|
DAY
1 DEPARTURE FROM NORTH AMERICA
Enjoy full meal service on your scheduled wide-bodied flight
to Nice.
DAY
2 ARRIVE BARCELONA AREA (1 NIGHT)
We will be met at the airport by our Tour manager/guide,
where we will board our own private bus and transfer into
Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia and one of Europe’s most
impressive cities. Upon our arrival, we will take a stroll
along Las Ramblas, Barcelona’s most colorful
street, featuring numerous fountains, historic buildings,
quaint shops, bustling cafes and markets. This evening we
will view the illuminated Fuentes Luminosas, at Plaça
de la Font Magica
DAY
3 BARCELONA
AREA - EVENING FLIGHT TO GRANADA
(2 NIGHTS)
Our morning commences with a stroll through the medieval
Gothic Quarter, where we will view the splendid
facades of the City Hall, the Episcopal Palace and the
Palace of la Generalitat. Next we visit the massive Gothic
Cathedral, which took 600 years to build. This
afternoon we focus on Antonio Gaudí’s contributions to
Barcelona, beginning with a visit to La Sagrada Familia,
his incomplete masterpiece and one of the more idiosyncratic
churches in Spain. Our day concludes with a visit to
Parc Güell, a favorite place for the people of
Barcelona, which was designed primarily by Gaudí.
Highlights of the park include: a mosaic pagoda, a lizard
fountain spitting water, a winding bench and a set of
bizarre Doric columns. This evening we will fly to Granada.
DAY 4 GRANADA (LEGACY OF THE MOORS)
This morning we begin with a guided tour of the
Alhambra,
Spain’s finest display of Moorish architecture. Set high
upon a hill overlooking the city and shadowed by the Sierra
Nevada Mountains, the Moors built this city within a
fortress as a symbol of power and strength on the outside,
and of “Paradise on Earth” on the inside. Our visit will
also include the
Generalife,
the country estate of the Nasrid Kings, where they could
enjoy tranquility high above the city, a little closer to
heaven.
· Your First Concert Performance will be today
DAY 5 GRANADA AREA - RONDA - SEVILLE AREA (2 NIGHTS)
This morning we will leave Granada and journey into the
mountains for a visit to Ronda, located on a massive rocky
outcrop straddling a precipitous limestone cleft. We will
take a Walking Tour through the classic Moorish
Pueblo Blanco (White Village), featuring cobbled alleys
and lovely window grills. We will see many of Ronda’s
historic sites, including the Puente Nuevo, Convento de
Santo Domingo and the Ayuntamiento. We will also visit
Ronda’s world famous Plaza de Toros, the spiritual
home of bullfighting, inaugurated in 1785. It is the dream
of every bullfighter to display their skills in Ronda’s
bullring. Our day continues to the Arab Baths, which
is a reminder that Ronda was once the capital of a Muslim
kingdom. We continue to Seville, capital of Andalusia.
DAY 6 SEVILLE (THE GOLDEN AGE OF SPAIN
Our morning commences with a
Walking Tour
through Seville’s
Barrio Santa Cruz,
a tiny quarter of narrow streets and whitewashed houses,
with flower-bedecked patios and iron bound windows. We
continue with a visit to
Seville Cathedral
where we will visit the
Treasury,
and view the Capilla Mayor and the
Tomb of Columbus.
Our afternoon begins with a visit to the
Reales Alcazares,
the former Moorish palace taken over and partially remodeled
by the Christian Kings.
· Your Second Concert Performance
will be today
DAY 7 SEVILLE AREA - CORDOBA - TOLEDO AREA (1 NIGHT)
This morning we travel to Cordoba, an important town in Roman
times and a city of kings during the Muslim domination of
Spain. We will visit the exquisite Mezquita-Catedral,
originally built as a mosque and later transformed into a
Christian cathedral. The hundreds of carved arches,
pillars, grillwork and mosaics dazzle the eye in this 1200
year old building. We will also explore the Juderia,
Cordoba’s ancient Jewish quarter, with a nest of tiny
streets with interesting shops and cafes, as well as uniquely
designed synagogues and houses with beautiful flowered patios.
We continue with a scenic drive through Andalusia into Don
Quixote’s La Mancha before arriving in Toledo.
DAY 8 TOLEDO AREA - MADRID (2 NIGHTS)
Today we explore historic Toledo, picturesquely located on a
hill above the River Tagus. Our day commences with a
Walking Tour
to explore central Toledo, with streets barely wide enough
for a man and his donkey. During our walk, we will have the
opportunity to visit spectacular shops that produce and sell
Damascene gold jewelry, as well as medieval swords. Our day
continues with a brief visit to the Iglesia de Santo Tome,
where we will view El Greco’s masterpiece, The Burial of
the Count of Orgaz. Toledo is the capital of Sephardic
Judaism and we will visit the Sinagoga del Transito,
which features the most elaborate Mudejar architecture in
Toledo. Our visit will also include the adjoining
Museo Sefardi, with fascinating tombstones, costumes
and sacred objects. We conclude our afternoon with a visit
to the Toledo Cathedral, the spiritual heart of the
Spanish church, and the seat of the Primate of all Spain.
We continue to Madrid, Spain’s cosmopolitan capital city.
This evening we will explore Madrid’s Old Quarter,
including: the Plaza Mayor, Madrid’s most famous
square, and the Puerta del Sol, where we will view
the Kilometre Zero marker and Madrid’s symbol, the
Madrono.
DAY 9
MADRID (TREASURES OF THE BOURBON MONARCHS)
Our day will begin in the Plaza de Espana, where we
will view the monuments to Columbus and Don Quixote, before
walking past the gardens and statues that lead up to the
richly decorated Palacio Real, the home of Spain’s
Bourbon monarchs until 1931. Our afternoon begins at the
Puerta de Alcala, the ceremonial gateway to Madrid
erected by Carlos III, followed by a walk along the Calle de
Alcala to the Plaza de Cibeles, featuring a
magnificent fountain with a statue of the Roman Goddess
Cybele.
· Your Third Concert Performance will be today
DAY 10 DEPARTURE FROM MADRID
Our enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end as our
tour manager/guide accompanies us to the airport for the return
flight home.
|
