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DAY
1 DEPARTURE FROM NORTH AMERICA
Enjoy full meal service on your scheduled wide-bodied flight
to Madrid.
DAY
2 ARRIVE
MADRID (2 NIGHTS)
We will be met at the airport by our tour manager/guide and
immediately transfer to Madrid. This afternoon our
sightseeing will begin in the Plaza de Espana,
featuring the stone obelisk dedicated to the Author
Cervantes and the statues of Don Quixote, Sancho Panza and
Dulcinea. We will walk from the Plaza along the gardens and
statues that lead up to the richly decorated Palacio Real,
the home of Spain’s Bourbon monarchs until 1931. We will
take a guided tour through the Gasparini Rooms, the Throne
Room, the Porcelain Room and the grandiose Dining Room. We
will conclude our day with a Walking Tour, which will
include the Plaza Mayor, Madrid’s most famous square,
lined with outdoor cafes, the interesting Old Town, which
will be a perfect introduction to historic Madrid, and the
Puerta del Sol, Madrid’s most popular meeting place.
We will view the Kilometre Zero marker, which is the
starting point for all of Spain’s roadways, and see the
Madrono, Madrid’s symbol, a bronze statue of a bear
reaching for the fruit of a strawberry tree. We end our
arrival day with a drive down the Gran Via, a grand street
that was an expansion project for Madrid in the 1920’s that
began a modernization of old Madrid.
DAY
3 HALF DAY TRIP TO EL ESCORIAL & VALLE DE LOS CAIDOS – MADRID
This morning we will travel north for a visit to El
Escorial, the massive monastery-palace commissioned by
Philip II, which is an impressive monument to 16th century
Spain. We continue to El Escorial we where will visit the
Royal Apartments, many decorated with fine tapestries, and
the austere rooms that once belonged to Philip II. We will
see the Pantheon of the Kings, which contains
the mortal remains of all the Spanish monarchs from the time
of the emperor Charles V, and the Pantheon of the
Infants, where royal children are buried. We will
also spend time in the Museum of Art
(featuring works by Bosch, Titian and El Greco) as well as
the Basilica, with its lavish altarpiece. Our
final visit in El Escorial will be the Library,
with over 40,000 original books from Felipe II and a ceiling
fresco by Tibaldi. We will continue with a visit to
Valle de los Caidos, the area built by General Franco as
a memorial to those that died in the Spanish Civil War. We
will view the vast Cross, standing over 490 feet high
and dominating the region.
· Your First Concert Performance will be today
DAY
4 MADRID - FLIGHT TO BARCELONA AREA (4 NIGHTS)
Subject to our flight departure time, we will begin our day
with a visit to the Museo del Ejercito, Spain’s Army
Museum, housed in the only remaining part of the 17th
century Palacio del Buen Retiro. We will view many exhibits
from many different periods in Spanish military history, the
highlight being La Tizona, the sword of El Cid.
Later we take a flight to Barcelona.
DAY
5 BARCELONA
We will begin our sightseeing today with a Walking Tour
down Las Ramblas, Barcelona’s historic tree lined
street. We will begin near the port at the Monument a
Colon, the Christopher Columbus Monument. The
monument was built in 1888 and marks the spot where Columbus
stepped ashore in 1493, after discovering America. We will
walk down Las Ramblas admiring the unique
architecture. We will continue our walk past the Placa
Reial, Barcelona’s most lively square, past the Gran Teatre
del Liceu, Barcelona’s Opera House, and past the
Placa de la Boqueria, a square featuring mosaic pavement by
Joan Miro. We will make a stop at the Mercat de Sant Josep,
Barcelona’s most colorful food market, before continuing
past the Palau de la Virreina, an 18th century palace, the
Palau Moja, a Baroque 18th century salon, the Real Academia
de Ciencias y Artes, site of Barcelona’s first official
clock. We will conclude our walk at the Font de Canaletes.
We will visit the Barcelona Cathedral; a compact
Gothic cathedral with a Romanesque chapel and beautiful
cloister was begun in 1298 under Jaime II, but was not
completed until the 19th century. After visiting the
cathedral we take a stroll through the Parc de la Ciutadella,
this lush park is located just west of the gothic quarter
and is a place for a lovely stroll in the late afternoon.
· Your Second Concert Performance will be today
DAY
6
HALF-DAY TRIP TO MONTSERRAT - BARCELONA
This morning we will journey into the mountains of Catalonia
for a visit to the regions holiest place, Monesterio de
Montserrat, a monastery surrounded by chapels and
hermits’ caves. We will take the funicular up to the
monastery, and we will have time to explore the vast
complex, including the Old Museum and the Basilica.
The highlight of the Basilica for many is La Moreneta (The
Black Virgin), which is thought to have been made by St.
Luke, and brought to the monastery by St. Peter in AD 50.
We will return to Barcelona, where we will tour Poble
Espanyol. Laid out in 1929 for the International
Exhibition, it has become one of Barcelona’s greatest
attractions. The 116 houses within the village illustrate
building styles from all over Spain. The houses are
arranged on streets radiating from a main square and were
created by many well-known architects and artists of the
time. The village has numerous local artisans selling a
wide range of crafts; including hand blown glass, ceramics,
sculpture, and Catalan canvas sandals.
DAY
7 BARCELONA
This morning we will begin our day in the section of
Barcelona called the Eixample, meaning new expansion. This
morning we will focus on Antonio Gaudi’s masterful
architecture. We will begin with a tour of La Sagrada
Familia, Europe’s most unconventional church and the
emblem of the city. Crammed with symbolism inspired by
nature and striving for originality, it is Gaudi’s greatest
work. In 1883, a year after work had begun on a Neo-Gothic
church; the task of completing it was given to Gaudi who
changed everything, extemporizing as he went along. It
became his life’s work and he lived like a recluse on the
site for 16 years. He is buried in the crypt, yet at his
death only one tower on the Nativity facade had been
completed. Since the Civil War, several more have been
finished to his original plans and work continues today to
complete his masterpiece. We will continue our morning in
Eixample with a Walking Tour through the Quadrat
d’Or, known as “Golden Square,” because the area
contains so many of Barcelona’s best Modernista buildings.
We will view such masterpieces as Cadafalch’s Casa
Terrades, Gaudi’s Casa Mila (La Pedrera), and
Montaner’s Casa Lleo Morera.
· Your Third Concert Performance will be today
DAY
8 DEPARTURE FROM BARCELONA
Your enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end as your
guide accompanies you to the airport for the return flight
home.
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