Texans’ Andalucían Adventure : 10 – 17 June 2005

Photos and report from the trip >

Click any photo to send as an ecard!

Every year, The Texas chapter of The American Ireland Fund visits Europe.
What better chance to get away from it all while being with friends who share a wonderful belief in helping raise funds for Ireland!

Map of tour area >

Texans’ Andalucían Adventure : 10 – 17 June 2005

Fri, 10 June
Arrive at Málaga Airport. Group is met at airport and taken by mini-bus to Parador de San Francisco, Granada.

12:35 pm First group arrives at Málaga Airport and taken to the Parador.

1:30 pm Second group arrives at airport and departs for Parador.

3:15 pm Third group arrives at airport and departs for Parador.

Granada is a city for walking around. Situated at the foot of the Sierra Nevada; its extraordinary history lends it an artistic grandeur that includes Arab palaces to the architectural jewels of the Renaissance. It was the last Arab kingdom in Spain and taken by the Catholic monarchs in 1492.

Explore the Albaicín – for the sunset and the most romantic views of the Alhambra. The Albaicín retains much of the atmosphere of al-Andalus; stop at the strange façade of the Casa Castril (the owner got into trouble with the Inquisition) and perhaps stroll inside to see the archaeological museum.

8:30 pm Dinner and Overnight at Parador de San Francisco, Granada. The Parador de San Francisco is set within the walls of the Alhambra in a former Franciscan convent founded by Isabel and Ferdinand. Spectacular views of the Generalife can be seen from the Parador.

Sat, 11 June
10:00 am Tour of the Alhambra

The Alhambra – a confection of plaster, wood, and water. Constructed in stages in the late 13th century and throughout the 14th century. Within the Alhambra we will visit the Nasrid Palaces, the greatest treasure of al-Andalus, the reason one goes to Granada, and a window into the culture of Moorish Spain and compare it to the elegant Renaissance Palace of Charles V constructed in the 1600s.

As if that was not enough we have the Generalife just beyond the Alhambra, summer palace of the Nasrid kings, constructed in the early 13th century, with the finest garden in Spain.

12:30 Tour finishes followed by lunch at the Parador.

Afternoon free to explore Granada and dinner on own.

Overnight, Parador de San Francisco, Granada.

Sun, 12 June
Morning departure to Córdoba via the Caliphate Road (lunch on own) while our luggage departs for Monda.

10:00 am Group departs for Córdoba
12:00 noon Arrive in Córdoba and lunch
3:00 pm Tour of Mezquita

Córdoba bears the traces of its glorious past like a ghost. From the sight of a Roman bridge to the Great Mosque (La Mezquita) when Córdoba was one of the most brilliant centers of all Europe. Old Córdoba has one of the largest medieval quarters of any European city, endless whitewashed alleys opening onto splendid patios.

La Mezquita – begun in the 9th century, over 1000 years old. The mosque now holds some 580 columns, originally thought to have numbered 1000, from Roman temples, Visigothic churches, and gifts from Byzantine emperors. After 1236, it was converted to a cathedral.

The Judería – tiny streets near La Mezquita where we can visit the 14th century synagogue, one of the oldest and most interesting in Spain, Córdoban silver shops, and perhaps check out the bargains at the Zoco (suk).

6:00 pm Bus departs for Monda.

8:00 pm Dinner, Castillo de Monda (dinner served at your leisure, between 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm)

Overnight at Castillo de Monda, Monda. El Castillo de Monda is the hotel above the very sleepy village of Monda, just 7 miles north of Marbella. The crumbling ruins of an 8th century Moorish fortress have been transformed into a showplace. The Arabs were not the first to arrive; Julius Caesar fought Gaius Pompey in 45 BC at Monda. Today, the Hotel combines modern comfort while retaining traces of its complex past.

Mon, 13 June
Golf or excursion to Ronda.

10:00 am Bus departs for Ronda

11:30 am Arrive in Ronda for tour and lunch

Ronda is spectacularly situated on a massive rocky outcrop, one of the last Moorish bastions, falling to the Christians in 1485; then local headquarters of the Inquisition, one of the pueblos blancos (white hill towns) whitewashed in the Moorish tradition.

The town straddles either side of the Tajo del Ronda, a narrow gorge more than 150 metres deep. Celts, Phoenicians, Romans, and Arabs all inhabited these lands, which were reconquered by the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabel. The historic quarter, reminiscent of the Arab age and with a medieval layout is scattered to the south of the Guadalevín River, while more modern Ronda, the part which sprang up after the 16th century, unfolds to the north of the course of this river.

3:30 pm Bus departs Ronda for Monda.

5:00 pm Bus arrives at Hotel Castillo, Monda.

8:30 pm Dinner and Flamenco Show, Castillo de Monda. Our guests will include June and Archie Bennett, Sarah and Tom Gallagher, Maureen and David Newman, Ruth and Jack Sistrunk, and Clair Twomey.

Overnight, Castillo de Monda, Monda

Tue, 14 June
Golf or Depart for Jerez de La Frontera for sherry tour at Bodegas Garvey and the Royal Andalucian Equestrian School to observe their training. Lunch included.

8:30 am Bus departs for Jerez

11:30 am Arrive in Jerez in time for the Horse Show followed by lunch

Sherry – The Irish were the earliest of the foreign merchants to settle in the Spanish province of Andalucía and engage in the sherry trade. The first of the many firms founded by expatriates was that of Rafael O’Neale, established in 1724 by Timothy O’Neale from County Tipperary. One of the sherry’s produced by Rafael O’Neale was called “Wild Geese”, a name that recounts the saga of the thousands of Irishmen who were forced into exile in the 17th and 18th centuries, and who turned tragedy into triumph, and made their presence felt around the world.

The oldest of the principal sherry houses in Jerez de La Frontera is that of Pedro Domecq, and it, like so many others of the region, was founded by an Irishman. Patrick Murphy settled in Jerez in 1730. When Murphy died in 1762, he left his thriving sherry business to his friend, who in turn willed it to his family, one of whom married a Domecq.

3:15 pm Depart for Bodegas Garvey

3:30 pm Tour of Bodegas Garvey – Irish sherry house founded during the 18th century. William Garvey from New Ross in County Wexford set up in the sherry business in 1780. He was to become the leading sherry shipper of his day, naming his cellar Bodegas de San Patricio after the Irish patron saint.

5:00 pm Bus departs for Monda.

8:00 pm Dinner, Castillo de Monda (dinner served at your leisure, between 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm)

Overnight at Castillo de Monda, Monda.

Wed, 15 June
Golf or shopping in Marbella.

11:00 am Bus departs for Marbella where we will be met by Maureen Newman who will guide us through Marbella.

3:30 pm Bus departs for Monda.

8:00 pm Bus departs for Villa Tiberio, Marbella for dinner with June and Archie Bennett, Sarah and Tommy Gallagher, Maureen and David Newman, and Ruth and Jack Sistrunk.

10:00 pm Bus departs for Monda.

Night owls are invited to explore Marbella’s nightlife with David Newman as your guide.

Overnight, Castillo de Monda, Monda

Thu, 16 June
Golf or Tour of Málaga including the Cathedral (for Pedro de Mena’s saints), the Picasso Museum, and perhaps step into El Corte Inglés, Spain’s leading department store.

9:15 am Bus departs for Málaga
10:30 am Tour of Picasso Museum. Some may want to stay at the Museum for lunch and others may want to leave for Corte Inglés for lunch and shopping.

3:00 pm Bus departs for Monda.

8:00 pm Bus departs for Grand Finale dinner at Villa Newman with hosts Maureen and David Newman

Overnight at Castillo de Monda, Monda.

Fri, 17 June
9:00 am Depart for Málaga Airport on Aer Lingus Fl 883 at 11:50 am and arriving in Cork 1:40 pm. Group is met at the airport and taken to the Trident Hotel in Kinsale or the Hayfield Manor in Cork.

7:00 pm Fourth Annual Texas Dinner, The White House, Kinsale

Overnight The Trident Hotel, Kinsale

Sat, 18 June
Morning walking tour of Kinsale and tour of the Wine Museum at Desmond Castle with Ted Murphy.

Afternoon free for non-golfers

2:00 pm Tee off at Old Head Golf Links

7:30 pm WineGeese Patrons’ Dinner, The Blue Haven Hotel, Kinsale

OR

8:00 pm Welcome Conference Dinner, Old Head Golf Links, Kinsale

Overnight Trident Hotel, Kinsale

Sun, 19 June
8:15 am AIF Executive Committee Meeting at Hayfield Manor

9:00 am Check out from Trident Hotel

9:30 am Depart Kinsale for Cork Harbor (your luggage will be sent on to the Hayfield Manor or the Clarion Hotel)

10:30 am Depart Cork for Cobh via Irish Naval Vessel

12:30-2:30 pm Lunch and Tour of Cobh Heritage Center

2:30 pm Depart for Clarion Hotel and Hayfield Manor (30 minute bus ride)

6:00-8:00 pm WineGeese Book Launch at Hayfield Manor

8:00 pm Depart for VIP Dinners

Mon, 20 June
9:00 am AIF Board Meeting at Hayfield Manor

10:30 am “Ireland, The Funds and the Future” by Kingsley Aikins at University College Cork Glucksman Gallery or Tour of Cork

1:30 pm Light Lunch in the River Room, Glucksman Gallery

7:30 pm Closing Dinner at Aula Maxima of University College Cork (UCC)

The Worldwide Conference >

For more information on this adventure contact us at the Dallas office:
469-232-9601  |  ebordt@irlfunds.org