And, with that in mind, welcome to our blog about......Espana. Because sometimes you just change your mind. And a direct flight sounds good. And except for a change of planes in the dreaded Madrid airport, we have never been to Spain.
Surprisingly, it has not even been on our radar. Until now!
Lots of reading, & a modest itinerary of two nights in Cordoba followed by two nights in Seville & five days in Madrid.
We will end this trip with a visit to our 'second home' in our beloved Amsterdam. If the stars & flights all align, we will be thrilled to have Sean & Brian with us for most of the visit.
We did not write about our trip last fall to Tuscany. I truly regret it. I am so surprised at how quickly the days fly by & how difficult it is to go back & recreate what we did a few days ago. These days in Spain have been pretty busy. I was glad to finally put all those details in writing.
A note about Spain - I cannot believe how much I love this country.
I am already planning trips back to see more of it.....loving Espana!!!!
Day three....en route to Seville.
I can already say there are additional destinations in Spain that I would like to visit.
Cordoba provided a great introduction to Spain. The weather was fantastic. Sunny with a cool breeze & bright blue skies.
Would you like to sit outside for breakfast? YES, please!
Orange trees filled with beautiful fruit are everywhere. Very friendly people.
Highlights included a visit to the Mezquita.....at various times in history a Mosque & a Catholic Church . It's history is quite evident with Arabic touches & the opulence of a Cathedral. Very interesting place to spend a few hours.
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| Mezquita, Cordoba |
Another pleasant surprise in Southern Spain....the Moroccan influences. It never occurred to me (geographical expert that I am....) in planning this trip that we were so close to Morocco. The hotel was inside the walls of a Medina. (similar to the Medina where we stayed in Tangier.). Many of the shops sold the same souvenirs we saw in Morocco. We had a very good Moroccan dinner. The tabbouleh not as good as Livia's, the hummus, not as good as Sean's but an excellent meal.
On to Seville.....
In Seville our hotel is down some very narrow alleys, surrounded by shops, tapas bars & restaurants. As in Cordoba, the windows in the rooms open to an interior courtyard. In Seville, this courtyard is filled with flowers, a fountain & cozy chairs to hang out in. No time for hanging out though.....The Alcazar, Cathedral, plazas and parks awaited us in this incredibly picturesque city.
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| Sevilla Cathedral |
We have seen many Cathedrals throughout Europe, including St. Peter's in Rome & the Duomos of Tuscany. The Seville Cathedral is one of the most opulent I have ever seen. The enormity of it, the architecture & then of course the antiquities that I have come to equate with Catholic Cathedrals, more grand than anything I have ever encountered. And because I can never quite figure the Catholic Church out, I did have a few thoughts of 'why?' but mostly I tried to just enjoy it & take it all in.
We seem to have arrived in Spain at the perfect time. The weather is amazing & the crowds not too large.
The Alcazar of Seville was room after room, garden after garden just waiting to be explored. Absolutely gorgeous architecture, amazing tile work that seemed to have different patterns & colors with each room. Sometimes within the same room.
Plaza de Espana built for the Iberian American exposition held in 1929 was a late afternoon destination. Again, the tile work &the attention to detail was absolutely exquisite. A lot of the tiles are in my favorite blue & white. The touches of red or yellow just add to their beauty. From the Plaza we wandered through the very large Maria Louisa Park. The park was filled with gardens just beginning to show buds, little bits of color here & there. It was also filled with joggers, pigeons & people enjoying the early evening.
Off to Madrid!
Madrid, upon arrival seemed very busy, very much like Rome....maybe even more people. Three days later, there still seems to be an extraordinary amount of people on the streets at all hours.
Our 4th floor walk up (88 steps) overlooks a street with several bars. The first two nights there was an inordinate amount of noise until the very early hours of the morning. Last night seemed quieter...or I am getting used to it, or I was just really tired. Other than that, our apartment seems to have location, location, location.
Puerta del Sol is a few blocks away. Shops, restaurants, street performers & a huge department store - El Corte Ingles. Of significance to us is the grocery store in the basement. The first afternoon here we stocked up on essentials, made dinner & settled in. I had my first fight with the washing machine & seemed to have won.
Our first full day in Madrid we wandered toward Plaza Mayor. A stop at Starbucks for coffee & then Churros & Chocolate ('A Spanish Tradition'....or so the sign reads) at San Gines, a place I had bookmarked.
Also on my list, the San Miguel Mercado - amazing. A bit like Pike Market although not as big. Lots of places offered tapas. My first stop was a small bite of toast with a soft cheese & caviar. This was offered with a shot of vodka. Vodka in the middle of the afternoon...no thanks. Caviar anytime....yes! The next stop was a blue cheese croquette. How could you not love this?
A few hours later and hungry again, we stopped at the Cantina La Traviesa. What a great experience. The owner ( our assumption) spoke little English. We speak poquito Espanol. Somehow it worked! We ordered paella. It was awesome! At the end of our meal, as we had in Buenos Aires a small bottle & 2 shot glasses appeared. The last time I did shots was last summer after my surgery....doctor's orders. And grappa & limoncello is good but not my favorite. This however was exceptional. Grappa Crema (homemade, not sold anywhere)...grappa (skin of the grape), caramel, cinnamon & vanilla. So good!
Saturday morning we were off bright & early (not that early but it was bright out....) to Segovia. As a life long lover of all things Disney, I was very excited to read that the Alcazar was Walt Disney's inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's Castle. This is also where Christopher Columbus was promised financing by Queen Isabel to discover the Americas. Bob contends he also saw the same story at another castle. Who knows, maybe he was playing all of them for money. Either way, I loved seeing it. Along with the Alcazar, there was a beautiful Cathedral, some street shopping & some tapas in the plaza. Back in Madrid we went out for a late dinner at a local restaurant recommended to us by a flight attendant on the way over. Thankfully the noise level on the street was much lower last night. Loving FaceTime & the ability to check in with our peeps - It sure makes the world a lot smaller!
The last few years, street markets have been high on our list when we travel. Amsterdam & the 'IVM' market, Germany & the Christmas markets. In doing research for this trip, I found a few I wanted to try to see.
El Rastro is a Sunday market in Madrid. This morning that was our destination. Not too difficult...just follow the crowds. I mean hoards of people. Unbelievable large, almost scary crowds. You literally could through the market. Not fun! We found a bar offering tapas for a light lunch & then it was off to the Palace & Cathedral.
Both were beautiful although nothing compares in my mind to what we saw in Cordoba & Seville.....especially Seville.
Another walk through the San Miguel Market, a stop for more tapas dinner & a final stop for churros & chocolate. A grocery store run for essentials (sparkling water & yogurt) & back to the apartment.
Round 2 tonight with the washing machine. I lost. Wet clothes hanging everywhere. Never thought I would say I look forward to the washing machine in Amsterdam. I have definitely had my issues with it as well.
Culture tomorrow in the form of the Prado & maybe the Thyssen museums.
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