AALP Class 17 leaves for Spain

Sadly, one class member, Bernice Weber Passchier, is ill and was unable to join us for our rescheduled International Study Tour. The rest of AALP Class 17 met at Pearson airport and boarded the plane to Philadelphia; after a short layover we were on an overnight flight to Madrid, Spain. 

Once we landed, we met up with Rafa, our bus driver, and Ismael, our tour guide. We were happy to learn that Ismael had an agricultural background and has been doing ag-focused tours for the last five years. 

The trip started with a bus tour and subsequent walking tour of Madrid, Spain's capital city. We saw many of the main attractions, including the Royal Palace, multiple plazas with different purposes and Kilo Zero, the center of Spain, and stopped for lunch at a market.

From there, we headed to the historic city of Toledo and checked in to our hotel in the old part of the city. We met up with a local tour guide, Nando, and set out on a two-hour walking tour of the old city. They city has a lot of old buildings built by Muslims under Christian rule. It was interesting to learn how the power has shifted over the years. After the tours, we went tback to our hotel for a late dinner (common in Spain!) and most of us called it a day.