Spain
I thoroughly enjoyed the relaxed lifestyle in Spain. Three-hour lunches, siestas in the late afternoon, dinner around ten or eleven, and out until the wee hours of the morning—a routine we easily settled into. We started in Valencia, traveled up to Barcelona, and ended our trip, after visiting Morocco, in Madrid.
Spain has a rich and varied history. Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans all settled here. Following them were the Visigoths and the Muslims, who ruled over much of the Iberian Peninsula from the 700s to around 1000. In that time, the Arab influence became part of the Spanish culture in the al-Andalus emirate. Early in the second millennium, the Crusades drove the Muslims out and aligned Spain with the rest of Europe and its royalty.
