From Córdoba we drove through Lucena to Málaga to see the not-easy-to-find statue of Shimon ibn Gabirol. We then spent the night in Torremolinos before heading out to Gibraltar. After a brief diversion to San Roque: “The City of Gibraltar in Exile,” we explored “our piece of the Rock.” At the end of the day we asked someone to take our photo in the middle of the airport which everyone has to cross in or out of Gibraltar.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Unable to find a spot at the closest campsite, we spent the night in the parking lot of a hotel beside the main highway, and then drove off to Tarifa on our way to Cádiz. We took this photo at a view point with Morocco in the distance. The Spaniards claim this point is closer to the African continent than is Gibraltar.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Sorry, no portrait today… busy celebrating America’s independence from Britain and exploring Utrera.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
The heat of Seville was nearly unbearable, somewhere in the 40ºs. We drove into town, found a parking spot (renewable every two hours) near the bull ring a block away from Calle Christobal Colon and went exploring. Our first stop, next door to the Cathedral was the Archive of the Indies. Some visiting Canadians took our photo in the courtyard.
Friday, July 6, 2007
To escape the heat, we drove north for the night and traveled on to the next major town, arriving in Salamanca in time for the city to wake up from siesta. Alba of Valencia had told us about some new stone carvings near the entrance to the Cathedral. Above Mark’s head floats an astronaut in a space suit and above his shoulder, sits a griffin eating an ice-cream cone. Better photos of these decorations will appear in the full report.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Further north by way of Zamora. We had read in our Jewish guidebook that there were some carvings on rocks near the Plaza of Santa Ana that “looked like” Hebrew. Well, yeah, they also looked like English and simple geometric patterns as well. We continued on, arriving in Astorga where we planned to see another chocolate museum. While in Astorga we also found sites not mentioned in any of our guidebooks—near the Cathedral and the Episcopal palace designed by Gaudí—a portion of the route of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella called “Rue de Judería,” and on the opposite side of town… after enjoying a band concert in the Plaza Mayor, we found a “Jardin de la Sinagoga” where the synagogue had once been. There we took our photo as the sun set.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
After “free camping” for the night, we returned to Astorga to study the “Museo del chocolate” which claims to be the oldest one in Spain (1994). Then we explored the Episcopal Palace, designed by Gaudí, where we had our photo taken before continuing on to León.
Sorry, no portrait today… busy celebrating America’s independence from Britain and exploring Utrera.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
The heat of Seville was nearly unbearable, somewhere in the 40ºs. We drove into town, found a parking spot (renewable every two hours) near the bull ring a block away from Calle Christobal Colon and went exploring. Our first stop, next door to the Cathedral was the Archive of the Indies. Some visiting Canadians took our photo in the courtyard.
Friday, July 6, 2007
To escape the heat, we drove north for the night and traveled on to the next major town, arriving in Salamanca in time for the city to wake up from siesta. Alba of Valencia had told us about some new stone carvings near the entrance to the Cathedral. Above Mark’s head floats an astronaut in a space suit and above his shoulder, sits a griffin eating an ice-cream cone. Better photos of these decorations will appear in the full report.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Further north by way of Zamora. We had read in our Jewish guidebook that there were some carvings on rocks near the Plaza of Santa Ana that “looked like” Hebrew. Well, yeah, they also looked like English and simple geometric patterns as well. We continued on, arriving in Astorga where we planned to see another chocolate museum. While in Astorga we also found sites not mentioned in any of our guidebooks—near the Cathedral and the Episcopal palace designed by Gaudí—a portion of the route of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella called “Rue de Judería,” and on the opposite side of town… after enjoying a band concert in the Plaza Mayor, we found a “Jardin de la Sinagoga” where the synagogue had once been. There we took our photo as the sun set.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
After “free camping” for the night, we returned to Astorga to study the “Museo del chocolate” which claims to be the oldest one in Spain (1994). Then we explored the Episcopal Palace, designed by Gaudí, where we had our photo taken before continuing on to León.
To escape the heat, we drove north for the night and traveled on to the next major town, arriving in Salamanca in time for the city to wake up from siesta. Alba of Valencia had told us about some new stone carvings near the entrance to the Cathedral. Above Mark’s head floats an astronaut in a space suit and above his shoulder, sits a griffin eating an ice-cream cone. Better photos of these decorations will appear in the full report.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Further north by way of Zamora. We had read in our Jewish guidebook that there were some carvings on rocks near the Plaza of Santa Ana that “looked like” Hebrew. Well, yeah, they also looked like English and simple geometric patterns as well. We continued on, arriving in Astorga where we planned to see another chocolate museum. While in Astorga we also found sites not mentioned in any of our guidebooks—near the Cathedral and the Episcopal palace designed by Gaudí—a portion of the route of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella called “Rue de Judería,” and on the opposite side of town… after enjoying a band concert in the Plaza Mayor, we found a “Jardin de la Sinagoga” where the synagogue had once been. There we took our photo as the sun set.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
After “free camping” for the night, we returned to Astorga to study the “Museo del chocolate” which claims to be the oldest one in Spain (1994). Then we explored the Episcopal Palace, designed by Gaudí, where we had our photo taken before continuing on to León.
After “free camping” for the night, we returned to Astorga to study the “Museo del chocolate” which claims to be the oldest one in Spain (1994). Then we explored the Episcopal Palace, designed by Gaudí, where we had our photo taken before continuing on to León.
