CORDOBA - Oct. 21st sees us on the road to Seville, with a stop & tour of Cordoba. The city is located on the Guadalquivir River, is old and beautiful. We visited Alcazar, the Roman Bridge, a medieval Synagogue, Old Jewish Quarters, and the famous 8th century Mosque of the Caliphs [850 pillars].

SEVILLA - We arrive in Seville [pronounced Se-'via] during a great sunset on the 21st and checked into the Hotel Tryp Colon. What a room! Here we visited the Alcazar Palace, an ornate Cathedral with Columbus's Tomb, Giralda Tower, Maria Lusa Park, City Hall, Murillo's House, the Gold Tower on the Guadalquirvir River, Carmen's Tobacco factory and an area described by Hemingway in "April Fair". We finished the evening with dinner and great Flamenco Dancing.

GIBRALTAR - On Oct. 23rd we stop at the Rock of Gibraltar for an excellent English lunch. Jo managed to slip in some low tax perfume shopping while many took advantage of the lower cost tobacco and liquor. We then did a tour of the Rock, including a rather large cave within the rock. We saw a Moorish Castle, all sides of the Rock, the colony of Barbary apes and toured St. Michael's Cave. After a hassle from Spanish Customs and Border Guards, we're on our way once more.

TORREMOLINOS - Torremolinos is one of the towns that make up the Costa del Sol on Spain's Southern Coast. The area is crowded with some very expensive homes, some belonging to Arab royalty, and lots of 5 star hotels. We checked into the Hotel Melia Costa, on the beach. As it was very clowdy and not great beach weather, we spent most of our time walking and climbing the hill to a village of shops, and shopped. The lay back time was enjoyed as we had been running pretty hard.

GRANADA - We arrived in Granada on Oct. 25th and checked into the Hotel Carmen. Here we visited the Alhambra citadel with it's arabesque gardens and fountains, walked through the Water Gardens of the Generalife [Royal summer Palace] and saw Sacromonte [Gypsy cave dwellers]. Beautiful city.

TOLEDO - We head back to Madrid on Oct. 26th, through Don Quixote country and the city of Toledo, which sits on a hill and is surrounded by the Tagus River. The view is great from a nearby hill and across the river. This ancient Castilian capital attracts more visitors than any other Spanish town. We saw a 13th century Gothic Cathedral, and early Synagogue, the church of Santo Tomb, and more. After a few hours touring the city, we head back to Madrid for the night, then return home.