Monday, June 8 DEPARTURE DFW/MADRID We check in at DFW International Airport for our flight TBD to

Madrid, Spain, an overnight flight with meal service en route.

Tuesday, June 9 MADRID We arrive at 10:00 AM in Madrid, and after luggage retrieval and customs, we are met by our USIT tour conductor and our city guide and board the coach for our transfer to the city. Madrid is the capital of Spain, located in the heart of the peninsula and right in the center of the Castilian plain, 1800 feet above sea level. With a population of over three million, it’s a cosmopolitan city, a business center, and headquarters for the Public Admin-istration, Government, Spanish Parliament and is home to the Spanish Royal Family. As it is too early for check-in, we start with a panoramic tour of the city, including lunch on our own, followed by a walking tour beginning in the Plaza Mayor. The most striking building in the Plaza Mayor is the Casa de la Pa-nadería (Bakery House) with its colorful fresco-adorned façade. On the opposite side of the square is the Casa de la Carnicería. This former butcher shop now houses Municipal offices. Until the last century, the Plaza Mayor was used as a marketplace on weekdays and was the scene of popular events from bullfights to the public announcement of sentences during the Inquisition, religious processions, public executions, and dance and theater festivals. We go on to walk through the area, seeing the Palacio de Santa Cruz, Mercado de San Miguel, and the Plaza de la Villa. Inaugurated in 1620, this large, rectangular stone-paved plaza with its ground floor arcades underwent its last remodeling in 1853 by Juan de Villanueva. We end our walk at the Plaza del Sol, a pedestrian shopping area. After a little time to shop and explore in the area, we proceed to our hotel to check in for dinner and a well-deserved rest. Hotel and dinner: Madrid Tryp Atocha, Calle de Atocha 83, Madrid; Phone: +34 913 30 05 00 Wednesday, June 10 MADRID After breakfast at the hotel, we start our guided tour by entering the Royal Palace, the Palacio Real, for a tour. The palace is one of the most beautiful in Europe, especially its architecture and gardens. There are also excellent frescos inside the palace by Tiépolo and paintings by Velázquez, Goya, Rubens, El Greco, Juan de Flandes and Caravaggio, among others. We also tour the Royal Almudena Cathedral nearby. After lunch on our own, we walk to the famous Prado Museum (adm. incl.) for midafternoon admission. After our visit to the Prado, we walk the short distance to our hotel to change for our concert at Basil-ica de San Francisco el Grande. After the concert, we return to the hotel, and dinner is on our own tonight. Hotel: Madrid Tryp Atocha

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Thursday, June 11 SEVILLE After a leisurely breakfast, we walk the short distance to Madrid Puerta De Atocha train station to take the TGV (high-speed train) to Seville’s Santa Justa Station. Seville is in the heart of Andalu-sia. On arrival, we transfer to the heart of the city, where we have lunch on our own and a little time for shopping. Then we start our tour by seeing the famous Catedral de Santa María de la Sede de Sevilla, one of the largest cathedrals in the world. It was built between 1401 and 1507 on the site of Muslim Seville's main mosque. One highlight of the cathedral's lavish interior is Christo-pher Columbus' tomb inside the south door. The tower that ad-joins the Cathedral, La Giralda, was the mosque's minaret and dates from the 12th century. Those who wish can climb up the tower for a panoramic view, using the same ticket as for the ca-thedral. Next we transfer to our hotel to check in. After freshen-ing up, we transfer to a special dinner show featuring Flamenco dancing. Hotel: Meliã Sevilla Hotel, Dr. Pedro de Castro, 1 Se-ville; Phone: +34 954 42 15 11 Friday, June 12 SEVILLE We enjoy a panoramic tour this morning and discover the archi-tecture in Seville when the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition took

place in the capital of Andalucia. Along the way we see the city’s old tobacco factory that was the setting for Bizet’s Carmen. Next is Plaza de Espa-ña, one of the country’s most spectacular and the centerpiece of the 1929 Fair. It boasts fountains and mini-canals and is surrounded by a display of tile work representing all the provinces of Spain. If we need a break from the city, we can head into the tranquillity of the adjoining Parque de María Luisa, only a 10-minute walk east of the cathedral. Then we coach to the Plaza de America and the Pabellon Mudejar, located by the Maria Luisa Gar-dens. We transfer to the old city for a tour of the Alcázar Royal Palace, the oldest Spanish Kings residence. This was a fortress from the Muslim era (dates from AD 913), which served as a hideout of Muslim and Christian royalty for many

centuries. It is a fantastic example of the Moorish style: tiles, mosaics, ceilings, courtyards and Arabic and Renaissance gardens. There will be time for lunch on our own today and some free time along the way for exploring. Dinner is on our own tonight before preparing for our concert at the Parish Church of Santa Cruz, where we participate in a “musical mass” and then sing our concert for the congregation. Transfer back to the hotel. Hotel: Meliã Sevilla Hotel Saturday June 13 SEVILLE to LISBON We depart early today to make our way to Lisbon, leaving around 8:00 AM from the hotel. We travel west on the high-way, passing stretches of olive groves before seeing the Mediterranean. After a stop along the way for lunch, we continue through the southwest mountains of Portugal, and then on to Lisbon, where we should arrive around 3:00 PM. We stretch our legs by walking through the medieval Alfama district, a village within the city, still made up of narrow streets, tiny squares, churches, and whitewashed houses, up to St. George’s Castle (dating from the 6th C), overlooking the city. Nearby is our hotel, so we check in at 6:00 PM after our walking tour. Dinner is provided at the hotel. Hotel and

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dinner: Hotel Mundial, Praça Martim Moniz 2, 1100-341 Lis-bon; Phone: +351 218 842 000; www.hotel-mundial.pt/ Sunday, June 14 LISBON After a full breakfast at the hotel, we start our day by driving north of Lisbon to the royal town of Sintra, hidden in the moun-tain forests. We have time there for a little shopping and ex-ploration. The Romans made it a place of cult moon worship and named it "Cynthia" after the goddess of the moon. The Romans were followed by the Moors who also fell in love with the lush vegetation and built a hilltop castle, a palace, and sev-eral fountains around the town. Later it became the summer residence of the Portuguese royal family and attracted many wealthy aristocrats who built huge mansions and villas. We come back along the Atlantic coast to the lighthouse at Cabo Roca with its amazing views of the pounding Atlantic surf. Af-ter a brief stop there, we drive down the shoreline to the coastal town of Cascais with its beautiful beaches, and enjoy some free time for shopping in this exclusive town. We contin-ue along the waterfront and stop to visit the amazing Jeroni-mos Monastery. This monastery, dedicated to St. Jerome, is the most impressive symbol of Portugal's power and wealth during the Age of Discovery. King Manuel I built it in 1502 on the site of a hermitage founded by Prince Henry the Navigator, where Vasco da Gama and his crew spent their last night in Portugal in prayer before leaving for India. We also go by the Belém Tower and the Discoveries Monument and hear a little more about Portuguese history. The evening is free and din-ner is on our own tonight. Hotel: Hotel Mundial Monday, June 15 PORTO via BATALHA and COIMBRA After an early breakfast at the hotel, we check out and board the coach for our trip north to Porto. On the way, we stop to visit and sing informally at the Batalha Monastery (Mosteiro da Batalha), an amazing gothic sanctuary. Batalha was erected in commemoration of the 1385 Battle of Aljubarrota to thank the Virgin Mary for the Portuguese victory over the Castilians. It took more than a century to build—construction started in 1386 and was completed in 1517. It is one of the most important Gothic sites in Portugal. We leave Batalha mid-morning for Coimbra. Together we visit the Cathedral and University Li-brary. Inside the library, there are three great rooms divided by decorated arches. The walls are covered by two-storied shelves in gilded or painted exotic woods, and the ceilings are decorated with paintings. The library contains about 250,000 volumes. After lunch on our own in Coimbra, we continue north on our journey to the coastal city of Porto, arriving for dinner. Hotel and dinner: HF Ipanema Hotel, Rua Do Campo Alegre, 156/172, 4150-169 Porto; Phone: 011 351 226 071 800; www.hfhotels.com/gb/hf-ipanema-porto

Tuesday, June 16 PORTO After breakfast at the hotel, we enjoy a panoramic tour of the city, including a visit to one of the famous Baroque Golden churches, St. Francis Church, where we hope to sing a concert in this national monument at 6:00 PM. Next to St. Francis Church is the Commercial Association Palace (Palácio da Bol-sa), a major neoclassical landmark, rich in artwork in the interi-or. Our final visit this morning is the Cathedral of Porto, an austere, fortress-like cathedral where King John I married the English Princess Philippa of Lancaster in the 14th century, and where their son, Prince Henry the Navigator, was baptized. While the building has its origins in the 12th century, it has un-

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dergone many alterations over time, and we hear the reasons why from our guide. After lunch on our own, we enjoy a one-hour cruise on the Douro River to see the city from the water, including the city’s six bridg-es. We end the cruise at a Port wine cellar (incl.) to enjoy a sampling of Port wines. We return to the

hotel for some free time and dinner on our own. Hotel: HF Ipane-ma Hotel Porto Wednesday, June 17 SALAMANCA After breakfast, we check out early from our hotel and depart for Salamanca at 8:00 AM in order to arrive by lunchtime. On arrival, we enjoy lunch on our own before we start our touring. We see the historic Plaza Major, where we hear about the major historic events of Salamanca, followed by visits to the Old Cathedral and the New Cathedral. The interior architecture and decorations of the New Cathedral are rich and elegant, and we see three of the chapels: the Golden Chapel, the Chapel of the Veil and the Chapel of Saint Roque. Then we have some free time to explore the shopping district and the Plaza Major, where there are many choices for dinner on our own. Hotel: Abba Fonseca Hotel Sala-manca, Plaza de San Blas, 2, 37007 Salamanca; Phone: +34923-01-10-10; www.abbafonsecahotel.com Thursday, June 18 MADRID/DFW We depart the hotel to travel to Barajas International Airport in Madrid to check in for our flight back home to Dallas/Ft. Worth TBD.

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