We had a very enjoyable trip and managed to consume our fair share of tapas, cervezas and finos. Clint even managed to get us from place to place in our hire car without driving into incoming traffic (they drive on the right [wrong] side there). Our GPS lady helped a bit with directions, even if she did sometimes tell us to drive down non-existent roads, or one way streets - she usually got called a few names after this sort of behaviour.
We started off in Sevilla which was very enjoyable. We were staying in a cute hotel in the historic part of town, which was surrounded by restaurants, bars and old stuff. One of the coolest old things we saw was the Alcazar!
It is a royal palace which was originally a Moorish fort. It had some amazing detail to the rooms, with plenty of stone carvings and tile work that even my past dabbles into mosaicing wouldn't compare to.
After a couple of days in Seville, we picked up our speedy little hire car and managed to find our way out of the city and hit the highway to Granada.
We stayed in a B&B Homestay in Granada which was run by a very helpful guy called Victor. He gave us a lot of tips of places to eat and visit, which all turned out to be great (although his information about the fine that will be coming our way after parking our car in the 'forbidden zone' of the city was not welcome news).
The main attraction of Granada though, is the Alhambra - another Moorish palace and fort on a GRAND scale, which is one of Spain's major tourist attractions.
We made sure we got tickets the day before, as people line up for hours from early morning onwards to try and get tickets for that day without being guaranteed they'll get one. We turned up at 8:30am and went straight in - so it was definitely worth it!
The colossal size of the palace was pretty awesome, and the views from it were great.
The Alhambra definitely makes Granada a site for sore eyes!
And as a man once said to his wife in a famous Spanish poem, whilst passing a blind beggar in the streets of Granada:
"Give him alms, my wife,
for there is no pain in life greater than that
of being a blind man in Granada."
Very true!
(Well, I couldn't say for sure it would be painful, cos I could actually see it all)
(But I guess it would be kinda annoying )
(It is very pretty)
Anyway, after our last night in Granada where we checked out a few of the tapas bars Victor suggested (which were all very tasty and cheap - 4 drinks each and about 6 small tapas for 20 euros! Not to mention the snails we ate....) we headed back into the 'forbidden area' and made our way out of town towards Ronda via the Costa Del Sol!
We stopped in a beachside town called Nerja for another picnic lunch of cured ham, chorizo, cheese, fresh baguette, olives and canned fish...mmmmm.
We drove via Malaga, a popular destination for British tourists who are looking to tan their hides, then left the Costa Del Sol and headed up into the mountains to Rrrrrrronda!
Ronda was probably our favourite place in Andalucia - the mountain scenery and dramatic views were so impressive!
We hired bikes on our second day there and went for a 20km ride through the mountains. I only had to get off my bike and walk it a few times (only to take pictures of course)! We were given a drawn, and written, map which managed to keep us on track for at least most of the way....(we weren't really sure how we ended up on the train tracks though...)
Tiring but great views!
After exerting ourselves on our ride we enjoyed yet another lovely picnic in the park, just above the amazing cliffs that the city of Ronda sits atop of. We then decided to check out the Plaza De Toros - the big bull-fighting arena in Ronda. We were there right at the end of the day after the last of the Malaga day-trippers had headed back to their coastal resorts - so we got to see it at its quietest.
It was one of those unexpected things that you have on your 'maybe list' and then decide to go and see at the last minute....And then it turns out to be totally worth it. Not that I'm a fan of bull fighting - but just the size of it, the history of it, and the feeling you got when you sat on one of the bench seats up in the empty grandstands looking over the empty arena - was very cool.
After Ronda we drove back to the coast to the last destination of our trip - Cadiz. Cadiz is the main city in the Cadiz province, and sits on a little 'isthmus'. We stayed right near the major beach in the city called La Playa Victoria.
Unfortunately the weather wasn't heaps hot (ie not Megan swimming weather) but Clint chucked on his boardies and went for a few dips!
We did a massive walk around the peninsula on the first day, and checked out the big fortress that juts out from the city like a big jetty. That was about when I decided I wanted to explore the rocks near the jetty - this involved an impressive slip and a fall on my behalf (or should I say behind).
Our last few days were quite relaxing and we managed to continue our picnic trend, filling our cooler bag with as much cured iberico ham, fish and beer as possible before hitting the beach. Cadiz is known for its seafood, so being West Coasters we definitely made the most of it!
We also took in some of the night life and saw some flamenco...and also sampled some of the regions famous Sherry in a Bodegas.
A great way to end the holiday!
But the time finally came, and we headed towards Seville airport and caught our plane back to London, where we landed to grey skies and drizzle! But we can't complain, as we have a few more trips planned this year, don't you worry!
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