Hi, My name is Paula and welcome to my online scrapbook of my adventures on a Rick Steves tour of Barcelona, Madrid and Toledo and my few days after the tour in Sevilla! Over 30 years ago as I was finishing graduate school, I planned a month-long trip abroad to Europe, before getting into the employment world, and before leaving, I read a book called “Europe through the Back door” by Rick Steves (this was in 1986).  This book shaped my approach to travel – try to learn as much as I can about the local culture and history, connect with people who live in the country and immerse myself in the culture.   Like many of you, I am a big fan of Rick Steves travel shows (on PBS) and had used his guidebooks to help me when planning my own autonomous travel. After hearing friends share their own experiences of Rick Steves tours to other countries, I decided to go on a one-week tour to Madrid, Barcelona and Toledo and to visit Sevilla after the tour, on my own for a few days, having spent time in this wonderful city in 2007. Reflecting on my tour experiences and traveling alone in April 2018, I found that I really enjoyed being on this tour, not just for the sightseeing, which was fabulous, but also for getting to know the other people on the tour, the camaraderie, wonderful Rick Steves guide as well as local guides, not having to do all the work to plan the trip (as I did for the Sevilla portion), and I feel like I learned much more on a tour than I would have learned on my own.  There is no way that one can cram the over 2,000-year history of this region of the world into a one-week tour, but I did learn bits and pieces and appreciated having the opportunity to ask many questions. While I was in Sevilla, I  signed up for a few “experiences” which I reserved through Air BnB, which was another great way to learn and connect with the locals and other interested travelers.  I had a wonderful time on this whole trip. The tour was special – learned so much, great tour guide and the tour group was so flexible, friendly, truly seasoned world travelers.  I didn't want the tour to end and next time I go on a Rick Steves tour, I am going on a longer tour. Here are some of my photos, experiences, reflections, sharing what I learned (basically a semester of art, history and culture of Spain crammed into one week – well, 10 days for me) but with no exams to take or papers to write. Enjoy my digital scrapbook!