Destination: Spain

Back in Barcelona

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 | By graynomadsusa | Views [202]

IT ISN’T EASY TO FLY FROM SICILY TO MALLORCA. Most flights require a change of planes in both Rome and Madrid and the cheaper ones have long layovers. Instead we flew to Barcelona for a few days and will continue on to Mallorca on Friday. And with ... Read more >

Photos: Back in Barcelona

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 | By graynomadsusa | Photo Gallery

Alcalá de Henares

Thu, 12 Jan 2023 | By graynomadsusa | Views [224]

 ALCALÁ DE HENARES IS 560 KM from Málaga and 30° cooler. It’s also a World Heritage site, birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes and, most important, only 30-minutes from Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport. We will be ... Read more >

Time for Málaga

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 | By graynomadsusa | Views [191]

THE HOLIDAY DECORATIONS WERE STILL UP on Calle Marqués de Larios, turning Malaga’s oh-so-classy pedestrian mall into a magic fairyland. And it was just as beautiful in daylight. Our AirBnB was right in the heart of it all. It turned out ... Read more >

Photos: Málaga and Alcalá de Henares

Mon, 9 Jan 2023 | By graynomadsusa | Photo Gallery

Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba

Fri, 6 Jan 2023 | By graynomadsusa | Views [398]

CÓRDOBA, ONCE ROMAN AND LATER VISIGOTH, came into its own in the 8 th Century when the Umayyad Muslims made it the capital of Al-Andalus—Islamic Spain.  While the rest of Europe succumbed to the ignorance and superstition of the ... Read more >

Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos (Parade of the Three Kings)

Thu, 5 Jan 2023 | By graynomadsusa | Views [262]

SHOULD WE DRIVE OR TAKE THE BUS into Córdoba? that was the question. I even downloaded bus schedules and made a list of possible parking lots. In the end we decide to walk in—it’s only 3½ miles, mostly downhill—and take ... Read more >

Around Córdoba

Wed, 4 Jan 2023 | By graynomadsusa | Views [206]

WITH PARKING BEING SO SCARCE and expensive, we decided to stay a bit outside of Córdoba’s historic center. Maria José’s exquisite AirBnB is one of the nicest yet, even if it’s too cold to use the pool. While she doesn’... Read more >

Photos: Córdoba

Mon, 2 Jan 2023 | By graynomadsusa | Photo Gallery

Happy New Year, Toledo!

Sun, 1 Jan 2023 | By graynomadsusa | Views [240]

JUST LIKE CHRISTMAS EVE IN MADRID, many of Toledo’s attractions closed at 1PM on the 31 st and will remain closed on New Years Day. We managed visit the Church of El Salvador before closing time. El Salvador has been in turn, Roman, perhaps ... Read more >

Returning to Toledo

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 | By graynomadsusa | Views [227]

MY TIRED FEET WERE GLAD to say good-bye to Madrid—walking 6 to 8 miles on cobbles really took a toll. But they shouldn’t get their hopes up—Toledo may not have as many cobbles but the narrow streets and alleys are seldom flat! ... Read more >

Photos: Toledo for the New Year

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 | By graynomadsusa | Photo Gallery

Photos: Chasing the Sun in Lanzarote Again

Wed, 28 Dec 2022 | By steve_and_emma | Photo Gallery

Christmas in Madrid

Sun, 25 Dec 2022 | By graynomadsusa | Views [217]

T’WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS . . . and Santa didn’t come! It wasn’t that Rudolph got lost or Santa couldn’t find us again or, heaven forbid, we were naughty, not nice! Saint Nick just doesn’t bring presents to good little ... Read more >

¡Bienvenida a Madrid!

Fri, 23 Dec 2022 | By graynomadsusa | Views [200]

WE ARRIVED IN MADRID ON THE wrong side of Winter with cloudy skies and damp chill replacing the sunshine of Tenerife. To make matters worse we had to wake at four in the morning for our 6:30 flight, followed by a 30-minute bus ride into town and a kilometer ... Read more >