful, did a lot of the leg work on the phone for us and promised to call later, which he did with some options.
We decided to drive to Obidos, a quaint little town about 3 hours on the way to Lisbon. We couldn't go to Fatima today because there was no way we could leave all our luggage in the parking lot with a broken window. Obidos was lovely, but crowded and again, we took turns looking around while one of us stayed with the car in the parking lot. This has been a very stressful day. Hopefully, tomorrow, we will go to Fatima with a repaired window, but in the worst case scenario all our stuff is here in a great hotel room in Lisbon. So we will go with or without a broken window. We tried to get a tour to avoid driving all together, but it only runs on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Of course! Right now, it is 9:30 PM and our hotel clerk here in Lisbon has been helpful in getting us some names of car glass places that make house calls. We just sent an email to the place-in Portuguese-hope that works out! More tomorrow.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
May 15, 2011
We left Santiago around noon and headed to Vigo which on the Spanish side of the border before crossing into Portugal. It is a gorgeous port, and a fairly large city. We went up to the lookout at Parque do Castro high above the city and the views are absolutely indescribable. The weather was sunny, actually hot, around 88 degrees. We took tons of pictures from the perch above the city where sailboats, cruise ships and the commercial traffic in the port can be viewed. There are many pine trees in this location and the contrast of the green against the bluest skies is breath-taking. It is one of the prettiest places I have ever seen. We headed down to the beach where all the locals were enjoying a great beach day.
We drove into Portugal and headed to Porto. It is where Port wine is from. Of course, we had some port with dinner tonight. The city is pretty much desolate, we suppose because it is Sunday, but there is more of feel of unease here as there is more crime in Portugal. Our hotel is adequate, but located in the downtown area with little foot traffic. Parking is at a premium and we had to leave the car in the street about two blocks from the hotel. We decided to retire earlier tonight to get an early start tomorrow before heading to Fatima and Obidos. We will be spending the next two nights in Lisbon.
May 14,2011
We began our day by walking over to the cathedral of St. James-Santiago. This is the place where millions of pilgrims from all over the world travel to see the resting place of St. James the Apostle. When we arrived in the cathedral, the mass for the pilgrims was just underway and we stayed for the service and were able to receive communion. It was a beautiful and moving opportunity to see great faith in action: old people, young families and lots of groups from all over. The service was in Spanish, Portuguese and German, so we got most of it. At least, we knew "where they were" in the service. Afterwards, we did the guided audio tour and took lots of pictures. We walked all over the area near the cathedral and we so blessed to have one of the nicest days ever in the rainiest city in Spain.
In the afternoon, we looked for a laundromat which turned out to be a total odyssey, but we found one, by divine intervention, an industrial laundry outside the tourist area. The ladies agreed to do our laundry although we could clearly see they were mostly doing hotel laundry. It was going to take about 3 hours to get the laundry done, so we decided on a whim to drive north to La Coruna. That is where the lighthouse, a World Heritage site is located. Originally constructed in the first century, the Hercules light house tower, has gone through several modifications. La Coruna is in the far northwest corner of Spain.
In the evening, we had a nice dinner in a restaurant close to the hotel and sat next to a Jewish couple from New York, who also have a house in Wellington (Palm Beach County), Marvin and Sherry have been to Spain many times, but this was their first time in Santiago. We are off to Vigo and Porto in Portugal today.
In the afternoon, we looked for a laundromat which turned out to be a total odyssey, but we found one, by divine intervention, an industrial laundry outside the tourist area. The ladies agreed to do our laundry although we could clearly see they were mostly doing hotel laundry. It was going to take about 3 hours to get the laundry done, so we decided on a whim to drive north to La Coruna. That is where the lighthouse, a World Heritage site is located. Originally constructed in the first century, the Hercules light house tower, has gone through several modifications. La Coruna is in the far northwest corner of Spain.
In the evening, we had a nice dinner in a restaurant close to the hotel and sat next to a Jewish couple from New York, who also have a house in Wellington (Palm Beach County), Marvin and Sherry have been to Spain many times, but this was their first time in Santiago. We are off to Vigo and Porto in Portugal today.
Friday, May 13, 2011
May 13, 2011
Before leaving Oviedo this morning, we stopped at a 9th Century palace and hunting lodge with pre-Romanesque architecture called Santa Maria del Naranco. Oviedo has a lot of traffic and it was not easy to move from one place to another in a car, so we opted to go to Aviles, which was on the way to our ultimate destination, Santiago de Compostela. There was literally no place to park in Aviles so we moved on to our next destination, Lugo. Before we got to Lugo, we stopped at a little village for lunch. I told Mario I felt I was eating in someone’s living room. Mario had to get the server up from another table in another room where he was eating with his family to get the bill. I guess we were eating in someone’s living room. The food was homemade and delicious.
We finally made it to Lugo about 5 PM. There was a lot of driving today. Lugo is a medieval city with a huge Roman wall built around it for protection in middle ages. We were able to park and walk around the interior zone. We visited the cathedral, another Catholic church, St. Peter’s and stopped at a few shops along the way.
We got to Santiago tonight about ten. It had just gotten dark out. The days are long at this latitude. We had upgraded to a great hotel for the next two nights. This place is renowned as the place where St. James was beheaded and pilgrims from all over the world make this trip on bicycle or by foot. (We took the car.) Tomorrow we will go explore the city. It is now after midnight.
May 12, 2011
Today began in Santander and ended in Oviedo. We left Santander around noon and drove to the Altamira Cave Site. It is the place where prehistoric art drawings, among the oldest known to man (20,000 BC) were discovered at the end of the nineteenth century. So many people visited the caves between the 1950s and 1970s that the Spanish government decided to close the site since there was so much damage due to the exposure to new bacteria and human contact. They recreated a Neocave, which is an exact replica, where visitors can now see the drawings in the same locations, with the same colors, etc. We happened upon a small group of senior citizens being guided by a young woman who was obviously an expert on the cave’s history and art. One of the visitors told me, she is not a guide, she is my daughter, but she studied art history and that is why she knows so much about this site. We just hung out with them and had a fantastic small group-guided tour. They were from Cantabria and knew the area very well. When we told them our next stop was sight-seeing in Comillas, they recommended another place, El Soplado, which is an old mining sight where there is a an unbelievable display of stalactites and stalagmites.
We did stop in Comillas for a nice lunch on the beach, although it was too cold to enjoy any beach weather. The waitress was excited about our decision to visit El Soplado. We figured it was probably worth skipping the “more touristy” Comillas visit. We got to El Soplado after about 2 hours of driving through mountainous roads. The drive and the time were well worth the effort to get there. You take a train down into a mine shaft, which happened to cut into the 20 km long natural cave and the sight is unbelievable. We bought a DVD in the gift shop because there is no photography allowed and words cannot possibly describe its magnificence. One of the ladies from the morning said, at the end of the day, you will say that I was right about going to El Soplado instead of Comillas. Conchita was right. It was an unplanned but wonderful surprise.
We left El Soplado and started to head to Oviedo. After much frustration with the traffic and directions we received in Oviedo, we ended up at the wrong hotel and finally made it to the right one after 10 PM. The garage was full so we had to leave the car a block away and walk to the hotel. We went out to dinner afterwards, yea, like 10:30 to the “Sidreria” street where all the restaurants serve cider…spiked, of course. It was teeming with locals, but again, worth the time and effort to experience the night life. We kept thinking how much the Spaniards are on Mario’s schedule. We wonder how anyone can get up and go to work the next day after having such a heavy dinner at midnight…and do this several times a week.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
May 11, 2011
This morning we got up around 5:45 (after going to bed at 2 AM!) to fly to Bilbao. Once we were on the plane, the officials decided that a mechanical problem could not be easily resolved and we had to deplane, take buses out to the tarmac and board another plane. That set us back only an hour. In fact, the solution was pretty efficient and the plane was full. The only downside was that Mario was packed in with his knees right up against the seat in front of us. He was not very comfortable. The flight took an hour and we had planned to visit the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Our guide who helped prepare our itinerary warned us not to go because there were many cars broken into in the parking lot. We skipped it and drove to Laredo, the first view of the beach. We had a wonderful lunch at a great price at the place we stopped for lunch. The news of Seve Ballesteros' funeral was on the TV in the bar-restaurant where we had lunch. Ballesteros was from Cantabria, which is the region where we are now so everyone was interested in the event. His children were carrying his ashes from his home to the church for the 1 PM funeral.
We drove to Santander after lunch and I was dead tired. I slept for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Our hotel is very pretty and comfortable. It is about a block from the coast. We walked around for a few hours, ate some fried squid, cheese and dessert in a typical cafe and a little later had some wine and a few more snacks in a very old bar which we had spotted early in the walk. Santander is absolutely beautiful. The architecture is exquisite. We took the bus up and down the coastal drive to get into the heart of the city and it was clean and efficient. The people in Spain eat a lot, drink a lot, smoke a lot and walk a lot. I suppose that is why in spite of all the great food, you don't really see a lot of overweight people. There are many older people, older couples, lots of grandmothers with their grandchildren. It is very charming. More tomorrow.
We drove to Santander after lunch and I was dead tired. I slept for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Our hotel is very pretty and comfortable. It is about a block from the coast. We walked around for a few hours, ate some fried squid, cheese and dessert in a typical cafe and a little later had some wine and a few more snacks in a very old bar which we had spotted early in the walk. Santander is absolutely beautiful. The architecture is exquisite. We took the bus up and down the coastal drive to get into the heart of the city and it was clean and efficient. The people in Spain eat a lot, drink a lot, smoke a lot and walk a lot. I suppose that is why in spite of all the great food, you don't really see a lot of overweight people. There are many older people, older couples, lots of grandmothers with their grandchildren. It is very charming. More tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
Today is Mother's Day in Mexico so we are remembering all our friends and family who are mothers in Mexico for today; and those who celebrated on Sunday. Hope you got to rest and enjoy! Tonight Mario and Mario will take Laura and me to dinner and whether they know it or now, we will be celebrating!
This morning we went to the Picasso Museum and spent a few hours there. There is a permanent exhibit with some of his very early work, but also important pieces from the turn of the century and his blue period. There is some of his very late work there, as well as ceramic pieces. I thought his very early work which he signed P. Ruiz-Picasso was very interesting. It was well worth the visit.
The museum is in the middle of the Gothic neighborhood and it has a fantastic atmosphere, but you have to be careful. There are many tourist and many pickpockets. Mario and I averted one when we saw one woman give the signal to a guy and when he started to follow us, Mario turned around and looked right at him a couple of times. We had both seen the "sign." After a couple of menancing looks from the big guy, this guy just walked quickly ahead of us. Of course, I was saying, "Mother Mary, keep us safe." I know those people are busy, Mom, but this was an emergency.
We went to the Cathedral which is only open from 1-5 and got there in good time to really explore all the art and architecture dating back to the 1200's. We even got to go up on the roof for our 6 Euro (each) ticket. Mario got some beautiful shots.
Finally, we went down to the seafood market "La Boqueria" down by Las Ramblas. It was still early and daylight so we were okay. There is a wonderful display of seafood, fruit, vegetables and sweets.
After walking so much, I insisted we take a taxi back to get a shower and change before dinner. So, see you all tomorrow. We are flying to Bilbao in the morning.
This morning we went to the Picasso Museum and spent a few hours there. There is a permanent exhibit with some of his very early work, but also important pieces from the turn of the century and his blue period. There is some of his very late work there, as well as ceramic pieces. I thought his very early work which he signed P. Ruiz-Picasso was very interesting. It was well worth the visit.
The museum is in the middle of the Gothic neighborhood and it has a fantastic atmosphere, but you have to be careful. There are many tourist and many pickpockets. Mario and I averted one when we saw one woman give the signal to a guy and when he started to follow us, Mario turned around and looked right at him a couple of times. We had both seen the "sign." After a couple of menancing looks from the big guy, this guy just walked quickly ahead of us. Of course, I was saying, "Mother Mary, keep us safe." I know those people are busy, Mom, but this was an emergency.
We went to the Cathedral which is only open from 1-5 and got there in good time to really explore all the art and architecture dating back to the 1200's. We even got to go up on the roof for our 6 Euro (each) ticket. Mario got some beautiful shots.
Finally, we went down to the seafood market "La Boqueria" down by Las Ramblas. It was still early and daylight so we were okay. There is a wonderful display of seafood, fruit, vegetables and sweets.
After walking so much, I insisted we take a taxi back to get a shower and change before dinner. So, see you all tomorrow. We are flying to Bilbao in the morning.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Today we went back to La Sagrada Familia and waited in a line that wrapped around the block for about 45 minutes. We were really questioning if it was worth it to wait, but we did, and it was fortuitous for a couple of reasons. First of all, we decided to get the audio-tour which was well worth it. There are 14 stops and if you didn't hear all of the explanations, you would miss most of what to look for. Gaudi was a genious and the inside of the basilica is filled with light. It is beautiful. Mario went to return to headphones while I picked up a couple of mementos. When I came out, he was talking to Mario and Laura Arreguin from Mexico City. Mario went to Ibero University with Mario more than 35 years ago and they have been close friends ever since! Mario was attending a business conference here in Barcelona and it was pure coincidence that we ran into them...or shall I say, divine intervention? We made plans to have dinner with them tomorrow night.
Afterwards, we went to Montserrat which is high up on a mountain top one hour outside of Barcelona. It is a magnificent sanctuary and Bendictine monastery to the Virgin of Montserrat, also known as the "Black Madonna." It was peaceful, very spiritual and moving. We did the four hour tour which is partially guided and partially on your own. We had spectacular weather and the views are breathtaking.
Finally, we came back down to city and walked around to go "tapa-hopping." We had some good ones and also some Sangria which was great. Mario had a seafood paella which he thoroughly enjoyed. I am tired after walking, hiking and trekking and the sangria really slowed (me) down. More tomorrow.
Afterwards, we went to Montserrat which is high up on a mountain top one hour outside of Barcelona. It is a magnificent sanctuary and Bendictine monastery to the Virgin of Montserrat, also known as the "Black Madonna." It was peaceful, very spiritual and moving. We did the four hour tour which is partially guided and partially on your own. We had spectacular weather and the views are breathtaking.
Finally, we came back down to city and walked around to go "tapa-hopping." We had some good ones and also some Sangria which was great. Mario had a seafood paella which he thoroughly enjoyed. I am tired after walking, hiking and trekking and the sangria really slowed (me) down. More tomorrow.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Mario and Joyce in Spain and Portugal
Saturday, May 7, 2011
We are leaving at 7:45 PM tonight for our 25th anniversary trip through Spain and Portugal. We'll upload pictures and a little narrative so you can follow along with us. We are headed to Barcelona first!
We are leaving at 7:45 PM tonight for our 25th anniversary trip through Spain and Portugal. We'll upload pictures and a little narrative so you can follow along with us. We are headed to Barcelona first!
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