Pablo PIcasso, Guernica, El Prado Museum

During our most recent visit, we visited Madrid and the beautiful and fascinating surrounding towns:

• Old Town of Avila (see introductory photo above), a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Old Town of Segovia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and
• Historic City of Toledo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

In Madrid, in the charming English tearoom popular with Madrilenos, we met the talented soprano Isabel Cantos with her then two young daughters, who enjoyed practicing their perfect English with us.

We stayed in charming, commodious paradors in Segovia and Toledo and took a day trip to Avila (see photo above of masked characters in religious procession), where we encountered an amazing parade through the city.

Spectators at Religious Procession, Avila

Marching Band, Religious Procession, Avila

Entrance to Toledo, with Poster of Cardinal Sancha

View of Toledo from Our Hotel Above the City

 LA SEU D’ARGELL

La Seu d’Urgell is a charming town in the Catalan Pyrenees in Spain, about a half-hour’s drive to Andorra.  There is a magnificent hotel there, where we stayed, El Castell de Ciutat, part of the prestigious and luxurious Relais et Châteaux Group.  The food is delicious. There is also a parador for those of you who are devoted to Spain’s distinctive paradores.  When we drove to Andorra, we had the serendipitous experience of arriving during the Tour de France, which was tremendously exciting to watch.

Tour de France, Andorra, Across the Border from Seu d’Urgell