España 2003
From April 17th-26th, 2003 15 students, 3 teachers, and 5
other adults traveled to Spain for a 10 day Spanish extravaganza!
We traveled with EF
Educational Tours and took their "Madrid and the Sun Coast" tour. I recommend it to anyone who is looking
to travel to Spain.
Our Itinerary
Click on the links in the text below to see pictures of the
different sites we visited during our
trip!
Day 1: Flight to
Spain
Departed Detroit Metro at 4:00pm on Thursday,
April 17th. Arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 5:30pm.
Departed Philly at 8:25pm and arrived in Madrid, Spain at
9:00am (their time) on Friday.
Day 2: Arrival in
Madrid
We finally arrived in Madrid Friday
morning and took a short
bus ride to our hotel (Francisco Primero) near the Puerta de Sol,
the "center" of the capital. After checking in at the hotel we
went on a walking tour of Madrid. We walked through the
Plaza Mayor, the Puerta de Sol, and visited
Madrid's
"town hall". After the tour, we went to lunch and then had "free
time" the rest of the day. That evening many students (and us
teachers) went to different processions for La Semana Santa (Holy
Week) being Good Friday and all. These were the first
holy week
processions I had ever seen...wow! After the
processions
it was off to bed.
Day 3: Guided Tour of Madrid
We started off the day with a guided tour of
the Palacio Real and then hopped on the bus for a tour of the
city. Passed by an Egyptian monument near the
Palacio Real
which dates back to 2400 B.C. then down the Paseo del Prado, which used
to be a cattle way. We saw the Estadio Santiago Bernadeo,
where the soccer team Real Madrid plays (they were playing their biggest
rivals Barcelona that night). Went to the Plaza de España
and then on to the Museo del Prado. After that...free time!
I took another adult and three of the students and we went to see
Picasso's "Guernica" at the Museo del Arte Reina Sofía...but the line
was too long, oh well. So we opted to go to El Parque del Buen
Retiro after popping into the Atocha train station for a
peek. After that, we hopped on the Metro and headed back to the
hotel for dinner and bed.
Day 4: Transfer to Granada via Toledo.
BUS TIME! We hopped on the bus after
breakfast and headed to Toledo, the former capital of Spain and
one of the most beautiful cities in Spain (if you ask me). After
Toledo we took a 4 hour ride to Granada passing through the
Paso de Dispeñaperros a beautiful mountainous region in the Sierra
Morena mountain range near Jaén. When we arrived in
Granada
we headed to the center of the city for some free time to explore.
Walked by the cathedral and then had to have some café con leche at a
little cafe in one of the many plazas. Then of course, dinner and
bed.
Day 5: Granada, La Alhambra, and Transfer to
La Costa del Sol
At 9am we hopped on the bus and went downtown.
Visited the cathedral and entered La Capilla Real where we visited the
tombs of Fernando and Isabela (los Reyes Católicos). You actually
walk underground and see their coffins in the tomb. It was a very
powerful experience. Afterwards we had more free time to explore
Granada and have lunch. Later we went on to
La Alhambra
and the Generalife Gardens. WOW!! We departed from
Granada around 5pm and headed to
Torremolinos, a tourist city
on the Costa del Sol.
Day 6: La
Costa del Sol
This was our free day...the whole day was free
time in Torremolinos. Most of the students spent their day
shopping and visiting the beach, even though the day was a rainy one.
Some of us adults rented some cars and drove to the
Rock of Gibraltar.
That night we headed to a discoteca and then to bed.
Day 7: Sevilla
After breakfast we took a 3 hour drive to
Sevilla. First stop in Sevilla,
La Plaza de España.
Next stop, the cathedral...the largest cathedral in Spain.
We saw the tomb of Christopher Columbus (at least that's one of
them!) We then had most of the afternoon for some free time until
the Flamenco show at 6:30pm. If you want to see a
Flamenco show in Spain this is the place to see one! It was
wonderful. Afterwards, the usual, dinner and bed.
Day 8: Córdoba,
Itálica, Madrid...oh my!
We started the day off by heading to the
Roman ruins of Itálica, about 20 minutes from
Sevilla, then
onto Córdoba (about 1 hour from Sevilla). Visited
La
Gran Mezquita which is now a cathedral. After the mosque I
took our tour guide to a real nice lunch while the others had their free
time. We went to a great restaurant "El Almudaina". I highly
recommend it. Back on the bus! We headed to
Madrid
but stopped first in Puerto Lápice to see a "venta" modeled after
the venta in don Quijote. We arrived back in
Madrid,
had dinner in La Puerta de Sol and then off to bed.
Day 9: Salamanca
Day 10: Flight home
We left Madrid from Barajas Airport at 1:40pm.
Landed in Philadelphia for a LONG layover and finally arrived back in
Detroit at 11:35pm (our time) on Saturday, April 26th. An absolutely wonderful trip...I can't wait to get
back.
FOR MORE PICTURES FROM SPAIN CHECK OUT OUR PREVIOUS TRIP
HERE.
Questions? Comments?
Last updated
08/06/03
