Spain Vacation: July 7-27, 2005
On July 7, 2005, I departed LAX for a fabulous 20 day vacation to Spain. I saw many incredible things, visited several towns and cities, ate a lot of really good food, and met a lot of nice people. Accompanying me on this trip (actually, I was accompanying them) were my dear friends Carlos and Jodie Davis, and their two children Sophie (age 3), and Diego (age 7 months). Carlos grew up in Spain, and has several relatives there, and I got to meet most of them. His Uncle Carlos Escalante was our "host". He has lived in Spain all of his life and is very knowledgeable about Spain and it's history, and was able to explain the historical significance of every place we visited.
We arrived in Barcelona on Friday, July 8, greeted by several members of Carlos's family. We were taken to his uncle Carlos Escalante's apartment (or "piso") in Granollers, where we ate and began to unwind from 13 hours on a plane. We spent the night there, and the next day we were off to Camping Riembau, a nearby resort/campsite located in Platja D'Aro on the Costa Brava (nearest major city is Girona), where the Escalantes spend their weekends and vacation. On the premises are swimming pools, a fitness center, tennis courts, game room, a grocery store, laundromat, a restaurant/bar, hairdresser, and a really clean community restroom/shower facility. Now, when I say really clean, I mean there was rarely a time that I went in there and did not see at least one cleaning person working.
We spent the weekend relaxing at Riembau, eating and drinking away the jetlag. On Sunday night, we returned to Granollers, and on Monday morning, July 11, we embarked on a road trip to the Madrid area, where we would spend the week touring several towns in the area. It took about seven hours to get to our hotel in Alcala de Henares, where Carlos D. lived for several years. During the next four days we visited Avila, Salamanca, Toledo, Segovia, Zaragoza, and several other small towns along the way.
On Friday, July 15, we returned to Riembau (where we would be staying until July 25) to relax after our intense week of traveling. Several other family members and friends of the family joined us at "The Camping" on the weekends, so it was one big party. On Monday, July 18 we went into Girona for some shopping and dinner. The next day was my first beach experience. The Mediterranean Sea is so beautiful! I went in the water (which I never do at home) and it was very comfortable. Oh yeah... the beaches there are "tops optional". During the following days, we also took short trips to Tossa de Mar, and Cadaques (Port Lligat and Cap de Creus). Cadaques was probably my favorite day of the entire trip. We toured one of Salvador Dali's houses, and Cap de Creus (eastern-most point of Spain) is quite possibly the most beautiful spot I've ever been.
We departed Platja D'Aro on Monday morning, July 25 and returned to the Escalante home in Granollers. On Tuesday, July 26, we visited Barcelona (my second favorite day of the trip). Being the sports nut I am, I had to see the soccer (futbol) stadium. We then toured La Sagrada Familia cathedral (breathtaking!), then took a stroll down La Rambla. Early the next morning, we were on on a plane, back to the good ol' U.S. of A.
My only regret about this trip was that I didn't keep a daily, detailed diary on what towns/cities we visited, and the landmarks at each location and it's historical significance. I'll include a caption under each photo that I can remember the details of. Click on the links below to view the photos... enjoy!
Thanks to Mari Serrano for her generous contribution of photos to this collection
NOTE: The "Places" and "People" pages have a large number of photos on them, so please be patient... it may take a minute to load depending on your computer speed and internet bandwidth speed. It'll be worth the wait... I promise!!