Spain & Portugal 2000 - 2007

Madrid is studded with riches from its glory days. We tour the lavish Royal Palace, enjoy art-packed museums, and look deep into Picasso's greatest masterpiece. Experiencing Madrid at its fun-loving best, we're mesmerized by flamenco dancers and munch on pigs' ears. Then, for a dose of Spain's dramatic history, we side-trip to El Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen.

Castille sparkles with Roman Segovia, walled Avila, student-filled Salamanca, and holy Toledo! We marvel at El Greco, pop some explosive pickles, and ramble Spain's most awe-inspiring medieval walls. Then, just for fun, we drop in on a bachelorette party with local troubadours, slice and savor tasty jamon, stroll with the crowd, and grab a front-row seat to enjoy Europe's most enchanting square.

Sevilla is the flamboyant city of Carmen and Don Juan. It's where bullfighting is still politically correct and where little girls dream of growing up to become flamenco dancers. Sevilla has soul — and we feel it in its lacy Moorish palace, massive cathedral, lavish royal tombs, labyrinthine Jewish quarter, and its people-filled streets. After munching tasty tapas, we head south for Andalusia's ultimate whitewashed hilltown, Arcos de la Frontera.

Here in southern Spain, we explore Granada's Alhambra — Europe's last and greatest Moorish palace, and we soak up the sun on a Costa del Sol beach. As we check out Gibraltar, a last vestige of the British Empire, we feed the legendary monkeys at the Rock of Gibraltar. Finally, a day trip to Africa takes us to Tangier where we plunge into the exotic, packed-tight markets and streets of old Morocco.

Experiencing the best of Portugal, we start in Lisbon, a ramshackle mix of glorious old and fun-loving new. Salty sailors' quarters and wistful Fado singers mix with ornate architecture to recall the glory days when Vasco da Gama and Magellan made Portugal a world power. After a uniquely matador-brutalizing Portuguese bullfight, we head for the south coast of your travel dreams — the Algarve. We explore the Land's End of Europe — windy and historic Cape Sagres before savoring pristine beaches and arm-wrestling octopi in the sleepy fishing village of Salema.

Leaving Lisbon for the countryside, we eat barnacles in a salty old fishing town, march with pilgrims on the anniversary of a miracle, ponder the local Romeo and Juliet, sample university life, and rummage through the riches of Portugal's Golden Age.