#25: Madrid (pg 271, 2nd Ed pg 266)

Sept. 25, 2009. Welcome to Madrid! Plaza Mayor, completed in 1619.
Dave in Plaza Oriente.

Plaza Oriente.

Casa Botin boasts being Spain's oldest restaurant.

The Palace. We paid 8Euros per person to go inside and it was well worth the money! It was absolutely amazing to go on this self-guided tour of the Palace. It was finished in 1764 and has ~2800 rooms including, my favorite, a Stradiveri room which displayed 5 Stradivarius violins/viola/cellos. Very cool!

The courtyard outside the Palace.

One more shot outside before hitting the streets of Madrid again!

The beautiful Madrid LDS Temple. Dave was serving his mission when this temple was built and dedicated and got to be here for the dedication, so it is near and dear to his heart. I'm so glad I got to see it with him!

El Retiro Park. Reason enough to fall in love with Madrid!

Outside the Prado.

And no trip to Madrid is complete without a tapas crawl! So, that is how we spent our last night in Madrid.

Verdict: Absolutely loved it. So beautiful and so much to do!

#24: Museu Picasso (pg 267, Listed as Ciutat Vella in the 2nd Ed, pg 260)

Sept. 18, 2009. After arriving in Barcelona at 8:30am, we checked in our hotel and our first stop was the Museu Picasso.
Quaint and beautiful Montcada Street (location of Museu Picasso).

There is a beutiful airy courtyard inside the museum.

Verdict: Again, I'm not a huge museum person, but this is Barcelona's most visited museums, so we felt we should go. And once we got there, the line was wrapped around out the door and down the street, so it must be worth seeing! It is the largest assemblage of Picasso works with approximately 3,600 Picasso paintings, drawings, engravings, etc.

Note:  I think it was a move in the right direction to make the Museum Picasso part of a more general entry in the 2nd Edition, listed the whole Gothic Quarter.  I'm not sure it's a "must do in the world before you die", but it's definitely a "must see while in Spain" experience.

#23: Catalan National Art Museum

Sept. 2009. The beautiful Catalan National Art Museum.
The fountain leading up to the Museum puts on a show at night. We went to it, and it was very fun. It's all different colors and set to music.

We took this from the front steps of the Museum overlooking the beautiful city.

Verdict: I'm not a huge museum person, but at the very lease you've got to see this building (the National Palace) from the outside and enjoy the fountain show at night! (Page 266)

#22: Seville (pg 258, 2nd Ed pg 250)

A look over the beautiful city of Seville (Sevilla). Notice the bull-ring in the middle of the picture.
This isn't a great picture because of the shadows, but it's the only picture that exists of just the two of us during this trip when we met. Here we are on top of a bus in Seville driving around, seeing the sights and enjoying the beautiful weather.

This is a picture of the inside of the Giralda Cathedral, the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world and the (supposed) sight of Christopher Columbus's burial. Pretty impressive!

Here I am with my sister in front of Christopher Columbus's tomb.

Dave, at one of the many confessionals.

After visiting Giralda Cathedral, we headed over to the gardens of Alcazar.

The next morning, we decided to do some shopping. This was taken inside one of the many Spanish fan shops.

And one last stop before leaving Seville -- relaxing in the courtyard of the Plaza de Espana.

Verdict: Loved it!

#21: La Mezquita (pg 256, 2nd Ed pg 245)

Nov. 23, 2004. I love blogging about my first trip to Spain because this is where I met my husband. Here I am with my sister, Maret and my now husband, Dave inside La Mezquita in Cordoba, Spain. We have now been married for over 5 years, but in this picture, we only just met 3 days prior.
Unfortunately, yet another pre-digital camera post. But hopefully you can still get a sense of the beautiful architecture inside this building. It is famous for all the red and white archways throughout the interior. It has 900 columns which are topped by these arches and it is really a sight to see. As 1000 Places to See Before You Die states, it is " one of Europes' most breathtaking examples of Spanish Muslim architecture." At the time we visited, the cost was 6.5 Euros.

Verdict: So, I wouldn't travel to Andalucia just to see La Mezquita. But as long as you're in Andalucia (see the Alhambra, etc), you might as well!

#20: Rijksmuseum

August 26, 1999: We visited Netherlands' most famous museum, Rijksmuseum. Rijksmuseum is filled with works from Rembrandt, Vermeer and more. The most famous work is shown here, The Night Watch, by Rembrandt van Rijn from the 1642. It is a massive piece of art and has a grand hall all to itself. Definitely a sight to behold!
My ticket stub.

Verdict: If you enjoy art, history, culture or just think it's cool to see something in person that you saw in all your Humanities books, the Rijksmuseum is not to be missed. If however, you are not into any of those things.... you could probably die without seeing this :)

#19: Canal Cruise (pg 240; Listed as Amsterdam in 2nd edition, pg 227)

August 25, 1999: Here we are on a Canal Cruise in Amsterdam. There are 102 canals in the Netherlands, but only 3 main canals. The canals divide the country into 92 artificial islands and are all lined with houseboats.

Verdict: A great way to see Amsterdam! Especially in the summer!

#18: Venice (pg 231, 2nd Ed pg 217)

Aug. 28, 1999: Monique, Kelli and I arrived in Venice. Here we are in St. Mark's Square.
St. Mark's Basilica

We visited a famous glass-blowing factory.

And, of course, no trip to Venice is complete without a gondola ride!

The ride is absolutely beautiful, going under bridges and seeing beautiful scenery. This is a picture of Mozart's home. As 1000 Places to See Before You Die states, gondolas are "the most enjoyable and romantic way to see the hidden corners of this unique city whose streets are filled with water."

Feeding the birds.....

The view of Venice as we sailed away.

Verdict: We only spent one day in Venice, but I thought that was plenty. Absolutely worth seeing with plenty of things to do to fill a day or two, but we felt ready to move on to other European sites after one fun-filled day!

#17: Florence (pg 212; 2nd Ed pg 203)

Aug. 31, 1999: Florence, Italy. Florence is located in Tuscany and is probably most famous for Michaelangelo's David statue (this is a replica - the original is housed inside the Galleria Dell'Accademia; it has been there since 1873) and "The Dome", officially known as "Il Duomo."
Here we are enjoying a delightful lunch in one of many outside cafes.

Il Duomo. It was originally designed in 1296, but consecrated in 1436.

Overlooking the beautiful city.

Verdict: Well, if you happen to be in Italy, go to Florence. There is obviously a lot of rich history and culture here. However, in my opinion, Florence is a "been there, done that" kind of city and I wouldn't go to Italy just to see Florence. I would make it as part of an Italian trip or a European trip, which is fortunately what we did. 

Update:

So, in 1999 I chalked Florence up to a "been there, done that" city.  And yet, here I am 23 years later visiting again.  I am exactly twice the age from the last time I was here.  And my 46 year old self looks at Florence much differently than my 23 year old self did.

We walked all around the Cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiori and did the Rick Steves "Florence - A Renaissance Walk" audio tour.

We got up close and personal with Brunelleschi's famous octagonal dome - the symbol of Florence.

Piazza Della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio

We wandered the halls of the Uffizi Galleries where we saw countless world-famous pieces including Botticelli's Allegory of Springtime

And Birth of Venus.

The Tribuna room which holds pieces that are so famous, so priceless that nobody is allowed inside and the pieces can only be observed from three separate viewing door/openings. 

We ate delicious food.

And went to The Accademia to see Michelangelo's David.

Last time I was here, my 23-year old poor college student self looked at the David replica out in the main square and "called it good" in order to save money.

This time, I went in and saw the real thing.  And it was spectacular.

So now I'm changing my Verdict. Maybe it depends on your age or stage of life that you experience Florence.  It obviously did for me.  So maybe if you're 23, you can pass Florence by.  But if you're older and wiser, you should absolutely go and soak in all this beautiful one of a kind city has to offer.