Espana! pt 7

Madrid

Madrid is the modern day Spanish capital.  It’s big, sprawling, crowded, and fast paced.  I’ll be honest and say that Madrid was neat to see, but didn’t really strike a chord with either of us.  It isn’t a very old city and so lacked many of the historical sites that I love.  Its wide streets and high rise buildings didn’t have much of the charm that Linz loves.  But, it does have 2 amazing art galleries, the Prado, and the Modern Art Museum.  Both where filled with incredible art and well worth a half day each of exploring.  Our favorite thing in Madrid was the park.  It’s very similar to central park only with more walk ways and artistic flare.  On our last day we settled in for a much needed nap under one of the trees.  Between the park and the museum was the book district, which is really just vendor after vendor selling books on every imaginable thing from hundreds of years old to new releases.  Madrid is just so big.  Most sites are miles apart and not blocks.  The subway system is older and doesn’t have enough stops to be useful inside the city.  We found out by the last day that the best thing to do is to take taxis.  For 7 euros you could be somewhere in 10 minutes instead of 45.  All that said, I’m really glad we went.  Enjoy.

Spanish Royal Palace

Books, books, and more books

cool, no worries, it is what it is

-G-

Espana! pt 6

Rhonda

Rhonda to me is all about one thing…. the views.  We rented a mini and drove about 3 hrs out from Seville, winding around mountains, pastures, and beautiful lakes.  The town is small and not all that busy.  Just a few tour buses full of people here and there.  Rhonda is the birth place of modern bullfighting and has a bullring that hasn’t changed in hundreds of years.  When you walk into it you feel like you are in a scene in Gladiator and you wonder just how many people have met their end right where you are standing.  Of course we came to Rhonda to see the bridge and the gorge.  I know I sound like a broken record saying the pics do no justice, but once again it is as true as before.  The gorge can only be described as jaw-dropping.  It is hard to believe anyone thought to build, or knows how to build, a stone bridge like this.   Enjoy.

The bridge connects the "old" town to the "new" town

Notice the bottom is still not in the pic

cool, no worries, it is what it is

-G-

Espana! pt 5

Seville

Seville is another great Spanish city with lots of history and character.  It took its turn as the Spanish capital back in the days of new world exploration.  Its main cathedral is the “do not miss” sight while you are there.  The city is flat and very walkable.  Every night about an hour before sunset the whole city goes on a stroll around the main plazas and the shopping district.  The streets get crowded full of families, performers, children, grandparents, and tourists as the sunset colors the city in a magical hue.  We stayed in a hotel in the old Jewish quarter where the streets are narrow and the sounds of Spanish guitar and flamenco fill the evening air.  Seville is also famous for holding on to the tradition of bullfighting and there are still about a dozen fights per year.  We weren’t in town on the right day to go, but we did find an amazing vintage poster in one of the shops.  My favorite thing in Seville was the inside of the cathedral.  It claims to be the largest in the world although I’m not sure if it is by height, volume, sq ft, etc…. but it’s huge either way and breath-taking on the inside.  My pics do it no justice, but I had to try.  Enjoy.

The cathedral is massive and is the center point of the city

Looking out at the city from the top of the cathedral's bell tower

Orange groves in the cathedral courtyard

Flamenco! is what Seville is famous for

cool, no worries, it is what it is
-G-

Espana! pt 4

Alhambra pt 2
The sheer volume of pictures forced me to have a 2^nd post on the Alhambra.  We spent about 4 hours there and we still didn’t see half of it.  Linz could have left me there for a full day and I would have been happy as a clam.  But it’s probably better I didn’t see it all.  It leaves some for me to dream about and wish to see some day.  Enjoy.

cool, no worries, it is what it is

-G-

Espana! pt 3

The Alhambra will need to have its own post.  Just due to the sheer volume of pics I need to dig through and in order to keep my time on the blog to 20 min.  The Alhambra was the last Muslim holdout in Spain and the seat of the Muslim Governor.  Who was really more like a king.  So the Alhambra is part palace, part fortress, and part mosque with beautiful gardens and awe-inspiring courtyards.  Every inch of the palace is covered in intricate carvings.  It's not only huge, but the whole place is above the town and has spectacular views.  Below are just a few pics and they do it no justice.  Hope you enjoy.

From the fortress looking back at the palace

Looking out at the town from atop the fortress

Looking back at the fortress

Carved details above a column

This is what all the walls look like up close

I'm cutting it off there.  I guess there will have to be an Alhambra pt 2

cool, no worries, it is what it is
-G-

Espana! pt 2

After 3 great nights in Barcelona we flew to Granada. Originally we were going to take an overnight train and get a sleeping car. However after calling our hotel in Granada and finding out they had room, after seeing that the cost to fly was only $40 per person, and realizing we could get an extra night in the home of the tapas and save $50, we jumped at the chance. Wow! we were so glad we did. Granada is such an old and beautiful city. The narrow winding streets cover the hillsides. Churches and little plazas appear mystically around the turns. The wine bars (all with free tapas!) close down around midnight so you head to the Moroccan quarter. Where the hookah lounges all stay open till sunrise. They have real Moroccan mint tea as in a Moroccan man makes a hundred year old recipe that you crave the whole next day.  All that makes this one of the most magical cities I have ever been to…. And I haven’t even mentioned the Alhambra.

I think we spent 6 hrs at the Alhambra.  We didn’t even get to see half of it as Linz had to literally drag me from room to room because I couldn’t leave any of them on my own.  It was mesmerizing.  I had taken 100 pictures in Spain on my phone, about 80 of them at the Alhambra.  Enjoy!

This was the view from our room!  Linz picked the amazing Hotel del Carmen

View from the hotel court yard.  You can see how the city glows at night and how every street winds back and forth.

Moroccan Mint Tea

cool, no worries, it is what it is

-G-