After breakfast, we will spend the morning on retreat with Fr. Murr. After Mass and lunch, we will tour Carmona. A vibrant and charming market town, Carmona is one of the oldest towns in mainland Europe. The town retains many of the features of small-town Spain and its splendid architectural and cultural legacy. We will wander ancient, narrow streets and visit:

- St. Clare Convent where one can buy sweets through a hidden hole without seeing the cloistered nuns.

- Carmona's Jewish Quarter with its narrow alleys and decorated patios.

- The Plaza de Abastos with its white neoclassical architecture, was once a Dominican convent and now a city market.

- Carmona's Town Hall houses an important Roman mosaic (called the Mosaic of the Medusa), found during excavations in the ancient section of the town and originally decorating second-century AD Roman baths.

- The Parador, a converted fourteenth-century Arab fortress which boasts breathtaking views of the city.

We will have dinner at the Convento Madre de Dios de Carmona Hotel.

Overnight in Carmona. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner are included. 

After breakfast, we will continue our retreat with Fr. Murr, followed by Mass and lunch. In the afternoon, we will travel to Córdoba.

Córdoba was once the premier city of the Western World, the greatest metropolis west of Constantinople, and the seat of Europe's first university. Its historic old town is a World Heritage site, full of little streets to be explored, courtyards full of flowers, inviting squares, and lively taverns. We will visit:

- Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, one of the most beautiful and unique buildings in the world.

- Historic Centre of Cordoba which comprises the streets surrounding the Great Mosque and reflects thousands of years of occupation by different cultural groups – Roman, Visigoth, Islamic, Jewish and Christian.

- Alcázar Andalusí de Córdoba, a fortress palace.

- The Synagogue, situated in the heart of the Jewish Quarter of Cordoba, unique in Andalusia and one of the three best preserved Medieval synagogues in the whole of Spain.

We will have dinner upon our arrival back in Carmona at the Convento Madre de Dios de Carmona Hotel.

Overnight in Carmona. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner are included. 

After breakfast and retreat with Fr. Murr, we will have Mass and then lunch. The afternoon will be a time to rest or explore Carmona on your own. In the late afternoon, we will transfer to a very special place for dinner!

Overnight in Carmona. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner are included. 

Today after breakfast we will travel south to one of the oldest cities in Spain - Ronda.  On our way to Ronda, we will stop in Setenil de las Bodegas, the most unique of all the white villages of Andalusia in Spain. 

Setenil de las Bodegas is a very unusual village to see and discover. It is one of the most beautiful villages in Spain. It is atypical because many of the houses are troglodyte. They are built from caves or under rocky overhangs. It seems that this little village made up of natural caves, has been inhabited for more than six thousand years. Its particular geography made Setenil a strong place and particularly difficult to conquer. It took 7 sieges of the city before the Catholic kings were victorious and took Setenil. The last, victorious attack took place on 21 September 1484. The city fell into the hands of the Catholic kings following an assault by troops led by Rodrigo Ponce de León, Duke of Cadiz. Legend has it that the name Setenil comes from the translation of the Latin words “Septem Nihil” which means “seven times nothing”. The full name, on the other hand, dates from the 15th century. This was the period when new Christians settled here. In addition to preserving the olive and almond fields, they introduced vines. The caves that were used to preserve the wine naturally gave the name of “Bodegas”.

Today, Setenil de las Bodegas is surrounded by fields of olive trees. However, its most impressive feature is the huge rocks that overhang the pretty white houses. We will view the narrow streets with their rock overhang and visit the late Gothic-style Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación Parish Church.  

Ronda is one of the most beautiful (and visited!) villages in Andalusia. This village, located on a rocky promontory offers magnificent panoramas over the whole valley. Divided in 2 by the Guadalevin River, it’s famous for the Puente Nuevo, the bridge linking the 2 sides of the 100m deep El Tajo Canyon.

In Ronda, we will see the traditional white-washed houses as we stroll the narrow cobbled streets of the old quarter where you can get lunch on your own (typical dishes are Serranía gazpacho and the wild mushrooms or Moorish-origin sweetmeats such as the pestiños).   We will see one of the oldest and grandest bullrings in Spain; the Moorish King’s Palace with its lovely gardens and a former Arab mine with a stairway cut into the rock that descends to the river;  and 13th-century Arab Baths which are said to be the best preserved on the entire Iberian Peninsula.  

We will have dinner upon our arrival back in Carmona at the Convento Madre de Dios de Carmona Hotel.

Overnight in Carmona. Breakfast and Dinner are included. Lunch is on your own.

After breakfast, we will pilgrimage to Seville and attend Mass in the beautiful Cathedral de Sevilla, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world.

Seville was founded as a Roman city and is now home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and is bursting with antique charm. The Alcazar Palace complex is a stunning collage of architectural styles, and the Cathedral is famed for its beauty and its status as the burial site of Christopher Columbus.

After attending Mass in the Cathedral de Sevilla, we will have:

- a private tour of the Cathedral de Sevilla, the third-largest cathedral in the world and the largest Gothic-style cathedral

- a private tour of the Royal Alcazar of Seville, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and the oldest royal palace in Europe that is still in use today

During your free time in the afternoon, you will have the opportunity to visit: 

- La Giralda, the cathedral's bell tower and the most emblematic monument in the city, built originally as a minaret when the cathedral was a mosque (optional)

- Torre del Oro, the golden tower of Seville, a dodecagonal military watchtower built in the 13th century

- Plaza de España, the most beautiful plaza in Seville

Dinner will be back at the Convento Madre de Dios de Carmona Hotel.

Overnight in Carmona. Breakfast and Dinner are included. Lunch is on your own.

After breakfast we will have a retreat wrap-up with Fr. Murr, Mass, and then a very special farewell lunch at the Convento Madre de Dios de Carmona Hotel. The afternoon will be free time to rest, explore, or pack. We will gather together for dinner at the Convento Madre de Dios de Carmona Hotel.

Overnight in Carmona. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner are included. 

After breakfast, we will depart via transfer bus for Seville airport.

Farewell fellow pilgrims... until we meet again. 

Breakfast is included.