|
 |
Teachers'
Travel Escorted
Cultural Tours
Barcelona and
Andalusia
Southern Spain
March 2 - 16, 2011
|
|
On this leisurely tour we
stay for nine nights in a four-star, beachfront Parador
hotel in the
town of Nerja on the Costa del Sol. From here we
tour to see the highlights of Andalusia - Granada, Seville,
Cordoba. We then fly to the exciting city of Barcelona where we
stay for four nights
in a 4-star hotel in the historic old quarter.
March 2 - Day 1 - Depart Toronto to Malaga on an overnight flight. (via
Paris)
March 3 - Day 2 - On arrival in Malaga we transfer (50
minutes) to the pretty Mediterranean town of Nerja
(pronounced Nair-ha) on the
eastern end of the Costa del Sol. Nerja is known for its
beaches, narrow streets and whitewashed flat-roofed houses. To
the north, the Sierra de Almijara mountains make dramatic
scenery and protect the town from winter winds giving it one of
the best climates in Europe. There is time to rest and in the
late afternoon we have an orientation walk in the historic centre of
Nerja then a glass of sangria and DINNER at the Parador.
http://www.nerjatoday.com/
March 4 - Day 3 – Today we have a
full day in fascinating Granada (90 minutes by private bus).
Granada is steeped in history.
It was home to the last of the Moors before they were expelled
from Spain in the 1400’s by the Christian armies of Ferdinand
and Isabella. We explore old Granada where Arab sultans lived a
fairy-tale life for 250 years. When the last Arab ruler, Bobadil,
surrendered Granada and thus the final Moorish stronghold in
Spain, the king and queen registered their great victory by
choosing Granada as their own burial place. We visit the Royal
Chapel which contains their stunning mausoleums along with the
magnificent tombs of their daughter Joanna the Mad and her
husband Philip the Handsome. The Royal Chapel Museum contains
Isabella's crown and many lavish gold and silver court
accoutrements.
In the afternoon we have a guided tour of the Alhambra, the
legendary fortress and palace complex of the Arab Nasrid Dynasty
begun in 1238. The Alhambra includes palaces, mosques,
spectacular gardens and a royal summer
estate built by the caliphs to create an earthly paradise with
quiet elegance and bewitching beauty. The Alhambra overflows with
tales of harems, intrigue and murder. We visit the Generalife
(the garden palace) where imagination is captivated by the
slender columnar arcades, fountains, and light-reflecting water
basins. The garden was designed to fit descriptions of Paradise
in Islamic poetry. http://www.alhambra.org/eng/index.asp?secc=/alhambra/alhambras_guide
DINNER at the Parador.
March 5 - Day 4 – Morning free. In the afternoon we travel by local bus to see the nearby
Caves of Nerja (15 minutes). This is the third most
visited attraction in Spain after the Alhambra and the Prado.
Dating back some five million years, the caves are notable for
large chambers filled with stalactites and stalagmites as well
as vivid prehistoric paintings of human and animal figures on
the cave walls. Archaeologists estimate that the caves were
inhabited between 20,000 BC to 1,800 BC. There is
time to sample "Tapas" - pre-dinner snacks usually
accompanied by a glass of sherry or sangria. Dinner is eaten
late in Spain thus the ritual of "tapas". DINNER at a restaurant
March 6 - Day 5 – Morning free. In the afternoon we take a local bus
(about 20 minutes) to the quaint town of Frigiliana. This
is considered to be one of the towns that has best preserved its
original Moorish form. Its narrow streets lead the visitor from
one surprise to another - covered passageways, stairways, plants
and flowers in the most unlikely places, a mixture of fragrances
from hidden sources, ancient history - there is a menhir
(standing stone) from prehistoric times and a necropolis from
the Phoenician epoch (700-600 B. C.). The Romans occupied this
territory in 206 B.C. and the Arabs later took over in 711 A. D.
Around the village are a series of tiled wall displays telling
the story of the village during the Moorish occupation and the
Reconquista. DINNER at a retaurant
March 7 - Day 6 - Full day tour to Cordoba. During the Arab domination
(711-1263) Cordoba was the artistic and cultural center of the
"Al-Andalus" empire. People of different cultures and
religions - Jews, Muslims and Christians - lived peacefully
together, and many important philosophers, scientists and
artists emerged from here. With an expert local guide we visit
the spectacular Great Mosque that has a cathedral built within
its interior, the Alcazar and the old Jewish Quarter.
DINNER at
the Parador
March 8 - Day 7 – Day is free in Nerja. It is possible to go by
local bus to explore Malaga with its cathedral, castle and museums. DINNER
at the Parador
March 9 - Day 8 - Full day tour to Seville. Seville’s old quarter is
a pretty jumble of narrow streets with tiled portraits of
saints, potted plants and glimpses through wrought iron gates
into the cool interiors of secret Andalusian courtyards. Our
guided walking tour with an expert guide includes the
magnificent cathedral where lies the body of Christopher
Columbus and the adjacent Moorish Giralda Tower which is said to
have been designed by the Arab mathematician who invented
algebra. We see the Gold Tower where the fabulous wealth from
the New World arrived in the days of the Spanish Main. We tour the Royal
Alcazar, a stunningly beautiful Moorish palace associated with many stories of treachery and intrigue. The
gardens of the Alcazar are a vast oasis filled with fountains
and pools where the scent of jasmine wafts among fruit trees and
flowering arbours. DINNER at the Parador.
March 10 - Day 9 - Free day in Nerja to enjoy the pool, beach, cafes.
March 11 - Day 10 - Today’s excursion is to Gibraltar. Here you can
take a cable car ride up to the top of the rock (weather
permitting) and see the legendary Barbary apes. There are
interesting things to see such as St Michael's Cave that was
used as a WWII hospital, the Great Siege tunnels and the Moorish
Castle. DINNER at the Parador.
March 12 - Day 11 - Transfer to the Malaga Airport for a short flight to the exciting city of
Barcelona
where we stay in a four star hotel in
the old quarter of the city. In the late afternoon we have a leisurely stroll in the old quarter and
on Barcelona’s famous Promenade Las Ramblas. On this
famous street one sees live performances, human statue art and
artists that will draw your portrait, flower shops and museums.
At the end of the street stands a giant statue of Columbus
pointing to the West. DINNER at the
hotel..
March 13 - Day 12 - Morning free. This
afternoon we tour the Gothic quarter with its Cathedral and
Bishop's Palace. Unusually, the cathedral's cloister is
home to a gaggle of 13 white geese whose ancestors have lived
here for five centuries. How they originally came to be here
remains a mystery. We explore the labyrinth of narrow streets where we discover
an ancient Roman wall, the palace in which
Christopher Columbus requested assistance from King Ferdinand
and Queen Isabella to fund his voyage to find the new world and
the Picasso Museum. DINNER at a restaurant.
March 14 - Day 13 - Morning free. Our afternoon
sightseeing tour includes the famous Sagrada Familia where every
nook and cranny has a story to tell. As well as this famous
cathedral, there is other fascinating Gaudi
and Modernista architecture. We
visit Park Guell which is filled with Gaudi sculpture and the
Music Palace where the entire audience once sang the forbidden
Catalan national anthem to spite the dictator Franco. DINNER at
a restaurant.
March 15 - Day 14 - A full day tour takes us to the lovely town of Girona and then to
Figueres to see the amazing Dali Museum. Even if you are not a
fan of modern art you will find the museum entertaining. http://www.salvador-dali.org/museus/figueres/en_index.html
DINNER
at a restaurant
March 16 - Day 15 - Transfer to the airport for return flight.
|
|