Spain: travel video and photography

Spain

Spain's past is unique in Europe. The Visigoth kingdom, built on the ruins of the demised Western Roman Empire was run over in 711AD by the Moors. Their armies crossed the strait coming from Northern Africa and advanced all the way to Poitiers where finally were stopped in 732 AD. This date symbolizes in a way the start of, what is called in Europe, Reconquista, the recovery of the Muslim occupied territory by the Christians that ended in 1492, when the Caliphate of Granada fell, the victory being spelled by rulers of Spain, Isabella Catolica de Castilla and Fernando de Aragon. But the Muslim heritage remained and the artists from the conquered areas continued to work for the Christian kings, building marvelous palaces in the style of decoration they knew and what is labeled now as "mudejar".
But the now-a-day Spain is a miracle for the traveler; a country that 30 years ago was poor and in the grip of a stagnant dictatorship was able to remarkably develop its resources and the tourism flourishes, the cities, its facilities and the sites being remarkably preserved and maintained.
But what may impress you the most are the people with their combination of dignity and welcoming, people that enjoy life and fiestas, still having their siesta in the afternoon and sitting extremely late at night on terraces sipping sangria.

We traveled in Southern Spain, in Andalucia and Extremadura, two absolutely unique and remarkable regions.
We started in the country's capital, Madrid, and continued to Toledo, that gently slopes over the Tagus River, to Cordoba where its enchanting Mesquita is surrounded by the white houses of the old Juderia, Ubeda and Baeza, two architectural treasures of Andalucia with their 16th century Renaissance buildings and Purullena that preserve a large share of troglodyte dwellings.
Latter we stopped in Granada and visited Alhambra, and we continued south to Costa del Sol, to Malaga and Marbella, stopping for a half day in the British Gibraltar watching the monkeys that populate the rock and following the coast to Cadiz, one of the oldest harbors of Europe.
From there we return to Ronda, a charming city, and we drove through Sierras de Grazalemas to visit several of the Pueblo Blancos, old Arab villages hanging up on the mountains slopes.
We finished our Andalucian tour in Seville, visiting its impressive cathedral, Giralda and the Alcazar and we continued our travel to the beautiful cities of Extremadura, Caceres, Trujillo and Guadelupe, birthplace for most of the families that left Spain in the 16th century to conquer the New World.

Later, we returned to Spain for a visit the Catalonia's capital, Barcelona, maybe the most beautiful city of Europe, enjoying the Gaudi architecture and strolling on La Rambla, from there continuing north to visit Catalunya, to Figueras and Girona, taking a rest on the beaches of the tranquil cities of Costa Brava.

Come and watch our travel video and you'll never forget these places.