Immersion Journeys in Italy, France and Spain

The Best of Barcelona and Andalusia

Here's a look at what we have planned, day-by-day, for our Best of Barcelona and Andalusia tour adventures this year:

DAY ONE

You will be met at the Barcelona airport by a private driver and chauffeured to our hotel in the historic center, you can see Gaudi’s Casa Milà from the roof-top terrace of our hotel. We’ll meet there for our welcome drink and get to know each other and our Barcelona local guide. We’ll have a welcome dinner that includes a fine red wine from the Rioja region.

"Gaudí considered the Gothic style imperfect, because buttresses are needed to hold up the soaring magnificence. The house of God should stand on its own. Gaudí found solutions in plant and animal forms, in hyperboloids, paraboloids, and helicoids (respectively, saddle-shaped curves, cones, and spirals). And he made use of fractals, structures that split into smaller replications of themselves, the way broccoli does." – P. J. O’Rourke, God’s Engineer (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/09/god-s-engineer/308595/)

DAY TWO

When jet lag wakes you up early this morning, we will take you for a wonderful experience of the first light of morning in the presence of the flowers, trees, and marine animals built into the Casa Mila (La Pedrera). We’ll tour the house and then have a coffee before transferring by metro to the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s monumental Basilica.

“I stare with an exalted crick in my neck at the immensities of the bell towers, swirled spires of lace made from rock…It would shake the faith back into anyone to look at Gaudí’s depiction of all creation melting in love on the Nativity facade.” - P.J. O’Rourke

We’ll have a guided tour but we’ll also give you time to “be” in the presence of the otherworld beauty of the church. For those who wish, we’ll have entrance tickets to climb the towers and view the city laid out beneath us; as well as getting some bird’s eye views of the architecture of this most amazing place. We’ll all be gobsmacked (that word comes to you from our guide, Anna in Bellagio – you may recall if you have been on the Northern Italy trip) when we walk out and we’ll head for lunch to bring our feet back to earth and our senses back to our bodies! We’ll finish the day with a visit to Park Güell.

DAY THREE

We’ll begin today with a private tour of the Palau Musica (the music hall) of Barcelona. The tour concludes with our own private 20 minute piano concert. Then we’ll take a ramble down Las Ramblas and tour the Gothic Quarter finishing with lunch in a local spot the Catalan’s love.

DAY FOUR

Sevilla… oranges, Flamenco, Moorish architecture, salmorejo, Iberian ham…Sevilla.

We’ll travel by train and when we arrive, we’ll tour the city by bus; passing by the Sevilla Cathedral and other monuments. When it was finished in the early 1500s, the Cathedral became the largest cathedral in the world, taking that place from the Hagia Sophia. We’ll stop at the Plaza de Spagna and have coffee before checking into our wonderful and tucked-away hotel. We’ll have dinner in the courtyard – weather permitting!

DAY FIVE

Market Tour and Cooking School Day! We will begin with a Market Tour and then we will continue with the Spanish Cooking Class. This is a hands-on class where we will learn how to make: Salmorejo (chilled cream tomato soup, traditional from Córdoba); Spinach with chickpeas (a classic Sevillian tapa); Paella Valenciana way (Spain's most international dish, made with chicken and vegetables), (we will prepare a separate vegetables paella for the vegetarians in the group) and lemon sorbet with cava.

Your afternoon is free to soak up the sun in Sevilla!

DAY SIX

“No other wine has the infinity of aromatic nuances that Sherry has. From hints of salinity, yeast, chamomile and green almonds in the Finos, to roasted hazelnuts and aldehydes in Amontillados and Olorosos, to raisins, figs and coffee in the Pedro Ximenez, these aromas last and last, offering an incredible and unbeatable complexity.” http://jerez-xeres-sherry.blogspot.com/2012/04/why-is-sherry-so-special.html

Today we’ll travel to Jerez de la Frontera where we’ll explore the history of Spain through the history of one of it’s most famous wines. We’ll also taste some truly outstanding Sherry that will change your expectations of this wine! Along the way we’ll have lunch in one of the local restaurants where we’ll taste the dishes local to Jerez (washing them down with…Sherry!)

Tonight we’ll experience one of the most powerful music forms, Flamenco! In the heart of Seville, we’ll watch this ancient dance and music being performed by the men and women whose passion keep it alive.

DAY SEVEN

We’ve saved this day to explore more of Seville and we’ll spend the morning touring the House of Pilatos and the Royal Palace of the Kings, the Alcazar, dating from 930 AD! Then lunch in our favorite restaurant by the river. Early to bed tonight as tomorrow we begin an amazing journey to Granada by way of Cordoba.

DAY EIGHT

“The Rio Guadalquivir was al-Andalus’s great highway, lined with tall water wheels and prosperous farms, while its barges carried the luxuries of the East up to the caliphs and their court… this valley remains the heart of the real Andalucia. Right in the center of it lies a marvel, Cordoba, a citadel of pure Andalucian duende that guards at its heart one of the most fascinating buildings on the planet.” – Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls; The Cadagon Guide ot Andalucia.

We’ll travel by bus and our first stop is Cordoba where we’ll visit the Great Mosque (La Mezquita); and walk in the medieval quarter. Lunch on your own and a bit of free time before heading off into the Sierra Nevada mountains to our final destination: Granada and the Alhambra. We’ll have dinner at our beautiful hotel before heading off to dream of the Alhambra.

DAY NINE

“The Alhambra is the only substantially intact medieval Muslim palace – anywhere” - Facaros and Pauls

We’ll spend about three hours inside the Alhambra touring the Nasrid Palaces and the Generalife gardens. Once outside the Alhambra, you are free for this last afternoon of our adventures. You may wish to visit the Albaicin neighborhood or rest up before our grand celebration dinner.

DAY TEN

This morning at 9 AM the bus will arrive to take us all back to Sevilla. You can book a late afternoon flight or a train to other parts of Spain. We’ll make one stop at the airport and one at the train station in Sevilla.

Adiós! Viajes seguros! Hasta que nos encontremos de nuevo! Tour Specifics:

Cost: The land cost of the tour is $5629.00, per person, based on double occupancy. Cash discount cost is $5,529.00 per person for payment by check or wire transfer. You may make your registration deposit using PayPal and/or your credit card and still be eligible for the cash discount cost if your final balance is paid by check or wire transfer. Single rooms are available for a supplementary charge of $800. Airfare is not included.

For those of you who travel with us often, please note that this trip is one more night than our usual itineraries!

Accommodations: 9 nights lodging in elegant, historic centrally-located hotels; (3 nights in Barcelona , 4 nights in Seville and 2 nights in Granada).

Meals: All breakfasts, one full-course meal daily, additional meals as scheduled. All meals-after breakfast! -include regional wines. We carefully choose the restaurants based on ambiance and quality of cuisine.

Wine Tastings of various Spanish varietals including a Sherry tasting in an artisanal bottega.

Transfers: All ground transportation for scheduled activities from your arrival at the Barcelona airport until the final shuttle to the airport or train station in Sevilla.

Guided Tours that provide essential background information to enhance your visits.

Admissions: Entrance fee for all planned visits to monuments, galleries and museums are included.

Small, Intimate Group: We will be limiting the number of participants to a maximum of 16.

Early Arrival/ Late Stay Options: Depending on hotel availability you may be able to arrive early or stay after the end of the tour. We'll be happy to help you make these arrangements. For trip extensions of 2 nights or less, we provide planning assistance on a complimentary basis. For extensions of 3 nights or more, there is a nominal fee of $150 to assist with trip planning including booking hotels, guides, drivers, etc.

Tour Specifics:

Tour Exclusions: Airfare; hotel city tax (usually €2-5 per person, per night; payable onsite).

Experienced Tour Leaders: We always have two amazing tour escorts our Tuscany Tour's trips. On the Best of Barcelona and Andalusia tour, these leaders may be Pam Mercer, Federica Fiscaletti, and Ben Pantani or Jaimi Albert. To find out more about these tour leaders, please have a look at our Meet the Team page: https://www.tuscanytours.com/meet-the-team/

Registration:

To reserve your place and register for this tour, please click the button to jump to the Registration Page.

There is a non-refundable deposit due of $350 per person at time of registration to secure your spot on the tour.

Please feel free to contact us via email or call us at (800) 634-3460 with any questions you may have about the tour or about traveling to Italy.

*Note: This itinerary is subject to change without notice based on availability of tour leaders and guides, opening hours of restaurants, hotels and venues.