Back Roads of Iberia
Back Roads of Iberia
Day 1
Day 1 – Friday, March 24, 2017 - Flight to Munich, Germany
Overseas Adventure Travel
Back Roads of Iberia: Spanish Paradores & Portuguese Pousadas
Rikardo López Elduayen
Our Monument Hill weather has been mild all winter. Now the first week of spring, the weather forecast was for 6 to 8...
Day 2
Day 02 - Saturday, March 25, 2017 - Flight to Lisbon, Portugal; Orientation Walk; Welcome Meeting; Welcome Dinner
Gate A45 was packed with travelers anxious to get on board our AirBus A330 for the 9 and a half hour flight to Munich. Several groups of high school students loaded down...
Day 3
Day 03 - Sunday, March 26, 2017 - Discovery of Lisbon; Belém; Jerónimos; Baixa; Visit Sintra; Fado Performance
Rikardo had warned us that today was to be rainy and cold and he was right! The temperature was 50 degrees and it was 100% humidity with light rain.
We had a...
Day 4
Day 04 - Monday, March 27, 2017 - Travel South of Lisbon; Visit Azulejos-Blue Ceramic Tiles; Azeitão Cheese Producer
We were able to see patches of blue sky this morning, a great way to start the day! The temperature was 55 degrees with 84% humidity but promises of sunshine for...
Day 5
Day 05 - Tuesday, March 28, 2017 - Travel to Évora; Visit Carpet and Tapestry Making; Wine Production, Cork Factory
We woke up to a gray day; the temperature was 52 degrees with a heavy fog and 94% humidity. Our departure schedule was for 9:00 am. Everyone was on time,...
Day 6
Day 06 - Wednesday, March 29, 2017 - Talk with Évora University Students; Walking Tour of Évora; Influence of Rome; Évora Cathedral; Church of St. Francis; Afternoon at Leisure; Portuguese Cooking School
The sun was breaking over the Roman Temple as we woke to the 7:00 am church bells. Although...
Day 7
Day 07 - Thursday, March 30, 2017 - Cross Into Spain; Explore Extremadura; UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mérida; Travel to Carmona
The sunrise was incredible this morning with shades of reds and blues. The temperature was 46 degrees with another high humidity day of 94%.
The pousada was almost...
Day 8
Day 08 - Friday, March 31, 2017 - Day on Our Own; Optional Tour of Seville; Dinner of Tapas
The roosters of Andalusia woke us up at 7:00 as the sun was just peeking over the horizon. With our long day, late night, and the time change, we could have...
Day 9
Day 09 - Saturday, April 1, 2017 - Travel from Carmona to Ronda; Visit Bull Ranch & Traditional Lunch; Explore Ronda with Rikardo
Even though the sun did not wake up until after 7:00, we knew we were going to have a clear crisp morning. The temperature was in the...
Day 10
Day 10 - Sunday, April 2, 2017 - Visit Dramatic Ronda; Puente Nuevo Bridge; Home-Hosted Dinner
We had a leisurely Sunday morning as we did not have to leave the parador until 9:30. We met our group and the local guide, Juanjo and began our hiking tour of the city...
Day 11
Day 11 - Monday, April 3, 2017 - Travel to Úbeda; Visit Córdoba; Explore the Mezquita; Horse-drawn Carriage Ride
We woke up at 7:00 and at 9:00 we left the parador saying goodbye to Ronda. The children were on their way to school, the shopkeepers were opening the shutters for...
Day 12
Day 12 - Tuesday, April 4, 2017 - Olive Oil Production; Lunch with Locals; Visit Sinagoga del Agua
After a good night's sleep and another buffet breakfast we left the parador at 8:50. The air was brisk, only 40 degrees but the sun was warm.
Luis stopped at an overlook...
Day 13
Day 13 - Wednesday, April 5, 2017 - Travel to Madrid; Walking Tour to Explore Toledo, City of Three Cultures
It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood with the temperature already 47 degrees. We left the land of the olive groves and headed north toward Madrid. We traveled through...
Day 14
Day 14 - Thursday, April 6, 2017 - Explore and Contrast Old and New Madrid; Optional Tour of Segovia
Thank goodness for a good night's sleep. The energy of the group was back up again when we met at 9:00 for another beautiful day, this time in a huge city,...
Day 15
Day 15 - Friday, April 7, 2017 - Day at Leisure; Walking on Our Own in Madrid; Farewell Dinner
We slept in this morning and had breakfast without the hassles of too many groups trying to eat all at the same time. It was another beautiful day in Madrid, with...
Day 16
Day 16 - Saturday, April 8, 2017 - Flight to Munich, Germany then to Denver, Colorado
After our short night's sleep, the wake up call came at 4:15. We had an hour to shower, close up our bags, and shut down our computers.
Luis, the van driver was there to...
Day 17
Overseas Adventure Travel
BACK ROADS OF IBERIA: SPANISH PARADORES AND PORTUGUESE POUSADAS Rikardo López Elduayen
Trip Evaluation
BACK ROADS OF IBERIA - VISIT MANY CHURCHES EVERY DAY
My wife and I took our 26th OAT trip on March 24th to April 8, 2017 to visit the Back Roads of the...
Day 18
Overseas Adventure Travel
BACK ROADS OF IBERIA: SPANISH PARADORES AND PORTUGUESE POUSADAS
Hotel Evaluations
Hotel Turim Av. Liberdade, Lisbon, Portugal
http://www.turimavliberdade.com/en/
"CENTER OF THE CITY, SMALL ROOMS, FAST INTERNET, DARK HALLWAYS"
LOCATION: Center of the city, easily accessible to all needs. Walking was easy. ATMs, stores, groceries in a...
Featured Journal
Day 13: Azores & Madeira: Portugal's Unspoiled Archipelagos
Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.
The hotel prepared a box breakfast for us as we had to be in the lobby way before the breakfast room was open.
Last night we found out that our departure flight back to...
