If you've missed it, my Facebook group, Travelers Tell All (yes, please join), has been running tournaments to keep ourselves amused while we can't travel. We first decided what the best city in the world was, then the best US national park, and then the best man-made wonder. Now it's time for the best museum.…
Editor's note: I find myself, to no surprise, so envious of the travels of others when they are to exotic locations I haven't yet had the chance to see. Here is another amazing story from Sam Spector. To read the rest of his stories here on The Royal Tour, visit his page here. Often when…
Love him or hate him; there seems to be little room for opinions between those extremes when it comes to Antoni Gaudi, the architect who is more closely identified with transforming a single city than anyone perhaps since Sir Christopher Wren and his additions to London's skyline. When visiting Barcelona, it is impossible not to…
It's such a contrast to pretty much everything else I've seen in Spain, a country with so much history. The palaces and monuments of Seville and Granada seem to be a world away here in Valencia; the complex I am currently standing in is so ultra-modern that is seems less European and more Saturnian, like…
So you've come to Granada to see the Alhambra. You spent a day touring the incredible site, one of the finalists for the seven new wonders of the world, and maybe even watched the sun set from one of the view points in the city to see it glow in the twilight. Tomorrow you'll wake…
For Americans visiting Spain, Barcelona and Madrid seem the focal points. Both are amazing destinations, but seeing only those two cities misses my personal favorite city in Spain: Seville. The capital of Andalusia is one of the cultural highlights of all of Europe, a mid-sized city, easy to explore and with more to do than…
Spain is awesome. Let's start with that. Pretty much anywhere you go will be amazing, based on my experience. But for most Americans, a trip to Spain is to Barcelona or Madrid. Both cities are wonderful - check out my Madrid guide here and tune in later for some rad Barcelona content - but they…
One of the things I was excited for on my recent trip to Seville, a stunningly beautiful city in Andalusia in the south of Spain, was exploring its Jewish heritage. The city had a Jewish population dating from at least the sixth century, and walking tours of the old Jewish quarter are widely available. In…
Like so many other things in this beautiful southern Spanish city, it appears disjointed at first, three distinct parts, none seeming to match the others, but all coming together in an imperfect perfection that just makes sense. It is an experience that matches the spirit of Seville just as jazz does for New Orleans, capturing…
Portugal's capital has beckoned me for years. Called by the sea, the hills, the food, and the sounds of the language, it has been at or near the top of my travel wish list for as long as I've had one. Now, after spending a month living and exploring Lisbon, I am able to share…