Part 4 - Sevilla

From Granada we drove to Sevilla, during the drive from Granada to Sevilla we stopped off at a small town called Ronda.  Ronda is well known for its small cobblestone streets similar to Granada, but also for its famous bridge over a gorge, which has excellent views of the surrounding area.  We drove through Ronda a couple of times looking for a park and then decided to have lunch at a small restaurant just down the road.It was a grab place filled with locals, we opted for some traditional dishes. 

After having lunch in Ronda we continued on our way to Sevilla, arriving and returning our hire car at the main train station.  From there we took a taxi to our beautiful hotel in the middle of the old town in Sevilla.  We think it was the cheapest taxi fare in our lives. The hotel we were staying is was very interesting with a quite a few musical instruments the guests were allowed to play e.g. Violins and Pianos.  The hotel had a great view from its rooftop terrace of the cathedral and palace in Sevilla.  During our first afternoon in Sevilla, we went on a self-guided tour of the old city.  Walking through the old town and visiting various sights, such as the cathedral, and the palace.  After the tour we went out for dinner and then had a late night drink in a bar just around the corner from the hotel.

The following day we woke up and had breakfast on the roof of the hotel.  After breakfast we went and tried to go into the cathedral to have a look around. It is the third largest Cathedral in Europe behind St Peters Basilica and St Pauls.  However, the line was very long and we found out via our handy tour book that we could get a sneaky ticket to enter the cathedral from another church just a little walk away from the cathedral.  So we headed over to the church and had a look and got the vital ticket to enter the cathedral not having to queue at all. The ticket allowed us to bypass the extremely long line.  Once inside the cathedral, we had a look around at many of the small chapels of to the side and visited the spire, which had excellent views of the city.

For lunch we headed to the other side of the river in Triana.  On the way we went past the bullring and some markets, which weren't very open and we suspect they are busier on the weekend.  We had lunch in a small area in Seville, which we expect not many tourists visited.  As everyone seemed to wonder why we were there.  We ate at a small restaurant with tables in the sun.  There was only one man waiting tables and he was very busy and got confused with some of the orders. I think we were the only English speaking people there. Luckily we had the help from some Spanish people next to us to convince him that we did not order one of the items he brought us.  However, the food was very tasty and more than covered for any problems that we experienced.

In the early evening we visited the palace in Sevilla, it was very beautiful and had many Moorish carvings similar to the ones we missed out on in Alhambra.  So it was great to have a look around. We then sat in the Palace gardens having a well earned rest.

In the evening we went to a very nice restaurant, that the hotel recommended. We had 'gourmet' tapas such as stuffed anchovies. After dinner we finished with an ice cream for dessert.

The next morning, quite early,  we made our way back to the train station to pick up the hire car again and begin the long journey to Madrid.

Part 3 - Granada

Arriving in Granada can only be described as stressful. We were only going to be here for one night and we didn't really want to waste time. The sat nav really wasn't helpful as well which didn't help. 't is a city with tiny one way streets that are restricted for most cars. It took us an hour driving around all these super tiny streets with cobbled stones to find a secure car park for our little rental vehicle. Finally safely parking in the smallest car underground car park that was very claustrophobic, we tried to find the hotel.

The hotel was in a perfect location, right in the heart of the old city. Due to being the back end of Holy Week we weren't able to get a ticket to visit the Alhambra, the most famous buildings. This is the most busiest time for the Alhambra, something that we didn't know. Luckily you can see Alhambra from most angles as it is on top of a hill.

We spent the afternoon doing a quick self guided walk which our tour guide book recommended. We walked along the cobbled streets and saw lots of beautiful buildings, churches, stacks of beggars and feral cats. We walked around for a few hours and headed up the top to the Moorish quarter Albayzin. This Moorish Quarter is regarded as Spain's best. It is very unique, it is an odd mix of touristy rubbish and gritty, There are so many twisty lanes it is very easy to get lost. A lot of 'smelly' hippies/gypsies live up here, so you can smell incense and lots of folk music playing. We headed up the hill following the brilliant instructions from the tour book to the top view point of San Nicolas which looks over to Alhambra.

Alhambra

No friends of Lulu. 

The morning before we left, we tired our luck at getting some day tickets. We were't luck but we did get to wander round parts that didn't need a ticket. We definitley want to try and get back to Granda one day as there was so much more we could have seen.

Part 2 - Valencia

We arrived safely in Valencia after a rather long drive. We were a bit nervous as Valencia was mentioned in our travel guide, we really weren't sure what to expect. It is the third largest city in Spain, along the coast. This part of Spain is famous for their oranges. The orange juice was the best I had ever tasted. It was freshly squeezed which is a change from the bottled stuff.

On the first evening we walked for about an hour wandering and looking around heading to the beach in search of a restaurant that Dianne had recommended. Sadly, being Easter it was closed. Instead, we had drinks and a little tapas watching the sunset.

The weather was quite warm compared to Barcelona, we had left the little bit of rain behind. Our hotel looked over a nice leafy space. It was a very beautiful city with a gorgeous park that runs through most of the city. We stayed there for two nights and explored some great sights. We even got to watch a local soccer game. They weren't the best team but it was nice to watch a social game. I also got to discover a famous Spanish style of having coffee. It was called a Cafe Bombon, it was so yummy. It was a shot of coffee with the same amount of condensed milk. I definitely wouldn't have it every day but it was nice for a treat.

After Valencia, we picked up car number 2 and headed to Granada.