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Spain

The City of Córdoba

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Our first stop on our bus trip was the city of Córdoba. There is a long rich history that dates back to the Roman Empire. Córdoba was an important city under the Roman Empire in 27 BC to 14 AD. (Yes the city is that old), it was the capital of the province of Baetica and the largest city in the Iberian Peninsula and birthplace of the Roman statesman and philosopher Seneca.

After the Roman Empire Córdoba was also an Islamic city from 756 to 1031, and was the capital of al-Andalus. The Islamic time period is when the Great Mosque was built. Córdoba continued to grow throughout the years and became a very important city and by the 10th century was the largest and greatest city in Europe. Apparently the population was around 700,000 at the peak of Córdoba’s glory.

We saw some of the amazing historical sites. Below is the remains of a Roman wall located near the Roman bridge that was preserved after all these years.

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Original wall from the Roman era.

We walked through the old quarter of Córdoba which was originally known as the jewish quarter and is referred to as “La Judea”. There was some amazing sights and unique buildings and structures. The narrow cobblestone streets intertwined into a maze of small streets that would sometimes open up into a small square.

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Street in Córdoba
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Narrow street in Jewish quarter in Córdoba
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Street lined with shops in Córdoba
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Walking in the narrow streets of Córdoba

In the old quarter it was easy to see the Muslim influence in the architecture and buildings. The cobble stoned streets are narrow and full of people shopping and sight-seeing.

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Old quarter of Córdoba
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Muslim architecture in old quarter of Córdoba

In the square there is an Arc the Triomphe which dominates the square. You are able to go to the top of the Arc and see the beautiful views.

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Arc de Triomphe in Córdoba

We went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and we were in awe at the beautiful views and scenery.

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View of old quarter from the top of the Arc de Triomphe in Córdoba
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View of ancient Roman bridge from atop of the Arc de Triophe in Córdoba

Another amazing structure was the Roman bridge of Córdoba.  It was built-in the early 1st century BC across the Guadalquivir river.  We walked across the bridge and admired the beauty of the structure as well as the beauty of the surrounding scenery.

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Roman Bridge in Córdoba seen from a distance
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Roman bridge in Córdoba
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Ray standing near the Roman Bridge in Córdoba
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The view from the Roman Bridge looking towards the old quarter of Córdoba
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One of the monuments erected on the Roman bridge
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View of the pillars of the Roman bridge in Córdoba

There is the Calahorra Fort, which was built-in 1338 and is located near the Roman bridge. It was built there with the intent to guard the Roman bridge because of its strategic importance.

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View of the Calahorra Fort from the Roman Bridge in Córdoba

We walked to the Mosque Cathedral of Córdoba. It is a very large building and has walls that surround the courtyard.

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Shelley standing near the wall of the Mosque Cathedral of Córdoba

It is such a spectacular building  that we will do a separate post on the Mosque Cathedral of Córdoba.

The city of Córdoba is beautiful with ancient ruins, Roman structures and historically rich culture and architecture. We are very glad we went to this great city.

“Adios y que tenga un grand días”

Spain

Bus tour in Spain

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We headed out to meet our bus for the tour to other parts of Spain. The meeting spot was in the underground parking lot at the Plaza de Oriente. When the taxi dropped us off at the location we saw a beautiful square and the Royal Palace. We were about 30 minutes early so we took the opportunity to take a look around.

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Plaza de Oriente with Royal Palace in back ground

The Royal Palace is the official residence for the Spanish Royal Family, however it is only used for administration and Royal functions.

We took a walk around the gardens and square looking at the architecture and garden. There was some amazing architecture and the Royal Palace is a massive building.

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One of the wings of the Royal Palace

 

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A corner view of the Royal Palace
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Rear courtyard of Royal Palace
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View of the Royal Palace from the garden area

The Royal Palace was an impressive building, however we did notice that some of the exterior was needing some maintenance and repairs. The windows were old and the paint was pealing off in places, it was obvious that maintenance has been neglected in parts of the Palace.

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Some repairs needed on the windows.

When we arrived at the tour meeting point we registered with our tour guide and climbed aboard the fairly new coach bus.

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Our tour bus

The bus tour will take us through Córdoba, Rhonda, Seville, and a few other towns before returning back to Madrid. We are off and on our way, hopefully it is a great time….

“Adios y que tenga un grand dias”

Spain

Park in Madrid

There is a great park in central Madrid called ” Parque del Buen Retiro” which means literally “Park of the Pleasant Retreat” The park belonged to the Spanish Monarchy until the late 19th century, when it became a public park. It has beautiful iron gates welcoming you into the expanse of the largest park in Madrid with 350 acres.

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Gates and entrance to the park

The park has numerous paths and walkways that are interconnected  which lead to interesting areas of the park.

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Paths in the Madrid park

We walked along the trail looking for the “Bosque del rescuerdo” a memorial monument. The Bosque del rescuerdo which means “Forest of remembrance” was created to commemorate the 191 victims of train bombings in Madrid on March 11, 2004. When we found the “Bosque del rescuerdo” we were moved by the simple beauty of the monument.

 

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Inscription at the Bosque del rescuerdo monument

There are 192 olive trees planted in the monument to represent each person killed in the Madrid train bombings. The monument is surrounded by a channel of water with a stone border.

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Bosque del Rescuerdo Monument in Madrid park
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Water channel around monument
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Path in monument leading to the top
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Top of monument with three trees in centre

After seeing the monument we headed down another path to explore more of the park. Another area of the park was open with beautiful sculptured trees.

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Pathway in Madrid park

We followed the path to an area with some sculptures and a curved brick wall. The wall was very interesting and there were birds nested into holes in the wall.

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Curved brick wall in Madrid park
One of the many statues in the park
One of the many statues in the park
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Bird nestled in brick wall in Madrid park
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Unique formed trees in park

We then headed towards the centre of the park. There we discovered a beautiful pond water feature with a “Palacio de Velazquez” which means crystal palace. It is used as an art gallery and can be seen across the pond. It is made of mostly glass which is why it is called  the crystal palace.

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Crystal palace at a Madrid park

The water feature was surrounded by a large walkway with assorted vendors and facilities. There was even two police women on horse back walking through the park.

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Police on horseback in park
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Pond in middle of park in Madrid
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People enjoying the pond in the park

After the pond area of the park we headed towards one of the exit paths. The path brought us to beautiful walkways with flowers blooming and the sound of birds singing.

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One of the many features we came across in the park

We enjoyed exploring the park and seeing the beautiful displays along the way. We finished the park walk by walking along the iron fence path to  the exit at one of the main streets.

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Walkway along edge of park

It was a great park and well worth the walk.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dias”

Spain

A visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Madrid

The royal botanical gardens in Madrid is located in the center of the city. We were able to easily walk to the royal botanical gardens and enjoy the beautiful gardens.

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Botanical gardens Madrid

There were lots of different plants and trees in a beautiful setting of pathways and fountains. There were some Species that date back over two centuries. It was very impressive.

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Old species of tree
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Top of old tree in botanical gardens Madrid

We enjoyed a leisurely walk through the gardens looking at the vast array of plants, and flowers. Some of the ones we really enjoyed were the tulips which were in full bloom now.

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Shelley enjoying the tulips
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Beautiful flowers in botanical garden

There were also flowering trees in the garden that not only looked beautiful but also smelled great. It is too bad we can’t put the smell and sounds in the blog. There were birds singing throughout the entire time we were there. It was very nice and relaxing.

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The walkways and trails were beautiful and made an enjoyable walk.

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Walkway in botanical gardens

 

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Walkways in the gardens

One of the interesting trees we found during our walk was this Kiwi tree. We have never seen a Kiwi tree before.

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Kiwi tree in botanical gardens in Madrid

we took our time walking through the gardens and enjoyed the beautiful smells, sounds and scenery of the gardens. It was truly a beautiful spot.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dias”

Spain

The Madrid Atocha train station

We arrived in Madrid at the Atocha train station which is the largest and oldest train station in Madrid.

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Ray at Madrid Atocha train station

This station which was destroyed by a major fire and then rebuilt in 1892 and is the main train station for regional, local and long range trains. The station Is quite large and it took us time to navigate through the station. We also wanted to visit the original section of the station which was converted to a concourse with an array of shops, restaurants and a tropical garden.

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Tropical garden inside the Atocha train station
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Some of the stores and shops in Atocha train station

There is also a memorial monument at the station to remember and honour the 191 people who died as a result of bombings on trains in Madrid on March 11, 2004. The monument is a roof structure and is visible at street level. The monument is a circular glass tower and the scene of remembrance services each year.

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View of monument (on left) from outside of the Madrid Atocha train station

The memorial was closed at the time we were there and unfortunately we were not able to get inside. We will be going back and checking it out before we leave Madrid. When we tour the memorial later this week additional photos will be added to this blog posting.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dias”