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| Madrid - huge Royal Palace |
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| Madrid -huge famous Cathedral |
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| Avila - entry gate thru Roman walls |
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| Avila - World Heritage ancient city |
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| Avila - I am viewing from hiltop |
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| Segovia & Roman aqueduct |
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| Segovia's ancient Roman Aqueduct |
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| Segovia's giant Gothic Cathedral |
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| Segovia's Alcazar castle |
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| posing in knights and armor room in castle |
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| Toledo - 5th largest gothic cathedral in Europe |
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| Toledo -showing site high above river on 3 sides |
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| posing with some famous Toledo steel |
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| Madrid's refurbished old main rail station & greenhouse interior |
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| Madrid & AVE high speed trains |
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| Seville and world's largest Gothic structure |
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| Seville & view from 17th story top of cathedral |
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| Seville & garden in Moorish Alacazar |
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| Seville - another garden in huge Alcazar inner grounds |
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| Barcelona and A. Gaudi 1900 apartment bldg |
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| A. Guadi's incredible Sagrada Family Cathedral |
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| Barcelona's incredible Gaudi cathedral |
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| Barcelona's gothic cathedral |
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| Barcelona's central market just off Las Ramblas |
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| Borcelona's famous Lecieu Opera House |
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| Barcelona - as Ramblas side walk cafes |
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| Barcelona harbor and World Trade tower & center |
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| Barcelona's bull ring and central rail station |
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| Valencia and central plaza by rail statioin |
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| Valencia & Calatrava's Arts and Science bdg |
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| Valencia - inside Calatrava's Science bldg - 3rd floor |
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| Valencia- Oceanarium near end with outdoor pool |
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| Giant shark swimming in huge oceanarium pool |
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| Valencia - another view of Science and Arts complex |
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| Mallorca and its giant cathedra just above harbor |
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| Mallorca and beer and snack break at sidewalk cafe |
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| Mallorca - wild goats in mountains -Torrent de Pareis hike |
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| Mallorca Torrent hike and rock arch |
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| Torrent hike - guides Miguel and Sebastian at mouth of canyon |
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| I am entering Torrent canyon on long hike |
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| Guide on route showing extreme difficulty of Torrent trek |
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| Art exiting a narrow passage in canyon |
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| me viewing course ahead in canyon |
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| one of many limestone caves in canyon sidesS |
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| Sebastian leading into narrows |
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| a narrow but easy walking section |
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| Sebastian and Art nearing end of trek at ocean |
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| map of hiking Torrent de Pareis hiking route, one of Europest most difficult |
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| view of start of Torrent hike from mountain top |
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| Art wading out of canyoning pool after 20 ft jump off rock into pool |
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| Art on rapel down rocks |
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| Mountain guide Miguel before rapel into next pool |
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| Art about to swim across pool |
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| Miguel looking down to next challenge |
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| Art on rapel over rock cliff into big pool |
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| Art swimming across last big pool |
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| Art exiting narrow slot at bottom of canyon end -Made it ! |
I had my 1st full day in Spain here on day 3, after the two travel days. I was impressed with the huge , modern airport, Barajas, which is about 10 miles northwest of downtown Madrid. Thanks to Rick Steves tip, I caught the yellow express bus to the rail station in the city. It was only 2 euros and took about 30 min. That saved me the 35 euros a cab would have been and the less expensive but complicated 2 train changes on the metro from the airport. I took a cab then from the Atocha station to my little hotel about 100 yards from the famous Teatro Real, the big Madrid opera and symphony hall. The hotel is a little boutique hotel, ultra modern with about 55 rooms in a refurbished old downtown building on a narrow street just off the square. They are very friendly and helpful, and it is only a few blocks walking from the world famous Royal Palace ( Madrid's no 1 tourist attraction) and also the nearby giant catholic Cathedral .
So I walked maybe a half mile to the tour center and found out my walking tour had been cancelled :-(( So, I just went ahead and did all the things on my own. The size and opulence of the Royal Palace is something to behold. I did buy a book with colored photos, as no pics were allowed inside the palace. I did get nice pics from outside. So after doing the palace and the 20 rooms we could tour ( my favorite was the throne room which was magnificent) I then walked across the plaza to the immense gothic cathedral. I was lucky enough to be there for the noon Sunday service and got to hear and see the big organ and choir performing during the service, very impressive.
Then I took one of the popular and fun big double decker open roofed red "Tour Madrid " buses around a big loop in the city. I got off and managed a short trip through the no 3 attraction in Madrid, the big Museo del Prado art museum with rooms of the masters works. The long ticket line was worth it. The feature was Goya , but there were many other famous artists. Only a week from now the recently discovered Mona Lisa copy, done by an understudy at the same time as the original will go on display here . Then it will be temporarily loaned for a short stay in the Louve, where it will can be viewed with the original before being returned here for permanent display.
I was not too excited about Madrid before coming here, but have loved the city. Today it was full of people everywhere, out in the sun and mild temps, enjoying the open space, and getting out. The city seems very clean, and lovely, with countless attractive parks and open spaces or plazas, it seems nearly everwhere. The air is crystal clear and the rolling hills above the 2000 foot elevation of the city stretch off in all directions. It is hard to believe that 3 million live in the city and another 3 million in the immediate area. The city seems to be very "liveable". The people watching was wonderful fun, and I parked in a sunny outdoor cafe on one of the plazas to take a midday break. I enjoyed a wonderful salad and nice glass of white wine. In the Palace book store I bought a book with the "100 best Tapas recipes" so I can try to duplicate some of them when I get back. The tapas seem to be the most unique food speciality of Spain from what I can see.
After the all day trip out to Avila and Segovia tomorrow, I am going to try to snag a ticket to the opera next door at 8 pm :-))
- Today, Monday, was a long but interesting and pleasant day. Again I had sunshine, crystal clear skies and temps just nudging into the 70's. My bus left at 9 am and I got back at 7 pm. Our lst stop after about an hours bus ride was a morning in Avila , one of the two World Heritage towns I got to visit today. It is a most beautiful little old Spanish town within the longest and most complete, unbroken Roman walls anywhere in Europe. It was a delight to walk the town from one end to the other. The 3 main attractions besides the impressive walls were the Basilica of San Vicente, the huge gothic cathedral , and the church and convent of St Teresa, 1515-1582 and the patron saint of the area . The amazing walls ringing the town and dating from 1100 were the thing one remembers Avila for.
- The bus then drove another hour for a 2 pm late lunch in the heart of Segovia. The restaurant was an up scale one with a full meal and nice wines. It was interesting to leave the rolling hilly area of Madrid and slowly climb from about 2000 feet up to about 4000 feet at Avila. We went through a long tunnel under the 7000 foot mountain range to the Northwest of Madrid. There was even a little snow on a few off the peaks. Both Avila and Segovia are on the northwest side of the mountains in dry rolling country. Some distance from Segovia , one could see the town up on the hilltop with the 5th biggest cathedral in Europe in the center and the incredible castle/fortress, Alcazar on the far end. Segovia is much larger and about 55,000, with a charming old heart of the city within their set of towering Roman walls. Segovia also has a huge, well preserved, over 2000 year old Roman aqueduct that was functional until late into the 19th century. It had 118 arches and was up to 100 ft in the air and about 9 miles long. As huge as the cathedral is ( built 1525-1768 and Spains last major Gothic structure) the soaring Alcazar was my choice as the most impressive structure in Segovia. It just dominated the skyline with its high perch at the end of Segovia. Three sides dropped off must have been a couple hundred feet and a moat and drawbridge on the forth side. believe me that moat was at least a hundred feet deep on that side too. I am sure Scott and Mark would have loved the rooms full of armor clad figures in full battle dress, along with the swords and jousting spears.
- an hour and a half bus ride back to the city center with the 7 pm arrival and I rushed to the now open box office in the Teatro Real . I was delighted in getting one of the last tickets available for the opera there in the famous big hall tomorrow night at 8 pm. In fact, I celebrated with a nice Sangria at a sidewalk cafe on the edge of the busy opera plaza in front of the Teatro Real. The people watching is outstanding. Well , it is late and I need to get up early for the day in Toledo tomorrow 8am to 2 pm. Hi all, just a short note, as yesterday was spent mostly in Toledo with its art work exhibits, especially of El Greco and other artists of that time, the huge (5th largest cathedral in Europe) and a wonderful day of walking that wonderful old city. The setting on the rock ridge high above the river on 3 sides and walled on the 4th was something to see. Then I had a wonderful evening last night in the Teatro Real with a stunning , unusual, modern combination of ballet with opera chorus's and a full symphony orchestra. Truly, I never experienced anything quite like it. The audience wildly received it at the end. The music was excerpts from V & W :-)) Verdi and Wagner. It was a treat to have a chance to hear a concert in the famous, huge Teatro Real. I had a front seat high on the lower rail of the big top balcony and I have never experienced acoustics with the carrying sound and the clarity as was there Tues night.
- This morning , I then got up leisurely and took a cab to the Madrid rail station and my bullet or high speed AVE train to the far south of Spain. Wow, 2 hrs and 20 min , Madrid to Sevilla with one short stop. The train was so incredibly quiet and smooth. Once here it was sunny and nearly 80 . I took a taxi for a short ride to another small , very nice hotel in the heart of Sevilla. I did a long walking tour of the old city and took pics of the 3rd biggest cathedral in Europe and the worlds largest Gothic structure. Tomorrow I have a tour and will get to see the inside. They also have the huge Alcazar, close to the cathedral that dates back to the Moors. Tonight , I walked back into the heart of town for a special Flamenco evening performance. It was really wonderful, and this is supposedly the heart and soul of that music here in Spain. Tomorrow is a more laid back day with only the 5 hour tour midday.
- I have had two great days here in Barcelona. Weather was showery for lst time of my trip on my travel day Friday, flying up from Sevilla. Since then it has been sunny and 70 again Sat and Sun. Barcelona is a dynamic, bustling, fun city with lots of attractions. I have had lots of walking from my again nice little hotel located downtown. There is an astonishing variety of architecture here . Everything from Roman and the early days to another big Gothic cathedral from about 1280, the middle ages, the 1992 Olympics and more. However, the crown jewels are the many structures by Antonin Gaudi, maybe the most imaginative and prolific of all architects. His Family Sagrada Cathedral , still unfinished, is the most astonishing structure I have ever seen. I spent part of a day in the famous Picasso Museum here and even lucked into a ticket for "La Boheme" in Barcelonas huge, famous opera hall, Teatro del Liceau for this Sunday evening. The hall was huge, ornate and one of Europes most famous, so I was really lucky. Sergey, my travel friend from my South American trip a yr ago flew in for the weekend, so was fun to have company for a couple days. I take the train from the main rail station to Valencia tomorrow at 11 am and will be there then for 2 days to mainly see the works of the worlds most famous architect of the last half century, Santiago Calatrava, and his glittering "Science City" . I am staying busy and enjoying one of my "cultural and educational" trips and Espana. I will admit to sampling lots of Spanish foods, wines, and enjoying the ambience of the people and cities.
- Yesterday was a mostly sunny day for the 3 and a half hour train ride down the coast right on the waters edge. I arrived in a sea of humanity at the central rail station in the midst of a huge holiday. You could hardly walk on the rail station plaza or sidewalks, and it sounded like a war zone with the near continuous blasts of fireworks and firecrackers. The worst of all was most of the downtown streets were blocked off and there was not a taxi in sight. My hotel was right across from the reason for my trip , the world famous City of Arts and Sciences, but it was not on a metro or main bus line. Thus, I had a long hike of about 2 km to my hotel on foot. Good thing I had good maps. Today I spent the whole day in the incredible area, mostly in the Science City, the amazing Oceanarium , and I-Max. The architecture by Santiago Calatrava is stunning and unlike anything I have ever seen. The weather turned bad at last and it was 50's, windy and rainy all day. I was out from 9 to almost 6 and now enjoying a nice glass of Spanish red wine and relaxing. Tomorrow morning I fiy out to Mallorca in the morning for my last 3 days here and some adventure days.
- Well today was an easy one , with a short late morning flight from Valencia over to Palma here in Mallorca. The stormy weather let up and it was cool and partly sunny. After my bus ride into Palma and checking into the hotel, I took a bus back into the city center and spent the afternoon wandering the waterfront and old city . The streets were narrow and at times I felt like a mouse in a maze. Good thing I had a good map and there were times I could spot the giant cathedral towering over the city. I had no idea that Palma was so large and had such an immense, modern and busy international airport.
- Tomorrow it is time for my eco/adventures to start, with an 8 am pickup and ride up into the mountains for the all day hike down the Torrent de Pareis. It is advertised as the top hike in Europe with its spectacular and at times narrow canyon down to the sea. We will see if it lives up to its reputation :-)) Hopefully tomorrow I can get some good pictures.
- WOW, what an adventure, and I have had a few in my days :-)) My "Experience Mallorca" guide who picked me up at 8 am was a wiry classic European mountain guide named Sebastian. He was born and lived on Mallorca, but had traveled the world. The second guide named Miguel was similar . We drove for an hour across the island and then high up and over the towering ridge of mountains on the north coast of the island. The weather was misty and some light sprinkles much of the day, obscuring some of the views. It ended up that the other party had backed out, so it was just me and the two guides. We had to go to the hikes end point to leave one car and then back up to the high ridge at the starting point to leave the other car to start. Soooo, about 10 am the 3 of us started the hike down from about the 2200 foot level towards the wilderness upper mouth of the Torrent or canyon. The light rain had made the path and rocks very slippery, and so caution had to be used on the steep way down. The mountains are very rocky with not much vegetation, but enough to make one very wet below the waist not long after the start. Finally, about 2 hours after the start we were down about 1800 vertical feet into the stream bed of the Torrent. Its name derives from a pair of canyons joining, thus Torrent de pareis or pair. The canyon was spectacular and advertised here as the top canyon hike in Europe. It lived up to its name, with soaring walls, at times thousands of feet straight up. Its the lower passages were only 20 to 30 foot wide. We never saw another human until most of the way down the canyon itself, when we met a party of Germans, coming part way up from the mouth on the ocean. We did see up close a couple families of beautiful , rust colored wild goat families that were native to the mountains. The decent in the canyon itself was at time a slippery and hair raising through huge rock and boulder formations in the stream bed. A few rope descents were down rocks as big as small buildings and over jumbled, slippery boulder piles , still wet from the earlier rain and standing water in the stream bed. It slowly cleared, and by the time we reached the ocean to hike out along the shore, it was sunny and nice . It was quite a day and a high adventure for sure. I got back to my hotel about 6 pm , tired and stiff with only a bruised left forearm from a slide down rocks. Tomorrow it is a 3 hr cross country hike into the mountains, then 3 hours of canyoning , rapelling , and swimming down a stream bed thru the high mountains, with finally an hours climb back up over a low ridge to our waiting van. Sooooo, better get to sleep fast to get ready for day 2 of the Mallorca adventures.
- Hi all and I survived a 2nd day in a row of lots of adventure here in the high mountains of Mallorca. Today was a full day of canyoning down the favorite canyon of Experience Mallorca, near the tiny village of Orient in the mountains. It was another sunny day after the two previous rainy ones. I was picked up at my hotel at 8 am again, and learned that the other 3 in the booked trip had cancelled, so it was just Miguel from yesterday to guide only me. He drove us about an hour up into the mountains near Orient, a tiny Mallorcan village. There he parked, and we had about a 45 min walk into the start of the canyon. This one was about 3 km long, and had about a thousand foot drop or less than half the length and drop of the Torrent de Pareis hike yesterday, but with water. This was only my 2nd canyoning outing and it was very different from my Costa Rica canyoning trip. There we rode high into the jungle , then hiked alongside the stream and rapelled down cliffs through water falls. Then we hiked in the jungle to the next drop. Here we entered the narrow limestone winding canyon, and then had nearly 3 km of continuous abseiling down steep, but short drops into the very bottom of the narrow , towering canyon. And, might I add, some were just jumps off rock ledges into the crystal pools, if they were deep enough. The water here , unlike Costa Ricas warm streams, was cold and I wore the full wet suit provided. My guide , Miguel , was fantastic, very patient and very experienced. I had my water proof , little, older Olympus camera along , and Miguel and I used it to take both pics and video clips of the whole 4 hour canyon decent. He even videod himself and then me leaping off the rock ledges into the pools. I know Scott and Mark would have loved this day. The limestone lends itself to amazing towering, rock walled, narrow canyons. Finally the end of the 3 km long canyon was reached, and off with the wet suits. Then we had a leisurely lunch in the sun at the exit from the stream. Miguel was very considerate and led a leisurely pace in the long hike back up out of the canyon and eventually to where he had left the van. Then the 45 min drive back to my hotel and a hobble into the hotel for a nice hot shower and glass of wine. I can hardly wait to see the pics, but didnt bring the Olympus adapter, so will have to await my return to Anchorage to share pics of this most memorable 2nd day. Tomorrow it is a flight back to Barcelona, and overnight , then the long trip home starting very early Monday morning up to London Heathrow, and finally on to Iceland, Seattle and home
