What a great experience
The trip started off horrible. I couldn't get my garden watering self timer to work, my dog had a GI problem, I was running around all day, and I forgot (hopefully not lost) all the euros I exchanged a week earlier. I wanted to stay home and crawl under the covers, but forged ahead into the hot Portuguese sun and it was wonderful. There was something very memorable, magical, and spiritual about every place we visited and our tour guide/director (Jorge) was phenomenal. Our group started mixing slowly, but once we found our wave we rode it all across 3 countries and all became friends and everyone seemed to have a different experience that touched them. While it was a religious faith based tour it wasn't overwhelming and we prayed the rosary on the bus, we had our moments in churches and cathedrals, and were given different options to try: for example I was submersed/bathed in the river at Lourdes which was an incredible experience. Our bus and driver, Jose, were #1. The hotels were great with some of them being a little farther from the city center, though most literally a 5-10 beautiful stroll away. There was plenty of time to eat, drink, shop, and pray. The few things that seemed to go wrong, like an unusual amount of traffic delaying up for 1/2 hour turned out to be a blessing since we were able to see St. Anthony's relics just as they were presenting them to be touched. The Sagrada Familia tour and guide were incredibly interesting and explained in such great detail that one would think he (Gonzolo) actually designed the building with Gaudi. My only complaint was that they should have given us an hour to sit and soak in the magnificence of this masterpiece of art and architecture. I would advise anyone thinking of taking this tour to book it and have not only a great and enjoyable trip, but also a spiritual journey.