In early September, two days after returning from Sweden, Jon and I were packing yet again for individual excursions. He was off on another mini-deployment and I was bound for Spain to meet up with Mandy. She was visiting a college friend in Madrid, but met me in Sevilla where we enjoyed four days in the Andalucía region known for its Spanish guitar, flamenco dancing, bullfights, tapas, sangria and lots of sunshine!
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| At the Bullfight Arena in Sevilla |
After meeting up at the hotel, we immediately visited the Sevilla Cathedral and Giralda Tower. It is the third largest church in Europe and the largest Gothic cathedral. It was built on the site for a former mosque in 1401 and the architecture still has many Moorish influences. The Giralda Bell Tower is a remnant of the original mosque and rises 330 feet above the city providing spectacular views. The spiraling ramp, rather than stairs, was designed to accommodate riders on horseback who galloped up five times a day to give the Muslim call to prayer.
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| View of Sevilla from Giralda Bell Tower |
After the Cathedral tour we visited Alcazar, a former Moorish palace from the 10th century. This building still functions as a royal palace and is the oldest in use in Europe. The Moorish design was gorgeous with arched doorways, reflective pools, fountains and beautiful tile work and mosaics. The most amazing thing about the palace are the expansive gardens behind the palace, filled with tropical flowers and cool fountains.
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| Alcazar Palace |
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| Gardens of Alcazar Palace |
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| Gardens of Alcazar Palace |
This was my second time to visit this wonderful city, and I was most excited to have the chance to visit the amazing tapas bars on my return. This city knows how to make some tapas and the many classic old bars throughout the narrow alleys of the Santa Cruz neighborhood do it best. We enjoyed a tapas bar-hop dinner before taking in a flamenco dance performance later that night. Touristy? Yes, but still a must while in Sevilla where the flamenco dance was born. The costumes are fantastic and the music is eerily beautiful.
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| Tapas at a street-side cafe |
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| Tapas at Las Teresas where Ham Hangs Above the Bar |
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| Flamenco Dance Performance |
Our next day in Sevilla, we visited the Plaza de Espana, which I hadn't seen on my first visit. I was blown away by this enormous square, built for the 1929 international fair. The Spanish Pavilion is outlined in tiles showing historic scenes and maps from every province of Spain. Here we embarked on a horse and buggy ride that took us around the square, Maria Luisa Park, downtown Sevilla and back. It was a fun and relaxing way to see this beautiful city from a new perspective.
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| Spanish Pavilion Tiles |
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| Plaza de Espana |
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| Our Carriage |
After some post-siesta shopping (this city has some fantastic stores with the most gorgeous shoes you've ever seen), we toured the Bullfight Museum. The bullfight tradition is still alive and well throughout Spain, and especially in this region. The Matadors are revered as heroes and fights occur weekly throughout the summer.
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| Ole from the Bullfight Arena |
After learning about the art of the bullfight, we trekked to the Triana neighborhood for dinner with a spectacular view. We dined on the rooftop of a restaurant along the river and enjoyed watching the Spaniards at play in this magnificent city.
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| View of Cathedral from Triana Neighborhood |
Our third day in Spain, we traveled South to the white hill towns, or pueblos blancos, to experience the Andalucían countryside. We drove two hours to Arcos de la Frontera, the queen of the white hill towns. Surrounded by rolling hills, this town is situated atop a hill along a cliff on two sides. There is only one way up to the old town and one way down. After getting a little over-confident of my driving skills in the narrow old town, I missed a turn, tried to correct and got in a little bit of a pickle trying to make a second turn. Luckily, a seasoned local was there to bail me out, take the wheel and make the turn into the narrow alley up to the main square. All while an entire audience of cafe-patrons put down their drinks to watch. After a half hour of complete embarrassment, I was able to compose myself enough to enjoy a relaxing lunch and pitcher of sangria to ease the humiliation. Our hotel was in a prime location overlooking the main square and situated along one of the cliffs. We had spectacular views of the town, ravine and countryside below.
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| View of Arcos Old Town from Hotel Terrace |
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| Lunch in Arcos |
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| On the Main Square, the Plaza del Cabildo, which provides a great look-out point |
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| Plaza del Cabildo look-out point |
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| Arcos Alleys |
Other than the church, there are no main sites to see in Arcos except the beautiful town itself. We loved through the white-washed alleys and dipping in to shops to view beautiful artwork and handi-crafts. After dinner, we would come back to the terrace and enjoy a glass of wine with views of a dimly lit Arcos in the background.
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| Arcos at Night, Viewed from the Hotel Terrace |
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| Arcos de la Frontera |
With Arcos as our base camp, we made a day excursion to two other beautiful white hill towns. First was Grazalema, a beautiful postcard-pretty hill town. As much as we loved Grazalema and its quaintness, we also loved the drive getting there. Our route took us through the enormous Grazalema Natural Park, with views of rolling hills and blue sky as far as the eye could see.
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| Grazalema Natural Park |
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| Grazalema |
Next we drove to Ronda, a unique town that straddles a gorge with the Moorish quarter on one side and the Mercadillo quarter on the other. After a delicious lunch cliffside, we walked along the gorge to view its three gorge-spanning bridges. We then hiked 10-minutes down a steep path to get pictures of the largest bridge below. A beautiful crystal clear creek with waterfalls and pools lay at the bottom of the steep gorge.
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| Ronda Gorge |
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| Ronda Gorge |
Back in Arcos, we enjoyed one last sunset and tapas dinner in this picture-perfect town where time seems to stand still. Tomorrow, we would be leaving the Andalucían countryside and bound for the bustling capital of Madrid.
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| View from Hotel Balcony |
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| View from Plaza del Cabildo |
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| Our Final Tapas Dinner |
Our train ride to Madrid was one of the most beautiful train rides I've experienced. It may not have had the Alps of Switzerland or the fjords of Norway, but the dry desert-high plain, mountainous landscape was gorgeous and refreshingly different from the rest of Europe. Mandy's friend, Elizabeth, met us at the station and immediately took us on a whirlwind tour of the city. First stop was Retiro Park, Madrid's version of Central Park. This 300-acre park was beautifully shaded with a large lake in the middle. Next, we visited the Prado museum where we viewed masterpieces by Velazquez and Goya.
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| Retiro Park |
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| Retiro Park |
Afterward, we walked through the Puerta del Sol and the Plaza Mayor, the two main squares of the city. Our final stop was the covered Mercado de San Miguel, filled with high-end food vendors. I made a bee-line to the olive counter where they had olives stuffed with everything imaginable. Ahhhh.... I love fresh olives!
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| Mercado de San Miguel |
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| Plaza Mayor |
Our final night in Spain, we ate a superb dinner in Elizabeth's town of Alcala, a suburb of Madrid. She and her family so graciously hosted us for the night and took us to the airport the following day. I will treasure these memories with mi hermana mayor siempre. I am so fortunate to have not one, but two sisters, who love traveling as much as me, and to be able to spend time with them exploring new cultures and scenery is so special. Gracias per todo, mi hermana, y te amo mucho!
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