Liz Davies' "Home" on the Internet
(Last Updated: 14 January, 2006) - updates since earlier this month: a couple of corrections supplied by Stephen (thanks, Stephen!)

Trip to Spain
(1999)

First came Israel...then Italy.  I was still working the "I" part of the alphabet.  Iran and Iraq seemed a bit out of the question.  Indonesia just didn't intrigue me enough (besides... it's just too far away).  Iceland just doesn't stimulate my imagination - other than the thought of following the footseps of Bobbie Fischer - my idol from high school days. 

Iberia seemed the only "I" country that would make (for me) a reasonable destination.  It was "on the list"...

With the year of the great "roofland" trip solidly behind me, I waited anxiously through the winter and early spring of 1999 to see which large appliances or parts of my house frame would collapse.  When March came and went without major incident, I felt bold enough to consider that maybe, yes - just maybe, 1999 would be the year for Spain.

I had hoped and prayed that someone from the Italy excursion would be intrigued enough with the idea of a Spanish vacation to join me, but when April came nobody seemed both a) interested, and b) with funds.  So... I closed my eyes, held my breath, and dialed Marcia (my travel agent) to book passage for one.

Follow the links below to read what I discovered:

• "Day 1" - pre-trip jitters, attacked by my seatmate on the plane to Madrid
• "Day 2" - Madrid Customs, Madrid Traffic Jam, the "Welcome Drink"
• "Day 3" - Zaragoza, Barcelona (Barthelona) (most of the pictures start here...)
• "Day 4" - Barcelona (cathedral, Picasso, Gaudi, Las Ramblas)
• "Day 5" - on the road (cava factory, Peniscola, Valencia)
• "Day 6" - Granada (the Alhambra)
• "Day 7" - Costa del Sol, Ronda, Seville
• "Day 8" - Seville (seduced at last!)
• "Day 9" - Cordoba
• "Day 10" - Toledo and Madrid (farewell dinner)
• "Day 11" - Back to the US (final notes and observations)