Madrid – 5 t0 10 November

The drive from Toledo to Madrid was through a very dry & tired looking landscape. They certainly badly need rain here. Madrid is the biggest city we’ve visited with 6.5 mil in the greater metro area. Dropped off our car & got a taxi to our hotel. Dinner included garlic soup, pasta soup & pigs ears – we balked at the mollejas (look it up!!)

Got a 2 day pass on the hop on/hop off bus to get to know the city. Stopped at the Palacio Real (official residence of Spanish Royal family) to check it out, but closed due to “Official Acts” for 3 days (turned out to be an official visit by the President of Israel). Involved lots of police, barricades & snappily dressed soldiers on horses & marching & playing drums & flutes – unexpected entertainment but good fun. Then checked out the Cathedral next door – another stunner!

Palace soldiers

Lunch at the old market, a really interesting & tasty range of tapas style eats. Weather has cooled considerably – expected to drop to 2 degrees tonight!!

Tapas at the market

Tapas at the market

Pimentos & salt

Took the bus to the main Madrid train station which is a terrific building & has a tropical rain forest inside. The memorial to the 191 who died in the 2004 train bombing was a little plain but we later discovered the inside can be seen from the station below? Missed that!!

Madrid skyline

Madrid skyline

Next stop the beautiful Botanic Gardens, then the Prado Museum (or Art Gallery) with many paintings & sculptures by famous artists including Goya, El Greco, Rubens & many more – a really interesting collection of works.

We then had a stroll around the huge (1.4 sq kms) El Retiro gardens which are less than 2kms from the city centre. Beautifully kept gardens with a large lake & many walking tracks. Very pleasant.

El Retiro Gardens

El Retiro Gardens

El Retiro Gardens

Today we headed back to the Palacio hoping for the “Changing of the Guard” but nobody seemed to know if it was on or not due to the Israeli visit. There was a queue at the gate so we asked if this was for the changing of the guards & the official said no! Then asked another official where it was & he told us to join the queue?? Lost in translation? Anyway, after an hour’s wait there was some preliminary marching & drumming, then a little later it got started properly with lots of marching, horses, fancy uniforms, drums, bugles, whistles & full band. Some similarities to UK version but also different. Lasted over an hour & was certainly worth the visit.

Changing of the guards

Changing of the guards

Next more walking around the streets, tapas, treats, shopping etc.

Our final day in Madrid we started with a visit to the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) which had been closed the last few days. As we queued for tickets a procession began at the church next door with a giant statue on wheels & headed out into the streets with the church bells chiming.

Palacio Real

The Palace visit was amazing. The armoury contained heaps of old battle armour, swords & guns. The palace itself was opulent to say the least & would compete with the Palace of Versailles in many respects (but no photos allowed).

When we finished our visit the crowd outside had swelled significantly so we hung around to see what was happening. We later discovered it was Almudena Day – a public holiday to celebrate the Virgin of Almudena who is the female patron saint of Madrid. Her image (a big golden statue) is wheeled about the city for several hours with mass in Plaza Mayor & finishing back at the church. We watched for over an hour as row after row of participants paraded by in their colourful costumes. Quite a show & we had no idea it was happening.

Almudena Procession

Almudena Procession

After a rest we headed off for a walk in the other huge park in Madrid, the Casa de Campo, which is over 1,700 hectares & located directly behind the Palace. We only walked a small portion before heading back for a rest before tomorrow’s early flight.

Home sweet home! After about 24 hours of taxi’s, airports & planes we are home from another great holiday.

Highlights = food (esp tapas/pinchos & seafood), wine, people, many towns/cities (Honfleur, Mont St Michel, Andorra, San Sebastion, the Picos Mountains, Porto, Sintra, Guardix & Granada to name a few), narrow streets, cobblestones, sunny weather.

Lowlights = so many smokers & still allowed in outside restaurants, bush fires, pollution/smoke haze, so many high places with my fear of heights, too many tourists/crowds.

Interesting asides = high populations of small towns, tapas/pinchos has a different meaning in each town & venue, pedestrian disregard for cars, park anywhere concept, statues are everywhere.

Granada, Cordoba & Toledo – 28 October to 4 November

Left Ronda & headed through some lovely countryside with farms & surrounding rugged mountains. There was a bit of a haze but easy driving. As we approached Granada the haze became quite thick but could still see the surrounding mountains. We drove past Granada as we decided to visit a town called Guadix which is known for its cave dwellings. What an amazing looking place! We went into a few touristy caves & they had all mod cons – just a little small & few windows. In many cases only the door, chimney & maybe one window were visible. The surrounding landscape was stark & rugged. A little reminiscent of Coober Pedy.

Guadix chimneys

Guadix home

Then headed back to our apartment in Granada with a short detour into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Accessing our apartment proved to be another interesting driving & parking experience.

Sierra Nevada with first snow for season

The apartment is beautiful with our own little courtyard. Had a brief stroll to get a feel for the place then dinner in the square.

Needed a quiet day so after a slow start we simply meandered about the streets & alleyways absorbing the atmosphere. Views of Alhambra from all angles, some beautiful buildings & gardens. Moroccan for dinner – there is a string of Moroccan style restaurants right near our apartment, together with Moroccan trinket shops.

Alhambra at night

Today’s guided walking tour of World Heritage site, Alhambra  - part palace part fort - commenced with a hiccup when Anne went over on her ankle in a missing cobblestone – seemed sore but OK to go. Alhambra was amazing with multiple palaces, beautiful gardens, stunning views, ponds, fountains, elaborate tiles etc etc. A truly remarkable place.

Alhambra

Alhambra

Alhambra

As we neared the end of the 5km walk Anne’s ankle started to flare up & become quite painful. The lovely Alhambra first aid nurse wrapped it up & suggested an X-ray. So off we go to hospital – fortunately a private one with an ‘International Patient Liaison’ lady who spoke perfect English & accompanied us to the doctor & x-ray (at a cost but worth every cent). No breaks but need for drugs & rest – Rob to provide loving care for a week or so???

The drive from Granada to Cordoba was very pleasant, through rolling hills covered in olive trees followed by a detour through the Sierra Subbeticas Natural Park & in to Cordoba with Anne riding in the back seat with her foot up. In an attempt to avoid loving care Rob suffered some dizziness so called the doctor – turned out to be vertigo & Rob back on duty.

Decided to take the hop-on-hop-off bus today to avoid too much walking. Another lovely old city with many beautiful lanes, buildings & plaza’s. Our hostel has its own restaurant which has proven to be a beauty with great Spanish food – gazpacho, eggplant with honey, flamenquin (ham wrapped in pork, egg & breadcrumbs then deep fried – yum), tuna & grapes in an almond dip & suckling pig.

Cordoba

Cordoba

Cordoba

Thankfully Anne’s leg is on the mend & vertigo has backed off for me so today we walked to the Palacio de Viana (The Palace of Flowers) – a manor with five centuries of history. We concentrated on the 12 secluded patio gardens within the property, each one a beautiful and unique sanctuary for the residents to look at from their windows or sit in without being seen by the outside world.

Palacio de Viana

Palacio de Viana

Cordoba street art

Next we took a guided walk through part of the Jewish quarter and, of course, the famous Mezquita (Mosque) which strictly speaking is now a Cathedral. It was built as a Mosque in the 8th century then in 1238 the Christians built a Cathedral right in the middle – so it’s now a Cathedral surrounded by a Mosque. The Cathedral is spectacular but somewhat similar to many others we’ve seen whereas the Mosque section was amazing & different with nearly 1,000 pillars with double arches over them covering a huge area. Well worth a visit.

Mezquita

Mezquita

An easy day just driving from Cordoba to Toledo so decided to detour into the back blocks of the Castillo la Mancha area.  We were driving through some very dry countryside with the ever present olive trees & some grapes & many fields ploughed & ready for crops. We then saw a nice big lake on the map near Ossa de Montiel so headed there – unfortunately there was no water & from the growth around there hadn’t been for some time. The next town on the map was Sotuelamos so we thought we’d stop for coffee – no go – a few derelict buildings & an industrial site??

Decided to cut our losses & head for Toledo. About an hour later we needed lunch so pulled off the road into Camunas which turned out to be a beauty. Lovely town square, beautifully restored old windmill & a nice feel.

Camunas windmill

As we approached Toledo Anne spotted a castle & multiple windmills on a nearby hill - so what could we do? Detour of course. On the hill overlooking Consuegra there were about 10 windmills scattered about near the castle with fantastic 360 degree views out over the surrounding plains & fields. Another little gem.

Arrived in Toledo & headed out for dinner at a place recommended by reception – which was closed – so went to the bar next door & had a great time eating tapas & other treats with the locals.

Well today started with the first serious rain we have seen since we left home. It bucketed down & water poured from the many downpipes on the old buildings straight onto the street - we had to dodge from side to side to avoid being swamped. The cobblestones became a little treacherous but we survived. Started with a visit to the Cathedral & associated museum to stay dry. Another amazing Cathedral & the museum had some great statues & huge tapestries & very few tourists. Then did our usual wander of the streets & got to an area without tourists again – great!

The rain in Spain (Toledo)

From museum window - Toledo

 I finally got a ride on one of the little tourist trains that run in all these cities. The train took us outside the city walls in a circuit of the city. The views were fantastic.

Toledo

Seville & Ronda – 22 to 27 October

The drive to Seville passed through some very dry and uninteresting terrain initially but then we started to see citrus & olive groves & a few cork trees. The terrain became more undulating & the valleys quite green.

At first sight Seville looks very pretty. Our Pension is down a narrow, car free, lane & we were told parking was at No 19 in the nearby street (which was just a garage door?) Went to our Pension & the guy walked us back to the garage, unlocked & I had to reverse down a narrow ramp between several other cars & concrete pillars into a tiny space at the back. The mirrors were nearly touching & the cars sensors were going mad as we were close all round. Finally got in unscathed & looking forward to getting back out in a few days.

Our Pension is very quaint, just a door to the street but opens up into little courtyard areas, balconies, terraces etc with further doors leading to rooms. Headed out for a stroll among the narrow lanes, which proved to be even narrower than other cities but with wonderful little courtyards in the entrances of many homes. Seafood paella for dinner.

Typical home entrance in lanes of Seville

Today we did guided walking tours through the Cathedral (huge & stunning) & Alcazar (the Royal Palace & gardens), a mix of architectural styles with a strong Moorish influence. The gardens were huge, formal & stunning.

Seville from Cathedral Tower

Alcazar

Alcazar

Alcazar

Tonight we went to see a Flamenco performance – quite serious but very impressive – loved the guitar work & dancing – I guess the singing is an acquired taste?

Next morning headed down to Plaza de Espana – a spectacular building & fountains built for the 1929 Expo with row boats & horse carts etc – very impressive. Then strolled through the nearby gardens & across the river to the Triana District known for its flamenco, tapas, bull fighting & fishing – another very pretty area of town.

Plaza de Espana

Plants anyone? 

Finished the day with another walking tour through the Barrio de Santa Cruz (the former Jewish quarter). The guide was again very interesting & knowledgeable. Certainly interesting to hear of the history of these old cities with Christians, Jews & Moslems competing for dominance. We have certainly enjoyed Seville.

We drove through many lanes just like this.

Left Seville with plans to grab brekky along the road but for the first time there seemed no roadside cafes? Had to leave the highway & go into a small town called El Coronil with standard parking difficulties but a very cute median strip! The landscape was initially flat & dry with many ploughed fields & very few trees. Gradually the land rose until we entered some quite rugged hills.

Arcos de la Fronterra was a fascinating “white” town perched atop cliffs above the Guardalete River - wandered around checking out the stunning views down every street – a really pretty town. The surrounding plains were a pale colour & very rocky. A novelty was the monastery selling sweet treats through a little rolling servery - a bit like one of those revolving money counters at banks but you can't see through - very quaint & yummy bikkies.

Monastery bikkie sales

Arcos de la Fronterra

Arcos de la Fronterra

Arcos de la Fronterra

Next stop, Ronda, another “white” town on cliff tops but with a 100 metre deep river gorge running right through the town & topped by the Puente Nuevo bridge. Staying 3 nights here.

A busy day in Ronda. First headed to the bull ring & museum – a beautiful stadium but glad there was no bull fighting happening. Then walked down & up the steep track & stairs to the base of the gorge – a drop of about 120 metres over a kilometre but worth it for the amazing views of the massive bridge & the town atop the cliffs. Next checked out the other two bridges over the gorge before heading into the Secret Mine in the Arab Fortress built in the 14th century – a very steep spiral staircase cut into the rock, descending some 80 metres & exiting at the river at the base of the gorge – this was used to get water for the town when under siege (guess they didn’t have pumps back then!!) Finished the day with a guitar concert – classical, romantic & flamenco guitars – excellent.

Ronda gorge topped with restaurants

Puente Nuevo - Ronda

Base of gorge down spiral mine stairs

We have been blessed with great weather for some time now, warm(25-30), cloudless & delightful. Today we took a pleasant drive in the country. We completed a circuit from Ronda to Setenil to Zahara to Grazalema & back to Ronda. The countryside was quite changeable with rolling hills, pasture, crops, olive trees, cork trees & then higher hills with spectacular views. All three towns were “white” towns, all had beautiful narrow cobbled lanes, pretty town squares & heaps of bars & restaurants.

Many of the buildings in Setenil were actually set in the cliff face with other buildings directly above on top of the cliff.

Setenil

Setenil

Zahara was perched on a hill with a castle right at the top – the road to the town spirals around the hill on its way to the town. We walked up a very steep track to the castle which provided 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains, valley & lake.

Zahara

The road from Zahara to Grazalema wound up & over the mountain range with steep drops off the sides & great views. Grazalema was set at the head of a valley with high mountains on three sides & a sheer drop to the valley on the fourth side. Another very pleasant day.

Grazalema