Spain 6/21 -- 7/4/2014 [Spain Gallery] [Back to Photo Page] [Slide Show]

Spain, in southwestern Europe, covers the greater part of the Iberian Peninsula and is the third largest country in Europe.  Spain has both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, and also includes two island groups: the Canaries in the Atlantic and the Balearics in the Mediterranean.  Its southernmost point faces North Africa, across a strait, making Spain a bridge between continents.  During the Middle Ages, much of it was ruled by the Moors, who arrived from North Africa in the 8th century.  It was reconquered by Christian forces, and unified by Isabel I of Castile and Fernando II of Aragon in the end of 15th century.  A succession of rulers tried to impose a common culture, but Spain remains as culturally diverse as ever.

Getting there ...

The main trigger of this Spain trip was because both Linus and Iris were participating in the Saratoga High School music tour (band & orchestra) to Spain.  I basically planned this trip to meet their itinerary so we could attend their concerts, but we traveled separately with our own rental car and lodge reservations so we could explore more places at our own pace.   When we were at SFO to check in our flight, we got a call from Iris saying that her flight reservation was messed up, and that she ended up without a seat on the plane.  It was quite chaotic: we decided to take Iris with us, changed our flight (since our flight was all full), bought Iris a one-way ticket (very very expensive), and were delayed for more than 15 hours (so I missed my bullfighting in Madrid ....).

[6/23 Madrid -- Toledo -- Alarcón]  [6/24&25 Alarcón -- Valencia]  [6/26 Valencia -- Peñíscola]  [6/27&28 Peñíscola -- Barcelona]
[6/29 Barcelona -- Zaragoza]  [6/30 Zaragoza -- Ordesa]  [7/1 Ordesa -- San Sebastián]  [7/2&3 San Sebastián -- Madrid]

Map of Itinerary

June 23 (Madrid -- Toledo -- Alarcón ) ...

• Prado Museum, Madrid
  After dropping off Iris at their hotel, we headed to the Prado Museum where their school groups were also scheduled to go.
  The Prado Museum is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It features one of the world's finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and unquestionably the best single collection of Spanish art.  The large numbers of works by Francisco de Goya, the artist most extensively represented in the collection, and by Diego Velázquez, Titian, Peter Paul Rubens and Hieronymus Bosch are among the highlights of the collection.

• Toledo
  After lunch in the museum, we drove south to Toledo, the capital of the Spanish empire (Charles I)  up until the mid 1500's when the royal court moved to Madrid.  It is also known as the "City of the Three Cultures", having been influenced by a historical co-existence of Christians, Muslims and Jews.  Behind its old walls lies much evidence of the city's rich history.
  When we tried to find parking in the city, we were directed by GPS to the city center where the streets were so narrow that sometimes I was afraid that I might scratch the wall.  We only walked around the old town and spent time at the Cathedral, which was built from 1226 till 1493.  The long period of construction could be seen from the cathedral's mixture of styles: from French Gothic on the exterior to Spanish decorative in the interior.  We had to leave other historic sites (other iglesia, sinagoga, museo, etc.) behind since we still had another 200km to travel to our next destination tonight: Alarcón castle.

• Alarcón
  Perfectly preserved, the fortified village of Alarcón guards a narrow loop of the Rio Jucar from the top of a rock.  The castle of Alarcón was built as an Arab fortress in the 8th century, but was destroyed by Alfonso VIII in the 12th century.  Later on, in the 16th century, it was rebuilt by Juan Pacheco, Marquises de Villena, with the structure it presents nowadays.
  We booked a special room (#106 on the top level of the tower with the exclusive access to the tower roof) dedicated to Infante Don Juan Manuel (nephew of King Alfonso X El Sabio) because this was the best protected part of the castle.  Don Juan Manuel received the territory of Alarcón in exchange for other lands he possessed in Murcia, which he had conquered from Jaime II of Argon.  After this, he married the daughter of the King of Argon recovering his lost lands.  It was a really cool feeling to live in a castle that made you feel you were part of the history.

>> Next Destination           

[6/23 Madrid -- Toledo -- Alarcón]  [6/24&25 Alarcón -- Valencia]  [6/26 Valencia -- Peñíscola]  [6/27&28 Peñíscola -- Barcelona]
[6/29 Barcelona -- Zaragoza]  [6/30 Zaragoza -- Ordesa]  [7/1 Ordesa -- San Sebastián]  [7/2&3 San Sebastián -- Madrid]

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