Toledo ++ Toledo is under UNESCO Heritage, the WHOLE city. So its kind of nice to see most of the town like it was then. Of course, there have been some major changes, but it still looks...not-like-a-modern town from afar. No skyscrapers, no metal buildings etc etc.

I like their road there, its all cobblestones...

Plus, even vehicles can drive through 'walkway', so there is no clearcut ROAD when cobblestones are involved.

Toledo ++ Sword Shop ++ I thought swords were history, only reality in Hollywood. But hey, Toledo's famous for their smithing! The swords look great, cause I've never seen anything like those in Singapore. Some were copies of swords held by famous people. Don't know if the design is real, but who cares? Other than 'western' swords, they also have 'eastern' swords. Yep! Short Japanese swords and katanas (if I'm not mistaken). These metals have heavy prices on them, so pictures will suffice.

P/S : The rapier there looks real cool.

Portugal ++ Fatima ++ A frontal view of the whole area.

Portugal ++ Fatima ++ Inside the Basilica ++ 3 big organs. I went to the basilica when they has Mass. The FIRST real catholic mass in my 16 years. Theres this part which kind of surprised me. The guy leading the mass said something in Portugese and then everyone started moving towards each other and kiss each other's cheeks, not direct, but the action. My mom and I were standing at the back, so we didn't expect much attention. But there was this Portugese lady who went us to us and kissed our cheeks. Of course we did 'reciprocate' her actions, but I really didn't expect anyone to come up to strangers this easily. Probably she thought we were of the same religion, which made us not strangers, despite having yellow skin, black hair and brown eyes. The whole day, I was kind of happy, so be actually approached by a stranger (for the good reasons) and I didn't actually 'stone' but 'reply' to her action.

Portugal ++ Fatima ++ The place where Mary apparated. Apparently Mary instructed the children to have a small chapel to be built. Many people now come here to pray, to pray for a miracle.

An interesting thing is, during Mary's apparitions, she revealed 3 secrets to the children. Only the first 2 are known, the last shrouded with mystery.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Secrets_of_Fatima]

Portugal ++ Fatima ++ One great place. My mom's catholic friend recommended her to go there, she said the aura of the place was kind of sacred and gave people a peace of mind. Maybe I'm too young to really understand those stuff, but yeah, it IS a holy place. Afterall, its one of the most famous places where Mary apparated.

The tall building on the left is Fatima's basilica, where the 3 children who saw Mary's apparition were buried.

Francisco and Jacinta Marto, Lucia dos Santos.

Only Lucia lived to an old age. The other 2 died young.

Portugal ++ Lisbon ++ Some street, I forgot what. We had to travel by their underground train, and it was kind of cool. People were using their 'ezlink' (okay, so thats not the real name) cards and we bought 2 way tickets with the help of an operator, we went as a group by the way. It was nighttime when we realised that the large electric christmas tree was switched on, so we stopped to take a few shots. The arches were kind of pretty too.

Portugal ++ Lisbon ++ Jeronimo’s Monastery ++ Didn't spend much time here as it was closed =(. I remember it has some desgins on it that concerns sea travels...>.<. Instead of wasting our time doing nothing, we decided (the whole group) to eat the famous PORTUGESE EGG TARTS. And YES, it was DELICIOUS. The tarts just came popping out from the oven endlessly and people grabbed them when they were piping hot. Its GREAT. The cafe's (Pasteis de Belem) has great coffee too. The tart is great, they have other pastries as well...=)

Seville ++ Plaza de España ++ I remember it as some exhibition of countries and Spain was hosting it. 1929? We spent the most time at Spain's (duh). It featured all the states in the country and pictures that depict the most significant event. (1st picture's an example).

This place is really huge, even some horse rides(?!) to go round the plaza.

Seville ++ Distance away from Church of Seville ++ Thats the bell tower in the far distance. It was HERE, that I tasted my first and my last, strong Sangría, which is (from Wikipedia, again) a wine punch (more formally and precisely, a fortified wine) which originated in Portugal and Spain. The word sangria comes from the Spanish "sangre" meaning blood. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangria]

Okay, so some couple bought a jar, cause on day one of the trip, the tour guide recommended us to try Sangría everywhere we went. It was kind of mild in Barcelona, so everyone didn't expect much...till that day. It was so STRONG! Extremely fruity and STRONG. I think if I finished the jar, it might be my last jar. As far as I can remember, I drank glasses of it in Madrid, I went very pink, but SOBER.

Seville + Church of Seville (Interior) ++ GOLD. Yea, I sure hope its real. I didn't really take notice of their significance, but they look important, haha.

Seville + Church of Seville (Interior) ++ Okay, the main part where people sit down and pray. This whole thing is gold, and I believe it, cause religions can do such stuff. The whole piece depicts Jesus and his life I guess. This is is MASSIVE, HUGH, EXTRAORDINARY. Its amazing.

Seville + Church of Seville (Interior) ++ Organs, who can leave out organs in a cathedral such as this? These are large ones. All it needs is one player I think. Behind the 'gates' are seats, for whom, I'm not too sure...>.<. But, its LARGE. I bet it produces good sounds. On the side note, this cathedral houses Christopher Columbus's grave/coffin. Its grand.

Seville + Church of Seville (Interior) ++ Some rooms which houses some treasures. Apparently, I got fascinated about the FLOOR and I took a picture of it...too dark to appreciate I think.

Seville ++ Cathedral of Seville ++ Exterior of the cathedral. I don't think this is the front part, but its nevertheless nice. Wondering why theres so much orange and yet they are still on the tree's branches? No, its not that its too high to reach...these oranges are BITTER/SOUR stuff, not really people's favourites. But they are used to make marmalades, where they add a sugar to make it taste sweet. So, not all stuff free are exactly good.

Seville ++ La Girada ++ The bell tower of the Cathedral of Seville. The tower is actually a minaret of the Almohad mosque. An architect later converted the minaret into a bell tower. On top of it sits a weathervane, the statue on it came to be known as Giraldillo.

Granada ++ Alhambra ++ Basically a LARGE Mocárabe/ Stalactite work . Resembles a large honeycomb, hehe.

Granada ++ Alhambra ++ Court of the Lions ++ Quarters for the sultan and his family I think. Too bad its under repair, so no water =(.

Granada ++ Alhambra ++ Basically different views of the same place. This is infront of where the sultan does his work / speak with his ministers.

Granada ++ Alhambra ++ Okay, I think this is the place where the sultan sits and talks with his fellow ministers. According to the tour guide, the 'window' casts light on the sultan, making him look holy and important, because, THAT is the only window.

Granada ++ Alhambra ++ Mocárabe (ornamental desgin) was constructed in a variety of materials including wood and plaster. Under the Nasrid, mocárabe was originally carved into its medium. Later on, moulds were made to cast the designs with clay or plaster.
-from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moc%C3%A1rabe)

Apparently these stuff really can stay on for long! From what I heard, the stuff they use to sustain these works are...applying egg white after putting them on the walls. On how they make these stuff, they make the negative of the design as a mould.

Granada ++ Alhambra ++ Patio of the palace of Charles V. Apparently conquerors began to alter the Alhambra...=(

Granada ++ Alhambra ++ 3 different views of the same place! Fountains are real common this this place, especially in the Palacio de Generalife (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalife).