Viva Espana!

Day 1
We took a whirlwind trip to Spain with our friends from California, the Salisbury's. This was a last minute trip that we threw together and I'm so glad it all worked out. We took 3 planes to finally arrive in Malaga. We stayed in nearby Marbella and this was our night out after our weary travels.

Toasting to finally arriving in Espana. Yes, Italian food- It's better than Spanish food.

This is the view from our room in the Marriot

Day 2
We took a drive to Ronda, a picturesque pueblo about an hour away. It was rainy, but very scenic. I want to move to Ronda! I loved it. It has all the charm of a small town and has beautiful views.



Day 3

We drove from Marbella to Granada to visit the Alhambra en route to Sevilla. The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex from the Moorish monarchs built in the thirteenth century. I have been wanting to visit this place since studying about it at the Y. (many years!!!)


The gang.

We have a fascination with lion knockers!

View of Granada from atop the Alhambra

America's next top model????? No!

Not with such stiff competition!

Alhambra gardens

Such great details......

We have a shot from every place we visited

What an amazing Place!

Day 3 and 4

We drove from Granada to Sevilla, where we quickly ditched the car. The roads are soooo narrow and not allowed to stay in the city center for more than 45 min. I made Darin stop the car so i could get out- I was feeling claustrophobic! The wheels would touch the curb on both sides.

The best chocolate and churros place EVER! We went at least 3 times in our short stay.

Plaza de Espana. We tried so hard to get a picture of the whole building but we were unsuccessful. Need panoramic view. It is a government building built in the 1920's.

There is a semi-circle moat in front of the building where you can boat.
Charming!

Had to take a carriage ride.

Love all the ceramic detail!

San Marcos- our favorite place to dine. We went there twice. It's in an old Turkish bath.

Food at San Marco.



Outside our villa. (Notice narrow street)



Plaza near our place and the Cathedral.

Scarf shopping. We could not pass by. It became our obsession. Spaniards all wear scarves, so we had to fit in!

View of Plaza de Toros (bull fighting ring) from the top of the Cathedral.

another city view from tower.

Bell at top of tower that woke me up all night!

Climbing the Giralda tower.

Inside Cathedral- It's the 3rd largest in the world and the largest Gothic.

such detail.

Impressive.

You know Darin likes small cars!

View from our rooftop terrace. Cathedral looming.

Never got the chance to use this beauty. Rain!

The Alcazar in Seville....another palace/fortress copied to look like the Alhambra.

Very colorful ceiling!

We love to catch the locals just hanging out with such suave poses.

Over-looking the gardens of Alcazar.

We wore him out!

Our favorite person we met on the trip and we don't even know her name. She sang a song- we like to call it "Las Ferrias". Those are the only words we can remember and it was sang in a monotone fashion that caught our ears. We often sang this bit throughout the rest of the trip- often loudly be one member of our group!

Day 5

My old stomping grounds. We only had a half day to explore, so I was stressed to make sure we saw everything that I remembered from my mission. I was in pueblos outside of Madrid- but came here for transfers and mission conferences, etc.

We boarded the high speed train from Sevilla to Madrid.

Looks like we are in an RV
Goes up to 185 miles per hour! So smooth and comfortable- its a great way to travel.

Plaza de Cibeles- Fancy post office-eh? We were trying so hard to get a good picture, but it was raining and cars were speeding by and then it turned into a lightening/thunder storm and a hail storm.

We ran underground to the metro station to seek refuge.

A few minutes later a perfect Madrid sky. This is the Palace.

Right next to the cathedral.

Retiro Park. Listened to a saxophone player.

Drying off and hanging out.

Such cute elephant finials. Love all the architectural details.

Who wouldn't want this front door?


Love all the bakeries on every corner. My favorite, chocolate Palmeras!

The boys goofing off in Corte Ingles.




Plaza Mayor

Darin's award winning shot! Iconic Madrid statue in Puerta del Sol. Bear eating strawberry!

Our hotel for the night.


Day 6 and 7.

We took the train from Madrid to Barcelona to enjoy our last 2 days.

Palua Nacional at Mont juic

Sagrada Familia

Hike to Park Guell

Park Guell- Sagrada familia in distance to the left

Gofre- the best dessert ever. Had to sample many, but the best are found here in Barcelona.

Enjoying said gofre!

Christopher Columbus monument

Wish we had one of these in our front yard!


That might be me eyeing all those decadent chocolates and we may have made a purchase. This is the market on Las Ramblas.

All things gummy. We had to bring some home for the girls.

I'm enjoying a mango pineapple drink and that might be a bag of chocolate on my arm.

Magic fountain at Mont Juic. We were so lucky- this was their first show of the season and our last night here!

Self portrait

As we were walking away we turned around and saw these beams of light. What a great ending to a fabulous trip. We saw so many things and had such a great trip. Adios Espana- and Hasta luego.