Iberia: 2 Weeks through Spain and Portugal (1996)

In 1996 my wife Corrie and I (Jan) were married for 20 years. We were very lucky that my mother and our children would try to spend two weeks together so that we could make this nice trip in May to Iberia.
As in 1994 we chosed a guided bus tour provided by SRC Reizen. Indeed it was well organized. We had a good guide and a good driver. The hotels were satisfactury. The landscape and the cities were great. And don't forget the history and the art.

Our Tour

Tours (France), for a night stop and to get a glimpse of the large castles along the Loire river. It was our first trip through France by the Route Aquitanie: endless. We passed Paris, Tours, Poitiers and Bordeaux. Finally we entered Spain near Biarritz and we headed west. On the tops of distant mountains in the west of Northern Spain I could see snow!
Miranda del Ebro (Euskadi/Spain). I made a nice run along the borders of the Ebro this morning. We visited Vitoria/Gasteiz, the centre of the Basque Region (Euskadi) and the Rioja wine region near Logroño and Nájera. At the higher regions of the Baclcón de Rioja, we had some rain and fog, but later whe we were lower again there was sun in the Rioja region. In Santo Domingo, along the Camino de Santiago ("The Pilgrims Way), Corrie did make the cock in the chapel restless by her imitations: he crowed!
Viseu (Portugal). A great day was the route to Portugal. We visited the cathedral of Burgos (with the remembrance of El Cid) and took the way along Valladolid with visits at Tordesillas and Salamanca. Tordesillas at the Douro River was a silent spanish village with a monastery with storks on it, Salamanca a vivid city with many students of the famous old university and with a well-known Plaza Mayor. It is nicely located on the north side of the Tormes river. The plains west to Salamanca are usualy very dry. But now they were green and we had here a mix of sun and thunder. To the south east we could see snow on the Cordes the Gredos (Pico de Almanzor, 2592m). We left Spain at Ciudad Rodrigo. Here a large valley is the border. On the hills at the other side was portuguese Guardia. The stones, the trees, the farms, the houses: everything here was different from Spain. A nice narrow road through the hills brought us to Viseu.
Sabugo (Portugal), The next day we took the way along Coimbra to Lissabon. We visited famous Fatima, and were impressed by the devotion seen here. At the monastery at the former battlefield of Batalha it was very silent. The beautiful tiny city of Obidos offered a nice walk along its great walls, with views to the castle and white houses of the inner city. We slept in "the valley of the wolves".
And then a whole sunny day in Lissabon, where we visited the Torre de Belém, the historical center Baixa with its many shops, and looked at the Taag/Tejo River from the memorial for the voyages of discovery at the end of the fifthteenth century, located at the Praça do Comércio. We saw the memorial of Vasco da Gama, and viewed the river and the city from the Sao Jorge Castle.
Sevilla (Andalusia/Spain). We crossed the Taag River by the large bridge (passing the enormous Jesus statue) and took the long road to the south of Spain. We stopped at sleepy Beja and changed money at the border. An interesting change of landscape we had again this day: Spain and Portugal differ a lot! Late in the evening we entered Sevilla.
The next day we visited the old Jewish center, the Barrio de Santa Cruz, the famous Alcazar, saw the Giralda and made a trip on the Guadalquivir River. The cathedral (with Columbus) closed this day quite early, however, so we missed here also a lot. But the Alcazar meant meeting the great way of living of the Moors: beautiful parks and buildings - a game of light, decorations, smell of flowers, sounds of fountains with water.
Granada (Andalusia/Spain). Again a real andalusian day where we saw many interesting white villages and castles on the hills. By the old roman bridge we entered Córdoba to visit the cathedral: La Mezquita de Córdoba. However, it was rather dark inside, where light should have given delight to the moorish heritage. Outside we made a pleasant walk through the city and along the Guadalquivir River (that is very wide here and which contains many islands). Córdoba is viewed best from the south side of the roman bridge.
By the small and winding road via Alcalá la Real we continued to Granada. From the last pass we had a great view over a green valley with Granada and the Alhambra and above it the snowed peaks of the Sierra Nevada. A moment you will not forget.
After the Alcazar in Sevilla, the visit to the Alhambra and to the Generalife was a second climax of this tour. What a nice buildings and what great gardens, all with flowers and the sound of water. You want to stay here for hours.
Madrid (Castile/Spain). We passed Jaén and that narrow pass between Andalusia and Castile: Desfiladero de Despeñaperros. Then the uplands of Castile started: now decorated with many pure red poppies. Here we passed Valdepeñas and Ciudad Real. Near Orgaz we saw the famous mills of Don Quichotte de La Mancha and several other castles. And than we had that great view to Toledo, that red city at the Tagus Rivir, while being surrounded by red poppies. We made a nice walk through the city, saw interesting shops and visited the house of El Greco and the cathedral. Late in the evening we entered Madrid.
The next day we visited the Royal Palace, the Plaza Mayor and the Museo del Prado. The afternoon was spent with shopping and walking.
Barcelona (Catalonia/Spain). Now we got a first impression of a hot and dry country. The landscape of the Meseta along the way via Guadalajara to the pass at Alcolea del Pinar became quite barren and showed the colors yellow and brown. We stopped at a real hot spot. Zaragoza at the Ebro meant a stop to visit the cathedral with Nuestra Señora del Pilar and that large square to walk over or to play with the pigeons. The city was at rest, because the siesta had just started. Very tired we finally reached Barcelona late in the afternoon.
Barcelona meant a Gaudí day: after a city tour and a visit of the Barrio Gótico we visited the Temple de la Sagrada Familia with its many interesting details and the Parque Güell. We liked them very much. In the afternoon, we walked along La Rambla and took a hamburger at McDonalds. On the (artificial) Pasarella peninsular in the harbour we discovered the Internetcafe Insolit.
Dijon (France). A long day in the bus through France with nearly no stops, only just to eat and to clean yourself a bit. We had a flat tyre, which meant an obligatory stop at a gas station along the road.
The next day was long again. It rained nearly the whole day. We entered Belgium near Luxembourg.

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