Cordoba, Spain

After Consuegra, we drove for about 2 1/2 hours until we arrived in Cordoba.  We arrived there at about midnight and were happy to sleep in soft beds.  We had an early start on Friday, May 10th because we had a lot we wanted to see.  

The Mezquita, or Mosque-Cathedral

Consuegra

After leaving Toledo, we continued south, heading to Consuegra.  The only thing that we wanted to see there was the famous windmills from the famous novel Don Quixote by Cervantes.  I was afraid that we wouldn't see them with our late start, but actually we saw them just before the sun went down, and consequently a beautiful sunset was the background for many of our pictures.

Toledo...(Again)

We finally left Madrid around 6pm on Thursday May 9th.  That was later than we expected, so we didn't have as much time to see some of the other places we wanted to show my parents.  So we did a quick little tour of the old city by car this time, and of course we wanted to show them the spectacular views of Toledo.

La Plaza de Toros, Madrid

Thursday May 9th was our last day to really see things in Madrid.  We backed our bags--in preparation for our southern Spain trip and then home to the USA.  We only had time to see one thing.  We hadn't quite decided what we were going to do and then we walked slower than we thought and we missed a couple of metro trains and yeah...it was one of those days.  

But we did get to see the Plaza de Toros, the bullring there in Madrid.  

Reina Sofia Museum and Madrid Train Station

Wednesday May 8th, my dad ventured out to El Escorial and Segovia, and then to the cities that we had seen the day before.  We hadn't bought any souvenirs and Dad was willing to go again.  When he got back to Madrid, he and I went to the Reina Sofia Museum.

Avila...(Again)

After a few hours in Salamanca, we made our way to Avila.  

Salamanca, Spain

After Burgos, we headed back to Madrid.  We arrived after midnight and were pretty worn out.  We had Sunday to rest, but then Monday we had more to do.  I did laundry and grocery shopping.  My parents went on the Madrid City Bus Tour.  Since Glenn and I had already done that, and because we were pretty tired, we didn't join with them.  They had a good time and saw most of Madrid.  They had much better weather than we had when Cheryl was visiting with us.  So that was good.

The next day, Tuesday May 7th, we took a day trip out to Salamanca.  It took us about 2 hours to get there.   We enjoyed the scenery as we drove there too.  I guess all that rain that we had in March turned the landscape all across Spain very green. 

I won't complain about that!

Burgos, Spain

Our original plans hadn't included Burgos, but as we read more about it in our guide book, we decided to stop there.  It was on our way and we would need a place to eat dinner anyway.  And we were so glad we stopped here!  The cathedral was absolutely amazing!  

The Pyrenees Mountains

After spending Saturday morning (May 4th) at the beach in France, 

we headed back into Spain.  

The Atlantic Ocean

After all of our Roman sight-seeing in Nimes, we drove and drove and drove to the west coast of France.  We stayed in a hotel there and then in the morning--Saturday May 4th--we went to the beach to dip our feet into the Atlantic Ocean!  It seemed incredible that just two days earlier we had been at the Mediterranean Sea.  We put a lot of miles on our rental car, that's for sure!

After checking out of the hotel--we were getting used to that--we bought some French pastries and ate them on the beach.  Mom stayed in the car--she wasn't feeling well--but the rest of us braved the cold water and the sand.

Nimes, France

Friday May 3rd we spent in Nimes.  Nimes is a very old city in France and has been inhabited for thousands of years.  The Romans were there and built many large structures that are still around today.  And those were our main focal points of the day.  

Jardins de la Fontaine

This was not a Roman creation, but was built in the 18th century on the recently discovered ancient site.  It was very much French in its creation--the statues and vases. 

It was so green and beautiful!

Pont du Gard

After walking around Avignon, we drove out to Site Pont du Gard (still on May 2nd).  

It is the Roman aqueduct of Nimes out in the countryside that is very well preserved.  

Avignon, France

After taking forever on the road in Cannes, we made our way to Avignon.  We parked outside the old city walls, and then walked around inside the old city.

Cannes, France

Thursday May 2 started out pretty nice for me.  Paul had woken up early to get me a couple presents for my birthday.  He got me caramels--I LOVE caramel!  He also got me a corsage.  (And of course he got all of us some yummy pastries for breakfast.)

Italy

After our short visit to Monaco, we continued across country lines into Italy. 

Monaco

Still on Wednesday May 1st, we made our way into the city/state of Monaco.

More Mediterranean Coastline Driving

We continued our drive along the Mediterranean Coast...on our way to Monaco and then to Italy.  

We really enjoyed the beautiful views.  And seeing the beautiful homes and gardens, I think we all agreed that we could live there.  Now I know why so many people DO live here--it's absolutely gorgeous!

Nice, France

Wednesday, May 1st we had in Nice.  In the morning, Paul, Glenn and I went walking around to find a patisserie to get some yummy pastries for breakfast.  But shop after shop was closed.  We couldn't figure out why but then we remembered that it was le Premier Mai, of May Day.  We then went back to the hotel, got Mom and Dad and went driving around the city.  Mom had lived here 50 years ago when she was a little girl.  Her Dad, Grandpa Thibault had been called on a Church-Building Mission for the LDS Church and they lived there for 3 years.  We found a parking spot near one of the schools that Mom attended and went walking around.  

Marseille, France

After seeing Carcassonne, we continued to drive along the Mediterranean Sea to a small town near Marseille, which was called Bouc Bel Air.  Our hotel was pretty nice.  It looked like it was at an old estate.

Carcassonne, France

We arrived in Carcassonne, France on Sunday evening.  We checked into the hotel and then went looking for dinner.  How different things were in France.  We were so used to having restaurants open really late for dinner in Spain.  In France we were lucky to find the one that we did!  It was a bit more expensive than we normally would go for, but we did experience some fine French cuisine.