http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/pumanomada/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from pumanomada en-us Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:36:21 +0000 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:36:21 +0000 To market to market Seville has a fish market I was interested not only because my brother owns one but also to compare to the amazing market in Barcelona. This one was very small. 6 fish stalls three were open and several other stalls an array of baskets fruit and land meats. I had walked by several leather goods stores while searching for the market so went in search of a new leather c http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Seville/blog-443071.html Sevilla Walking tour Decided to take a walking tour this morning I arrived about 15 minutes early and could tell the touristas from the Sevillians immediately. Cameras at the ready backpacks walking shoes and a very different sense of style more earthy less flash. I want to think I fit in but since some other tourists immediatly joined me I strongly suspect I am fooling myself. The tour http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Seville/blog-443015.html Sherry tour and scooter ride My plan when I decided to go to Jerez was to go on a Sherry tour. I have discovered I really like Fino Sherry I arrived in Jerez too late and was leaving too early to do a sherry tour at one of the wineries. The owner of the hotel very sweetly gave me a lecture and 'tour' in the rooftop bar at the hotel. I tasted Fino coastal white Montilla and He also told http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/blog-443003.html Arabic Bridge Funny both travel books called the oldest bridge the Arabic bridge but the TI map calls it the Roman Bridge and the signage states it is likely Arabic. It was a lovely walk down some very twistyturney roads and I was amazed to see a car rumbling up the cobblestones toward me. It was followed by several scooters which I did not find at all surprising. New Bridge hike I then went http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Ronda/blog-441584.html The long awaited Ronda Today I traveled from Nerja to Ronda. My new friends in Nerja gave me a lift to Malaga as they had friends arriving at the airport about the time I wanted to leave. It was wonderful to stay in a home and I am ever so grateful for their wonderful hospitality. They introduced me to their friends and I was able to attend a lecture and get a feel for what it is like to live http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Ronda/blog-441432.html Lazy day in Nerja Today I sunned myself on the beach and went for a couple swims in the Mediterranean. It was lovely and it is good to be on vacation http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Nerja/blog-441431.html Frigiliana Whitewashed hill town Went with a friend I met on the beach to one of the hill towns yesterday. Half the streets were shut for repairs no sign to let one know they were shut until you hit the barrier. We finally found somewhere to park the car after about an hour of driving around. Much of the town is pedestrian only so we went off exploring. Frigiliana is up in the Sierra Nevada http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Nerja/blog-441028.html Slowing down finally I promised pictures a couple days ago but have been too busy relaxing to take any or even post. Nerja is the sort of place where one truly is happy to just be on vacation. It has been pouring rain and I have been getting out for walks during the sun breaks but not taking the camera with. Today the sun broke through the clouds for much of the morning so I went on my walk wi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Nerja/blog-440549.html Raining on La Costa del Sol coast of the sun It was cloudy when I left Granada. Funny I caught the local bus going the wrong direction. The driver tried to tell me but I could not understand him. It was not until we got onto the highway that I turned to another rider and asked where the bus station was. I got off at the next stop but had the same driver going back. Thankfully I'd left with 2 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Nerja/blog-439943.html A soak and scrub Took a break from sightseeing today and went to the local spa for a soak and scrub. The spa was modeled on the Moorish baths at the Alhambra. It was beautiful and I feel wonderfully rejuvenated.Tomorrow I will head to Nerja. It was not on my original itinerary but I have a few extra days as I have been traveling at breakneck speed and a beach resort sounds lovely. However I http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Granada/blog-439713.html Alhambra Visited the Alhambra today. Entrance is strictly controlled to protect the site. My ticket was for the afternoon so I first walked up a hill which faces the site to take some preview pictures in the morning. The way up was steep but fairly easy to find a good viewpoint. On the way down I decided to take a different route and got completely lost in the Albayzin Arabic neighborhood. I http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Granada/blog-439451.html Granada surreal moment Successfully arrived in Granada. It is much more grity than Cordoba but then it is about 6 times larger. The hotel has wifi so I was able to update the blog with all my saved entries. After a snack to tide me over I went for a walk. Ended up on the river just below the Alhambra so hiked up the hill on the other side to see the view. Gorgeous I can hardly wait to explore http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Granada/blog-439187.html Alcazar Jewish Quarter walkabout Today I walked to Alcazar which was originally built by the Visgoths and rebuilt several times over history. It stands on the beach of what once was a major trading river. The river is merely a trickle now and the ancient castle is crumbling but the gardens are gorgeous. The jasmine roses hibiscus and blue morning glory were in bloom and the date palms o http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/C-rdoba/blog-439140.html AVE zoom zoomThis was my first experience with a bullet train at one point we were going in excess of 250 Kh. Wheee that was fun Can we go again It was great watching the countryside zooming past.A funny note in the US we have the ubiquitous black luggage in Espania it is the ubiquitous red luggage. No pompoms doodads ribbons or identifiers of any sort that I can find I've no clue http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/C-rdoba/blog-439138.html Museum fail beautiful Mediterranean Sea winMy plan for the day was to see the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya MNAC but I should have done my homework it is closed Sunday. So sad I decided to go see the beach and wander the Barceloneta and Barri Gotic areas instead. Definitly a high point of the trip. The palm trees and gorgeous colors of the neighborhoods. The melding of Jewish Hindu Mu http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-439136.html Just how does one photograph chaosWandered down Rablas again this morning with the intent of taking pictures. My photos do it no justice There are flower shops with an amazing array of orchids roses palms hybiscus and geraniums pet shops with birds turtles and some little striped mamal I could not identify performance artists of all sorts scam artists galore and on a Saturday morning http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-439131.html Wherein I leave the rain for the sunI awoke Friday morning to find it was pouring rain in Donostia. Thunder lightening the whole works it was beautiful Think Seattle rain midwinter it was coming down sideways in buckets. I had planned to walk to the local bakery to grab some breakfast to eat on the train they had some lovely whole wheat rolls Thursday. The bakery was still closed when I http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/San-Sebastian/blog-439129.html Beach walkWalked the beach again this morning there was better light so caught some great pictures of the Manolo Valdez sculptures along the promenade. I then had an amazing lunch at one of the restaurants along the marina. I had a salad and grilled squid. It was the most I've spent for a meal here 30euro but totally worth it An amazing meal I will remember for years.Hike to the castleTo be http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/San-Sebastian/blog-437411.html Departing MadridAfter getting up early this morning I checked out and went to grab some breakfast at the hotel restaurant. A beautiful older Japanese woman came in and attempted to order her breakfast in Spanish. The waiter was having issues understanding her and looked at me. After talking with her for a moment I discovered she knew a smattering of Spanish and Japanese. And she was traveling a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Basque-Country/San-Sebastian/blog-437149.html Day 3 Exploring Del Prado Today's adventure was exploring the Prado Museum. I found that I like El Greco and Bosch and did not like the Rubens so much as I'd expected. I loved Goya and Rembrandt's work and found a new love Cotan. Wow The Prado had some gorgeous inlay tables and some lovely sculptures. After a few hours of art exploration I was starving Time for TapasWandering Parque Retir http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/District-of-Madrid/Madrid/blog-436793.html