Spain, Morocco and Portugal - April 4 - 25, 2011

 Barcelona, Spain

Catalonia Plaza - Our home for 4 nights

               

           

  

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

RedLine Bus Tour, walked part of the Ramblas, visited St. Josep La Bouqueria – great market

Gaudi architecture - all over the city

Sagrada Familia Basilica (Gaudi) - still under construction

UNESCO world heritage site 

Gothic Barrio Area

Torre Glories - cucumber shaped tower (office building)

Walking on the Ramblas - first stop the market

  

                                   

                                              

                  

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Red Line Bus to Funicular, visited the fort, walked the Ramblas from our hotel to the end of the walkway at the North Atlantic Ocean

I have to throw one picture of me every so often.....

Strolling along the Ramblas

Barcelona's World Trade  Center

Plaza near our hotel at night

Thursday, August 7, 2011

Metro to Sagrada Familia, then

Walked to Arc de Triomf – built in 1988 as the gateway to the fair which was held in the Parc de la Ciutadella, then thru Barrio Gothic area, lunch at Turnedon (Great!) Walked the Ramblas and back to hotel

         School built next to the Basilica 

                                               

                                                 

The Arc de Triomf - memorial arch built as the main gate for the 1888 Barcelona World Fair

The Castle of the Three Dragons was built between 1887 and 1888 as a Café-Restaurant for the 1888 Universal Exposition of Barcelona

Friday, April 8, 2011

Metro to Sans Train Station to buy ticket to Malaga, Spain

Evening walk to the market, Gothic Barrio  & dinner

Local market with the color tiled roof

Walking thru the Gothic Barrio 

Thinking of our pal Monica

We decided to go between these buildings and had a great meal at the Traraband Restaurant on the Plaza De San Miguel

Dining on the Plaza

Maddy in the blue shirt (center) waiting for Anne to get her photo fix....

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Left Barcelona on the 10:20 am train to Malaga.  Had a great lunch on the train!

 One night in Malaga, Spain

A nice train ride 

       

     

Port of  Malaga, Spain

Strolling in Malaga 

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Left with our tour group bus from Malaga and drove to board ferry in Tarifa, Spain to board the ferry.  We crossed the Sea of Gibraltar to Tangiers, Morocco (45 minutes).  Went thru customs and then a long, but very scenic bus ride from Tangiers to Fez, and enjoyed a great buffet at Hotel Fez Mirage.  Spent 2 nights in Fez

Castle Tarifa at the port 

Families enjoying picnics in a park

Our lunch stop

Train Station in Fez

Anne got to swim in the pool - yahoo!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Fez 2 nights

Bab Bou Jloud - triple arched gate entrance to the old city of Fez

Medina in Fez – narrow streets with a variety of shops, homes down even more narrow walkways

I know we bought something here......

Visit to the dyers and tanners quarters where sheep and goatskins are colored and processed - not a pleasant smell! 

Kairaounie Mosque & university at the Medina in Fez

Tuesday, April 12

Fez to Meknes to Marrakech

Gate into the historic city of Meknes (17th century) - a UNESCO World Heritage Site

25 km of walls surround the city of Meknes

STOP

Drove thru the mid-Atlas Mountains on the way to Marrakech

Atlas Hotel & Spa - our lodging in Marrakech

Wednesday. April 13 

Marrakech

Bab Agnaou - one of Marrakech's gates into the Medina

Inside the old city we visited Bahai Palace

Inside the palace are walls with Arabic inscriptions, floors paved with marble and tiles, wood ceilings painted with colourful floral patterns

Walking to the Marrakech Square (Djemaa el Fan) - large public square - snake charmers, jugglers, acrobats, dentists, restaurants, and more 

 

Thursday, April 14

Marrakech to Casablanca to Rabat

Left Marrakech at 8:30 am on to Casablanca; Casablanca – over 5 million people; very busy city!

Moroccan Flag

 Red represents Berbers, Green represents Arabs, 5 points on the star represent 5 pillars of Islam:  

(1) Allah  is the only god, Muhammed is the messenger. (2) Prayer. (3) Alms  (4) Fasting

(5) Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj if possible)

Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca

Hassan II Mosque, roof opens, titanium doors w/bronze. Women can only pray in balcony; all Moroccan craftsmen and work except for the Venetian chandeliers and 2 carrara marble pillars in the front

Here she is again!

Royal Palace in Casablanca

And here's Anne again 

Friday,  April 15

Rabat & Tangier

Rabat, at the northwest  part of Morocco's Atlantic coastline became the capital of Morocco in 1902, before that, Fez was the capital.   Rabat is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  12 Million people live in Rabat;  Visited the Kasbah – a must; scenic bus ride.

Royal Palace or Dar al-Makhzen is the primary and official residence of the king of Morocco in Rabat

Mausoleum for Muhammed V

Ruins around the mausoleum are from a mosque that was destroyed as a result of the Lisbon, Portugal earthquake in the 1700's

Lighthouse in Rabat

Fortress of Casbah des Oudaïa / Oudaya Kasbah in Rabat - 17th century,

Oudaya Kasbah residential area with quaint whitewashed houses in blue and white - the town is in the enclosed area near the ocean 

View of the old town in Rabat from a cafe on the beach

Here is Anne's selfie

Old city of Rabat - a walled city from 17th century - historic buildings, traditional souks and markets 

Old city of Rabat sits on a hill overlooking the ocean

Entrance to the Rabat Medina

Our last night in Rabat, Morocco - RIF & SPA Hotel

  Views from the window of Mick's &        (from Canada)  room on our last night - we, unfortunately, did not have an ocean view.  Maddy reported that Anne was sick the last night and missed out on a fabulous meal!

From Mike's window we saw the ferry we took from Tarifa, Spain to Tangier

Goodbye Morocco

Saturday, April 16

Tangier to Costa del Sol, Spain - Ferry across the Sea of Gibraltar

Cadiz, Spain - our home for 1 night 

Goodnight & goodbye Cadiz

We rented a car and drove to Saleema in the Algarve Region (Portugal's southern coast)

Our home on the hill

Finally!  A photo of Maddy 

Quaint town

 Next stop Ronda, Spain 

We stayed in the old town -  Anne had such a hard time finding this hotel.  Poor Maddy driving with such a poor guide.   She is the best driver ever!

Our hotel was on this road where cars are not allowed

Nice cozy hotel with a movie theme motif

Ronda - Puente Nuevo Bridge over the El Tajo Gorge - Completed in1793

separating the old town and new town

Semana (Easter week) in Ronda - crowds waiting for the parade

We were fortunate to see two parades - this one during the day and one in the evening

Semana evening parade in Ronda

Cordoba, Spain  

Whenever Maddy heard drums we headed in the direction and were never disappointed!

Crowd in Cordoba waiting for the Semana celebration 

We had lunch in a very nice open air restaurant after the parade 

                                           

Toledo, Spain 

We stayed just outside of the old town

View of Toledo from our room

Entrance to old town

We drove from Toledo to Madrid - we were supposed to stay a few nights in Madrid but our hotel was in at the busy Plaza de Mayor and we had a very unrestful night and since the Prado was closed on Monday we decided to return home earlier.  It was a great trip!

Our driving route thru Spain & Portugal