Thursday, Cordoba to Granada September 4, 2014

On Thursday morning we got up at our leisure, had a small breakfast and walked again around the grounds. We worked a little on the blog from a couple of days prior, but again with spotty wifi connection lost some of what we had written, so decided to begin today’s journey.

Into the car, a quick stop on the way out of the city for gas and water, and we were on our way to Granada, which was about two hours away based on TomTom. The country side changed slightly as we made the drive, as we were climbing into the mountains. If I haven’t mentioned it before the roads in Spain have really been great, smooth, well marked, and unlike the cities very light as it relates to traffic.

We arrived in Granada and hit our first traffic jam, and at one point I think we sat in the same spot for 10 minutes. But as in the USA, it simply cleared after awhile with no apparent reason. As we made our way to the Alhambra, and one of the more famous of the Parador we began to climb up a long windy road until we came to a gate on a guard shack. We pushed a button and the Parador above allowed us to pass.

Once again a long narrow road up the steep hill, crowded with people and very limited directional advise. We made it to the top, and to a square were there was not one car, only people walking everywhere. I finally pulled over and got out to ask someone if I was in the right area, as something just didn’t feel right. To my delight, we were doing fine, but had to continue around the corner, further up the hill, and through the square.

We arrived at our resting place for the night, a former palace, convent, and initial resting place of Queen Isabela, her body was later moved. The grounds were beautiful, with well manicured trees, bushes, and flowers everywhere.

At check in we made a 9:30 dinner reservation (restaurant didn’t even open till 9:00), and based in the suggestion of the desk clerk, decided to go into town. After a brief stop in the room to unload and wash our faces, we walked back down the road we had just driven up, to the main square where we caught a cab to take us to the town below. What a ride!

Our first stop based on the desk clerk was the Mirador Sant Nicholas, which according to him was the spot where most pictures we see of the Alhambra are shot. We took some pictures, then began our walk down the hill to find Plaza Nuevo. After quite a hike down the steep cobblestone streets we came upon the town and decided to just enjoy. We came upon the Cathedral in the center of town, decided to have a look inside, and were quite impressed with its towering ceilings huge organ with two identical set of pipes that faced each other!

We continued around the city, then decided it was time to head back so we could relax a bit before getting dressed for dinner. This was the first place where it appeared more then sorts and a golf shirt were appropriate.

Pictures:

1) Spices by the ounce?
2) View of The Alhambra from Mirador Sant Nicholas
3) Narrow streets on downtown Granada
4) Pipe organ in the Cathedral

A few additional pictures taken in and around Sevilla

Pictures:
1) The Logo / Motto of Sevilla, ” The City has not Abandoned me”
2) The main Altar in the Cathedral, 84 years to build, and 4000 pounds of Gold.
3) The outside view of the Cathedral
4) Sidewalk cafe where Mary and I had a small snack between our walking tours. Notice the Iberian Hams hanging on the wall, and the sandwiches stacked up in the case.

A few additional pictures taken in Carmona

Pictures:

1) Lounge Area inside the Paradore
2) Outside walls of the Paradore
3) Front entrance taken from the courtyard
4) Man walking Goat! He was actually on a leash (Goat not the man) 🙂

Here are a few additional pictures taken in Barcelona

Pictures;

1) Barcelona Harbor as seen from Mountjuic
2) Front of the Cathedral
3) Mary with the city of Barcelona, taken from the Museum
4) One of the many Squares around Barcelona, popular meeting places

Monday in Sevilla, September 1, 2014

We got up a bit later then normal, had a light breakfast, checked out of our Paradore in Carmona, and headed back to Sevilla. It was a bit easier this time as I had at least a basic understanding of the route.

We met our guide for the morning, Alvaro, born in Sevilla, along with seven others : three couples, one from Dallas, one from Australia, and the third newly weds from Indonesia. The last person was an older women a retired school teacher from East Coast. Alvaro spoke very good English and had a great personality.

We began our tour with an overview of the city itself, Alvaro explained that Sevilla ( pronounced Sa-VEE-ah) was once one of the richest and most powerful cities of the world. It was here that Christopher Columbus set sail to find a shorter way to the West Indies and died unaware that he discovered a New World.
The city has survived three civilizations: the Romans, the Muslims, and the Christians. All of these cultures are represented throughout the city in its architecture. As each nation conquered Spain (and Sevilla) it changed very little about the city, using all the old infrastructure ( including castles, palaces, buildings and roads) and just updated and added to these structures to suit themselves. So, as you can imagine, there is a lot to take in as you tour their city.

Alvaro introduced us to a fierce pride of the people of Sevillla. Their logo, seen throughout the city, is ” the city has not abandoned me.” NO ,with an eight shaped bundle of wool in the middle DO at the end. This logo is found on almost every wall, building, bush etc.

The city was designed with three things in mind: Shield people from sun and high temperatures, Create streets that could be defended, and finally difficult navigation. The streets are extremely narrow, making walking the only way to get through especially in the Historic District. The high buildings lining these narrow street created shade, and a fairly constant breeze to keep you much cooler then if you were in open areas.

Alvaro explained that Sevilla is not like a maze, but is a maze, therefore making it very difficult to navigate the many narrow cooridors. These streets helped in the defense of the city, as the narrow streets would only allow horses and or men to travel single file, and the high roofs were a great spot from which to drop boiling water and hot oil on anyone trying to attack them.

He explained that all streets have two names, one that represents the business conducted there at one time, Baker, Shoemaker, etc. the other that can change based on those in power at the present time (also used for mail).

Another sad but interesting fact, Sevilla currently has the highest percentage of people unemployed compared with any other city in Spain, at 42%! He blames the corruption in government, saying that those in power “Walk like an Egyptian”, looking forward with a hand open behind. One glaring example he used, was a building that was being erected on the edge of town. The city has a law against building anything taller then the Cathedral, yet this new structure will tower above everything.

We enjoyed our walking tour so much with Alvaro, that we took a brief break for something to drink and eat, and met him for a tour of the Cathedral. Originally built as a mosque by the Muslims when the Christians conquered Spain they tore it down and built the existing one. They did preserve the courtyard with the fountain and the bell tower (330 ft) . I made it too the top but Mary decided it might be a bit much for her. I’m glad she declined as it was hotter than you know what at the top, but worth the climb for the fabulous view.

Sevillas cathedral can only be described in superlatives: it’s the largest and highest cathedral in Spain and third In the world, after St Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London. Alvaro would object and showed us a Guinness book of records certificate that stated it was largest in the world (in area). Also the largest gothic cathedral in the world. We would have to agree it was huge, with 44 side altars. Very worth seeing and awe inspiring.
It was built in 125 years with 84 of them just to build the altar that is made of 4400 pounds of gold.
Inside we saw a monument to Christopher Columbus with a portion of his remains inside. It has only been recently that ( by DNA testing) they verified that he is indeed interned here.

After completing our second tour with Alvaro, it was about 3:30 so we found the car and started our trip north to Cordoba where we would spend the night at another Paradore. Along the way we decided to make a brief stop at our Paradore from the previous night, where we sat on the patio. Had a cold drink before setting out again for Cordoba.

We arrived at our Paradore, with but a brief hiccup in directions, again due to our TomTom not having the exact address. We quickly caught a glimpse and after a few turns were at the hotel. We checked in, went up to our room to wash off the grime hung up a few clothes and decided to walk around the grounds. We checked out the pool, the gardens, and the various special rooms in the hotel. Then it was time for another cold drink along with some conversation on where we might go to dinner, and the activities for the following day.

About 7:30 we decided to venture downtown to a couple of areas the desk clerk recommended. Bad Idea! The traffic we had experienced in Sevilla, and even the narrow streets in Carmona didn’t compare to the traffic in a Cordoba. After several “discussions” almost two hours in traffic getting caught in narrow streets, making a wrong turn down a bus only street, and getting honked at for making a left turn, when I shouldn’t have, we called it quits!

Back to the Paradore, and a light dinner of Tapas on the patio, a bottle of wine, and a view of the city of Cordoba at night. All in all things turned out great. Another walking tour tomorrow, this one of downtown Cordoba, we hope it is as good as Sevilla.

Pictures:
1) Inside the Cathedral
2) Tomb of Christopher Columbus
3) Narrow streets in old Sevilla
4) Tower (one I climbed)

Sunday, Barcelona to Sevilla. September1, 2014

Note: for those of you that may have read Saturday and didn’t see any pictures, we had internet issues but they are there now.

We got up with a panic, we had overslept and it was 7:00 AM, and we needed to catch our cab at 7:30! I had set the alarm on my phone, but battery ran out somewhere in the night. We quickly got ready, threw our clothes in the suitcase and got downstairs a little after 7:30. Luckily it was Sunday and early so there was no Traffic and we got to the train station with a few minutes to spare.

The ride from Barcelona to Sevilla was about five hours on the bullet train, so we had time to catch a nap, read, and work on my blog. The countryside was not at all what I had suspected it might look like. The first hour or so we passed miles and miles of Grape Vines, but the landscape reminded me of traveling through Arizona in the summer. Once we passed the grapes, it was on to the Olive Trees, and more desert like terrain.

We arrived in Sevilla on time, about 2:30 PM, collected our luggage and made our way to the Hertz Counter, which I think was the only one outside in the parking lot. Nothing like lugging your bags across asphalt and dirt with temperatures approaching 100! The scene at the rental car was like a scene from Goldilocks and the three bears, the first car had no air conditioning, the second would not fit our bags, and the third was just right.

Not sure what I was thinking, but Note to Self, buy yourself an international Garmin, renting at 16EU per day you could have bought one! Can you imagine not having some type of GPS to navigate Spain!

Tonight we have reservations at the Parador Carmona, which is located about 25 miles north of downtown Sevilla. Ok, the TomTom that we rented paid for itself navigating us out of Sevilla and to our place of rest for tonight. First snafu was we ran into a blessed Mother Parade in Carmona making our way to the Paradore. Police were kind enough after we provided them our reservation to allow us through.

The drive up the hill was an experience to say the least! Narrow roads barely wide enough to fit our car, winding between the buildings, uphill causing this boy who hasn’t had to shift in awhile, more then a few stalls on the climb. When we got to the top, TomTom told us to make a right, as the address that was entered was not valid so we selected another which was one block in the wrong direction on a one way road! Back around for a second try. Check out a couple of the pictures showing roads on the climb up, and the narrow entrance into the Paradore parking lot.

I will give everyone planning a trip to Spain in which you plan to rent a car a tip, it is not for the faint of heart, and you better make sure your marriage is on firm footing, that’s all I’m going to say. Lines on the road mean nothing, traffic circles I have been through typically have three possible turns when entering the circle, here we saw one with six possible moves, now keep in mind there are three and four lanes going in, so it can get pretty hairy.

We settled into our room, walked the hotel, then settled into a couple of comfortable chairs with a Cava and a Vodka Tonic (for some reason this one confused the bartender). After relaxing we went up to our room, showered and dressed for our trip back into downtown Sevilla for our 7:00 PM Tapas dinner and Flamenco Show.

Back in the car for the drive to Sevilla where we have reservations for a Traditional Flamenco show. After a couple of U-Turns trying to find parking close to our destination we arrived with no time to spare. To our surprise we were the only two having “Dinner”, and including us only 10 people occupied the room! What are we in for!

To our surprise, the show itself was very good, traditional style dancing, singing, with a troupe of about a dozen men and women, all very good. The a Tapas however were so so. Round one included small plates of Octopus, Paella, and Iberian Ham while around two consisted of Mushrooms, Fried Fish, and bulls tail.

After the show we made our way to the car for the drive back to Carmona. Once again, we ran into the parade of The Blessed Mother. This time it was a little closer to our Paradore by the Church. It seems that they had a procession starting at the Church located at the entrance of the small town, (one we got caught in earlier) , to the Church at the top of the hill where we were headed. This time the police were none to happy. I think we saw a policeman writing down the plate on our car, with a nasty scowl on his face.

Back at the Paradore, we went outside to the patio looking over the valley below, treated to beautiful twinkling lights dotting the countryside, with the sound of braying donkeys and barking dogs in the distance. We discussed our day and decided at that time, about 10:30, to see about a walking tour in Sevilla the next day. It was a tour Mary had read about in the Rick Steve’s book. We sent off a quick email and to our surprise a response from one of the guides came back right away. Plans were set to meet the guide the next morning at 10:30.

More about the Paradores we will be staying at over the next week;

Paradores (a chain of luxury hotels) were founded by king Alfonso XIII in 1928 to promote tourism in Spain. They are built by the state and are mostly converted castles, palaces, fortresses, convents, monasteries and other historical buildings.

Our first visit to a Paradore was in Carmona, an enchanting town about 20 miles east of Sevilla. A fortress with a long history. Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths, Arabs, Jews and Christians have all lived on this site, receiving its benefits and leaving more behind.

These various civilizations considered Carmona, a place of strategic importance, and consequently transformed it into an impenetrable, well-defended fortress. Seemingly invincible armies have defended its walks, though they were all eventually defeated.

Pictures:

Saturday in Barcelona, August 30, 2014

We got up early today, as we have to catch the train to Monserrat, about an hour North of Barcelona. We arrived at the train station about 30 minutes before and went to the platform early to do more people watching. It’s amazing to see people jumping on and off trains, off to work, shopping and wherever they might be heading. This was not your most comfortable train, but we got to our destination.

When we arrived, we could see the mountain towering above us and the cable car that would take us to the next stop 1500 meters straight up!
We entered the cable car along with about a dozen others and began the 10 minute journey up the sheer side of the mountain. The view on the way up was not the best, as there was a slight cloud layer between the mountains that limited our visibility, but we were treated to a spectacular view on the return.

Montserrat (“jagged mountain” ) is the home of the ” Black Virgin”. A statue of Madonna and child carved out of bronze, making her appear to have very dark skin. She is the object of one of Spain’s most famous pilgrimages , as the faithful flock to touch her hand in prayer and pay homage to seek her blessing. We climbed a long staircase and we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the lovely lady and her son. We were able to touch her hand and ask her to pray for all our intentions.

We wandered the beautiful grounds and paid a visit to the museum that housed many wonderful works of art featuring Picasso, Dali and Monet.

Upon our return we continued our journey on the hop-on hop-off bus, continuing through the northern part of the city. We saw a lot of newer neighborhoods and Guell Palace ( no longer used by the king and queen of Spain but donated now to the university of Barcelona.). It is used now by the university for events and social activities. We were treated to many couples dressed to the “nines” on their way to an exciting night.

Then to the most coveted stop of all (to the Barcelonians) the Futbol stadium! Futbol (soccer) is revered more than most churches in Barcelona, in fact, most consider futbol a religion!!!

We hopped off the bus at the stop for Guell Park, not realizing until we turned the corner that our destination was at least 3/4 of a mile Up a Large Hill! But very worth the climb. This is another Gaudi masterpiece. He was commissioned to build a “housing tract” for the rich and famous. He built two homes and neither ever sold so actually, back then, it was a utter failure. But today it is an beautiful open air museum that functions as a park. His style is like no other and conjures up a visions of Disney’s fantasyland with a little gothic thrown in. His own house remains there and houses a museum of his simple life. It was very interesting, as it put the whole story together about his life and his art.

Back onto the hop on hop off bus to complete the loop back to “Plaza de Catalunya” where we started. There we got off the bus and walked down one of the more famous shopping and eating streets in Barcelona, Las Ramblas. In that it was a Saturday and still midday for Spain, about 8:00 PM, the streets were packed, with shoppers, eaters, drinkers, and vendors selling just about anything you would want.

After about an hour or so we turned back and headed back up Las Ramblas, to the area we had enjoyed dinner the night before. We found another quaint little sidewalk cafe, ordered a bottle of wine, a few Tapas and enjoyed the cooler night air while watching the throngs of people walking by. At one point a group of college age men walked by wearing Romanesque type clothing and singing something we didn’t understand. Not 30 minutes later coming from the opposite direction was a group of college age girls wearing Princess type costumes, including one who was Snow White and also singing laughing and just plain enjoying themselves! I wonder if they met each other “somewhere in the night”???
After we had finished our Tapas we started our several block walk back to our hotel, hoping to find a Gelato Shop open for business. This wasn’t to happen, so upon arrival at the hotel we headed for the roof top bar to enjoy some ice cream and the Spanish version of Creme Brûlée.

In Bed by midnight, train to catch at 8:30 AM, so needed to get up early, pack, and catch a cab by 7:30. Off to Sevilla tomorrow, the adventure continues!

Pictures:
1) The Aieral Tram
2) The Black Virgin
3) View of Church built into mountain
4) One of Gaudi’s buildings in Guell Park

Second Day in Barcelona, August 29, 2014

We got up around 7:00, got ourselves ready and headed down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast, still a bit foggy from time change. Today we are starting the day with a bike tour of Barcelona.

We met our guide and 7 others Plaza Sant Jaume, in Old Barcelona. We had two couples from Australia, a single girl from Sweden, and a young couple from India on their honeymoon.

Our guide Marc was born and raised in Barcelona and gave us some good insight into the history of Barcelona and Catalonia. He told us that everyone under the age of forty is bilingual, speaking Spanish and Catalan at a minimum, and many speak English as a third language.

Our three hour tour took us from some of the newer sections on Barcelona to the original section founded by the Romans, and some of the areas where the 1992 Olympics took place.

After our bike tour we headed to a small square found a table and ordered Some tapas along with a couple of glasses of wine. After lunch it was time to explore the city on our own. We purchased a couple of two day passes on the Barcelona Tourist bus, and jumped on the bus to see the town.

First stop The Museum of the National Art of Catalonia. Although we did not go inside we viewed the outside grounds which were very impressive, and walked up the towering flight of stairs from street level to the Museum.

From there we jumped back on the bus and headed to the Castle of Mountjuic, perched high on the mountain overlooking the sea. Built in the 18th century by the Spanish government to keep an eye on Barcelona and stifle citizen revolt. It was a fort designed to house 3000 soldiers and functioned more to repress the people of Barcelona then to defend them. From the high vantage point we were able to get a great view of Barcelona and of the harbor. In order to get the the Castle we took an aerial tram.

After the Castle we got back on the bus to view the rest of the Southern parts of Barcelona. Tomorrow the plan is to see the Northern part of the city.

Back to the hotel and a drink on the rooftop bar of our hotel, sipping Cava, a drink like Champagne made in Barcelona. While at the bar, we met a couple from St. Louis and shared a few stories and a bottle of Champagne (real thing) compliments of Marriott.

About 10:00 PM we headed out again to enjoy another light meal on the streets of Barcelona. As we sat at the sidewalk cafe drinking local wine, enjoying our Tapas, we watched the throngs of people walking the streets and enjoying the beautiful weather. In bed sometime after midnight, tired but anxious for the next day. Train to catch at 8:30 AM to take us to the mountains north to see Montserrat the ” serrated ” mountain.

Pictures:
1) Getting ready for bike tour
2) View of Basilica from Montjuic
3) The Museum
4) W Hotel, built on island

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Arrival in Barcelona – August 28, 2014

We arrived in Barcelona at about 8:30 AM on Thursday after a 9 hour flight, 6 hour time change (ahead), and very little sleep for either of us.

After going through customs, retrieving our bags, and catching our car to the hotel, we finally got to our room about 11:30 AM.

A quick shower, shave, for me not Mary :), we headed out for our prearranged tour of the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia.

We walked from our hotel to the Basilica, about 12 blocks from our hotel, but upon turning off the street of our hotel and heading towards this iconic landmark, the structure was visible long before we arrived. As we got closer you could notice the cranes scattered around the absolutely huge structure!!

Designed by Antoni Gaudi the Sagrada Familia is not close to being complete even after 130 years under construction. It is referred to as “The Bible” in stone, as it depicts the entire history of Christianity!

The goal is to have the structure at a stage that it could be called “finished” in 2026, which will be the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death, but it is projected to be completed in 2030, as the completion will require the demolition of a couple of blocks of apartments constructed in the 1970’s. Poor planning?

Mary and I toured the inside with a guide, then after waiting for our scheduled time, took the elevator to the top of the Nativity tower, roughly 150 meters, and walked down the spiral staircase.

It was extremely interesting learning about Gaudi, his reasoning for the various types of architecture used, and plan for this great structure. Worth going on line to read more.

After departing the Basilica we began the walk back to the hotel, both very tired, even after Mary caught a 10 minute catnap while waiting for our scheduled time to climb the tower. We ordered room service and were asleep by 7:00pm.

Brief description of pictures:
1) Outside of Church, looking up at towers
2) Inside Church, picture of Altar
3) Picture of Passion Facade
4) View of Barcelona from top of Nativity Tower

Spain 2014, just getting started

Another Blog, this time of our trip to Spain. Many more details and Pictures to folly