The Second Half of Southwest in March

Continuing from the last post, here are some of the photographs from the second half of my trip in March.

A cool looking fountain with floating oranges in Cordoba, Spain.

An external wall of the Cordoba's Moorish architectual wonder, La Mezquita.

A few shots of La Mezquita's forest of columns and candy-striped double arches.

The courtyard of my hostel in Cordoba, a typical style for older buildings of the city.

Granda, Spain

Two looks of the refreashing gardens of Granda's former Moorish palace, the Alhambra.

The tomb in which allegedly rest the remains of Christopher Colombus in the cathedral of Seville, Spain.

A side chapel of Seville's cathedral.

Seville, Spain

One of the many antique trolleys that clangs through the hilly streets in the old town of Lisbon, Portugal.

Lisbon's old castle the overlooks the modern city.

Several views in Lisbon.

Inside the church of the Jeronimos Monastery, which stands in the Lisbon neighborhood of Belem.

The monastery's cloister.

Shadows created from one of the cloister's arched windows.

Belem Tower on the Tagus River.

A boat passing the tower.

A couple strolls past the monument to the great Portugese explorer Vasco da Gama in Belem.

The town of Sintra once served as a secluded place of escape for the royalty and the rich of Lisbon.

Sintra still manages to attract its share of visitors.

The gardens inside the main train station of Madrid, Spain.

Renting paddle boats in this Madrid park seemed to be a popular activity on a Sunday afternoon.

I, however, spent most of my time at the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, one of Spain's most famous bull fighting arenas.

The matador and the bull.

Views of the "fight."

Giving the final blow to the bull.

A view in the Medieval Spanish city of Toledo.

Toledo, Spain

I returned to Cordoba for a day in order to visit with another friend from my first year in Eichstätt, Olga.

After Madrid I made my way to France and stayed with a friend in the town of Fountainebleau. Naturally we managed to spend at least one day in Paris.

My attempt at cooking French crepes.

French cheeses at the Sunday market of Fountainebleau.

The Chalet of Fountainebleau. It was from here where Napoleon bade adieu to France before entering exile.

The Forest of Fountainebleau, a well-known natural setting in France.

The Forest is also known to rock climbers.

Learning of this beforehand, I made a point to bring my climbing shoes along.

A few of the thousands of bottles we saw on our tour of a champagne cellar.

The smiling angel of Reims' cathedral.

A couple views of Place Stanislas in Nancy, France.

After Nancy I returned to Eichstätt in time for one night's rest before my parents arrived for their visit.