More Spain with Less Pain

Sunday, June 10 – Day 13 (Seville)

After a night train from Lisbon back to Madrid and a hop south via an AVE high speed train, we were on the orange tree lined streets of Seville. Yes, that is an orange tree right behind me…

The city’s towering and lavishly decorated cathedral was built on the site of Muslim Seville’s main mosque between 1401 and 1507. Our guide book told us the cathedral was open and free to the public daily between 3:00pm and 6:00pm (for some reason they charge an entrance fee from 1:30pm to 3:00pm). We headed over to the cathedral area around 3:30pm and were very disappointed to find a sign telling us it was closed. Here Rich poses with the locked gate…

Since our main goal was to see the cathedral that day and we were denied, we decide to instead venture into a neighborhood called the Barrio de Santa Cruz. We were told the best way to appreciate this old Jewish quarter was to head for the tangle of narrow streets and plazas and just get lost. So lost we got!

Here is Rich in one of the quaint plazas…

This beautiful wrought iron cross stood in the very center of the Plaza del Santa Cruz…

At about 4:50pm, the bells of the cathedral began to ring. The sound echoed through every street, alley, and plaza around. They rang and they rang. It was absolutely beautiful! At about the same time, Rich and I noticed that a lot of people seemed to be heading in the direction of the cathedral and so we decided to follow along…
Much to our delight, the cathedral doors were open, and they were allowing everyone to enter. There was a service going on with gorgeous music, and we wandered around soaking in the sights and the sounds around us. Seville’s cathedral is the largest in the world (they proudly display their Guinness Book of World Records Certificate by the entrance). I cannot recall the exact dimensions, but they incorporate length, width AND height for total cubic meters.

After the service they again rang the cathedral bells, and we stood below watching the bells swing in their tower...


Monday, June 11 – Day 14 (Seville)

We took a leisurely morning with coffee and toast before we hit the streets today. While we were fortunate to see the cathedral yesterday, our planning was a bit off and the other main site in Seville, the Alcázar is closed on Mondays. This fortress, a Moorish fortification, was built on Roman foundations and dates back to 1248.

Instead of this historic site, we decided to take a stroll through some more modern parts of the city – through the Parque de Maria Luisa and along the River Guadalquivir. Our first encounter was with the magnificent Plaza de España…
This semi-circular square was designed by Aníbal González for Seville's 1929 Ibero-American Expo. The dazzling water fountain and semicircle of red brick buildings clad in azulejo (glazed ceramic tile) depictions of historical scenes from every province in Spain is breathtaking…
A canal runs around the perimeter of the square, but for some reason it was empty during our visit.

Next up was the Torre del Oro (The Golden Tower) which was built in the 13th century to control shipping along the River Guadalquivir. There are two legends that attempt to explain why it’s called Torre del Oro. One says that the gold from the New World was stored here in the 16th and 17th centuries. The other says that it was originally covered in golden tiles…























Finally, we reached Seville’s famous bullring the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza - one of the oldest in Spain...

Lisbon - The Land of Snails, Sailors, and Ginja Berries

It has been really hard to find time and an interet connection for the last week. I'll try to get some updates on here over the next day or two. Rich says, "less words and more pictures." So, here goes...

Saturday, June 9 – Day 12 (Lisbon)

We woke up in Lisbon, Portugal. Well, actually we were awake most of the night because sleeping in a seat on a train is even worse than sleeping in a seat on an airplane. At one point in the middle of the night, I opened my eyes and caught the gaze of an older gentleman across the aisle who said with a great accent, “What? Do they use square wheels on this train?” Maybe you had to be there, but it was pretty darn funny at the time (probably close to 4:00am)!

Anyway, Lisbon is an interesting city (from a sightseeing perspective, probably not worth much more time than the 15 hours we dedicated). An earthquake in 1755 leveled the city and killed nearly ¼ of its people. The city was rebuilt on a strict symmetrical grid plan, but pre-earthquake Lisbon survives in three historic neighborhoods: Belém, the Alfama, and the Bairro Alto. We visited two of these three.

In Belém, the Torre de Belém (Belém Tower, seen here)
has guarded Lisbon’s harbor since 1555. Today it symbolizes the sea voyages that made this city powerful in its day. This was the last sight sailors saw as they left and the first one they’d see upon their return.

Nearby the giant Monumento a los Descubrimientos (Monument of the Discovereries, seen here) honors Portugal’s leading explorers.






















Across the street is the Mosteiros dos Jerónimos (Monastery of Jerónimos, seen here).























Here Rich poses with the Monastery in the backgraound (from across the street).
King Manuel had this giant church and its beautiful cloisters (see these next two pictures)
built in 1496 as a thank you for the discoveries. Sailors would spend their last night here in prayer before embarking on their frightening voyages.


Next we ventured into the Alfama. In its day, this was a colorful sailors’ quarter. Today the historic district is a maze of twisted alleys and steeply slanted streets with cobblestones that carry you back to the Old World with every step! The houses bend as if to comfort one another and the air drips with laundry. Here Rich poses in one such alley…
Gradually we zigzagged our way up to the castle-crowned hill. Here is a spot where we rested and surveyed the Alfama rooftops below…

To finish off the day trip, were told we had to try a quintessential Lisbon spirit – ginginha (zheen-zheen-yah). This sweet liquor made from the sour cherry-like ginja berry, sugar, and schnapps is actually quite delicious and refreshing. As we enjoyed our ginginha, we noticed everyone around us was ordering these tiny snails, and we starred with curiosity. The very friendly waiter (who was already tickled when we ordered the ginginha) noticed our stares and brought us a small tester of the snails – called caracois.
When in Rome…(no wait that is later in our adventures).

Spain's Capital and Largest City - Madrid

Thursday, June 7 – Day 10 (Madrid)

We woke up in Madrid after a fairly restless sleep, and disembarked the train at about 7:30am. After purchasing tickets for our next two night trains, we headed out into the city. We could not check into our hostel until much later that afternoon. However, we read that the Museo Nacional del Prado required patrons to check all bags, and so we decided to head there first. On our way to the museum, we passed a Starbucks and were overcome by our need for caffeine. Yes – we stopped for Starbucks!

Next, we made our way to the museum. Here we are with our backpacks in front of the Prado, touted as Spain’s premier museum with one of the finest art collections in the world!... Of course, no photos are allowed inside the museum, but the collection is superb. The Spanish paintings date back to 1100 with incredible coverage of many of Spain’s m asters – Francisco de Goya, Diego Velázquez and El Greco to name a few. Velázquez’ Las Meninas (Maids of Honor) hangs in this museum. I had never heard of the piece before today, but it is a remarkable and apparently considered by many to be the world’s finest painting – period.

For dinner we did what one of our guide books called “The Madrid Pub-Crawl Dinner” (also known as going from bar to bar, munching on tapas, drinking beer or wine, and rubbing elbows with the locals). Madrid is Spain’s tapas capital!

The first stop on our pub-crawl was La Taurina Cervecería. This is a sort of bullfighters’ Planet Hollywood. There are stuffed bulls’ heads on the walls (shown here)… and pictures and news clippings of the bullfighting “greats.” We happened to be in Madrid during the San Isidro Festival (from May through early June there is a bullfight EVERYDAY). So, needless to say there was a bullfight going on across town and playing in living color in the bar. Up to that point, we thought we were interested in the cultural experience of seeing a live bullfight, but the televised version was plenty graphic for us and we decided against the live show.

Another stop on our pub-crawl was Museo del Jamón (Museum of Ham – shown here)… This was perhaps our first real exposure to the ham phenomenon. The museo is a deli and stand-up bar and is tastefully decorated (so to speak). Notice the pig legs hanging over my head in this picture… Now imagine the entire ceiling lined with row after row of these hams.

Later, we stopped into the Oreja de Oro (the Golden Ear). Named for its specialty – sautéed pig ears, we were not brave enough to partake in this Madrid delicacy. We did, however, enjoy a grilled pork kebab and some beers.

We finished off the evening at a favorite local place called Chocolatería San Ginés. Here we shared an order of churros con chocolate. For those unfamiliar with this delectable treat, a churro is a deep-fried doughy pastry (somewhat like a doughnut, but longer, skinnier, and crisper). Rich and I have enjoyed these many times on our trips to Mexico. However, the Spanish like to serve them “con chocolate” which means they dip them in a cup of pudding like hot chocolate. Here I am with a churro in hand ready to dip it into the cup of thick and creamy hot chocolate… It really doesn’t get much better than that!

On our way back to the hostel, I had Rich pose with this illuminated sign high on top of one of the buildings facing the Puerta del Sol. As it turns out, this was Madrid’s first billboard and has advertised the famous Tio Pepe sherry for over 100 years…
























Friday, June 8 – Day 11 (Madrid)

We started today at Madrid’s 18th century Palacio Real (Royal Palace)… Arguably Europe’s third greatest palace (after Versailles and Vienna’s Schönbrunn), this is the official residence of King Juan Carlos I, but no one actually lives in the palace. Today, it is used primarily as a tourist attraction and for special events and formal ceremonies. For example, Spain formally joined the European Union in its Hall of Columns in 1995. Today, we were able to walk through 24 of its more than 2000 rooms. My favorite was the Stradivarius Room. Only about 300 Antonius Stradivarius-made instruments still exist. King Charles IV commissioned the only matching quartet - two violins, a viola, and a cello – and they are displayed here…absolutely breathtaking pieces! Rich’s favorite was the Throne Room. This ornately adorned room had red velvet walls, gold lions, marble statues of mythological characters, and frescoes of Spanish scenes symbolizing the monarchy (the ceiling fresco dates back to 1764).

Across the huge square in front of the palace and through the gates is Madrid’s Cathedral of Almudena (shown here)… Built between 1883 and 1993, its exterior is a contemporary mix while its interior is neo-Gothic with a colorful ceiling, beautiful woodwork, and ornate stone carvings.

We paused at the Plaza Mayor to grab a bocadillo de calamares (fried squid sandwich) from the famous Casa Rua (they’ve been cooking up these things since 1940)…

We ended our stay in Madrid at the Puerta del Sol. This is the city’s central square and is the heart of Madrid (and Spain – all distances in Spain are measured from this point). In fact, on the curb directly in front of the entrance to the governor’s office you can find this scuffed-up kilometer zero marker…

From Madrid, we took a night train to Lisbon, Portugal. Unfortunately, when we attempted to purchase our ticket the morning we arrived in Madrid, all of the sleeper cars were full. So, tonight was a reclining seat night (Rich’s seat reclined…mine, not so much). Here we are in our lovely seats (self portrait)…

Frank Gehry's Artistic Genius in Bilboa

Wednesday, June 6 – Day 9 (Bilboa)

After two days in Spain, today we finally got a chance to get out and see the city we’d called home the previous two nights – Bilboa. The city is best known for the incredible Guggenheim Museum designed by architect, Frank O. Gehry (more on this later).

We started our day with a trip to the Puente Colgante, a transporter bridge dating back to 1893 and thought to be the world’s oldest. This picture shows Rich pointing to the bridge in the background… We walked to the base of the bridge and bought tickets to ride the gondola to the other side for .30 cents euro each. However, the guidebook mentioned “the walkers’ view from the top is great.” Just as we finished our gondola ticket purchase one of the attendants approached us. Rich asked if it was still possible to go up and walk across the top. The attendant indicated in Spanish that indeed we could and showed us to the stairs that lead to the elevator. We started to climb the stairs, but the attendant abruptly stopped us and pointed us into the “gift shop.” The gift shop cashier informed us that it cost 4.00 eruos each to WALK across the top. We looked at each other in brief puzzlement (.30 cents to ride and 4.00 to walk – what a tourist scam), but then we figured what the heck. That was why we were there, right?

We took an elevator up to the top and stepped out onto the open air bridge. The elevator attendant (same guy from earlier) showed us how to call the elevator/attendant when we reached the other side and left us up there all alone! This picture shows the view from the top with Bilboa in the background… Here, Rich is demonstrating the length and openness of the foot bridge…

When we reached the other side, we called the elevator, rode it down, and then took the gondola back to our original starting point. Here, you can see the gondola coming into the station behind me as we waited to ride it back over…

From the Puente Colgante, we headed to the Guggenheim Museum Bilboa. Here is Rich in front of the entrance to the museum… We went inside the museum and explored the various galleries and exhibits, but to be honest I was more impressed with the building than any of the art inside. When you enter the museum, you are brought into an open atrium that is 55 meters high. This is the heart of the museum and all of the rooms on each floor emanate from the atrium. Unfortunately, photographs are not allowed in the museum, but Rich and I managed to sneak this shot upward in the atrium…

The Guggenheim Bilboa opened its doors to the public in 1997. The amazing structure is a combination of interconnected shapes constructed from limestone, titanium, and glass. All three are present in this picture of the museum terrace taken behind the building where the museum meets the river Nervión… Gehry did a fantastic job of integrating the museum into the city of Bilboa. One of the city’s main highways runs right through the east tower of the building. You can see that to the left side of this photo… The design of the building was inspired by the shapes of ships and fish - two of Bilboa’s traditional industries. The structure seems more like a huge sculpture, itself, than a building housing a modern art museum. I really can’t do it justice, you should check out the picture on the website to appreciate its true beauty - http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/ingles/edificio/el_edificio.htm

Rich and I first discovered the work of Frank Gehry during a day trip to Los Angeles about four years ago. We were walking through downtown and noticed this sparkling surface high on the horizon in the distance. None of the maps we had showed anything like what we saw looming before us, so our curiosity was peaked. We started to follow the building as it broke through the trees every block or two. Finally, we crested a hill and approached the structure immediately in front of us. The building turned out to be the Walt Disney Concert Hall (home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra). It had just been completed, and they were preparing for a Grand Opening Gala that very night!

Anyway, that evening I did some research on Frank Gehry. I had never heard of him, but I LOVED the architecture of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. In my research, I found that he designed the Guggenheim in Bilboa, and when Rich and I decided to visit Northern Spain, I told Rich we had to go see this museum. This is a view of the back of the museum looking over to the opposite bank of the river Nervión. Rich is listening to an audio guide about the design and building of the museum…

After the Guggenheim, it was over to the Casco Viejo or the “Old Quarter” for a quick bite to eat before catching our very first night train from Bilbao to Madrid – not quite the “luxury” one might expect from the “Hotel Train”…

We Hit Spain (with a Thud)

Monday, June 4 – Day 7 (Dublin to Bilboa via Vitoria & Miranda de Ebro)

The Ryanair flight was scheduled to depart Dublin at 6:10am, but the doors were closed and we were taxiing down the runway at 6:05am. It was amazing!! US airlines could learn a lesson or two from this Ryanair company. We landed in Vitoria, Spain at 9:10am (15 minutes ahead of schedule). Unfortunately, Rich and I spent a little too much time getting situated and accidentally missed the ONLY bus that goes from the airport to downtown Vitoria each day. We hailed a taxi and 16 euros later were at the downtown train station.

Here we encounter our first taste of Spanish hospitality. With our Eurail pass in hand, we approached the ticket counter and requested a reservation on the next train to Bilboa (we could tell from the train schedule that all of the trains out of Vitoria required “reservations”). The station attendant very abruptly informed us there was NO WAY to take a train from Vitoria to Bilboa, and we “must take bus.” He then shooed us away from the counter (not that there were any other customers waiting to buy tickets - just that he did not want to deal with us anymore!) Disappointed and a bit dejected, we stepped away from his window and returned to our maps and the schedule on the wall. This attendant’s information did not seem right to us based on the train maps and schedules we had…so, we examined our information carefully and decided to take another approach. This time we went up to the information counter and tried to ask if our assumptions were correct. After 20 seconds, we were again shooed from the counter and left to our own devices. We checked and double checked the information we had and the schedules posted and decided to get on the next train to Miranda de Ebro. We approached the third and final attendant and asked for a reservation on the 10:08am from Vitoria to Miranda de Ebro. According to our information, a train originating in Miranda de Ebro would take us to Bilboa…we just did not know when or how long it would take! Finally, this attendant sold us a ticket and we were on our way.

We arrived in Miranda de Ebro at approximately 10:40am and quickly rushed to the train schedule posted on the station wall. Fortunately, it showed that our instincts were correct (and the jerky station attendant was WRONG)... Unfortunately, it also showed that the next train to Bilboa was not until 2:40pm which meant we had 4 hours to kill in this random city... With our backpacks, we walked away from the train station and into the edge of town in search of a good lunch spot. After about 45 minutes of hopping from café to café with no signs of lunch fare, we settled on piecing together something from a local grocery store. With fresh bread, salami (not called that in Spain), queso, and potato chips in hand, we found a park bench and settled in for a picnic.

We finally arrived in Bilboa at about 5:00pm (a VERY long day following our night in the Dublin airport). We were not certain where our hostel (called a pension in most of Spain) was located and very much wanted a good map of Bilboa, so we set out in search of a tourist information office. One hour later, with no map and no luck finding the tourist information center, we gave up and decided to follow the cryptic website directions to the hostel. They actually turned out to be quite good and by 6:30pm we were checked into our VERY nice room (though it did not look like much from the outside – shown here)…

Tuesday, June 05 – Day 8 (Rábago)

After our mad dash tour of the UK and Ireland and our challenging arrival in Spain, we decided to sleep in a bit this morning. Some time after noon, we headed over to the train station and rented a car. With a Eurocar (the car rental company) map and a Google map in hand, we headed for Rábago, Spain. Here I impersonate the classic shopping mall directory with a “You are here” gesture… Just about 175 kilometers (that’s about 105 miles) west of Bilboa is the VERY small town. This sign announces your arrival in Rábago… (and we were so happy to find it after getting slightly lost on the back roads). Then about 300 meters up the road (that’s about three football fields), this sign announces you are leaving Rábago…

I don’t know EXACTLY what we were expecting, but Rich and I agreed that the town was MUCH smaller than we imagined. There is a beautiful old mission style church which Rich posed with here… And here you see the bulk of the other town buildings behind me…Also, there is a cave called Cueva El Soplao (either in Rábago or JUST outside) which seemed to attract a lot of tourists. Since we were there and the signs indicated that they were open, we decided to take a drive up the mountainside to see what the hype was about. Here is a picture (self portrait) of Rich and me outside the entrance to the cave…

The countryside was beautiful and we stopped a couple of times on our way back down the mountain to take pictures. With a landscape reminiscent of parts of the British Isles, they call this area “Green Spain.” Here Rich poses with a gorgeous valley behind him... In the distance the ringing of cow and sheep bells echoed on the wind as the animals wandered the hillsides. I wish I could say that the mountain air was fresh and rejuvenating, but with all those cows and sheep, I’ll let you imagine was the mountain air was like…

As we descended the mountain, we paused at the top of the hillside over looking Rábago and took this picture… which we believe provides a birds eye view of the entire town of Rábago, Spain!