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On this fabulous vacation, explore Portugal and Spain as well as Lourdes in France. Start your tour in Lisbon with guided sightseeing and a visit to Jeronimos Monastery, which dates to the mid-1400s. Travel to Fatima, where the Virgin Mary appeared to three children in 1917 and site of one of the world’s most famous Catholic shrines. In Fatima, visit Our Lady of Fatima Shrine and the Chapel of the Apparitions. Maybe join the evening’s rosary and candlelight procession. Journey to Braga, one of the oldest Christian cities in the world, where you will ride the water funicular, built in 1882, to the Bom Jesus do Monte sanctuary. Cross into Spain and travel to Santiago de Compostela, one of the top pilgrimage sites during the Middle Ages. Next is Burgos, historic capital of Old Castile, with a visit to the magnificent cathedral. On the way to Lourdes, visit the 17th-century Sanctuary of Loyola, built in honor of San Ignacio de Loyola, founder of the Jesuit religious order. In Lourdes, one of the world’s most famous pilgrimage sites, visit the grotto where the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858, Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, and St. Bernadette’s birthplace and family home. While still in France, visit Carcassonne, the most medieval-looking city in France, where you will see the ramparts, castle walls, and drawbridges still well preserved from the Middle Ages. Your vacation ends with overnights and guided sightseeing tours in Barcelona and Madrid, the capital of Spain. Be sure to pack your camera and get ready for a wonderful vacation!
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