“South of Spain” tour with Gate 1 Travel

My friend Pat Powers and I would like to bring to your attention what we believe to be a great bargain.

We took the 11-day “South of Spain” tour with Gate 1 Travel (101 Limekiln Pike, Glenside, PA 19038; 800/682-3333, www.gate1 travel.com), Nov. 11-21, 2006. The price, $1,211 each, included round-trip air on Air France from Washington, D.C., as well as tours of Málaga and the white town of Mijas, where we ate a great barbecue lunch at the lovely restaurant La Reja. Additional tours of Ronda, Seville, Córdoba and Granada cost a total of $296 for each of us.

We stayed in La Cala de Mijas at Gran Hotel Costa del Sol, where our spotless room had a large marble bathroom and a balcony facing the sea. The buffet dinner was not gourmet, but the food was fresh and very abundant.

Among the many highlights were the visit to Granada’s Alhambra and the magnificent Mezquita in Córdoba, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where Elena, a specialist in the history of this building, was our guide. The gothic Cathedral in Seville was another highlight. In Málaga, we toured the bullfighting ring and museum, where Alejandro was kind enough to demonstrate in detail some of the different turns of the cape.

Last, but not least, I must mention the outstanding job done by our tour guide, Mercedes Espinel del Castillo, who introduced us most graciously to the Spanish way of life and worked incessantly organizing early breakfasts and wake-up calls and every detail that makes a trip comfortable and memorable. She even offered transportation for shopping bags that had become too heavy. From the bottom of our hearts, Mercedes, thank you!

ADRIANA HUSTA

Bel Air, MD