Spain Photo Gallery by bkgee at pbase.com

Spain

Buenos tardes!
We started our Spanish exploration in sunny San Sebastian on the coast. We hit Madrid just prior to the royal wedding - they chose the best day possible for it - our wedding anniversary! We saw three walled cities in two days (Toledo and Avila) but Segovia was our favourite.
Southern Spain's highlights included Seville, (a maze of narrow, one way streets) where we saw a flaminco show, the awesome Alhumbra in Granada and pretty Ronda.

We also visited a small slice of the U.K. - Gilbraltar - and had a great day driving the Peugeot round and over "the Rock". We took a ferry across to Ceuta (Spain) and Tangiers (Morroco), and narrowly avoided buying a 1800 Euro rug - gotta watch those local's barter aye!

From Southern Spain we had a slightly lengthy drive up to Barcelona - a mere 950 kms! We enjoyed awesome scenery at Montserrat, Barcelona's popular La Rambla street and the incredible Gaudi designed Sagreda Familia (probably won't be finished until 2080!).

	San Sebastion . . .	. . . the view from a fantastic campsite up on a hill overlooking the beach . . .	. . . walking up Monte Urgull to appreciate the views . . .	. . . of the bay

Plaza Mayor at the heart of Old Madrid		Palacio Real (Royal Palace)
	Palacio de Cristal . . . a large glasshouse – with no plants in it!! . . .	. . . in the Parque del Retiro	San Manuel	Toledo's Cathedral - one of the largest cathedrals in Christendom!
		Segovia - an old Roman city with a 29 metre high aqueduct, built in the 1st century AD . . .	. . . which stretches 800m and has 163 arches, all without the aid of mortar!	The Church of La Trinidad, one of the best preserved Romanesque churches . . .
. . . and a stunning Alcazar (fortified palace) built onto side of cliff . . .	. . . with a spectacular moat . . .	. . . incredible interior decoration . . .
	. . . great views . . .	. . . and rooftop gardens		Segovia Cathedral - the last great Gothic cathedral to be built in Spain
Torre de Hercules	Torreon de Arias Davila	Avila - with its perfectly preserved medieval walls
Salamanca's Plaza Mayor	La Catedral Nueva (New Cathedral). From inside you can also enter Catedral Vieja (Old Cathedral) . . .	. . . the doorway alone is a work of art . . .	. . . and inside the new cathedral is totally impressive. Large is not the word! . . .	. . . huge, high ceilings, very ornate and Gothic . . .
. . . the Romanesque old cathedral . . .	. . . and it's altar piece		. . . and another tower to climb!	Can you spot the storks?
Seville's Huge Gothic Cathedral . . .			Christopher Columbus' supposed tomb	. . . and views from the Moorish La Giralda bell tower
The beautiful Parque Maria Luisa . . .			. . . and its amazing feature . . .	. . . the semicircular Plaza de Espana . . .
. . . with two end towers . . .	. . . and all decorated with blue ceramic tiles	Driving South through fields of sunflowers . . .	. . . and mountains of wind turbines to . . .	The Rock . . .
. . . of Gibraltar	Entry to Gibraltar across the airstrip from La Linea	Looking out from the Great Siege Tunnels		Gibraltar's most famous inhabitants
	The Gibraltar Lighthouse . . .	at Europa Point - where you can see the tip of Africa	Ceuta, and the German camel . . .	. . . on a day trip . . .
. . . to Tangiers . . .		(with a spot of snake charming)	. . . Morroco . . .	. . . on the northern tip of Africa
	Back in Spain, and in the little town of Ronda . . .	. . . a very nice little town in the middle of some very hilly country . . .	. . . pretty, cobble-lined streets with balconies full of flowers . . .	. . . nice shops and cafes . . .
. . . a beautiful park . . .		. . . which came to an abrupt end . . .	. . . and a steep drop
Driving to Granada through plantation after plantation of olive trees	The Wine Gate - entrance to the Alhambra - an amazing tribute to Islamic architecture	Plaza de los Aljibes - entrance to the Alcazaba . . .	. . . a fortified mini town within the Alhambra . . .	. . . and the surrounding view
				Patio de la Acequia
Court of the Myrtles		Court of the Lions	The Renaissance Charles V Palace . . .	. . . and it's inner gallery
Barcelona's Sagrada Familia - the greatest work of Antoni Gaudi	An absolutely amazing building! Wandered around and up it – a rather freaky experience!	A work in progress, funded through public donations		The Passion Facade completed in the late 1980's
	Passeig de Gracia - a popular street with more of Gaudi's buildings - Casa Mila "La Pedrera" . . .	. . . and the colourful Casa Batllo, next to Casa Amatller by architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch		Montserrat - the "Serrated Mountain" . . .
. . . its highest peak rising to 1,236 metres . . .		. . . and home to a Benedictine Monastery . . .
. . . a breathtaking place!	On the road again, through Andorra . . .		. . . known for it's skiing and duty-free shopping . . .	. . . there was still snow on the ground, and 8 degree temps . . .
. . . in mid June!

click on thumbnails for full image