Well what a wonderful part of the world. The weather, beauty, history, architecture – all combined to make us love this amazing area of Spain. We would love to go back one day and spend longer in some places that we particularly loved and also discover some new destinations. Weather was perfect the whole time we were there (September) – from high 20’s to low 30’s, with blue skies. A nice dry heat too.
Food was generally really good. Pretty much just had seafood the whole time in Spain, and some tapas (we like to have one dish in each place and, in effect, do a tapas crawl) and paella of course. We did unfortunately have our worst meal of our holiday in Seville. I would mention the name if I knew it. We had undrinkable mojitos (it was awful), my one red meat meal I had was full of gristle and they took three goes to get our bill right! We left quickly and went elsewhere. Good thing whilst in Spain to always check your bill as there are some tourist restaurants and cafes that slip in an extra charge. Also be aware that sometimes they may put bread out for you – it is extra. Unlike at home where that wouldn’t be an extra charge.
Seville
Stayed metres from the Real Alcazar in fabulous location and nice apartment. Must give a plug to Genteel Home Alcazar, because Alfonso really looked after us. Firstly, although he gave us simple instructions to use the keypad to get into the apartments we had our ‘stupid tourist’ hats on that day and he had to walk down from his place 5 mins away and show us again. He also quickly replaced a hairdryer when ours wasn’t working. Then next day I had to find a medical centre to treat an infection and he referred us to a clinic and then translated over the phone for me with the doctor. Got my meds, and was back at our apartment by 10 am. And off we went to visit the Real Alcazar, with no time wasted – Win! He also booked us in to a couple of tours or shows which were great.
So our first full day there we really packed it in – Real Alcazar, Seville Cathedral (both very close to our apartment) and the Plaza de Espanya. Both Seville Cathedral and the Real Alcazar are UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Real Alcazar
The Real Alcazar (or royal palace)is one of the most visited complexes in the world and there’s good reason for that! The architecture throughout this complex is amazing and strongly influenced by the Moorish style. There are many buildings and rooms to explore and also large beautiful gardens. There’s a café inside when your brain and feet get tired too. Again the Real Alcazar is one of those places where words cannot describe its beauty. John and I normally walk around these great tourist attractions by ourselves and meet up an hour or so later because it’s just too hard to take it all in and also keep an eye on where your partner has wandered off to. So we wander we want and just meet at an agreed time and place. And usually this works out well for us.
Seville Cathedral
The Seville Cathedral is, I think, the largest gothic cathedral in the world and one of the largest cathedrals in the world. It is staggeringly impressive! Words could not describe how beautiful it is. The bell tower is a visible landmark which has a distinctive Moorish style. You can pay extra to go up the tower although we didn’t. The cathedral was originally a mosque and was converted to a cathedral in the early 1400’s. There are various rooms and chapels around the outer edges of the cathedral with all sorts of treasures – and don’t forget to look up – the ceilings are magnificent. This cathedral is also famous for the tomb of Christopher Columbus. And outside the cathedrals’ northern side is a quiet courtyard with many orange trees planted – of course!
Plaza de Espana
The Plaza de Espana is a large, half circle plaza with a watercourse running around it and a magnificent building. You can row around on the watercourse if you wish! Mostly the building now contains government departments, which is a shame I think. Not even a single café which it’s really crying out for. It would be so lovely sitting in the shaded patios having a coffee and cake. Of course, like most parts of Seville, the architecture is influenced by both Moorish Revival and Renaissance Revival styles. Also across from the plaza are some beautiful gardens which does provide a bit of relief from the Spanish sun.
Fabulous Flamenco Dancing
We topped off a magnificent, busy day with the evening Flamenco show that Alfonso booked us into. This show was stunning – definitely one of the highlights of our Spanish holiday. It was a very small intimate theatre and stage. We were actually in the front row and could have touched the dancers feet, we were that close. In addition to the dancers there were guitarists and singers. The costumes were wonderful but the dancing was truly amazing. The foot stomping was so loud! The music combined with the dancing made it a very emotional experience! Unfortunately, it’s a photo-free zone so we don’t have any photos to reflect back on or to show you here but it was so memorable, I wish every visitor could experience it.
Whilst in Seville we also did a day trip to Ronda and another to Cordoba. Both we would go back to spend more time there.
Ronda
Ronda is a small inland city in the mountains in the Malaga province. We caught a local bus there for the day. Easy to do. It’s famous for its massive ravine, the 18th century bridge which spans it, the views and the history. You can take a walk to a lookout viewpoint where you can take great photos of the bridge and the ravine. Very photogenic and instagrammable!
The bridge separates the old town from the new town areas. Both are great! And when they say ‘new’ town, that don’t mean twentieth century. The new town is from the 15th century, so the old town is super old. Fantastic views are available all around the city and the city is filled with beautiful white washed buildings.
One very impressive building and landmark is the Ronda Bullring of the Royal Cavalry. It was created in 1573. Currently it is used as a riding school and has a great museum. You can wander through the whole bullring – across the floor and through all the stands.
La Casa del rey Moro is also worth a visit. Basically translates to House of the Moorish King. Its an Islamic building and houses an interior water catchment mine that descends to the bottom of the gorge where the river runs. It’s from here you can walk down about 200 damp steps to the bottom of the gorge! The gardens were really lovely with peacocks (and chicks) wandering around (see last pic above). Next door was a nice café too which we spent some time in, looking out over spectacular scenery.
There are lots of other attractions there but since we were just there for the day this was all we had time for. Definitely worth another visit if we come to this part of the world again. I would really like to spend a few days here.
Cordoba
Cordoba is beautiful smallish city that we visited as part of an organised day trip. The main attraction, and our reason for going, is the La Mezquita, a huge mosque from 784 AD which became a Catholic church in 1236. A nave was added in 17th century. This is a magnificent example of Moorish architecture. The mosque and cathedral parts of the building are quite different with clearly defined areas. The hall with the striped arches and columns is probably the most photographed part of the building.
We had a tour guide take us through which we probably wouldn’t do again. Firstly her English wasn’t great but we had no time to go off and take photos – we had to pay strict attention to everything she was saying and there was going to be no time at the end as they were passing us off to the next tour guide to see the nearby surrounds. So John and I did wander off a little bit and take photos – we had travelled half way around the world to this place and may not ever be here again. I’m glad we did because although she said we would probably have 5 mins at the end, we didn’t!
The second tour guide took us off for a tour of the Jewish quarter which was quite good, and just some general streets of Cordoba. Lots of picturesque, narrow streets with the blue flower pots stuck on the walls. We were then released to have lunch by ourselves and wander around a bit before hopping back on the bus to take us back to Seville.
We had a quick look at the Roman Bridge of Cordoba but by the time we discovered it, it was time to head back. Another town I would love to revisit and spend a few days. There’s lots to see here, especially for history and/or architecture buffs or those of you that just love beauty!
Granada
Stayed two nights in Granada and like everyone else it was to see the Alhambra. The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex with really a small city in its walls. It has a church and gardens and much more. Now if there’s only one place you want to make sure you buy your tickets in advance it is here! You really can’t buy them on the day. We learnt this the hard way, so we had to pay 170 euros for a private tour as all general tickets had sold out. It was actually worth it.
So as she took us around the whole complex she told us the interesting information first, then gave us time to take photos, then off to the next building. Also we got through straight away into some areas that you had to queue separately for. This was definitely a highlight of our trip to Spain. The rest of our time in Granada was spent pleasantly wandering around and eating and drinking of course. In this part of the world when you order a drink at a bar you get a little snack free of charge!
We stayed in an apartment in a renovated building called Casa de los Neveros which was great. It had the typical Arab central courtyard with fountain and tiles and an ancient artefact and plants. This really does help keep the place cool. The apartment also had a balcony from which we could see the Alhambra. The apartment was quite modern and had all the mod cons.
In summary, Andalucia is one my favourite parts of the world and I would recommend to everyone to go if you get the chance!
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