Today we board the Voyager of the Seas in Barcelona

We will have a short tour of the city this morning before heading to the ship.  The weather has been beautiful since we arrived Paris with sunny skies and temperatures 70+.  We had our first rain this morning.  It came down hard and fast for 5 minutes, now it's back to sunny skies!

Watch out for the pick pockets

They say this is the crime capital of the world with regards to the pick pocketers.  Well, today I became a victim of this activity when they unzipped my body bag and lifted my wallet!  Dontcha just love vacation!

Thursday, October 28 Almudena Cathedral

Almudena Cathedral          (photo by Rita)

Almudena Cathedral     (Photo by Rita)

Almudena Catedral    (Photo by Rita)

After our visit to the Royal Palace, which I will post later, we visited this cathedral which is attached to the palace.  Although not as grand as the Toledo Cathedral, it is still spectacular.  This cathedral is only 100 years old and was only completed yesterday!  (1993 is yesterday compared to the age of the previous cathedral).  Again, I will post the pictures I have taken once they are converted for internet posting.

Plans for a grand new church began in the 16th century after King Philip II made Madrid the capital of Spain. But construction was constantly postponed due to various political issues and opposition from the powerful archdiocese of
Finally, in 1868, Madrid received permission from Toledo to construct a new church dedicated to the Virgin of Almudena. Construction began in 1883 based on a Neo-Gothic design. The first part to be completed was the crypt, which contains a 16th-century image of Madrid's patroness the Virgen de la Almudena.
A year later, in 1884, Pope Leo XIII created the Diocese of Madrid, giving Madrid a bishop and raising the status of the new Almudena church to a cathedral. The building plans were updated to reflect the elevated status of the building.
Construction on the cathedral progressed slowly and came to a complete halt during the civil war of the 1930s. The process began again in 1944, when the new architect introduced a Neoclassical style that would match the Royal Palace next door.
Almudena Cathedral was completed in 1993 and consecrated in person by Pope John Paul II that same year. A statue of the pope in front of the cathedral commemorates the momentous occasion. The cathedral was given another publicity boost with the sumptuous wedding of Prince Felipe and Doña Letizia in May 2004, the first such royal event in nearly a century.Toledo.

Wednesday, October 27 Toledo Cathedral, Toledo Spain

Please enjoy the following pictures.  These are not ones I took but pictures that were easily available from the internet.  My pictures will take a little more time to convert to be available for posting.


On our first full day in Spain it took about one hour by bus from our hotel in Madrid to Toledo.  Toledo was originally the capital of Spain.  This cathedral was only one, but an important one of the many sites we saw that day.


This cathedral is over 700 years old and took over 200 years to complete.  The town of Toledo has existed since 400 ad.


I have never, nor did I ever think it was possible to set foot inside something as beautiful as this cathedral.  I was so overcome with emotion I fought back tears.  I will most certainly never ever forget this experience.

Toledo Cathedral
Toledo Cathedral stands on the site of the Great Mosque of Toledo, which itself had replaced a Visigothic church. Built from 1226 to 1493, the long process is reflected in Toledo Cathedral's variety of stylesin Toledo, Spain, is ranked among the greatest Gothic structures in Europe. Inside, the cathedral contains important masterpieces including a spectacular baroque high altar and two paintings by El Greco.



In the display of art in the Sacristy, highlights include Goya's Arrest of Christ on the Mount of Olives and El Greco's Twelve Apostles and Spoliation of Christ (El Espolio). The latter, one of El Greco's earliest works in Toledo, offended the Inquisition, which accused the artist of putting Christ on a lower level than some of the onlookers. El Greco was thrown into prison, where his career might have ended had he not by this time formed friendships with some of Toledo's more moderate clergy.

There are more than 20 chapels throughout the cathedral, many of which house fine tombs. The richly decorated Capilla de Santiago, in the northeast corner of the ambulatory, contains the magnificent Gothic marble monuments of Condestable Álvaro de Luna and his wife (1488).

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We have begun our journey

This is the boring stuff.  Just getting to our hotel in Seattle for our overnight stay.  Tomorrow we will board at 1:40pm to Paris.  There are quite a few of us staying here at this hotel that are on the same trip.  Nice to know we have company and have already made new friends!  We are going to meet Teresa and Bruce for dinner tonight.  They will catch up with us in Barcelona the night we board Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas.
Well, see you all in Paris!

The situation in France has not changed much - still waiting day to day.

Air Traffic Control Strikes in France

We are watching these updates carefully.  We are not sure at this point what our travel agent will recommend, or what our options, if any, will be.

Air Transport Intelligence Agency dated October 19, 2010
Air services in France are being severely disrupted today due to a 24h air traffic controller strike, one of a series of national strikes taking place across the country to protest pension reforms.
France's civil aviation authority, the DGAC, says 50% of flights to and from Paris Orly have been canceled today, while 30% of flights to and from other metropolitan airports have also been axed.
Irish budget carrier Ryanair says it has been forced to cancel 200 flights to and from France today because of the air traffic controller strike.
The CGT union's Air France branch says it is urging members to continue strike action into tomorrow with the aim of blocking all French airports.
The continuing strike action last week closed down the pipeline supplying fuel to Paris Orly and Charles de Gaulle. The pipeline re-opened at the weekend but the DGAC said it could not rule out the possibility that it would be forced to close again.