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2024 Vacation

September - October 2024
  • Russ's adventures
  • Chasing Dragonflies
Traveling to Portugal, Spain and France Read more
  • Russ's adventures
  • Chasing Dragonflies

List of countries

  • United States United States
  • France France
  • Portugal Portugal
  • Spain Spain
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Beach, Bus, Car, Couple, Family, Hiking, Sightseeing, Train, Vacation, Wellness
  • 11.5kkilometers traveled
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  • 18footprints
  • 29days
  • 313photos
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  • 2024 Vacation

    Ronda, Cartagena

    October 10, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We had a great last day in Ronda. We felt the need to move a little so we walked about 4 miles around the city. We followed the trail to the bottom of the bridge, then just wandered. Ended up entering the city walls from a different location and found the moorish quarter wete there were some Arab bath ruins.

    The iconic bridge was built in 1735 and the "new bridge" was built in 1740 because the first one didn't last.

    We left Ronda and drove to Cartagena on the coast. We passed through mountains, plains and desert. There were lots of olive groves, miles and miles of them. They turned into stone fruit groves and eventually orange groves. The mountains were rugged and beautiful.

    Cartagena is nice, no wheres as crowded as the last cities we've been in. However, at 6 pm people come out of the woodwork and hit the bars and restaurants. Saw more roman ruins...those damn Roman's were everywhere!

    Today, we head to Valencia and will spend about 4 days there. Road trip along the coast.    Read more

  • 2024 Vacation
    1

    Valencia

    October 11, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We left Cartagena to head to Valencia. We tried to follow the coast route as much as possible. It took us through some cool little towns and along scenic landscapes. One neat town was Benidorm. It had a nice beach where we stopped and put our feet in the ocean and walked along the beach for a bit.

    Back on the road, we passed through orange groves ( hence Valencia oranges) and then into rice fields. Around the rice fields, it was really hazey. Once we got closer, we realized that it was smoke from them burning the rice fields. Rice is a big deal in this area since paella was first made in Valencia.
    We had a little issue when returning the rental car, I got in the wrong lane and ended up in with the taxis, had to back up for about 50 yards before another taxi showed up to get out of that line. There is always something...

    We made it to our airbnb and met with David to check in. We're in the Cabanyal area close to the beach. This area battled the city government to stop them from putting in a road and high-rise developments in order to maintain the old buildings and homes. They won, and now it's become a trendy, cool neighborhood.

    Yesterday, we walked to the Science and Arts complex to visit the aquarium. It's the largest in Europe from what we understand. In the afternoon, we hit the beach to relax.    Read more

  • 2024 Vacation
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    Barcelona

    October 15, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Traveled to Barcelona via train. Arrived , checked in to the hotel, and then took off on a walk to the market for a snack.we are looking forward to seeing more of the city over the next couple of days.Read more

  • 2024 Vacation

    Barcelona and Montserrat

    October 16, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We traveled to a mountain area called Montserrat today. It has a monastery, with about 70 monks live today. The trip there was interesting since we took the subway system and then a little train to get up the mountain.

    We saw the black Madonna in the cathedral and learned more her in the museums they have there as well. They also have a boy's choir that people pay to see. We heard them from outside the cathedral.

    After Montserrat, we made our way to the port to see the America's Cup event going on here. There were lots of fancy yachts in the harbor. We didn't see any races but had drinks in the fan area to people watch.

    Ended up in a restaurant that Teresa found for dinner, then made our way back to the hotel.

    It was a good day.    Read more

  • 2024 Vacation
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    Barcelona and Gaudi

    October 18, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Well, the last two days have been filled with getting as much seen in Barcelona as we can. Yesterday, we walked about 10 miles total, and today was about 7 miles, all just sightseeing. This doesn't include subway travel to and from.

    We visited the Sagrada Familia cathedral designed by Gaudi yesterday, and the pictures don't do it justice, and words are hard to describe it. It was amazing. After seeing this, we walked to another Gaudi building, Casa Batllo. In fact, we walked there twice, so Teresa could see it at night.

    Todswe went to Park Guell, another thing designed by Gaudi. It was pretty cool as well. After the park, we rode the metro to the beach. We were able yo see a beach area of Barcelona and even saw two boats competing in the America's cup. Didn't understand what the heck was happening, but we saw it.

    The afternoon was spent doing laundry and packing for Paris tomorrow. Had our last meal in Spain at a place that made great pasta. Onto Paris tomorrow as we wind down our vacation. We're both looking forward to getting back home next week.    Read more

  • 2024 Vacation
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    Paris

    October 19, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We're in Paris...on the backside of our vacation now. Experienced the traffic on the way from the airport but finally got to the hotel. We dropped our bags and headed out to see what was in our neighborhood and get some lunch.

    After lunch, we relaxed for a bit, then went to the catacombs. It's a little freaky to be that close to a million peoples bones. It was a great little tour to start our days in Paris.

    Over the last two days, we've been on the go seeing the sights of Paris. Yesterday, we rode the hop on hop off bus to get a view of the whole city. Once we made a full round on the bus, we hopped off at the Arc d Triumph. Walked on the Champs d and then walked over to the Eiffle Tower. After dinner, we walked toward the Louve to view the Eiffel Tower
    Then we walked to the Louve's pyramid to see it at night. A great night in Paris.    Read more

  • 2024 Vacation
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    Paris - Day 3

    October 22, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Yesterday we spent most of the day at the Louve. I'm not the biggest museum fan, so I wasn't sure how I'd do....

    I'm happy to say it was a very cool experience. We were able to see several of the famous works of art in person (along with thousands of other people). The Louve is housed in a building that at one time was a palace. The place is huge. There are 4 wings, and each wing has 3 floors.

    We saw art and artifacts from 800 BC through the 1800s. The Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo were the most popular works. We saw some Rembrandts and other paintings from the 1600. 1700 and 1800 hundreds. One room had gigantic paintings that were pretty cool.
    We walked about 10 miles yesterday overall. Had dinner at a place that claimed to be one of the oldest bistro's in Paris, established in 1845. The food was great.    Read more

  • 2024 Vacation

    Home

    October 23, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    We made it to Portland! It was great to see our kids and our dog, Josey. Tomorrow, we'll watch Elliot's soccer game and then drive home on Friday.

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