Spain - Andalusia

The Atlantic crossing was my easiest ever. I was never uncomfortable and even slept a little. I had no jet lag.

We connected in Madrid to Malaga. We immediately discovered Malaga was a happening place.

We walked down to the Park and through the Gardens. We stopped for an audio-guided tour through the Cathedral, which had some impressive features.

We then went through the historic city center which was bustling.

We decided to eat before cleaning up as we remembered we had no lunch. We ate at Los Gatos and had pintxos (though they didn’t call them that), grilled vegetables and an omelet sandwich.  

I got gelato after, which was good.

Our host introduced us to many gelato places and quite a few pintxos restaurants though most spelled “pintxos” incorrectly.

We walked around crowded pedestrian streets before heading back to our apartment.

The next day we started with a walk to Granier for pastries.

We then went to the Roman theater and the Alcazaba which was a Moorish fortification. It was very much intact and kept in great shape with outstanding foliage.

After two hours there we made the climb to Castillo de Gibralfaro, a castle that helped protect the Alcazaba below.  It was also well kept.

On the way out of Castillo I ran into Father Tony, a golf buddy. I was wearing a Notre Dame hat and shirt and heard “Go Irish”. I thought I recognized the Irish accent. I turned and saw who it was.

We grabbed ham, cheese, and in Teresa’s case, lettuce and tomato sandwiches. I had gelato afterwards.    

We then walked to the Mercado de Atarazanas though it was closed. We did see the mural at its entrance.

We then walked into some less congested areas and made  our way back to the room.  

For dinner we went to Puento Cristol. We both had sea bream, baby potatoes and wok-fried vegetables- all excellent. It started to rain after so I gave up on gelato.

The next day was a travelling day. We walked back to the Mercado to experience it while it was open.

We then took the bus to Granada. We discovered our room lacked heat and hot water. (the weather was rather chilly). Both were remedied by our host by that night.

In the meantime we did a self-guided walking tour in our area  which include the Corral Carbone, which was a former caravansaray, that at one time was turned into a coal depot (hence its name). We also visited a church and the cathedral next door.

Our dinner was pedestrian but I followed it with good gelato.

The next day was Alhambra day. We got up early to walk there for our 8:30 ticket time (first of the day). The Alhambra  averages 8,000 visitors a day. We were the 19th and 20^th to get in line.

The Alhambra was a palace/fortification, the last stronghold of the Moors in Iberia. Since their 700 year reign there have been a few changes and additions, but the complex retains its Moorish character.

We started at the Nazaries Palace  as that was the most popular and most attractive. The idea was to beat the crowds. Tour groups arrived at 9:00 and caught up with us soon after.

The Palace was characterized by finely detailed carvings and adornments and the artistry was impeccable. This area included the 12 Lions Fountain.  

From the Palace we continued through the Portal Gardens to Henry’s Palace, which was built by a Spanish king who was also a Holy Roman Emperor. We made use of the time of a brief rain shower to visit two museums inside that palace.

We then went to the Alcazaba, which was the fortress part of the Alhambra.

After that we went to the Generalife which was the horticultural area of the site. It was intended to be sumptuous gardens and also a fruit and vegetable producing location.

On the walk back after our five hour visit we stopped and enjoyed very good doner kebabs. We followed that up with good gelato from Los Italianos.

We decided to go back to our room for a break. We cleaned up and headed “beyond Carmen”- the area past Plaza de Carmen to get a flavor of the non-touristy part of Granada.

After strolling for a while, we finally decided on a tapas place for dinner. We got a meal for two which included four drinks and a multitude of various dishes.

The next day we explored the Alboyzin area of Granada, which is considered Spain’s best old Moorish quarter. It was the site of the first Moorish palace before the Alhambra and its elevation allowed views of the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

The next morning, we picked up our rental car and headed to Baeza. It is a town reminiscent of one you would find in Tuscany. There was plenty of Renaissance architecure  with several churches and palaces.

We next drove to Ubeda for more of the same, though a greater concentration of interesting edifices. Many of the palaces had been turned into hotels, including the place we stayed.    

  

We ate at Taverna Antique. I had pork meatballs; Teresa had wok vegetables with pork. For dessert I had fondant chocolate negro, with supo chocolate blanca, con helado de cherry.

In the morning, we headed to the small town of Luque. We visited the 9^th century Islamic Castle at noon.

From there we went to Zuheros which had a similar castle on a rock. It was not much fun driving through the narrow streets  of those towns, as well as the town of Cabra , which we saw exclusively from our car as that city had no available parking.

Finally, we arrived at Priego de Cordoba (not to be confused with Cordoba). It is a beautiful city. We wandered around, headed toward Fuente de Rey Fountains travelling on Calle Rio. We walked some more and happened upon the castle, which was open. This was a newer castle that went through some iterations but proved formidable throughout its history.

For dinner we ended up at Zyrohs on Calle Rio, a tapas place, recommended in Lonely Planet. We arrived a little after eight but were advised the kitchen didn’t open until nine. We walked around some more and came back and ordered drinks before dinner time.

We split a huge crunchy chicken salad, which was delicious. Next we had a tosta which was very much like a pintxo. It was goat cheese on caramelized onions on toast- superb.

Next we had risotto. We ordered two ½ rations; Teresa’s was pear and gorgonzola; mine was calamari and shrimp- exquisite. Neither of us finished. We had ordered a huge hamburger. I took a bite- scrumptious, Teresa abstained.  We brought back two boxes.

The streets had been deserted in the afternoon. They were mobbed from at least eight to ten. When we left the restaurant hundreds of people (mostly young) were out in the middle of the streets under umbrellas as it was cold and raining. They were just standing there in groups talking to each other.

The next morning, we headed Antequera and the Dolmans which dated back as far as 3,500 B.C. These were tombs as well as calendars as they line up with the equinoxes. My theory had always been that when humans became agrarian, they needed calendars to know when to plant. Flimsy sticks or stones could be upended by weather, vandals or an enemy. Gargantuan stones were not as easy. The Dolmans, in fact, had one stone that had four times the mass of the largest stone of Stonehenge.

Nearby was the “face mountain” which resembled a profile looking up. Some lore had been attached to it as one might imagine.

We next went to Torcal Rocks which involved a two hour and 40-minute hike through rock formations. The trek was complicated by the recent rains which left water and mud. That meant the rocks that had to be traversed were very slippery.

We then drove back to Antequera.

The next morning, we drove to the Caminito del Rey for the 4km walk along the cliffside. We were lucky as the rain held off until we finished.

In the afternoon we visited Antequera’s Alcazaba, the Muslim fortress which, after a few tries, was finally conquered by the Christians in the 15^th century.

We then visited some churches, including one that featured Faith reigning in seven serpents representing the seven deadly sins.

Chocolate gelato that rivaled that of Prague followed.

For dinner I had curry chicken that came with fries, Teresa chose a salad.

In the morning, we headed first to Setenil de las Borgas. It is a white town known  for having homes and businesses built into caves. The caves had been used as dwellings in prehistoric times.

The city also had a Moorish fortress which was conquered in 1464.

We ate lunch there at a sumptuously decorated restaurant.

On to Ronda. Our apartment was in a great location- three minutes to the bullring and another few to the famous bridge. We crossed the bridge and climbed down the other side for pictures.

That evening we went to a concert by guitarist Paco Sano.

For dinner I had ox-tail and Teresa had vegetable (to avoid the possibility of food poisoning) paella. It got quite cold that evening.

In the morning, we headed back to the old town to visit La Casa del Rey Moro. The Moorish king never lived there; the name came from William McKinley’s grandson who started the rumor while living there. It had gardens with peacocks and a “water mine” which was accessed by 196 vertical feet of steps to get to the place where water was gathered, most often under sieges. There was a nice view from the bottom.

Next was the Arab Baths. When Muslims controlled the area they built Roman-like baths right outside the city gates as Muslims were intended to purify themselves before entering. It also served as a gathering spot.

In the afternoon we took a guided walking tour, again through the old town but without repeating our previous steps.

We saw the fusion of Moorish, Renaissance, Baroque and Medjan architecture and were given the reasons for the use of them.

The next morning we drove to Grazalema which is a small “pueblo blanco”  town. It was quite isolated but afforded nice views.

On to Arcos de Fronteros, somewhat larger with more impressive buildings. We finally bought pastries from a convent by way of a lazy susan that prevented any glimpse of the nun.

We visited San Pedro Church as the others were closed.

We had a nice lunch in a restaurant in front of the convent.

On to Cadiz. We arrived late in the afternoon but still managed to walk around a good part of the old town.

 We had tapas for dinner and convent treats for dessert- no gelato.

The Phoenicians founded the city in 1100 B.C. but traces of their habitation there are scant. Cadiz claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in Western Europe. (Plovdiv, Bulgaria is considered to be in Eastern Europe)

Our second day in Cadiz started with a self-guided walking tour.

Next was a visit to the Phoenician Archeological Dig which had a good video presentation before the walk among the ruins.

We then went to the Grad Market and then to the Roman Theater.

A walk through the medieval district preceded the long walk to Castillo San Sebastian.

That was followed with a shorter walk to Castillo Santa Catalina.

We had a nice dinner at a restaurant where we had an extended conversation with a couple from the UK. Too late for gelato.

The next day was a travel day to Sevilla. Most of the day was spent in Jerez, a city along the way.

We visited the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Arts, took a tour and visited its museum.   

Next we went to the Palace and Alcazar both of which were very extensive. At the palace they had a model of the city in Moorish times  when the entire city was walled in.

We also went to the cathedral which was uninspiring.

We drove to Sevilla, turned in our car and checked in.

We walked around a bit before and after dinner, which was a shared salad and shared pizza.

We walked by “the Mushroom” on the way back.

Next morning we went first to the cathedral for our guided rooftop tour. It included lots of history as well as the influence various cultures had in it building.

The cathedral is the third largest in Europe with the world’s largest altarpiece.

After the tour we climbed the bell tower which had been an Islamic minaret. Because it came out unscathed after a devastating earthquake it was decided to use it instead of razing it as had been the plan. The Christians did add a top portion with a weather vane.

We then took a Rick Steves self-guided tour of the interior of the cathedral that took a while.

We looked at the Indos Archives but there was not much to it.

On to Plaza de Espana where we got to see a Flamenco Exhibition.

On the way back we strolled through Maria Lianeres  Park then the Barrio Santa Cruz.

We went to the same barrio for dinner and found a nice small restaurant. We  shared a mixed salad. I had a tapa portion of pork loin over French fries with berry sauce and a half plate of fried anchovies; Teresa had stuffed peppers with ratatouille and egg along with spinach and chick peas. I had very good gelato after.

The next day was Alcazar of Seville day. First was a tour through the private rooms of the palace that are still used by Spanish royalty (no photos allowed) , then the remaining rooms  of the palace and the extensive gardens.

On the way back we went by "The Mushroom" again to see it in the daytime.

 

The next morning, we took the fast train to Madrid. It was a nice ride. After checking in we walked to the Prado which we visited for three hours until museum fatigue set in.

After that we walked to some fountains (one not working), the Plaza del Sol, a stop for gelato then back to the room. Italian for dinner- then back to the room to pack for the trip to Casablanca.