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Published: October 7th 2009
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As a treat before starting my new job, Barry and I took a nine day trip to Andalucia. We had been to this part of the world before but were keen to return to see the places we had missed, as well as to brush up on our Spanish. And to eat lots of nice food of course!
We flew into Málaga and hired a car. As Barry can't drive, it was up to me to do the hard work whilst he sat back and navigated..! As always, it all went very smoothly. We stopped off at a little village near the coast called Frigiliana. This is a lovely place, with white-washed walls, quiet alleyways, and a nice place for lunch. It was amazing how easily we got into the Spanish way of life, with a relaxing long break in the sunshine. Unfortunately though a siesta wasn't on the cards as we had to get back on the road. We drove on and up into the Sierra Nevada mountains. After travelling some very windy roads we eventually arrived in the town of Trevélez. This is the highest town in the Sierra Nevadas, and one of the highest in the whole
of Spain, at an altitude of 1,486 metres above sea level.
We stayed in Trevélez for the next few days. We had a lovely hotel (La Fragua) which was linked to an even more amazing restaurant. We ate there every night and each time the food seemed to get better and better! During the days we set out for hikes in the mountains. Our first day was the best for hiking as the weather remained fairly clear. We headed up the valley behind Trevélez, firstly along a farm and cattle track and then into more open country. A lovely walk and some great views. We finally reached a place called Siete Lagunas, where we stopped for lunch. Above us towered Mulhacen, the highest peak in mainland Spain (3,479m). We also spotted some Ibex nearby, but they were too shy to let us get too close. This was the moment I wished I owned a better zoom lens!
Our second day of hiking was less successful. When we woke up the weather was looking poor and by the time we had driven to the next town of Capileira, the rain was pouring from the sky and visibility was limited.
We set off on the hike, hoping to summit Mulhacen. Unfortunately the weather was too bad to let us continue for too long and after an hour or so we had to give up and turned around. This was obviously annoying, but made even worse by the fact that we had realised that the path was so good and with better weather we could easily have made it to the top of the mountain.
After some less than perfect weather in the mountains it was time to head down to lower altidues, where we were hoping for better conditions and a chance to top up the tans! We drove down to Granada, which was an easy journey. Easy, that is, until we reached Granada city itself. Then we were faced with the eternal nightmare of driving through a city we didn't know with only a guide book map to lead the way. With a bit of luck and a lot of swearing we finally made it to the Hertz office where I was very glad to dump the car and to continue in to central Granada by foot.
In Granada we stayed at the lovely Hotel Zaguan, located
in the heart of things. Our main reason for being in Granada was to see the Alhambra of course, but before that we had an afternoon and evening to explore the city. We took in the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella, as well as the usual sights of the city. We also made use of the excellent Granada bar policy of giving customers a free tapas with every drink. Thus, in the evening we almost managed to get our whole dinner for free, as we got our olives, cheese, bagels, ratatouille and other Spanish delights for free. Yum yum!!!
The following morning we were up early to visit the Alhambra. A quick google search will tell you more than I ever could about the Alhambra, but needless to say it is a fantastic site. It is a palace/fortress which was once lived in by the Moorish rulers in Spain and then went through various hands before ending up as a World Heritage Site. We spent time just wandering through the lovely surroundings, including the gardens of the Generalife, the Nasrid palace, the Alcazaba and the Palace of Charles V. This is one of those places which I feel I
could return to time and again and never get bored.
Next stop was possibly my most favourite city of the trip, Córdoba. It it hard to say exactly what attracted me so much, but I think the answer must lie somewhere between the good weather we had, the great food, the pretty old medina and the truly magical Mezquita. The Mezquita ("mosque") is world-renowned for its architecture and with good reason. We visited twice (handy hint: it is free to enter if you go early in the morning), and both times I was struck by the sheer size of the building as well as the beauty of the seemingly never-ending red and white arches. The other truly bizarre element is the Cathedral which has been dumped in the middle of the Mosque, which in itself is attractive, but almost jars with the simplicity in design of the mosque around it. This was another moment on the trip where I wished I had a tripod, as it was an exceedingly tough place to photograph!
From Córdoba we took a day trip to Seville. Although the city definitely deserves more time, the one day we had allowed us to see
the main sights and get a feel for the wonderful tapas we were missing out on by leaving so soon! The Cathedral in Seville is nice (especially the tower you can climb), but we were much more impressed by the fantastic Alcázar next door. I think I much prefer the Moorish design of patios, with water continually flowing through and beautifully inscribed walls and ceilings. The Alcázar also housed a lovely garden where we took a break in the sunshine.
Our trip finished off with a day and a bit in Málaga. For most British people, Málaga is synonymous with boozy package holidays on the nearby Costa del Sol. However, we were completely won over by the city. Once again, this was down to a heady mix of hot weather, a great beach, a nice old town, tasty tapas and that general Spanish way of life. Málaga is also home to another nice Alcázar and a good Picasso museum. To be honest I was a bit lost in the museum as I am not quite sure that I "get" Picasso. However, it was well laid out and gave me some food for thought!
And then our time in
Spain had to come to an end as my new job and a return to real life beckoned. Still, I have a feeling that it won't be too long until we are back again...
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barrygahan
Barry
Mmm tapas!
Great write up Ruthy, I wish we were back there now!