2009 OCTOBER TOUR FROM MADRID TO THE MEDITERRANEAN

Yet again the weather was kind to us as our group travelled in "Real Spain" from the newly opened Parador at ALCALA DE HENARES, near Madrid, through the plains of La Mancha, the gorges around Cuenca, and the rural hinterland of the River Ebro to the Mediterranean coast, staying at Paradores at Toledo, Cuenca and Tortosa. We enjoyed visits to the gardens of the Palace at Aranjuez, a boat trip on the Ebro delta and a day driving through the Priorat wine region where John, our guide, lives so he planned a spectacular day including a visit to the Monastery at Poblet, a Unesco world heritage site. We ended the day with a wonderful dinner at Tortosa to celebrate two birthdays in the group and the end of our 30th tour.

View from the Parador of the "Hanging Houses" of Cuenca	Monastery at Poblet	Lunch at John's home village of Prades
Boat trip on the Delta of the River Ebro	Blessings along the way	Vineyards in the Priorat area
Old friends united - Eliseo, Miguel & John	Antonio, the Head Waiter at Tortosa presenting the paella at the farewell dinner	Parador at Tortosa
Parador at Cuenca	View from the Parador at Toledo	Cloister in the Parador at Alcala de Henares

MAP Travel in Dublin now have their own on-line booking system for Parador reservations. They give the same rates and discounts, can book flights and also offer excellent rates for car hire, so they can organise your whole holiday. They are also specialising in WEDDINGS IN PARADORES and arranging tours along the CAMINO DE SANTIAGO.

 Contact Nicole: 01 8783115 or visit their new website: http://www.maptravel.ie/index.php

2009 TOUR OF LA RIOJA & "GREEN SPAIN"

The weather was kind to us yet again as we travelled from Bilbao to La Rioja, Cantabria and Asturias in April. We stayed in 3 very different Paradores pictured below.

Parador Bernardo de Fresnedo at Santo Domingo de la Calzada in La Rioja

Parador at Fuente De in the Picos de Europa mountains

Parador at Cangas de Onis in Asturias

Lunch at Marques de Caceres bodegas in La Rioja

Storks' nest at Haro, the centre of the wine growing area.

 

Arrival at Redecilla after walking on the Camino de Santiago

 

Burgos Cathedral

Our first view of the Picos de Europa from Puerto Piedraslungas

At the top of the Picos de Europa mountains

He told us that he was heading for Everest!

Cable car from the Parador at Fuente De to the peaks

Riverside walk beside the Parador at Cangas de Onis

 

Roman bridge at Cangas de Onis

Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liebana where we received a blessing with a relic of the cross

The Basilica at Covodonga

The village of Potes

The coastal town of Ribadesella

The beach at San Vicente de la Barquera

Who is Lorna Roberts?

LORNA ROBERTS is the Irish representative of Keytel International who are the official agents in the UK and Ireland for the SPANISH PARADORES and the PORTUGUESE POUSADAS. Keytel International is also the reservation agency for many hotels in Europe and also in the USA.

Lorna has travelled extensively all over Europe, has written books about her travels and plans routes for her clients,  as well as taking small escorted groups around the Paradores.  

There are 91 Paradores in Spain, and 44 Pousadas in Portugal, many of which are located in castles, palaces, monasteries etc in the most scenic and interesting areas, while the coastal ones are generally in modern buildings in the unspoilt coastal areas.  

If you are a resident in the REPUBLIC of IRELAND, please contact our representative in Ireland for bookings at the Portuguese Pousadas:

Lorna can tell you virtually everything there is to know about the Paradores of Spain, and she will be very happy to arrange all your booking requirements (payable in Euros of course).

Throughout the year Lorna escorts small groups on 7 & 8 night holidays in Spain's "hidden corners" staying in Paradores.

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For further details please contact Lorna Roberts direct..

Ms Lorna Roberts

Barr an Bhaile

Aillebrack

Ballyconneely

Co. Galway

Telephone................+353 (0) 95 23511

Fax...........................+353 (0) 95 23539

Email................ lorna@lornarobertsholidays.com 

U.K. Telephone........................01590 610698

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CANARY ISLAND PARADORES  

On my recent visit to the CANARY ISLANDS I visited  5 Paradores on 5 islands, including Cruz de Tejeda, the new one in the centre of Gran Canaria.

This has been beautifully designed so that bedrooms and public rooms have views across the mountains. Like most of the recently opened Paradores it has a spa, gym and heated pool. 

View from the Parador at Cruz de Tejeda

In complete contrast we stayed at a simple Parador on the smallest and most westerly island of El Hierro. Almost sitting on a beach of black volcanic sand this is a hotel for peace and quiet, as the only activities in the area are trekking and diving, and the closest shops are fifteen kilometres away in the island's capital Valverde. For anyone wanting to "get away from it all" this would be paradise, but not to be recommended to those looking for a lively resort!

Parador on El Hierro

We continued to the island of La Palma (not to be confused with Las Palmas the capital of Gran Canaria, and seventh largest Spanish city). The Parador is high above Santa Cruz, the island's capital, mid-way between the port and the airport so easy to reach by air or sea. The landscaped gardens, swimming pool and sea views make this a most relaxing place to stay and the restaurant is to be highly recommended. The island is intensely cultivated with every corner being covered with terraces growing bananas, pineapples, avocados and tomatoes and the varied scenery offers plenty of scope for those who like to rent a car and explore, the highlight being the international observatories surrounded by volcanic rocks at the Roque de los Muchachos at 2462 metres (over 8000').

Gardens at the Parador on La Palma

The island of La Gomera is the most accessible of the lesser known islands as it is only a forty minute ferry journey from Los Cristianos on Tenerife. The Parador can be seen standing on a cliff above the port in San Sebastian, the island's capital. It is, perhaps the one that would have the most general appeal, as it would be a perfect base for a relaxing holiday, but for the more active the spectacular coastal scenery, small fishing villages, lush vegetation,  and the many walking routes in the central National Park are all within easy reach of San Sebastian. Car hire is inexpensive and roads are uncrowded, and there is an efficient local bus service reaching all corners of the island.

Parador on La Gomera - above the harbour at San Sebastian

Last, but by no means least, on the island of Tenerife is the unpretentious 2* Parador at Canadas del Teide,  surrounded by volcanic rocks at the foot of Mt Teide, which at 3713 metres (over 12000') is Spain's highest mountain.  The Parador is the only building in the Park so consequently is unspoilt by pollution and we were fortunate to be staying there on a Friday night when a local astronomer comes to explain the wonders of the night sky.

Parador at Canadas del Teide on Tenerife

We had stayed at five very different Paradores on five islands. We found that the people were especially friendly, the food good and accompanied by excellent local wines, the roads uncrowded and the landscapes amazingly varied. This was such a different world from the resorts of the Canaries seen in travel brochures.

On the North Coast of La Gomera                                                      Mt Teide, Tenerife                  

A more detailed version of this journey through the five islands can be found in the revised edition of "Discover Real Spain & The Paradores" - a personal collection of routes in Spain. Details in "Lorna's books" section on this website.

ESCORTED HOLIDAYS IN SPAIN'S HIDDEN CORNERS 

These holidays are designed to include some of Spain's most beautiful and lesser known landscapes. This is "Real Spain" at its best. There will be no pressure, no early morning starts, and no compulsory sightseeing. Most Paradores are less than one hundred miles apart, but on the occasional day when a longer journey is necessary we will follow the advice of the AA which is to have a break every 2 hours or every hundred miles, so there will be no exhausting long journeys. We aim to make the travelling a pleasure and organise lunch breaks in interesting places. The coach will be there to transport you from Parador to Parador, and will be on hand for optional excursions to places of interest.

For the energetic there are spectacular walking routes, for the culturally inclined there will be visits to archeological sites and museums, and for nature lovers we include Nature Reserves and National Parks.

These are value-for-money holidays which include accommodation, breakfast and dinner (most nights) including wine, coffee etc, in Spain's Parador hotels, or hotels of similar quality where there is no Parador. By following a route via Paradores the most remote and scenic regions of Spain are discovered.

DEPOSIT and INSURANCE

A non refundable deposit of 250.00 Euro per person, together with a completed booking form, should be sent to MAP Travel. When completing the booking form please advise if you have your own travel insurance. Otherwise it will be automatically added to your invoice. Should we have to cancel a tour the deposit will be refunded.

EXTRAS

There are no 'hidden' extras as all travel in the bus, drinks with dinner, porterage, restaurant tips and excursions are included. Entrance fees to Museums etc. visited on optional excursions, bar and personal bills in hotels and snacks during the day will be charged for at the time. On occasional nights we have not included dinner, to enable people to have a choice of restaurant.

PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION

Each year we hold a competition and ask people who have been on our tours to send in their 3 favourite photographs from the holiday. The winner receives a voucher for a 2-night break in a Parador, or a discount of 250 Euro on a future tour, so be sure to bring your camera.

EXCURSIONS

Journeys between hotels have been planned to see as much as possible en-route. These are dependent on weather conditions and will be changed if necessary.

GOLF HOLIDAYS

These are Parador holidays with golf, combining the relaxation and interest of our tours with golf competitions at some of Spain's finest courses. Green fees and buggies, or trolleys, are included in the price. For non golfers there are optional excursions every day.

"Bachelor" Con Cluskey will be with us again when he will organise the fun golf competitions – see golf holidays section of this website.. Those of you who have travelled with Con on our holidays will be interested to know that "I believe - the very best of the Bachelors",  a new CD recently released went straight to Number number 5 in the UK album charts and number 2 in the Irish charts…… so Ireland's first boy band is still going strong.

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For further information, or to receive a booking form contact:

Lorna Roberts Tel:: 095 23511 Fax: 095 23539

Lorna Roberts - UK   Tel and fax:  01590 610698

email:  lorna@lornarobertsholidays.com www.lornarobertsholidays.com

UK Number: 01590 610698

OR MAP TRAVEL: Tel: 01 8783115  Fax: 01 8783117    email: nicole@maptravel.ie