Day 1:
Arriving in Madrid
Day 2: Madrid to Toledo to Cordoba
Day 3: Cordoba to Granada
Day 4: Granada to Costa del Sol
Day 5: Costa del Sol
Day 6: Costa del Sol to Gibraltar to Seville
Day 7: Seville
Day 8: Seville to Lisbon
Day 9: Lisbon
Day 10: Lisbon to Salamanca
Day 11: Salamanca to Madrid
Day 12: Madrid
Day 13: Madrid (extra day after tour ends)
The Toronto Reunion (plus additional links)
Sign my Guestbook
View my Guestbook
View from up top of Gibraltar...you can see Morroco in the distance
Standing up on the Rock
St. Michael's Cave
The Barbary Apes of Gibraltar
More views from up on the Rock
Dinner in Seville: Kevin, Roni, Kristy, Pat, Me, Holly, Armando, and Audrey
Seafood and chicken paella for dinner
Saturday, September 2, 2000
I had an extremely poor night's sleep, due to the onset of my cold. My voice became raspy and I would have to sniffle or blow my nose quite often throughout the day. Breakfast was one of the better ones we had on this trip. Everyone seemed sad to leave the Hotel Club Puerta del Sol, as it was easily the best hotel we would be at for the whole trip, for the secluded setting, big rooms, and of course, the pool! But we had to move on, back on the bus, on our way to Seville, with a stopover in the British colony of Gibraltar. Needless to say, I fell asleep very quickly after boarding the bus.
As we approached Gibraltar, we were in awe at the Rock that just stuck up high above the ground. At the Spanish/Gibraltar border we were boarded twice by customs officers to check all of our passports and identity cards, one from Spain, another from Gibraltar. Bash even got a picture with himself and the lady customs officer from Gibraltar. Almost everyone decided to take one of the special tour taxis up the Rock. With 6 or 7 of us in each vehicle, we started the drive up the Rock, the driver explaining about some of the history of Gibraltar along the way. We had a few stops to take photographs of some excellent views from atop the Rock. We also stopped for a short walk through St. Michael's Cave, which was full of stalactites and stalagmites that formed over several centuries. We then continued on further of the Rock to the highlight of the guided tour, which was to see the Barbary Apes that inhabited the upper areas of the Rock. These tailless monkeys were actually very playful and, for the most part, friendly. Some people even got jumped on by the monkeys, who must be accustomed to all the visitors that come up everyday. We descended the Rock back into the main town where much shopping ensued. Everything was relatively cheap in Gibraltar, with a pretty decent selection, and all duty free. We could pay in British pounds or Spanish pesetas for everything. Along with picking up some souvenirs for family and friends, I picked up some non-drowsy Sudafed for my cold. The sun began to get ferocious in its intensity as we walked back to our bus (I suppose it also didn't help that I was wearing a black shirt). We got back onto the bus and then at the border, we had to all get off the bus with all merchandise we had purchased in Gibraltar. Nobody actually checked our merchandise, but we had to walk through a building across the border as the bus drove through the gates back into Spain. We then boarded the bus and continued our journey to Seville. Again, I quickly went to sleep on bus, with my trusty travel pillow to keep my neck from twisting. (I was rear-ended in a car accident a couple of weeks before the trip and suffered some mild whiplash, so this pillow was absolutely essential!)
We arrived at the Hotel Giralda in Seville soon after 3:00PM. We had about 5 hours of completely free time until our optional dinner that night. Many went out to shop and sightsee. Unfortunately, I felt like crap and, after a quick shower, went right to bed instead of going out. This would be the smallest hotel room I would get, and the only one where I had just a single bed instead of twins. The air conditioning only had one setting and it was pointed right at my bed, which definitely was not good for my cold.
About 4 hours later, I awoke, feeling only mildly better than I did when I went to bed. We all met in the hotel lobby, again all dressed smartly for another night out of dinner and more dancing. We took about a 15 minute walk to where were going to have our seafood and chicken paella meal. This time we were seated outdoors just in front of the restaurant on a cobblestone walkway. To drink, we had mineral water and a couple of pitchers of very watered-down sangria (due to melted ice in the sangria). The paella was good, but nothing to write home about. I think the small taste I had of Magda's paella back in Granada was actually a little better.
After dinner, we had an optional river cruise. The wind was very strong and cold on the boat, and many did not dress for it. Jacquie had told us that just the week before, it was 40ºC even at 11:00PM in Seville. Tonight, it was more like 15º colder, and it was nowhere near 11:00 yet. We did have commentary on board the boat, but nobody was really listening, as everybody was immersed in their own conversations. As well, we weren't the only ones on the boat; it was an open cruise to the public.
The gang from Toronto on the river cruise: Elena, Delia, Mary Cris,
Audrey, Me, Naureen, and Niko (missing in action: Eric)
After about an hour, we got off the boat and were headed off to enjoy the Seville nightlife. We arrived at an open air nightclub which was actually floating in a canal, a pretty unique setting I must say. Like in Torremolinos, we got in free of charge (thanks again, Jacquie!) As usual, everyone was into the drinks first before getting onto the dance floor. The music was more Spanish than what we heard in Torremolinos, and many found it more enjoyable, and more "Spanish". A couple of times, however, the power completely cut out, lights, music, everything! But within 30 seconds, everything started back up. Everyone appeared to have a better night tonight than in Torremolinos (not like that night was bad at all). Myself, I couldn't really get into it as much as I wanted and tried. I just felt much too sick to really enjoy myself (this day was actually the worst I had felt in a long while). With a few others (I was so out of it, I can't even remember who they all were...Delia, Elena...anybody else..?), I left just a little after 3:00AM (which again is early by Spain standards) and took a taxi back to the hotel. I really wished I could have stayed longer, as evidenced by what I had heard later on in the morning, things started to really pick up even more soon after we had left.
