Heading out from Granada was rather more relaxed than finding our way in to the apartment. The narrow roads were less daunting with prior familiarity. We elected to journey to Cordoba via the sea port city of Malaga. Hmm. It seemed rather unwelcoming to motoring visitors looking for a parking spot and a place for a bite to eat. Various road changes meant that sat-nav maps were taking us around in circles also. Disenchanted we headed out without our stop and soon arrived in the city of Cordoba with its rich flamenco culture. Unbeknown to us we had arrived during the Spring Festival - Feria de Mayo - where much street entertainment and party mood were in full flight. Many groups of girls were dressed in either traditional flamenco style or else in brightly coloured attire ... read more

Yes you guessed it we did not get our on-line ticket purchase done in time so, faced with the unacceptable prospect of not visiting La Alhambra while in Granada, we toughened up to the reality of a 6:30 start to get in the ticket sales queue at the gate. Aah part of the experience! The advice to grab a taxi for the few minutes drive up the major hill was well placed as you will see shortly. Presented with two queues, one for cash and the other for credit cards we were able to team up with a couple from Ocean Grove of all places, to split up and cover both queues not knowing which would move faster. The resulting conversations and exchange of trip experiences helped pass the time until ticket sales commenced at 08:00. ... read more

It was a sight to behold, Rob driving through the laneways of Valencia, from the carpark to our apartment. This place is an absolute maze, put a car into the mix and it becomes something else. With bags packed into the car we are off. Thank heavens for a gps. It was mainly highway driving until we remember that La Manga was worth a visit. With an adjustment to the gps we turn off the highway. It is hard to describe this place. On one hand it is really interesting, on the other really tacky. Let me explain. Menor Mar is a bay on the Mediterranean. From one side to nearly the other (21km) is a spit of land. This is La Manga. It looks like the Gold Coast only 1 or 2 streets wide and ... read more

Brilliant planning and attention to fine detail has landed us smack in the middle of old town Valencia right next to Iglesia Y Torre de Santa Catalina and just down the road from the Valencia Catedral. Lots of attractions are within walking distance and so many of the buildings are very ornate dating from centuries ago in many cases. The city grew wealthy in the mid 18th - 19th centires by becomng a centre for spinning of silk from China with big volumes of trade to the rest of Europe arising from this. The city hall, post office and police station are classic examples of these public buildings. A feature of this day was exploring the Central Market built in the 1920's to replace a much smaller affair. This is a significant structure showing again the ... read more

The main places for visiting today required advanced ticket purchase with nominated admission times due to the numbers of visitors each site attracts. So first bus to Parc Tibidabo to catch the funicular to the top of the mountain with views across all of Barcelona region. There's an amusement park with carnival type rides for those interested and the obligatory basilica for this city of churches. We then joined the throng becoming engrossed by the spectacle that is the Sagrada Familia with it's towering steeples, ornate decoration and just the amazing amount of detail that has gone into the design and construction of this massive project. We last saw this in 1983 so 34 years of construction has pushed it along significantly with completion now scheduled for 2026. One wonders where all of the stonemasons will ... read more