International Travel 2018

Southern Spain with side trip to Granada
September 15 to 25, 2018
Your Hosts Denis and Sally
Art Teacher Sandy Maudlin and Helper Beverly Hennessy

Sandy Maudlin and I would like to invite you to this lovely facility in Spain. It has perfect weather, beautiful flowers and a real "home away from home" feel.  The food, painting sites, Denis and Sally our hosts, make this a great painting holiday.

The trip is ten days and includes a side trip to Grenada. We will stay at Hotel Casa 1800 Granada, a little boutique hotel in the Jewish/Gypsy Quarters of Albaicin in the historic center of the city. It is a short walk from the cathedral and the Alhambra.

Hotel Casa 1800 Granada

Flamenco show

Also included is a Flamenco show in a cave in the Sacremonte Cueva de la Rocio in the Gypsy Quarter. Your ticket is included, do not book a ticket.  The website is just for your information.

Our home away from home is called La Finca del Nino, which means "the farm of the Child." Look at their wonderful website to see the grounds, some of the rooms and check out other artists who go there. The villas are like an old Spanish Hacienda in the middle of ten acres of a fruit farm and one mile from the Mediterranean Sea. The grounds have a courtyard, a large swimming pool and tennis court. They have miles of trails through olive gardens for those who like to exercise. The cook is really excellent. We will have breakfast at our villas and lunch and dinners will be together, sometimes outside and sometimes inside.

Courtyard of La Finca del Nino - Andalucia

This is a "Painting Holiday" as they say in Spain. Sandy will be the teacher and I will be the helper. Sandy has been a wonderful art workshop teacher for two years in the village. She is a wonderful person and a really great teacher, and we have become good friends as well.

We will travel to on-location sites to paint almost every day. When we return to the villa, we will continue painting our starts with help from Sandy. You can also go for a walk, relax in the pool, wash clothes, play tennis, read a book or take a nap. Staying in one place is the way to travel and paint abroad!

We are only thirty minutes from the Malaga Airport. I encourage people to come early and stay for an overnight in Malaga so you can start your trip without jet lag. I suggest you stay at the hotel Carlos V, a small boutique hotel right next to the Acazaba and the Roman ruins and the Picasso Museum in the heart of the historical district. This is only a 2-star hotel, but the location is perfect. They do not serve breakfast, but there are many restaurants around the hotel that will serve breakfast. The cost is about $50 for double occupancy. They have WiFi, laundry, hair dryers, bar, small refrigerator and more. Ask for a non-smoking room. Book directly with the hotel. at _____ and if you change your mind, they will let you cancel. (Sites like Expedia or Travelocity have a very strict cancellation policy and if something comes up, you will not get your money back.) Denis will come to the hotel to pick us up the day the class starts. You do not have to go back to the airport for a pick-up.

If you arrive the day the trip starts, you will have to arrange for your own taxi to pick you up at the airport. If you take your own taxi to La Finca, you will have to pay for it and the approximately $70 euros. Let me know your return flight and we can coordinate the taxi rides back.

Denis and his wife, Sally, our hosts, are also artists and know what we would like for painting sites. Check out the artists that teach there each year - they are fantastic. The sites are wonderful - everything from panoramas, little white villages, street scenes, etc.

The cost of the trip is $3200. 
Trip includes:

• lodging in one of the three villas that have a private living room and dining room and bedrooms, double occupancy.
• all breakfasts, evening dinners and lunches (with the exception of two lunches).
• locally produced wine is included with dinner.
• ground transportation to sites.
• Flamenco show in Granada.
• side trip to Granada with overnight in a small boutique hotel near Granada.
• instructions by Sandy and helper (me).
• Tickets to Alhambra.

Does not include:

• airfare from USA to Magala, Spain.
• single supplement of $400.
  
• personal expenses.
  
• tip.
  

Optional: insurance for health and cancellation - highly recommended  this is available through Sue Linderholm at [email protected] or call 800-483-6429