Central Synagogue Journey to Spain

• Depart the United States.

• Arrivals at Madrid International Airport.
• Group transfer and individual transfers to the hotel.
• Afternoon Panoramic Tour of Madrid by bus, passing sites such as the Retiro Park, Puerta de Alcala, Salamanca neighborhood, Las Ventas Bullring, Real Madrid´s Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid´s most famous fountains (Neptune & Cibeles) and Castellana Avenue.
• Visit the Prado to explore the masterpieces of artists such as Velazquez, Goya, Bosch, Rubens, Titian, and other great European painters, and the Green Wall, right across from the Prado.
• Continue with a walk of the Literary Quarter of Madrid: the center of the Spanish Golden Age of writing & temporary home to Cervantes, Lope De Vega or Quevedo. Its winding, charming cobblestone streets are engraved with quotes of famous authors, quaint shops, literary plaques and streets named after famed writers
• Chance to rest and get settled.
• Festive Group Welcome Dinner and Trip Orientation at a Madrid restaurant.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Depart for Segovia, a UNESCO World Heritage site, chosen as such due to its preservation of complex historical realities of medieval Spain.  Explore the well-preserved Roman and Medieval remains that testify to Segovia as a center of both tolerance among religions as well as a major manufacturing center.  The visit will include:
• The Jewish Quarter:
• A walk through what once was the Jewish Quarter, with visits and views of buildings that housed many of the community synagogues and homes of communal leaders
• Visit the Corpus Christi Convent, which was once the Major Synagogue of Segovia
• Conclude the visit to the Jewish Quarter with a visit to the Jewish Cemetery, just outside the city walls
• Lunch on own in the area of the Segovia Plaza Mayor.
• Explore Medieval Segovia, another UNESCO World Heritage site including:
• The Roman Aqueduct, considered by many to be the best preserved in the world
• The Gothic Cathedral of Segovia, located in the Plaza Mayor
• The Alcazar Castle of Segovia, shaped like the bow of a boat, is one of the most famous in Spain due to its size, shape and location, and serves today as the Museum of Segovia
• Return to Madrid, with time to prepare for Shabbat.
• Kabbalat Shabbat with the Reform community in Madrid (Communidad Judia Reformista de Madrid), followed by group Shabbat dinner with members of the community.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Stroll the main streets of Madrid’s oldest quarter, the original site of Madrid, called “Austrias,” with its small plazas and narrow streets.
• Visit the Plaza de la Villa, home to City Hall and the 15th-century Tower of Los Lujanes, the site of the original Arab shuk of Madrid.
• Lunch on own.
• Then we visit the 17th century Plaza Mayor, the center of historic Madrid, sight of festivals and bullfights, but also the place where Jewish history marks the great trauma of the many auto-da-fe’s (public penance, followed by burning at the stake) that took place at this site.
• Continue to the grounds of the impressive Royal Palace, the official residence of the King of Spain.
• Late Afternoon Discussion: The Meaning of 1492 and the Relationship Between Christianity, Islam, and Judaism with Scholar, Marc Michael Epstein. (Placement of this discussion in the itinerary TBD)
• Free time to rest, followed by Havdallah and a free evening, with dinner on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out of the hotel, drive to Toledo.
• Guided visit of the Old City of Toledo and capture a sense of the glory that was built on a convergence of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, taking in the Jewish Quarter, the Shmuel Halevi statue and El Transito, the Shmuel Halevi Abulafia Synagogue, which was turned into a church, known as Nuestra Senora del Transito, the Sephardic Museum, and the Santa Maria La Blanca Church, formerly the Grand Synagogue.
• Group lunch at La Fabrica de Harinas.
• Visit the El Greco Museum, dedicated to the famous painter, who influenced 17^th-century Toledo.
• Visit the grand Toledo Cathedral.
• Proceed to the hotel and check in.
• Group dinner at the hotel and interim discussion (TBD) followed by a free evening.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out.
• Drive to Ubeda
• Visit the old Jewish quarter, including the Synagoga del Agua, with lunch on own.
• Continue to Granada, the last stronghold of the Moors before it fell to Isabella and Ferdinand in 1492.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Group dinner at a local restaurant.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out.
• Depart hotel.
• Visit the Alhambra Palace and Generalife Gardens.
• Lunch on own en route.
• Visit the Albaycn, the old Moorish neighborhood, with its narrow streets and beautiful white houses, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Guided visit to the Realejo, the former Jewish Quarter and the site of the original town bearing the name Garnata al-Yahud.  Continue to the statue of Samuel ben Yehudah ibn Tibbon, translator of the Kuzari and the Guide for the Perplexed.  Explore the streets and traditional neighborhood, which have no remains of the Jewish community but a host of legends.
• Stop for a brief visit of the “Jewish Necropolis” of Lucena, regarded as the largest on the Peninsula.
• Drive to Cordoba, home town of Moses Maimonides (the Rambam) and the capital of the Moorish Kingdom of al-Andalus and check in to the hotel.
• Group dinner at a Sephardi restaurant in Cordoba, with traditional Andalusian music.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out.
• Depart hotel.
• Program at Casa de Sefarad, dedicated to the history of the Sephardic Jews in Cordoba and Spain prior to the Inquisition and the expulsion of 1492. Possible meeting with the people responsible for the creation of this private historical project in the Jewish Quarter, with a presentation focused on Ladino music.
• Explore the Jewish Quarter inhabited by Jews since the year 840, including Plaza Tiberias and the Yehuda Halevi Square. View the statue of Maimonides and visit the small Moorish-styled building known as the Maimonides Synagogue.
• Visit Cordoba’s famous Cathedral-Mosque and the Mezquita, dating from 785 AD, with its 1,000 colored columns.
• Lunch on own.
• Stroll through the restored heart of Cordoba, one of the largest medieval quarters in Europe.
• Drive to Seville.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Dinner on own and free evening in Seville. (possible brief lecture on Role of Jews in the Development of Navigation Cartography and Astronomy, with Marc Michael Epstein.
• Check out the views from Las Setas.
• Evening stroll on the Triana Bridge.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Visit the Santa Cruz neighborhood, formerly Seville’s Jewish Quarter, once known as La Juderia, with its winding alleyways and remnants of Jewish life found within the contemporary city, including a Jewish Heritage walking tour with Moises Hassan.
• Tour the beautiful Alcázar Palace, followed by visits to the Seville Cathedral, the burial place of Christopher Columbus, and La Giralda, a 12th-century bell tower that became a symbol of the city.
• Lunch on own
• Concluding conversation with Marc Michael Epstein. (or in Barcelona)
• Attend a Flamenco performance, followed by a Flamenco workshop with the musicians and dancer.
• Proceed to the hotel and check in.
• Group dinner at a local restaurant and “farewell” to those leaving in the morning.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out of the hotel.
• Transfer to the airport for the flight to Barcelona or connecting flight to the United States.

Continue on extension to Barcelona or return to the United States

Extension to Barcelona

• Arrive in Barcelona and start with a panoramic bus tour of the city beginning at Montjuic (The Mountain of the Jews), including a view over the entire city.
• Meander through the city’s streets and avenues to Sagrada Familia for a guided visit of Gaudi’s unfinished masterpiece, considered one of the world’s awe-inspiring, unique places of worship.
• Lunch on own.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Kabbalat Shabbat and Group Shabbat Dinner at the Bet Shalom Progressive Jewish community of Barcelona

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Depart hotel by foot.
• Begin the day with a walk along La Rambla, Barcelona’s historic promenade.
• Just off La Rambla, encounter La Boqueria, the world-famous market of Barcelona.
• Continue with a guided walk through the Gothic Quarter and then the ancient Jewish Quarter, with a synagogue that some historians date to the third century.
• Picasso in Barcelona, visit the Picasso Museum, followed by a visit to some of Picasso’s favorite haunts.
• Free time in Barcelona, with lunch on own.
• In the late afternoon, optional visit to the Barceloneta Beach.
• Havdallah together and dinner on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive for a full-day tour to Girona and Besalú.
• Walk through the restored Call, what was once Girona’s old Jewish neighborhood, and continue to the Bonastruc ca Porta, a center of Jewish life and culture.
• Drive to the medieval city of Besalú and visit the Medieval Mikveh, ritual bath, which has become one of Spain’s most significant sites of Jewish heritage.
• Return to Barcelona with free time for last-minute shopping and personal exploration.
• Processing discussion and festive farewell dinner.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Free time for Barcelona exploration. (Depending on flight times)
• Transfer to Barcelona Airport for the return to the U.S.