Sophie & Stephanie Treetops Spain 2023

 

For her 9th grade spring break, Sophie and Stephanie are putting the international in Treetops School International. We’re traveling with the high schoolers to Spain.

Spain Transit Adventure

Our flight plan was to leave DFW  on Air France Friday afternoon for Charles du Gaulle in Paris for a quick 1.5 hour layover before getting on the plane for Barcelona. A one hour delay in Dallas changed all of that. The connection was impossible to make. The only way to get the entire group to Barcelona was to do it in stages. The chaperones are being split between the kids and taking separate flights. We arrived in Paris about 9am on Saturday. Our group departs about noon on Sunday. After much time spent in the airport arranging the connections, meal and lodging vouchers, we had lunch at the airport McDonalds and made our way to the airport Holiday Inn. Only 5 people were able to fly to Barcelona today. The remaining 17 rested in the hotel, enjoyed an excellent dinner in the hotel restaurant, and are looking forward to a good night’s sleep. We have had excellent travel companions. Everyone has by agreeable and upbeat on the admittedly not ideal situation.  We saw the Eiffel Tower in the distance, but we won’t be leaving the airport region. Tomorrow is another travel day.

Monday Bus Day to Madrid

On Monday, we left Barcelona early on the bus. (It was a very short visit to this city because of the flight delays.) Around noon we stopped in the ancient city Segovia, named for the Roman emperor at the time of the founding, Cesar Augustus. This town is known for the Basilica de Pillar. Second church visit in as many days. The square around the church was very laid back and delightful; a welcome break from the bustle of Barcelona. We joined up with Wyatt and did some souvenir shopping and had lunch. We shared some tasty chicken wings and our first ham sandwich. It’s the famous local jamón on a thin baguette. We learned about the Toro the bull liquor advertisements in the countryside. It’s a large black bull cut-out and is the only billboard allowed in Spain. Because they were so iconic, an exception to the ‘no billboards’ rule was made for Toro. There are 80 throughout Spain. We’re having a good time looking for them and I hope to snag a picture.

The countryside is absolutely covered in fruit and nut trees in bloom. It’s a beautiful sight. Spain has more tourists each year than the US, with an area the size of California. They have a good infrastructure for tourists. The tour bus drivers get required rest breaks, and there are great rest areas with gift shops, small cafeterias, snacks.

We checked into our modern/spartan hotel and then took the subway to an amazing restaurant in the Puerta del Sol. It was a small place with dark, gleaming wood, mirrors, and sparkling lights. Our group had reservations and took the entire lower floor. Sophie sat with the kids and Stephanie enjoyed the time with the other adults on the trip. Since our group is so large, we’re served a fixed menu. The appetizer was a scalloped potato and ham dish with a light cheese layer. The main course was pork cutlets with a delicious sauce and more potatoes on the side. Dessert was a yogurt with berry sauce. We took the subway back and got to bed around midnight.

Tuesday Madrid and Toledo

 

On Tuesday we started with a bus tour through Madrid. We got off the bus to see the out of the Los Ventas bull fighting ring which is huge and relatively new in the Moorish style with lots of arches.

We took a tour of the royal palace. Spain still has a symbolic monarch and the palace is still used for some official events. The decor in the rooms was really over the top. The grounds around the palace have been made into a public park that is really beautiful and wild.

We were on our own for lunch in sidewalk cafe near a square. Sophie did not like the bacon and cheese sandwich she ordered, so we picked up a ham on baguette sandwich for her to munch instead and of course a gelato.

Most of the group had the afternoon free, but we had signed up for a tour of Toledo.

The bus ride there took about an hour. The highlight was a stop a the scenic overview of this medieval walled city. The geography of the place makes you think of the defensive benefits of choosing this location for a city that’s been in existence since at least the romans. The city is on a steep hill and protected on three sides by a river that winds around it and a wall. Absolutely the picture of a medieval town.

In Toledo we did a Cathedral tour of a very significant Cathedral. We saw many paintings by El Greco both at the cathedral and at a smaller church. Toledo is also famous for the Jewish quarter where medieval Jews were tolerated but forced to live in a separate walled section. We walked through a small synagogue turned church turned museum that was so stark and beautiful. The last stop in Toledo was a jewelry and sword making shop. The kids really enjoyed that but were disappointed that they couldn’t buy swords to bring home.

Back in Madrid we had Tapas dinner at a very funky place. It was a fixed menu of small bites for everyone brought out in batches, and I loved it but apparently not everyone agreed. We were served potato tortilla that was delicious(potato pie), sliced cured meats, veggie salad just like our Polish guests made, ham croquettes, fried calamari, sausage, potatoes, chicken on a stick (Sophie’s favorite), and a layered chocolate mousse dessert. Then we walked to a large square and had churros dipped in melted chocolate.

Madrid is really vibrant. We saw such a large area full of people walking, shopping, and eating. While the population is less than DFW, the feel couldn’t be more different. There was plenty of traffic, but having a metro and small streets that are either explicitly pedestrian of effectively that way because they’re small makes a huge difference in the liveliness of the place.

Sunday Barcelona

 

On Sunday, we enjoyed a great breakfast at the Paris airport Holiday Inn and then headed to the airport for the staged exit. Our group of 6 left about noon and had an uneventful flight. Stephanie and another mom, Jazmine, were responsible for looking after Sophie, Isabel, Brook, Hannah, and Darren for the day. After picking up our bags, an Explorica tour guide was waiting to accompany us to the hotel by taxi. She coordinated checking us in and then guided us to take the train into downtown.

Barcelona looks a bit like the hill county: dry with scrubby trees and limestone hills. The mountains are really rugged and beautiful. The heavy industry in the area makes it clear that this is a place of work. Smaller trees were all in bloom and the weather was just right.

We met our primary tour guide, Gonzalo, in front of the Hard Rock Cafe. Then we had an hour and a half to explore the bustling Los Rambles area. It’s a primary tourist walking zone and was absolutely packed with people. We stopped to let the kids buy souvenirs and we each got Barcelona sweatshirts since we left jackets  in the hotel and the temperature was already dropping for the night. We were uncertain if we had enough time to go to the waterfront, so we made the shorter walk in front of the cathedral. The huge Samsung add on top was an unusual religious adornment. Walking past the stalls in front put history in perspective as people have probably been trading here for hundreds of years. Street performers provided entertainment as we met up with the larger group. There are two other small schools tours traveling with us now. About forty people total.

We made a short walk to a buffet restaurant that was the absolutely perfect thing for such a large group. Salad bar, soup, pizza, pasta, chicken, desserts. Something for everyone and quick to serve. The last two people to leave Paris, Coach and Helena, joined us there. The Treetops group was finally all together!

When we first met Gonzalo, I asked him if we could see the famous La Sagrata Familia unfinished cathedral designed by Gaudí. I knew the group that arrived on time saw it earlier in the day and it was a big priority for Sophie. Unfortunately, it’s in a different party of the city but Gonzalo was kind enough to take us there after dinner. It required a couple of subway transfers on very crowded trains. So nice to have a guide!

We emerged from the subway to an absolutely huge cathedral. Europe is conserving energy due to the war in Ukraine, so the lights weren’t on. You could still see it pretty well and there were no crowds. It was actually a great time to go. This cathedral has been under construction for the last hundred years and it was interesting to see a more modern take on a medieval building type.

We got back to the hotel close to midnight.

Wednesday Madrid to Córdoba to Seville

 

Wednesday was back on the bus for the drive to Sevilla. We stopped in the ancient city of Cordoba. This town is famous for thriving under the Moors during the dark ages and tolerating Jews and Christians. In the Middle Ages, half a million people lived here and it was considered the cultural capital of Europe. The highlight was the tour of the Mosque-Cathedral. On the same site, there was originally a Visigoth Basilica in the 6th century. Then the site was repurposed and expanded by the Moors in the 8-12th century. At the reconquista, the site was made in a Catholic cathedral. It was further expanded and the center was completely changed to look like the typical alter area. The moorish area was far and away my favorite.

After the cathedral tour we had some time for lunch on our own and shopping. Sophie and I wandered into the winding medieval streets past the tourist area and stopped at an Empanada shop, partially because we were starving by 2 pm and partially because the the counter of different pies looked so delicious.

We drove to Sevilla where we stayed in a delightful hotel. It seemed to specialize in this type of tour. It was in the outskirts of town with olive groves all around. The hotel looked like a villa and had a large cafeteria style dining room for dinner. The parents and teachers enjoyed a parent meeting with local wine.

Thursday Sevilla

 

Our first stop was the Plaza de España built for the 1929 Exposition to celebrate art and culture of countries formerly colonized. It reminds me of Fair Park with the very stylized buildings and large public spaces. Mosaics tell the story of each city in Spain. Gypsies sell fans and castanets. Beautiful public gardens surround the area.

Next we toured Pilot’s House, the house of a noble family. This was the first archeological collection and was really like a museum. It was built in the Mudejer style with moorish influences in the 16th century with the most beautiful gardens. Orange trees and bougainvillea were in full bloom.

Next was time for another cathedral tour. The Cathedral de Sevilla is the third largest cathedral in Europe. There is a large modern memorial to Christopher Columbus that they claim to be his crypt. Walked the bell tower to see the view and then all went to a restaurant for Paella lunch. This lunch was something Sophie was really looking forward to, but was just okay. Since everyone is served the same thing, we had the chicken variety rather than the more iconic seafood or rabbit. The dish was good, but was Rea just chicken with Spanish rice.

The various groups we set free for a few hours in the city and we all walked to the Setas de Sevilla. Setas means mushrooms and this is the largest wood sculpture in the world. Super super cool. After that the Treetops group further split up. Sophie and I stayed at the Seta’s to do the full tour there. For 15 euros you can take an elevator to the top and explore the roof of the structure with amazing views of the city and countryside beyond. Taking the stairs down, we also visited the Roman ruins that are preserved below. There were rooms and mosaic clearly visible. It was humbling to see that and know that people have been carrying on life there for thousands of years.

Sophie and I made our way through the bustling city, stopped in a grocery to buy some snacks (rice cakes in sun dried tomato flavor and ham flavor to take to Peter). We met the rest of the group by the Plaza del Torró by the river and enjoyed watching the walkers and rowers in the park.

Next stop- flamenco. We were driven to a theater for an amazing show. Seven dancers, a guitar and two singers put on a passionate display of this traditional dance form. Beautiful.

Dinner was at the hotel cafeteria about 10 pm; we’re living on Spanish time now.