April 2018 – Paul and Kaye: Travels

We took a late Sunday morning train from Cordoba to Madrid, Spain. Trains are a great way to travel , not only in Spain, but throughout Europe. They are affordable and on time and a great chance to meet people from all over the world.

The AirBnB we booked for the week was a spacious 2 bedroom on the top (7th) floor of a typical apartment complex you see around Madrid. We had spectacular sunsets off the patio most every night. A great place for the 4 of us (Janny and Hannah, Kaye and me)

Sunset from our apartment in Madrid

After getting settled into our apartment, we walked through several neighborhoods looking for something to eat and to get a feel of the city. The parks and restaurants with outside seating were packed (especially if they were in the sun). There were families, groups of young people and couples everywhere enjoying the good weather in almost a festive atmosphere. The people of Madrid know how to live.

Parque del Oeste

Parque del Retiro

Cathedral of Cordoba

Difficult to mow

Madrid Streets

Parque del Retiro

Organic siding

Squeeze box trio and a sax.

We visited the Prado Art Museum where you can see Rembrandt’s, Matisse’s, Monet’s to name just a few. One of the outstanding art museums in the world. Sorry, no photos.

Wall painting on the Prado Art Museum

We also went to the Museo Reina Sofia that displays Guernica by Pablo Picasso. Photos are allowed throughout the rest of the museum but not of Guernica. When you walk in the room where it is displayed, your eyes are immediately drawn to the art work then to the guards on either side of the painting ready to approach anyone that even looks like they are going to pull out their iPhone and sneak a shot. The guards in the back of the room are not as noticeable . The painting is passionate and meaningful and worth understanding. Learn more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_(Picasso)

Guernica by Pablo Picasso

The Royal Palace of Madrid the Almudena Cathedral and the Basilica of San Francisco el Grande Madrid are spectacular and should be visited. Fortunately they are close to each other and make for a good day of touring.

Royal Palace of Madrid

Almudena Cathedral

Almudena Cathedral organ

Almudena Cathedral

basilica of san francisco el grande madrid

Almudena Cathedral ceiling

basilica of san francisco el grande madrid

Royal Palace of Madrid

basilica of san francisco el grande madrid

Almudena Cathedral organ

basilica of san francisco el grande madrid

Almudena Cathedral

Almudena Cathedral ceiling

basilica of san francisco el grande madrid

Janny and Hannah flew on to Barcelona while Kaye and I spent a few more days in Madrid and started getting ready to head to the Loire Valley in France.

From Granda, Kaye and I took the train to Cordoba where we spent a week. Cordoba’s past dates back to the first century BC with Roman rule , Muslim rule began in the 8 century and ended in the 13th. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. More can be found here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Córdoba,_Spain

Some of the things we did in Cordoba was the Andalusian Horse Show, a mix of horse show and Flamenco. The best part was watching the horses train before the show. We also took in another Flamenco show.

Mezquita, the Mosque of Cordoba.

A Tylenol moment for Kaye

Mezquita, the Mosque of Cordoba.

Cathedral of Cordoba

Mezquita, the Mosque of Cordoba.

Bells of the Mezquita-Cathetral of Cordoba.

Courtyard in Cordoba.

Mezquita, the Mosque of Cordoba.

Music in the streets of Cordoba

Cathedral of Cordoba

Music in the streets of Cordoba

Andalusian Horse Show In Córdoba

Cathedral of Cordoba

Mezquita, the Mosque of Cordoba.

Entry to the Roman Bridge

Cathedral of Cordoba

Mezquita, the Mosque of Cordoba.

Janny and Hannah had come to stay with us for a few days in Cordoba and Madrid. We took a day trip to Segovia and Avila Spain. We had a rather cramped AirBnB in Cordoba but made the most of it.

Segovia is a beautiful small World Heritage town in southern Spain. The highlights are the Roman viaduct which is an incredible engineered structure built in the 1st century and built with not a drop of mortar of more the 20,000 granite blocks. It was part of a larger aqueduct system that brought water from the mountains more than 15km away.

The Alcazar (Moorish Castle) of Segovia is a magnificent palace that has gone through many changes from when it was first built in the 12th Century.

Segovia Cathedral

Roman Aquaduct in Segovia

Segovia Cathedral at sunset

Segovia Cathedral

Famous Mataadors of Segovia

Segovia walking path

Segovia Cathedral

Segovia statue

The fortunes of the Catholic Church in Segovia

Segovia Cathedral

Avila’s old city is a very well preserved medieval fortress with high stone walls and many churches, convents and palaces. It was a rather short visit but you could get a sense of ‘Old Spain’.

An artists rendering.

Hannah gazing at the walls of Avila .

Another day trip was to Almodovar del Rio which has a castle of Muslim origin an easy bus ride from Cordoba. The castle has been restored and was used in the 7th season of Game of Thrones. The views of the Spanish countryside were spectacular.

Janny, Hannah, Kaye and Paul

Almodovar del Rio

Our entire stay in Scotland, Portugal and Spain was without a car. We used public transportation and occasionally went on bus tours that would get us into the countryside and to some of the smaller towns.

Our next stop was Madrid, Spain.

Paul and Kaye: Travels

Grand voyage

Month: April 2018

Madrid, Spain, Jan 21-Jan 28

Cordoba, Spain Jan. 14-21, 2018. Alcazar, the Roman Bridge, Mezquita, Flamenco and a visit from Janeil and Hannah.