Below is a list of questions recently asked by a potential client to one of our summer 2005 participants. Traveler Darrell Wiens' responses are written below each question.

Q: How many people were in your group?
There were thirteen.

Q: Was there a range of ages and backgrounds?
Yes--one family had two children who were about 14 and 10. My own family
included my two sons and the wife of one son, all in their late 20s. The
rest of us were 50-something.

Q: Did you find the group enjoyable?
Yes, it was a very interesting mix of people and all were interested in the
history and culture of Spain.

Q: Do you normally travel as part of a group tour?
No, it was the first time for us.

Q: Was the amount of time in each town or area about right? Would you spend more time on your own in Sevilla or elsewhere?
For us, and I think for everyone in the group, the timing was about right.
The tour leaders Josh and David have done this tour many times and they know what works. I wouldn't change it. There were opportunities to do things on our own.

Q: Can you describe a "normal" day on the tour?
I could hardly find a normal day to describe. All were new adventures. But
frequent activities included walking tours where Josh or David described
points of interest, buildings, geography, historical events or stories, etc;
hikes, meals in varied and fine restaurants, shopping, bus rides, and
visiting. The days were well-planned but not "over-planned."

Q: Did you find the level of information communicated to be about right for
you? If not, why not? Did you know a lot about the region and the history of
Spain and of Andalucia before your trip?
Yes, for me it was appropriate. I am a university professor but my area is
biology, not European history or Spanish. I found Josh's and David's input
to be very good, and they were always willing to answer our questions. We
did not know Andalucia. My wife had lived in Spain 30+ years ago as a
student for a year, and had toured around the country including Andalucia,
but had not spent as much time there as we did this summer, and had not had a guide. Others in the group had not been there before.

Q: How would you classify the accommodations? (As a point of reference, we typically stay in two or three star small hotels whenever we have the
choice.) How about the meals and any entertainment included in the tour?
The hotels were first-rate, really, really nice. By American standards,
rooms in Spanish hotels are small, but they are comfortable and nicely
decorated. The hotel meals were great, and service was wonderful. The
meals at restaurants were more than great. Some were outdoor and informal, but very good. Others were splendid feasts, absolutely sumptuous! The evening at the flamenco club was truly a highlight. I would do this tour again, and perhaps we will, if a good opportunity presents itself.

Q: Could you share your thoughts about the guide or guides?
There were two, Josh and David. They were first-rate. It is their
planning, experience, knowledge and love of Spain, attention to detail, and
ability to sense the personality of their group (and each one in it) that
make this tour wonderful.

Q: The tour certainly is not cheap (at least not to us). Do you think it was
worth the price? Did you feel constrained by the tour - that is, did you
find yourself wanting to go off and do things of interest to you but found
you could not because of the tour's schedule?
Correct, it is expensive. If you have it, it is worth the price. We went
as a family of five to celebrate the 30th annaversary of my wife and I. We
felt that it was worthy of our once-in-a-lifetime occasion. We did not feel
constrained by the tour at all. We found time to do things on our own, and
we spent three days in Madrid on our own before and after the tour in
Andalucia.

Q: Anything else you would like to share about your experience - or about
Spain, in general - would be appreciated.
Even though many of the places the tour will take you are tourist
destinations, you will have the sense that you saw "real Spain", and had the
chance to learn much about its culture and history. I think this makes a
Spanish holiday in a beach hotel or a resort seem like something cheap and
ordinary. My advice is that if you can take this walking, historical tour
of Andalucia, you owe it to yourselves to choose it over anything that might
be empty of quality and content.

Sincerely,
Darrell Wiens,Cedar Falls, Iowa
Olé Spain Traveler, Andalucía, 2005

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Olé Spain in the News
This is an article that was written by Jim and Karin Heffner, Olé Spain travelers in 1998 and published in the Annapolis Capital on January 24, 1999. It reads as follows:

"We have always wanted to see Spain, but we didn't want to go either by ourselves or with a large tour group. When a friend from Baltimore told us about Olé Spain, we sent for a brochure and spoke with Josh Wolf, one of the tour companies owners and guides. Mr. Wolf, an incredibly likable guy, teaches Spanish at Park School in Baltimore and has lived worked and traveled throughout Spain. Shortly thereafter, we joined 12 other adventurers and headed off to Andalucía in southern Spain. Olé Spain's cultural walking tour took us to Sevilla, Granada and Córdoba, plus a charming mountain village in Las Alpujarras seldom visited by tourists. The history, legends and love shown to us by the guides made our trip to Spain a wonderful experience.

Our daily schedule consisted of four to five hours of leisurely walks through town. Our guides took us along beautiful riverbanks, across impressive bridges and through charmingly narrow streets. They led us through hidden walkways and nearly forgotten grape-covered patios. They gathered us around them when it was time for another story, a history lesson so refreshingly told or information on local situations. They were full of stories and information. They knew the best time to enter a museum, a chapel. a cathedral or a mosque. Our guides invited us into the heart of the real Spain, both ancient and modern.

All reservations for accommodations and meals were made by Olé Spain. We stayed in charming hotels and villas, in air-conditioned rooms, perfectly located in the heart of each city or town. Sometimes we had a balcony overlooking courtyards full of flowers and fountains, and sometimes our room had a patio overlooking vast mountain valleys. Once our room had a breathtaking view of the Great Mosque of Córdoba, and another day we looked out to see the Alhambra in Granada.

Our dining experiences were equally colorful. Our guides selected for quality, authenticity and ambiance. Whether we sat on a candlelit stone patio, a verandah surrounded by trees full of ripe cherries, a plaza overflowing with locals or an elegant rooftop restaurant, the food was unique, and always delicious and beautiful tapas!"