http://www.TVPuertoVallarta.com for more Puerto Vallarta videos

A steadily growing number of Americans and Canadians are packing their bags, heading to other countries and settling permanently. According to Boomers Abroad, that number may double in the next 10 years. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is one of the top destinations for baby boomers. The affordable real estate, wonderful weather, inexpensive health care and an overall superior quality of life continue to attract thousands of people. Some even sample other places to live before making Puerto Vallarta their new home.

The call of the open sea was irresistible to a couple from Minnesota when they retired in 2004.

“We wanted to continue to travel and we have always liked boats,” says Mike Wise, “We had researched different kinds of boats that could theoretically circumnavigate the world and we didn’t know much about trawlers but my wife was talking to a fellow, who owned a trawler at a hotel in Turkey one night and we really got into it with him as far as where they could go and it was interesting. So we looked further into it and we found a boat that would be suitable for our purposes and we decided that that would be the next chapter of our life.”

“We got on our boat and we cruised from Dana Point, California to Alaska and as far north as Glacier Bay,” says Sara Wise, “And then we came south all the way along the Pacific coast past Mexico and Central America to the Panama Canal and up through the eastern Caribbean, along Mexico and Belize to Florida, and then back through the islands to Venezuela and South America, Columbia and then back to Panama.”

They thoroughly enjoyed that city and lived on their boat for around one year but encountered more than a few deterrents, which kept them from settling down.

“We thoroughly loved Panama,” says Sara, “It was a unique city, very vibrant, growing and we liked everything we saw and we tried to buy several homes and it just did not work out and the one thing that we noticed was the longest anybody was in Panama was three years, and then everybody decided to leave. There was nobody there that we knew that were there 10 or 12 years.”

Sara and Mike decided to go back to Alaska for the season, because they really enjoyed cruising there. But they made a fateful stop in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, first.

“We had no intention of staying here in Puerto Vallarta,” says Mike, “But we had our boat in the marina and got to looking around the town and exploring a little bit and liked it and decided that this might be a pretty neat place to live.”

Many have the same feelings about Puerto Vallarta and this is why it is the number one retirement destination abroad for Americans according to AARP magazine’s September/October 2010 edition.

They found Puerto Vallarta to be a comfortable place, it was on the water, which was important and they found that the real estate structure and industry is more up front and more recognizable to them than what they called the convoluted system in Panama. Sara goes on to say, “We love the weather, we love the people more than anything and it’s just a fun city, there’s a lot going on, it’s just neat.”

Puerto Vallarta also offers many comforts and conveniences familiar to expats.

“When we first got here, we were very impressed with all the things that Puerto Vallarta has to offer,” says Sara, “We had been cruising for a number of years and you become accustomed to hauling your things from a grocery store or buying your groceries from the back end of a truck and Puerto Vallarta has Sam’s and Wal-Mart and they were building a new Costco and Home Depot had just opened and to us, those things were very important.”

In the spirit of adventure and having lived land-locked in the midwest for years, Sara and Mike broke from retirement tradition, shocking their family. They offer advice and encouragement for those seeking something more.

“Oh we had done a lot of traveling and different things over the years but it was a surprise to them and they didn’t think we would actually do that,” says Mike, “It’s a pretty big step to sell the house and the company and make that kind of a break and do something that dramatically different than what we had done during our working lives. I think they honestly thought we were nuts.”

“My recommendation is to come down, rent a place, try it out and find out if you really do like it, and if you do like it, buy a place, and join the groups down here, there’s so many wonderful people to meet,” says Sara.

This couple is living out their golden years under the golden sun in Puerto Vallarta.

Segment By: Video Diva Productions, Puerto Vallarta
http://www.VideoDivaProductions.com

Duration : 0:3:31

Technorati Tags: AARP, adventure, baby boomers, beach, cruising, culture, destination, driving, events, lifestyle, Mexico, news, Panama, Puerto, Puerto Vallarta, real estate, retire, retirement, safety, travel, vacation, vallarta

Enjoying life without care in the world in one of the most attractive places of the Spanish coast — it is possible in Ciudad Patricia. Designed for the over 55’s this beautiful residential park is the best kept secret of the Costa Blanca. For more than 25 years the climate, the nature, the comfort, the security and all the services satisfy the wishes of the senior citizens that have a zest for living.

Ciudad Patricia offers a complete package that increases comfort and a pleasant way of life with an excellent service. No worries about the maintenance of your house, here you can enjoy the sociability and there is high-quality medical care if you need it.
Nothing is necessary, everything is possible.

Park
Ciudad Patricia Costa Blanca owes its agreeable atmosphere to a great deal to the beautiful lay-out of the park. Because the park is perfectly maintained, the residents can enjoy this attraction every day. In Ciudad Patricia there are three large swimming pools, a mini golf, a petanca and a tennis court.
Living in Ciudad Patricia means living without worries in the middle of nature. It is not hidden away and it offers all possible facilities and amenities of the city close at hand.

Surrounding area
Ciudad Patricia is the ideal operating base for small excursions. In no time you can enjoy the white beaches, the beautiful nature and the attractive villages. Golf-lovers can fully enjoy the two golf courses that are situated in the immediate surroundings of Ciudad Patricia.
Within a radius of 45 km you can even find five more golf courses.

You don’t have to search very long for bars and restaurants, shopping centres, cinemas, theatre and the casino. For spa and wellness you can go to the new Aqua Hotel Deloix nearby.
Climate
The Costa Blanca is famous for its gentle climate all the year round. According to a study of the World Health Organisation (WHO) the climate in this region belongs to one of the healthiest in the world, because of the ideal combination of temperature, low atmospheric humidity and the high quantity of hours of sun light. The residents themselves don’t think much about the WHO-study. They understand the art of enjoying. Enjoying the sun, the nature and the gentle climate, enjoying life without worries…

Ciudad Patricia disposes of 173 apartments which vary according to the format, distribution and location. The most frequent kind of prototype disposes of a large living room, two bedrooms, a hall, a kitchen, a bathroom and a large private terrace. The apartments on the ground floor sometimes also have a garden.

Residents with a car can rent a garage if they want to. There are also a lot of parking places available

We have some apartments available for short stays. These are fully equipped and include kitchen, linen, washing machine and satellite television. The apartments are situated on the ground floor and have a large garden. Facilities for disabled people are available. We can offer you made to measure help if you want to. These short stays are meant to get you acquainted with daily life in Ciudad Patricia. This possibility depends on the availability of the apartments.

You pay £450 per week or £1500 a month (4 weeks), maximum three persons per apartment. This price includes the costs of gas, water, electricity, bed linen and weekly cleaning. We offer you a welcome lunch on the day of your arrival.

See http://www.ciudadpatricia.co.uk

Duration : 0:8:56

Technorati Tags: ciudad patricia, costa blanca, holiday, over 55, resort, retirement, senior, senior citizen, spain, vacation

Enjoying life without care in the world in one of the most attractive places of the Spanish coast — it is possible in Ciudad Patricia. Designed for the over 55’s this beautiful residential park is the best kept secret of the Costa Blanca. For more than 25 years the climate, the nature, the comfort, the security and all the services satisfy the wishes of the senior citizens that have a zest for living.

Ciudad Patricia offers a complete package that increases comfort and a pleasant way of life with an excellent service. No worries about the maintenance of your house, here you can enjoy the sociability and there is high-quality medical care if you need it.
Nothing is necessary, everything is possible.

Park
Ciudad Patricia Costa Blanca owes its agreeable atmosphere to a great deal to the beautiful lay-out of the park. Because the park is perfectly maintained, the residents can enjoy this attraction every day. In Ciudad Patricia there are three large swimming pools, a mini golf, a petanca and a tennis court.
Living in Ciudad Patricia means living without worries in the middle of nature. It is not hidden away and it offers all possible facilities and amenities of the city close at hand.

Surrounding area
Ciudad Patricia is the ideal operating base for small excursions. In no time you can enjoy the white beaches, the beautiful nature and the attractive villages. Golf-lovers can fully enjoy the two golf courses that are situated in the immediate surroundings of Ciudad Patricia.
Within a radius of 45 km you can even find five more golf courses.

You don’t have to search very long for bars and restaurants, shopping centres, cinemas, theatre and the casino. For spa and wellness you can go to the new Aqua Hotel Deloix nearby.
Climate
The Costa Blanca is famous for its gentle climate all the year round. According to a study of the World Health Organisation (WHO) the climate in this region belongs to one of the healthiest in the world, because of the ideal combination of temperature, low atmospheric humidity and the high quantity of hours of sun light. The residents themselves don’t think much about the WHO-study. They understand the art of enjoying. Enjoying the sun, the nature and the gentle climate, enjoying life without worries…

Ciudad Patricia disposes of 173 apartments which vary according to the format, distribution and location. The most frequent kind of prototype disposes of a large living room, two bedrooms, a hall, a kitchen, a bathroom and a large private terrace. The apartments on the ground floor sometimes also have a garden.

Residents with a car can rent a garage if they want to. There are also a lot of parking places available

We have some apartments available for short stays. These are fully equipped and include kitchen, linen, washing machine and satellite television. The apartments are situated on the ground floor and have a large garden. Facilities for disabled people are available. We can offer you made to measure help if you want to. These short stays are meant to get you acquainted with daily life in Ciudad Patricia. This possibility depends on the availability of the apartments.

You pay £450 per week or £1500 a month (4 weeks), maximum three persons per apartment. This price includes the costs of gas, water, electricity, bed linen and weekly cleaning. We offer you a welcome lunch on the day of your arrival.

See http://www.ciudadpatricia.co.uk

Duration : 0:8:32

Technorati Tags: ciudad patricia, costa blanca, holiday, over 55, resort, retirement, senior, senior citizen, spain, vacation

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Entry from: Salamanca, Spain
Entry Title: “Day trip to Salamanca”

Entry:

“This week I had a four-day weekend so I was determined to go on a mini getaway. I looked into Barcelona but couldn’t find any last-minute hostel availabilities, since it was Halloween weekend.

So instead my coworker Lisa and I took a day trip to Salamanca, which is about a 2 1/2 hour bus ride from Madrid. We accidently took a regular bus instead of an express bus, so it actually took us almost 4 hours to get there.

We arrived at around noon. It was pouring down rain and continued all day, but that didn’t stop us from wanting to get out and explore. Salamanca is a university city that is known for that and its gorgeous cathedrals. It was absolutely stunning! It was amazing to see 500+ year old buildings. The city had a medieval feel to it, which was really cool to experience in the rain.

We went to a café for an espresso at this cute little avant-garde place (although I can’t remember the name). The coffee was great and the played jazz music in the background. For lunch we went to Café Don Quijote, we had the menu del dia, which was a 4 course meal for 9,40€. This is pretty cheap considering it included bread, wine, water, a first and second course and dessert. That was some lunch! It’s totally Spanish to eat that much for lunch, but it was awesome.

We continued walking everywhere throughout the rest of the day. We checked out some cool museums including the original university building, the Museo Casa Lis (which has a lot of 1920’s art deco pieces and stained glass).

After 9 hours of walking around and exploring, we headed back home. I definitely want to head back to Salamanca one of this coming weekends, it’s places like this that make me realize how amazing Spain is!! If you are ever in Spain, I highly recommend visiting Salamanca.”
Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jg.lavagabunda/1/1225662000/tpod.html

Photos from this trip:
1. “Beautiful streets of Salamanca”
2. “The cute cafe”
3. “A courtyard”
4. “The original library”
5. “Statue”
6. “Clock tower”
7. “Cathedral”
8. “One of the beautiful cathedrals”
9. “Cathedral Nueva”
10. “Me”
11. “View of the city from the top”
12. “Bell tower”
13. “Another view”
14. “Cathedral vieja”
15. “Streets of Salamanca”
16. “Plaza Mayor”
17. “Plaza mayor”
18. “Part of the university”
19. “Some statue”
20. “Cityscape”
21. “The first bridge”
22. “The Museo de Casa Lis”

See this TripWow and more at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00e7-5d6c-984e?ytv4=1

Duration : 0:2:37

Technorati Tags: cafÉ don quijote salamanca, castile-león, day trip madrid salamanca, photography, photos, salamanca, slideshow, spain and canary islands, trip, tripadvisor, tripwow, vacation

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Entry from: Barcelona, Spain
Entry Title: “Walking, walking, walking”

Entry:

“Today, I decided to take a trip out to Park Guell. Another one of Gaudi´s designs, only in the shape of a park. Took the metro out, as it was at least a kilometer further away from my hostel and the walk yesterday. Got off the metro and then took some escalators up the hill to get to the park. Outdoor escalators, thank you, thank you, thank you! Once at the park, I followed the winding paths to the main square type area. Along the way you pass through this sort of passage way of rock pillars wrapping around the side of the hill. Quite intersting. Lots of trees and the sun shining, and of course, full of people. The square is sort of surrounded by this huge bench in a sort of winding pattern of tiles and colors and shapes. It´s so hard to describe, hopefully I can put up some pictures soon enough. The whole park has a few buildings all designed by Gaudi, and they sort of resemble fairytale like castles. Kind of like in the candyland board game if anyone remembers that. Wait for the pics is all I can say. So I wakled around the park for a while, watched people, checked out the guys selling scarves, jewelry, and art along the paths, and then wandered up a hill towards the sounds of music. Sure enough in the middle of a bunch of shaded trees were a two guys singing, playing the guitar, and a cello? I sat down on a bench for a while and just listened to the guy sing whatever he was saying in Spanish. It was so nice. It was just a small little spot underneath some trees in the middle of the park with a small group of people sitting around and listening. That´s one of the things that I love the most about Europe. You can not get through a day without coming across music. Alleys, parks, squares, streets, bars, castles, houses, balconies, there is music everywhere. I absolutely love it. I guess you could call it “living out loud” literally, which is not something that you get a lot of back home. I mean I would never sing in the car on the way to work in anything. NO WAY!, someone might SEE me! Competely different here. Then I walked along a little further up a hill to get some more amazing views of the city, and there was another guy sitting on a bench playing a guitar. I think you could just close you eyes in Europe and just follow your ears. It´s great.
Left the park at around 3, and decided to walk down to the Sagrada Familia. Not too too far on the map. My plan was to go down there just because, and then take the metro down to the Cathedral in the Barri Gothic. Gothic Quarter. So I got down to the Sagrada Familia, wandered a little bit and then decided that it would be more fun to just walk down to the Cathedral and see the area a bit. So I zigzagged down streets in the general direction of the Arc de Triomf, taking pictures of balconies along the way. Best balcony award goes to the city of Barcelona I must say. Eventually got down to the Arc de Triomf just after 5 or so. I was trying to get down the the cathedral before 6, because I had read in a guidebook that on Saturday´s there is some dancing that takes place in the cathedral square called Sardana, and I wanted to check that out. Standing on the edge of the Arc, and looking at the streets to my right, I was lost. Just looking in to the Barri Gothic and I was lost. It´s a maze of narrow little streets and reminded me a little of Valencia´s old town. I have been excellent about no getting lost since leaving Valencia, so this is not going to beat me. Needless to say after only one wrong way and turning and doubling back, I made it to the Cathedral square just before 6.
Wasn´t sure what to expect, but there were certainly a lot of people around, and a band/mini orchestra was setting uo on the steps of the cathedral. Hmmmmm? Interestingly, most of the people appeared to be senior citizens. Now I must say my knowledge of Sardana before arriving at the cathedral was of an image I saw on a lapel pin of a group of people, arms raised holding hands, standing in a circle, dancing obviously. I didn´t see any …”
Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/steph_444/scotland_2005/1130008860/tpod.html

Photos from this trip:
1. “Arc de Triomf”
2. “Benches”
3. “Can You See It?”
4. “Entrance to the Park”
5. “Guell”
6. “Hmmm”
7. “Italy Is Out There Somewhere”
8. “La Ramblas Street Performers”
9. “Mosaics”
10. “Music….”
11. “Park”
12. “Park Guell”
13. “Sardana Time”
14. “Street Performer”
15. “Wow!”

See this TripWow and more at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-012f-4744-83ae?ytv4=1

Duration : 0:1:47

Technorati Tags: Barcelona, Catalonia, catedral bairro gothic, photography, photos, sagrada família lapel pins, sardana, slideshow, spain and canary islands, trip, tripadvisor, tripwow, vacation, walking

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Entry from: Barcelona, Spain
Entry Title: “One Day in Barcelona”

Entry:

“I met Peg and her family (her brother Ed and his wife Diane, and her sister Lee, and her husband Tim) at the airport where there was already a mini-drama going on. The clerk checked the wrong bag and before I could say, “Where’d it go?” my carry-on bag had been whisked off to the airplane. It took almost 45 minutes to get it back. I promised the attendants I would tell everyone how speedy the service was at the Phila. airport. Believe me, when they say get to the airport early, this is why.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see a lady say, “You look like someone who’s going on a Mediterranean cruise.” She then introduced herself as Diane, Peggy’s sister in law. In line behind her were Peggy and the rest of the family. I thought that was very nice of her to come up and break the ice. It didn’t take long to realize that these people were going to be easy to travel with.

Bonus on the flight over; some of the people didn’t make their connecting flight at New York, so there were extra seats on the plane. I was in the middle section and the person at the end of the row wanted a window seat very badly, so I ended up with three seats all to myself. What a luxury to be able to stretch out and actually get some sleep on the way over.

We arrived in Barcelona at around 10 am their time, 4 am, our time. We stayed at the Gran Hotel Havana, which has recently been renovated and is in a very picturesque part of town. The hotel recommended a restaurant called Mussol and we set off for lunch. Imagine a TGI Fridays with exposed brick and shallow niches in the wall where they stack empty wine bottles. They grilled everything, including the vegetables, which were delicious.

After lunch we decided to go to see La Sagrada Familia, the cathedral designed by Gaudi and still under construction. Turned out to be a 15 block walk (why are people so dead set against taking taxis?) in 90-plus degree heat. I was furiously spritzing myself with a little bottle of water I’d brought along just for this purpose and although it looked kind of weird, it really helped. I’d seen pictures of the cathedral of course, (it looks like it’s made out of dripping wax or wet globs of sand) but honestly, when seen in person, I half expected to see a Disney ride going past the windows. Still, the effect was striking and the cathedral should be unbelievable when it’s finally finished.

Jet lag was setting in and we still had to walk back to the hotel. Took a wrong turn and three of us got separated from the rest, but it gave me a chance to sit and have a nice cold bottle of water. “Muy frio,” I said in my best high school Spanish. Who knows if that’s what you’re actually supposed to say? I just wanted something cold to drink. I don’t think I’ve ever been so hot in my life.

After finding our way back to the hotel, we rested for a while and then Peg and I had a salad in the hotel dining room. Afterward, we wanted to see if the temperature had cooled any after dark (it really hadn’t) and then tried to pinpoint our balcony window from the street when two college students heard us speaking English and asked us where we were going. It turns out that one of them has been in Spain all year to study and the other had come over for the summer so that they could travel. They were very envious of our air-conditioned hotel room and the fact that we were going to Greece. We talked to them for 10 minutes or so and then went back inside the hotel. So how about that – my first night on the trip and we go out and meet two cute guys! Actually, I think we reminded them of their mothers.

The next day we went to the dock early to check in and spent the balance of the day exploring the ship. I am really bummed out with this Mickey Mouse Internet access – imagine in this day and age that you can’t upload pictures. I’ll keep you up to date as much as possible – tomorrow is Monaco.”
Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/marino/summer_cruise/1120245420/tpod.html

Photos from this trip:
1. “Cathedral detail”
2. “Center atrium of Hotel Havana”
3. “Graffiti near Cathedral”
4. “Gran Hotel Havana”
5. “La Sagrada Familia”
6. “La Sagrada Familia 2″
7. “Our cabin”
8. “Top of atrium”
9. “View from our balcony”

See this TripWow and more at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00f4-5fee-9adf?ytv4=1

Duration : 0:1:19

Technorati Tags: Barcelona, Catalonia, one day in barcelona, photography, photos, slideshow, spain and canary islands, trip, tripadvisor, tripwow, vacation

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Entry from: Alicante, Spain
Entry Title: “Santa Pola / Alicante”

Entry:

“Santa Pola

This weekend we took a road trip to Santa Pola and Alicante. Friday afternoon after school we picked the girls up from school and made the 4 hour drive to the eastern coast of Spain. A drive made interesting by a very full car: Victor y Dori, the 3 niñas, Abuela (Grandma), and myself. Dori borrowed a larger vehicle from her sister to make the trip. We arrived at our flat in Santa Pola with a wonderful view of the hillside and beach. After a quick dinner I went with Victor, Dori, Luis, y Manuela (Victor’s friends in the area) for a walk around town.

On Saturday we played on the beach and walked around the beachfront most of the afternoon. For lunch we met Luis y Manuela at Veradano Restuarante. We had empanadas, toasted almonds, calamari, croquettas, jamon (cured ham), bread, and ali-oli (kind of like mayo but made with garlic and olive oil) to start. The main course was a variation of paella: a rice dish cooked in fish water with fish, shrimp, and tomatoes. Not to be confused with actual paella, however I really couldn’t tell you the difference. Santa Pola is in the Valencian region of Spain which is the birth place of paella and they take it very seriously. Everything was amazing and I could barely walk out of the restaurant.

After another walk around the beach front, we made our way to the children’s race, which Marina and Claudia ran in. It was almost as cute and funny as the girls’ tennis practice. After the races, there were games and crafts set up for the kids. The niñas were quite ornery at this point so we headed for home.

THE Meltdown

Now there are several mini-meltdowns from each girl every day. Every. Single. Day. Saturday night I experienced the worst to date. On the way home, Victor and Dori stopped at the supermarket and left me with the car and two very cranky girls. For reasons unknown to anyone, Claudia got very mad at Marina and started screaming and hitting her. Having none of it, Marina tried to run off. So I am wrestling her down on the street corner when she took off for good. I cannot chase after her because Claudia is in the car balling her eyes out. At this point I am just freaked out that I’m going to lose one of them in the dark, strange city. I went back to the car to get Claudia who was kicking me and calling me “tonta” (stupid). I carried her to the supermarket while she kicked me with all the vigor she could muster. We made a big scene in front of the cash registers when I finally set her down and she ran to join the rest of the family where Marina was standing happily. With a defeated look on my face, I said, “It is not possible” and the parents just gave me a knowing look. They made Claudia stand outside the store crying until she calmed down a little (just a little). After I relayed the entire incident, nothing was said or done, just jokingly played off.

When we returned to the flat, I went out for a long run to cool down. One of the longest I’ve taken in a long time and it felt good. Maybe it was the spirit of the town gearing up for its big race, but for some reason it was unusually easy that night.

Sunday was the big race. There were about 6,000 runners participating. To put it in perspective, Santa Pola’s winter population is about 20,000. The summer population is 100,000. To have thousands of visitors in the winter was a big deal and the town was buzzing. The girls and I hung out at the beach until Victor was finished with the race. No, he didn’t win: a Kenyan man did. The Kenyans always win.

Alicante

In the afternoon we made the short trip to Alicante for lunch. We had steamed mussels (surprisingly good), cuttlefish with vinegar (very good), grilled artichokes, potatoes with tomato sauce, and croquettas (the more I think about it, this popular dish is basically a thick pork gravy fried in bite size portions). Again, a very good Spanish meal.

The ride home was loud and full of tears (as usual). I was glad to get back to Madrid. I think in …”
Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sarbs/1/1200884400/tpod.html

Photos from this trip:
1. “Walking around Santa Pola”
2. “Santa Pola”
3. “The Girls”
4. “Interesting mixed-used development…”
5. “The Pier at Santa Pola”
6. “Irene”
7. “Marina did very well in the race”
8. “Claudia in the race”
9. “Alicante”
10. “The Fam at the Alicante Marina”
11. “Picking Out Our Favorite Yacht…”
12. “Waterfront at Alicante”
13. “Family in Alicante”

See this TripWow and more at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-0149-08be-cc32?ytv4=1

Duration : 0:2:26

Technorati Tags: alicante, alicante spain, alicante travel blog, claudia restaurant alicante, costa blanca, hypermarket in santa pola, madrid-santa pola, photography, photos, pola, Santa, santa pola, santa pola blog, sidi san juan to santa pola, slideshow, spain and canary islands, spola alicante, toy shop in santa pola, trip, tripadvisor, tripwow, vacation, valencian country

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Entry from: Madrid, Spain
Entry Title: “Toledo, Madrid, Segovia, and Mijas!”

Entry:

“These past two weekends have been pretty busy but a lot of fun! 2 weekends ago AIFS took us on our trip to Toledo, Madrid, and Segovia. We left Granada a1 9am and headed towards Madrid, on the way we stopped in Toledo. Toledo is one of the most beautiful towns I have visited in Spain and it has a lot of great history and artwork to be seen. We went to the Cathedral, which is a museum within itself housing some many pieces of important artwork from famous artists including Velasquez and El Greco. It rained for a little bit during our walking tour but the weather held out after all and we ended up having a great day.

From there we left for Madrid we arrived close to dinner time (9pm here!) so we went and got Shawarma, one of my new favorite foods! Shawarma is this meat (usually lamb) Middle Eastern sandwich sold at all of the Kebab places around and it’s really cheap so we end up eating it a decent amount when food isn’t provided. We went to bed early because the next day we left around 9am again for a tour around Madrid. We went to the famous Prado Museum and the Royal Palace then we had the rest of the day free. It was a really nice day so we went to the big park in the city Retiro Park and walked around. There are a lot of monuments and things to see in the park including a manmade lake you can take row boats on.

The next day we went to Segovia where the royal family is buried with the exception of Isabella and Fernando who are buried in Granada. We went to the tombs and the palace there. The palace is the one that Sleeping Beauty’s castle is based on in the Disney movie. My camera died while we were on the bus so I don’t have pictures right now but I had my friends take some for me. Segovia is also a really nice town. Both Segovia and Toledo are short bus rides out of Madrid so Aunt Fran and Aunt Sue and company might want to think about going there!

8 of us decided to stay in Madrid for a couple extra days and we did some more activities around the city. Lauren, Adam, Breana, and I went to a bullfight which was a really interesting experience. The stadium is huge and even though it was kind of upsetting to watch a bull get killed its an experience I’m glad I had. The next day we went to the Archeology museum and the Reina Sofia museum which is where Picasso’s Guernica is. After the museums we went to the Real Madrid Football (Soccer) Stadium and took a tour. My friend Adam loves soccer and it was really cool to see where the most famous team in Spain plays. That tour might be something fun for Drew to do if he’s still big into soccer. You see all the cups and awards and even the team locker room. It’s pretty similar to the tour we took of Fenway without the famous peopleJ.

We headed home to Granada on Tuesday and our classes started on Wednesday. So far my classes seem good, I have the same professor I had earlier for one of them and I really like her. We go on field trips in my Art History class which will be really interesting and a lot of fun. My literature professor isn’t my favorite but I’m hoping the material will be interesting so it will keep me entertained. I still have Spanish classes too, one grammar and one focused on speaking and writing. My professor for the speaking and writing course is one of the ones I had for my intensive and I really like her so I’m happy.

This past weekend I went to Mijas with my friends Adam and Lauren. Lauren’s aunt used to live in Mijas and her close friend offered to let us stay with her. Mijas is right on the beach near Malaga. It was a really nice and relaxing weekend. We spent the whole first day on the beach and the next day walking through the town center and taking a mini hike up the mountains. I don …”
Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mrg8920/1/1255529593/tpod.html

Photos from this trip:
1. “Toledo!”
2. “Toledo…it was windy!”
3. “Felecia, Me, Adam, Lauren, Breana”
4. “Catedral in Toledo”
5. “Royal Palace in Madrid”
6. “Prado Museum in Madrid”
7. “Adam, Me, Breana, Lauren in Madrid”
8. “Lucifer as the Fallen Angel”
9. “Bullring”
10. “Our first bullfight! Breana, Me, Lauren, Adam”
11. “El Torero y el toro”
12. “It was headed for the crowd!”
13. “Guerrnica in the Reina Sofia Museum”
14. “Real Madrid Stadium”
15. “Roman Aquaduct in Segovia, Lauren and Me”
16. “Merete & I at the top of a castle in Segovia”

See this TripWow and more at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00bb-8c8c-49f2?ytv4=1

Duration : 0:2:12

Technorati Tags: Catalonia, day tours to toledo and, distances, from mijas to madrid map, Madrid, map madrid tolede segovie, mijas!, molins de rey, photography, photos, Segovia, segovia toledo madrid, segovia-porto, slideshow, spain and canary islands, toledo, toledo and segovia in one day, toledo locker bus, toledo or segovia, toledo y madrid, trip, tripadvisor, tripwow, vacation, which is bigger segovia o

The beaches and fiery sunsets, resorts and hotels and all the way into the Sierra Madre mountains with lush jungles and old mining towns.

This is Mexico.
Music: Spider by Alexander Blu http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Music: TZAB-PAKAL by ENRIQUE DEL CARMEN http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Duration : 0:14:56

Technorati Tags: adventure, all, AX200, Banderas, bay, beaches, Bucerias, Bungee, bus, cheap, deal, destinations, dive, dolphin, Ecotourism, Expedition, Family, Festival, Guadalupe, guide, HD, HDR, holiday, Hotel, inclusive, Jalisco, JCVdude, jump, kayaking, Kelowna, last, Madres, manta, Marietas, mexican, Mexico, minute, Nayarit, Nuevo, outback, pacific, package, Palladium, Puerto, resort, review, riviera, Sierra, snorkel, SONY, spa, Sunwing, Surfing, Tequila, tourism, tours, travel, turtle, vacation, vallarta, videographer, Whale, XR550, YOLO

For more information, visit: http://www.vrbo.com/65397

Duration : 0:1:38

Technorati Tags: beach, beach house, carribean, Mexico, playa del carmen, rent, rental, vacation