Spain, Portugal, Morocco – Sept. 2016

A great trip to celebrate Diana’s recent retirement, following her 41-year career. We visited southern Spain, where we savored the famous Iberian ham (pigs are acorn-fed) and enjoyed visiting the ancient walled city of Toledo (UNESCO site), where El Greco produced his best-known paintings. We saw a number of them at the Prado museum in Madrid and churches in Toledo. We had an amazing time in Seville – visiting many gorgeous sites, particularly the Real Alcazar (royal palace) with its beautiful gardens. And of course, there is the stunning Alhambra. Breathtaking! Thanks to its Moorish history, architecture in the region is lush and gorgeous.

We traveled to Portugal; Diana’s favorite place was the walled city of Obidos — so charming, and of course another UNESCO site. We loved St. George’s Castle, high on a hill above Lisbon. Diana had visited Portugal as a 13-year-old, and remembered fondly the intricate mosaic sidewalks.

The ferry took us across the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco — a totally different culture. While it was all interesting, our favorites were Fes and Marrakech, particularly the ancient medinas (markets). In Marrakech, the “new” medina dates from the 1400s, and the “old” one from the 800s. It’s all relative.

We traveled with a Cosmos tour group — very reasonably priced and it was a very good tour. We visited so many UNESCO World Heritage Sites that we lost count; it was easily a couple of dozen sites. Here is Bob’s short video, along with our favorite stills.