After a long time with no internet service and then being unable to get into blogspot, I finally got up and running today. And even though I've practically forgotten the details of our April vacation I'm going to post some pictures and captions. Enjoy.
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Our favorite place. San Miguel Island in the Azores
The hot springs in the Furnas Valley
This little village is situated in the middle of a volcanic crater
Sete Cidades Lake. Also inside the crater
A tea plantation near Ponta Delgada
The coastline of Puerto Banus near Malaga Spain
A city park in Marabella
A pedestrian walkway from the city center to the beach is lined with 15 Salvadore Dali sculptures
Another espresso break
The Monastery of the Virgin Fuensanta near Cartegena Spain
Downtown Cartegena
Lots of shops and outdoor dining spots
We love Spain's unusual architecture
The central square in Valencia
Gorgeous entrance to the Plaza de la Virgin catherdral
Amazing statues and artwork inside the cathedral
Through the entire downtown of Valencia a dry riverbed has been converted to a public green space. 15 miles of water features, soccer fields, running and bike paths, the Opera House, Art Museum and a sports arena
The Opera House is shaped like a giant fish
We disobeyed the rules and took a quick picture in the San Jose Caves, the longest navigable underground waterway in Europe. We took little boats that are moved by a guide with a pole. It's pitch dark and in some spots really claustrophobic. But it was a great experience...once.
The Town Hall in Valencia
An office building in the town square
I love the European's love of flowers. This was only a small part of a long walkway that was filled with bright red geraniums. So so pretty!
The Segrada Familia Cathedral absolutely dominated the Barcelona skyline
We walked to a wonderful park on a huge hill in downtown Barcelona. The park and the buildings were all designed by Antone Gaudi. His Sagrada Familia is incredible but alot of his other buildings are quirky and fun.
It's not French food but we loved the tapas and wine at dinner
We took a day tour to Monserrat and stopped for wine tasting at this lovely vineyard and winery
The family owned Albet y Noya Winery. We bought a lot of wine but unfortunately we forgot to order any for ourselves. We've got a wine buyer here in Oregon looking for their yummy red here in the States.
The crazy rock formations that lead up to the Benedictine Monastery of Montserrat. It was a long and sometimes perilous bus ride
The view from the Monastery
The Monastery/Abbey complex
The main entrance to the cathedral
The main alter. A life sized crucifix hung from the circle above the alter. Above that in a high alcove was the scu;pture of the Black Madonna, the Patroness Saint of Catalonia
Back in Barcelona we spent lots of time shopping and eating on the La Rambla
And finally, after three glorious weeks, Christopher Columbus points us toward home
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