Madrid, Seville & Cordoba

---

---

I've never been one to resist the Ryanair sales ✈️- the aim of this one was to find somewhere that stood a chance of still being warm in November and had good flight times. Cheap, of course was always high on the list. Madrid seemed to tick all the boxes ☀️? and with our usual, we might as well go there too approach, we settled on Madrid, Seville and Cordoba. Never been to Madrid, Seville had been on the wish list for a while and Cordoba had the 'Game of Thrones' connection so all good?



Sadly that was back in April and it was now November and months of concerning health issues had taken priority.? We had completed the last of the tests the week before and thankfully had finally received good news? Although I had a lot of health problems which were seemingly unrelated to each other, nothing was life threatening. A huge relief all round and a few days break was just what the Dr ordered.?



The day of departure was quite hectic. The contracts for the impending house move had arrived through the post so it was a mad rush to get those sorted and back in the post. We had never parked at Manchester either so were unsure of the amount of time needed. Luckily we over estimated and despite the awful signage at the airport we managed to find our way and get parked.?. It was then the free bus to the airport ? which actually arrived straight away. The airport again was surprisingly quiet so we got through security in record time and then there was time to sit. Andrew hadn't felt very well the night before but put it down to hunger... (lol) and so had been munching all the way to the airport so he didn't want a meal so we just pottered around. We enquired about the VIP lounge and agreed we would give it a go next time?. The plane left relatively on time and we were soon in Madrid.



In Madrid we had actually pre - arranged a car transfer to our hotel ?. The driver was waiting for us and the whole process was quick and straight forward. We soon arrived at our hotel - Hotel Liabeny in central Madrid. It was certainly very grand so, so far so good?. As we knew we didn't have much time in Madrid we decided to venture out and find somewhere nice for a meal?. We were quite impressed with Madrid, the architecture is stunning? and everywhere is very clean. You could see all the Christmas preparations in full force and imagined what a lovely sight it was going to be❤️. We soon came across a lovely looking restaurant that we decided to try out. We both ordered a main course and a drink....then came the surprises ? Firstly a lovely range of bread and soft cheese, along with a small glass of soup. Then a complimentary glass of bubbly?. Then our main courses arrived follwed by more complimentary sweet sorbets ?. Even more impressive was the bill, which was very reasonable for our several courses of yumminess?



So it was then back to the hotel for some zzzz?. Sadly the next morning we weren't very impressed with our hotel. No coffee maker☕️, it was noisy and the beds ? were hard?. Thankfully we fared better at breakfast and the hotel agreed to look after our bags whilst we went sightseeing. As time was limited we opted to go and find the tourist bus ? which thankfully only took us about 30mins to find. So off we went....thankfully the weather was dry so we managed to see a lot and take lots of photos?. 90mins later we got off and imediately found a sky bar to go and get cocktails?The view was lovely and it was nice and peaceful but alas it was time to make our way back to the hotel to collect our bags. At this point we were at the end of the main shopping street 'Gran Via' so decided to walk and go souvenir shopping en route?



We soon collected our bags from the hotel and the plan was to get the metro into the main railway station. Sadly the first metro of choice was closed for engineering works but thankfully the next one had a better option for getting to the station so off we set on a C train ? which only cost 3.40e for the both of us ?



Apart from the unexpected security precautions at the station, we got the train to Seville without incident and we arrived 2hrs later?



In Seville it was a short taxi ride to the hotel,? The Suites Murillo catedral. The hotel itself didn't look much from the outside but thankfully the room was very impressive with its own kitchen (complete with kettle!) and lounge area ? There wasn't a bath sadly or a view at all but you can't have everything! When we checked in we were asked about breakfast and we said we needed to check out early on the Friday but the Thursday morning would be great. They said that a 7am breakfast wouldn't be an issue for the Friday so we handed over 40e to cover breakfasts?



After unpacking, we decided to go and explore and soon found that we were just around the corner from the cathedral ⛪️ . The cathedral is apparently the 2nd largest in Europe and was certainly an impressive sight. In fact the whole area was very historic with lots of narrow cobbled streets and old buildings. After much wandering we soon found a restaurant for some dinner. It sadly was not as fancy as the one in Madrid but you certainly couldn't complain about the portion sizes ? Andrew had 'tapas" which supposedly is small dishes of various things and I opted for the chicken. There was enough food on our table to feed the whole restaurant! ?Thankfully the bill was reasonable despite being charged for the bread we didn't order! ?



It was soon bed time and the beds were certainly very comfortable ??



We slept in the next day which thankfully wasn't a problem as breakfast was served between 8 and 11am. Breakfast was a very basic affair in a small room. A lady made us a nice omelette but it wasn't very big and we certainly didn't leave 'podged' like we usually do. On the way from breakfast we asked reception about ordering a taxi ? for the following morning, she stated that she thought the taxis were on strike but would get back to us?



Once we got out, we realised that it was raining quite heavily ☔️so the only option was to use the transport system heavily and try and do some sightseeing from that. So first stop was the tram ? We sat on that until the end of the line which actually wasn't very far away but we did manage to see some of the sights. At the end of the line there was a railway and metro stop. Seeing the taxi option for the following morning looked unlikely we thought we had better look at different options. The main railway station in Seville is Santa Justa and a considerable walk away from where we were staying, but luckily there seemed to be plenty of trains that we could catch ? .



Next option was to give the metro? a go and see where that would take us. We soon landed at a shopping centre .? My phone? had been playing up all morning and was totally useless by this point so thought it would be an idea to check the prices in Spain ? Sadly everything was more expensive than we wanted so settled on an orange juice and sweets! Orange trees ? were everywhere in Seville but it still cost us over 2e for a small bottle of fresh orange juice. Thankfully it was very nice though and it was a good job I did plenty of walking to keep my blood glucose levels in check?



Rain, by this point seem to be subsiding so we decided to risk it and take a wander down by the river. So back on the metro to the 'Plaza de Cuba' where sadly the rain was definitely back to being a feature ☔️ Thankfully it was actually lunch time so straight in the nearest restaurant where Andrew discovered a new addiction - Ratoutulli ? I braved the caesar salad which sadly was rather dire but Andrew was in heaven. Further to Andrew's delight an old Leyland Atlantean bus ?went past dressed up as a tourist bus so guess where we were heading next!?



Despite the 30min wait in the rain waiting for the bus to turn up, getting on was actually a good move?. The rain was getting worse ☔️so at least we were warm and dry and able to see some of Seville. The city is rather impressive and we definitely felt that we would come back and hopefully get to see it in better weather. After a couple of rounds on the bus I was definitely feeling my sugar levels drop and was in need of food. There was another restaurant overlooking the river at Plaza de Cuba which looked nice and was actually recommended on the tourist bus leaflet so off we went. Unfortunately despite being 'open" with people inside they weren't actually opening until 7.30pm so we decided to make a reservation and come back. A dodgy but thankfully cheap burger ?from McDonalds sorted out the hunger crisis in the meantime. It was still raining but there was one place we wanted to see in Seville - The Parasol - a large wooden structure. The tourist bus apparently stopped nearby so we got back on it and made our way. Sadly we got off a stop too early and ended up soaking looking for it...but we soon found it and was certainly glad we did, a magnificent structure and the darkness with the light in the rain somehow added to its splendor. It was now getting on for 7pm and I didn't feel the tourist bus was the best option for getting back to the restaurant so into a taxi we went ? . Definitely the best 5e we had spent. We actually arrived at the restaurant early and had to wait in the bar next door for a few minutes but thankfully it wasn't long before we were ordering cocktails and enjoying the view ? Sadly the food wasn't excellent, Andrew had to send his back to be reheated but nevertheless it was a nice evening. We did decide to skip dessert and just head back on the metro. Luckily by the time we got off the metro, the rain had finally stopped and we were able to do some more sightseeing and souvenir shopping on our way to the hotel?



It was an early start the next day as we got organised for our next train to Cordoba ?. Sadly the promised breakfast never materialised and trying to get a refund from the receptionist on call seemed an impossible task! ? In the light of this we didn't have any faith that a taxi would appear either so we made our way down to the nearest taxi rank where, thankfully, there were a queue of them waiting ? . We soon got to the railway station and managed to get a mediocre bite to eat before getting on the train. To Andrews delight, this train was an older style Talgo train on which we had a lovely comfortable seat with a nice window to look out of. A bit more than an hour later we arrived in Cordoba. Thankfully the booked hotel was 5mins walk from the station and despite the early hour the lovely staff at the Mariott checked us in. At this point we were already feeling tired from the early start so a nap was in order .? . A little time later we were feeling much better and decided to head off to explore the town. We were soon in the historic centre in a restaurant where Andrew enjoyed yet more ratoutulli and I stuck to the simple pleasure of egg and chips. We were now ready for some serious sightseeing and headed to the famous Roman bridge ? as seen in Game of Thrones .? . The whole scene was lovely as we wandered across ❤️ Andrew then fancied some ice cream but sadly had to make do with some hot chocolate and churrios - one of Spain's many delights! ?



We decided then the best way of seeing the rest of the town was to jump on another tourist bus ?. As Cordoba had many small narrow streets this was made up of two buses - little and large. We spent a good couple of hours exploring whilst sat in the comfort of the open top bus. Thankfully the weather was actually sunny ?. It was then then time to do some souvenir shopping where we came across plenty of kitty cats ? amongst the fridge magnets. Bizarrely Andrew fell in love with a scarf which was actually ideal for when we would return to the cold temperatures in Madrid and the Uk. Sadly the bags I had my eye on were much more expensive than I had in mind but nevertheless we had had a good day. Now it was dinner time and we came across a restaurant on the way back to the hotel. The menu was pretty basic and towards the end of our meal the peace was ruined by a stampede of ill behaved children so needless to say we didn't stay long ?. It was nice though to get back in time for an early night and a much needed soak in the bath ?.



Thankfully our last day was quite easy going. The train to Madrid ? wasn't until 10.30am and we had plenty of time to kill before the 5.30pm departure back to Manchester. We decided it would be the perfect opportunity to try out the VIP lounge ? . The signage at the airport was dire and we actually ended up going through security twice ? but we finally made it with the help of the security staff. At £60 it wasn't exactly cheap but the reviews were good so we went with it. Although the area was spacious and comfy, sadly the food on offer was very disappointing consisting of just sandwiches, salad and fruit ? We were definitely in need of a proper meal but since we had already passed through passport control there was no going back. Still we made the most of it and soon it was time for boarding and we were on our way back to Manchester✈️

---