Day 2 – the Alhambra day.

I had read in some reviews that the breakfast wasn’t good at Hotel Saray (and it was not included in the price) so we decided to have breakfast on our way to the Tourist Office in central Granada.

One thing I have realized, and have had to accept from previous family travelling, is that it takes time to get the show on the road in the mornings. This morning was no exception, and it was already 10 o clock when we had a slow breakfast at café Adventage not far from the hotel. Coffee, hot chocolate, freshly squeezed orange juice, crepes, churros, donuts and croissants (almost 20€ for the five of us).

From there we walked 10 – 15 minutes to the Tourist Office to pick up our Bono Turistico. I opted for this solution since there were no tickets left to the Alhambra when I tried to book on-line (or call directly). I got us the 3-day tourist card, Bono Turistico, which gives you entrance to La Alhambra (with a choice of time of entrance to the Nasrid palaces, despite everything being sold out elsewhere) + entrance to the Cathedral, Capilla Real, Monasterio de la Cartuja, Monasterio de San Jeronimo, Museo Memoria de Andalucia, Parque de las Ciencias, Museo de Bellas Artes + 5 bus rides/pers, for 27€/adult (my youngest son, 11 years old, paid 9€).

http://bonoturistico.cajagranada.es/comprar/default.aspx

We had booked entrance to the Nasrid palaces at 1 o clock. There is a bus (n° 30) not far from the Tourist Office that takes you to Alhambra, and one of the stops is la puerta de la Justicia - the best entrance if you already have tickets.

There is very little description/information when you are at the Alhambra and I had heard that the audio-guides weren’t any good so we went to the tourist shop to see if there were any folders or guides to use during the visit. All I could find was a small book with mostly pictures, and nothing to indicate what the different rooms in the palace were used for. I would advise other travelers to do some research, get a detailed guide book or print out stuff before going (unless you hire a guide for lots of €€).

The palaces and the area around are magnificent!

We have realized that our kids enjoy these kinds of visits (historic palaces, ruins etc) if they each have their own camera, and get to snap away at everything and anything. So that is what they did. The two oldest (15 and 13) also know about the historic period from school, so it was nice to be able to show it to them in real life.

We had not prepared a picnic, but we saw some people having sandwiches on the benches in the garden just outside the exit from the palaces. Instead we went to a restaurant not far from la puerta de la Justicia – pizzeria de l’Angus - and had pizza and hamburgers and a very nice local wine before getting back to Generalife and Alcazaba within the Alhambra.

Don’t know about the regular ticket, but with the Bono Turistico you can visit each of Generalife, Alcazaba and the Nasrid palaces once during your three days (not necessarily all the same day).

After visiting Alhambra, which due to our late morning start had taken most of the day, we took the bus back to central Granada and walked around for a bit, did some window shopping, bought some tea from a street vendor, and finally ended up in a café in plaza Bibrambla for chocolate&churros, sangria and a few tapas.

It was getting dark by now, and we decided to walk back to the hotel. We passed by a grocery store to get some shampoo and other things. I always like to check out the grocery stores when I am travelling just to get an idea of what products are considered prime necessity in a particular country. When we were in San Sebastian in the summer (staying in an apartment, thus self catering) we couldn’t find salted butter, and it was confirmed in Granada – Spanish people don’t use salted butter on their toasts (or do they?)

Thanks for this, grendel. We are hoping to visit the Alhambra just after Christmas so sounds like I need to book on line pretty sharp to make sure we get a ticket - we are only day tripping there.

grendel, we are really enjoying your report. We're tentatively planning a trip to the Andalucian area of Spain in early March. So we'll definitely "stay tuned" to your ongoing report. Thanks!

yes, we have salted butter. The majority of Spaniards use oil on baguette toast.. and perhaps butter or margarine only if they will later put marmalade on the toast.

You will never be given a dish of butter for your bread at meals unless you ask for it at the majority of restaurants. Perhaps those in a tourist district do put little plates of it out, but it is rarely free.

The traditional Andulsian breakfast is a baguette top with olive oil, chopped tomatoes and ham. Quite delicious.

Thanks for your comments stevelyon and tomarkot, it is nice to know that someone can make use of our experiences.

lincasanova and emily71 - the traditional breakfast sounds delicious, unfortunately we never got to try it. At "our" breakfast place, all guests had the same things as us (coffee and pastries)and they were all Spaniards (not sure they were locals though).

Is the traditional Andalusian breakfast more something you would prepare at home?

grendel - many hotels and bars through Spain will offer the popular pan con tomate for breakfast. At the hotel you'll often have the bread by a toaster so you toast yourself. Nearby you'll see olive oil, fresh tomatoes and garlic. You rub the garlic cloveson the freshly toasted bread then halve the tomato and rub it into the bread. Many hotels will have a pre-made misture of the tomatoes and garlic that you can spoon onto the toast so it's easier to prepare. Finally a generous drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt (if you desire). Some people like to also add a slice or 2 of jamon.

In Andalucia you often see a mollete, a round bread roll, instead of the baguette style bread. This is a typical roll From Andalucia, particularly Antequera.

The perfect start to a day!



http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/Pan-Con-Tomate

Day 3 – Granada, train to Cordoba in the evening

We packed our bags, checked out (had the hotel keep our bags until 4 pm) and went for breakfast – once again café Adventage. I wish I could have orange juice like that every day!

We started the day by visiting the Cathedral and the Capilla Real with its mausoleum and sacristy museum http://www.capillarealgranada.com/en/cont_index.html .

To think that Queen Isabella maybe wore that same crown (on display at the museum) on her head in 1492, when Christopher Columbus convinced her to sponsor his voyage of discovery…

From here we strolled to the barrio Albayczin , along Carrera del Darro, up the pretty steep Cuesta del Chapiz on to El Mirador de San Nicolas, with a nice view of the Alhambra. Lots of people hang out in this small plaza – street vendors, musicians and tourists taking photos of the Alhambra. Lots of Spanish and French tourists on this 1st of November.

I usually don’t plan where to have lunch or dinner on a trip like this (too complicated), but for our days in Granada I had actually found great reviews for a restaurant called La Porrona in Plaza Larga not far from El Mirador de San Nicolas: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187441-d1320000-Reviews-La_Porrona- This was the worst meal we had on this trip. We had paella that looked (and tasted) as leftovers from the day before. Maybe it was?

After lunch we walked through Albayczin and central Granada back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and then took the bus to the train station. I had already bought train tickets Granada - Cordoba on-line http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/index.html . We paid 37€/adult, 21€/child, departure from Granada at 18h05, arrival at 20h30. We usually never travel by train, so that in itself was kind of different and fun. We talked about impressions so far, played Monopoly on the iPad, listened to music, snacked in the café and the 2 ½ hours passed by.

From the Cordoba train station we took a local bus to Hotel Maestre (I called the hotel before to ask where to get off). When we got off the bus we saw a religious procession slowly advancing towards us on the street parallel to that of the hotel, so we checked in quickly and then ran out again to have a look at it. There must have been at least 30 people carrying the statue (only their feet showing) and then another 100 musicians.

I always find religious processions impressive yet scary.

In Hotel Maestre we had two small “apartments” – one with two beds and one with three beds – for 65€/each. In each apartment there was a bedroom, a kitchen with a sofa and TV, and a bathroom. They were pretty basic, but clean and functional.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187430-d246473-Reviews-Maestre-Cordoba_Province_of_Cordoba_Andalucia.html

more to come...

CathyM, thanks for the link and the explanation, looks like we missed out on something...

Maybe we were too focused on the churros and the thick hot choclate?

Fortunately, with Spain there will always be a next time!

In the meantime I will try el Pan con Tomate at home in my kitchen.

Day 4 - Cordoba until 18h (6pm) then train to Sevilla.

The weather was nice this morning and we strolled up the Romero Barras Street to Plaza del Potro and decided to have breakfast outside, at Fusion by Sojo down by the river:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187430-d3188581-Reviews-Fusion_by_Sojo-

It was a little more expensive than other places, but the setting was really nice and we had a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, pastries and, of course, churros&chocolate.

After breakfast we checked out, had the hotel keep our bags, and set off to visit the Mezquita.

We walked the narrow streets of the Juderia (old town/jewish district) to the Cathedral/Mezquita and the lines to buy tickets were very long. At the ticket booth they only accept cash, so I set off to find cash while the others stayed in line. I had to tour the entire outside walls of the Mezquita to find a cash distributor that worked, and was a bit frustrated by the time I got back.

The Mezquita is very impressive (and dark). Once again we found very little in terms of information, and the majority of the visitors was not in guided groups. We had some basic knowledge, but it would have been nice to have some kind of folder once inside to describe the details. If you are not taking a guided tour I recommend you get a good guide-book or print out info beforehand.

Right outside the Mezquita is the Roman bridge, and we took some photos there also.

For lunch we went to the Bodegas Mezquita (near the Mezquita) where they have a nice selection of tapas and raciones. Me and my kids each had the 1/2 racion of chicken tajin with cous-cous, and were happy with that. My husband had some tapas (I think he only had 2 different - they were pretty generous)
Mixed reviews on tripadvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187430-d1157587-Reviews-Bodegas_Mezquita_Cespedes-Cordoba_Province_of_Cordoba_Andalucia.html

After lunch we decided we would have time to visit the Alcazar de Los Reyes before taking off to Sevilla. The line to get tickets was incredibly slow. I will not say it wasn’t worth it, but compared to everything else we were visiting on this trip it was a little underwhelming. We did the tour of the garden to see the statue of Christopher Columbus getting the go-ahead from Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, and then went back to the hotel to pick up our bags.

We took the local bus not far from the hotel to the train station. The bus did a tour of Cordoba before getting to the station, and since we weren’t in a hurry it felt a bit like a last sightseeing tour of the city before going on.

The train between Cordoba and Sevilla took 45 minutes and the tickets cost 75€ for the five of us (2 adults, 3 children).

I had called the apartment owner in Sevilla to see if there was a bus we could take from the station to the apartment, but he said there wasn’t, so we took two taxis instead. There are no bigger taxis that accept 5 people in Sevilla, even if you call to book one (as we did for the morning of our flight back).

I had found the apartment through the site Homelidays:
http://www.homelidays.com/

I had previously rented apartments through Homelidays in Barcelona and San Sebastian.

In Sevilla we stayed in one of these apartments:
http://www.patios-inn.com/
The apartment was fine, especially the location (calle Caballerizas), but we had two days of rain and one day of drizzle and the apartment was excessively humid. The towels used the first day never dried, and a note book left on the table in the evening had its pages all wavy in the morning. Maybe because the apartment was on the ground floor?

There was a portable radiator that we used to the max, but it couldn’t master the humidity of the apartment, which made it very uncomfortable to get back after a day of sightseeing in the rain.

There is a hostal next door from the apartment called Hostal Atenas, calle Caballerizas 1, which could be worth looking into if you are going to Sevilla, because the location was perfect IMO.

After getting settled we got some groceries and then my husband and I hit the tapas bars, only a few blocks from the apartment.

Day 5 - Sevilla.

After yet another slow morning with breakfast in the apartment, we started strolling through Sevilla to get to the Alcazar.

The lines were long and it took at least half an hour before we got our tickets. While standing in line, private tour guides fish for clients, and when they manage to gather a sufficient number (at least 10 from what we could count) and have each participant pay in cash beforehand, they take their group past the line. We heard one guide charged 30€/person, not sure there is a standard fee. The Alcazar itself doesn’t offer guided tours but apparently work with the private guides (to let them pass the line). If you go on your own (entrance 8€ as I recall) you can get audio guides for an additional fee (can’t remember how much, could have been 4€?)

I had already visited the Alcazar with friends one month before, and we then had beautiful sunny skies and 30° C as we strolled around the Alcazar and its gardens for hours. Now we had pouring rain, and could only look out on the gardens from the inside. The experience was different.

The Alcazar Real of Sevilla is still amazing, and right at the top of the list together with the Alhambra of Granada and the Mezquita of Cordoba – the “must-sees” of Andalucia.

After visiting the Alcazar we had a nice, long lunch at Bar La Catedral:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1729140-d3483703-Reviews-Bar_La_Catedral-Sevilla_La_Nueva.html

After lunch we felt like walking around a bit, and since it was no longer raining we walked around the narrow streets of Barrio Santa Cruz (the old town of Sevilla).

We also passed by la Casa de la Memoria de Al Andalus to pick up Flamenco tickets for the next day. I had called to check if you needed to make reservations, and they told me to just pass by one day before. We noticed that the performances for the same day were sold out. We got tickets for 19h30 the next day, and they told us to be there 20 minutes before to get good seats.

By now it was getting dark and we walked back to the apartment. Later my husband and I went out for drinks and some tapas (for him, I was still full from lunch…)at the very nice bar Alfalfa:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187443-d1887221-Reviews-Bar_Alfalfa-Seville_Province_of_Seville_Andalucia.html

There is one room in the Alcazar where there are several old paintings and a huge map on display, and most visitors spend some time trying to figure the map out. To understand it you have to imagine that you are standing in the north of Spain looking south towards Africa, with the Mediterranean Sea in the middle. Proportions and distances are distorted.

I had one of those moments of truth in front of it: The way the world appears to you really depends on from what angle you choose to look at it.

While I was standing there lost in thought, a Spanish tour guide and her group came up to the map. The guide explained the perspective of the map and pointed out some cities. “At this time in history, Spain was the most powerful country in the world” she said with just a tad of nostalgia.

Enjoying reading your report as I hope to visit Andalucia some day. So far I've only been to Barcelona, Costa Brava & Girona in Spain. What city was your favorite?

Excellent report. Very well written with just the right amount of detail. I appreciate your efforts as I'm hoping to get to Andalucia May 2014. I've copied & pasted many parts of your report into a word document to use on my trip. Again, thank you!

Thank you for your encouragements, it is nice to know that someone is reading!

Kwoo, out of Granada, Cordoba and Sevilla I prefer Sevilla.

If you have the choice, I would go earlier in the year though. Experiencing Andalucia in October was nicer than in November.

Day 6 - Sevilla.

Second day in Sevilla and we woke up to pouring rain.

We decided to start our day with a visit to Casa de Pilatos, which was just around the corner from the apartment.

“La Casa de Pilatos is an Andalusian palace in Seville, Spain, which serves as the permanent residence of the Dukes of Medinaceli. The building is a mixture of Renaissance Italian and Mudéjar Spanish styles. It is considered the prototype of the Andalusian palace” (Wikipedia).

On my previous visit in October, my friends and I had taken the guided tour of the upper rooms of the palace. IMO it is not worth the extra €€ and time, so this time we only visited the rooms on the first floor. The audio guide is excessively detailed, with lots of names and dates, and it was hard to stay concentrated. The palace is like a smaller version of the Alcazar, and is absolutely worth a visit.

It was still pouring when we left the palace, and we ran to the first restaurant we could find - Bar los Caracoles - for a tapas lunch: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187443-d1809976-Reviews-Casa_Antonio_Los_Caracoles-

As usual, each tapa was 2 – 3€, the menu was 4 pages of choices, and we ordered too much.

After lunch, we walked down to the Cathedral and got into the ridiculously long line (when we passed by next day, Monday, there were no lines…). They only accept cash at the Cathedral, and the visit also includes the Giralda tower, which apart from its history gives a 360° view of Sevilla.

Included in the entrance ticket is also a visit to the San Salvador church, which is only a short walk from the Cathedral. My kids were not too enthusiastic about another church at this point, but I had already seen the San Salvador and didn’t want my family to miss it. The decorations in this church remind me of a giant Christmas decoration, lots of red and gold and all the details!

From the San Salvador we strolled on to the Barrio Santa Cruz for a snack, and to wait for the Flamenco performance. We had been told to be at Casa de la Memoria 20 min before the performance, but since we wanted to be sure to get good seats we got there 35 min before only to find a line already forming (about 10 people in front of us). When the doors opened half an hour later a group of Italians appeared, claiming to be first in line. We heard German, French and English mutterings from the line, but since no one wanted an international incident the Italians entered first and got prime seats!

The performance takes place in the patio with fold up chairs around a small stage – hence the interest to get good seats. Not sure how much you can see of the dancing if you are seated in the back.

We all really enjoyed this intimate, professional show. The kids were having fun at the singer afterwards since his wailing sounded just like our dog in the mornings when he needs to go out (no disrespect).

Day 7 Sevilla

For our last Andalusian day I had planned a daytrip to Cadiz – either renting a car or going by train. Logistically it would have been possible, and I think everyone would have enjoyed a day in a coastal town without too much schedule or sights to visit. But the weather forecast gave us heavy rain in Cadiz on that day, and after two days of almost constant raining in Sevilla we gave up on the idea.

I was a little disappointed but tried to tell myself we would have another opportunity in the future.

So we started the day by strolling around in Sevilla (even my kids could find their way around by now), and finally ended up in el Torre de Oro which has a small marine museum dedicated to the travels of discovery (no entrance fee).

We were taking it really slow this day and after visiting el Torre de Oro it was already time for lunch. Not far from Plaza Nueva we found a different and nice tapas place called Taberna El Papelon
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187443-d3460364-Reviews-Taberna_El_Papelon-
and we all found something to our liking at this place.

After lunch we visited the bullring Maestranza:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g187443-d539272-r119861325-Plaza_de_Toros_de_la_Maestranza-Seville_Province_of_Seville_Andalucia.html

I really like this short, intimate and informative tour of the ring and the museum. I had already visited with my friends in October, with a different guide. Both guides were excellent and were very open to questions from visitors (presentation in Spanish and English).

Walking back towards the Cathedral and Alcazar we decided to finish off our Andalusian adventure by taking the horse and carriage tour of Plaza de España and Parque Maria Luisa. Our teenagers were really embarrassed to put on display us being gullible tourists, and our timing was also the worst; Monday evening rush hour and the beginning of the tour is in plain traffic… Well, as the French say: Le ridicule ne tue pas. We eventually got to the park and from there the tour was enjoyable.

Day 8 Flight back

We called and booked two taxis to pick us up in front of the apartment at 5 am for our flight at 6.45 am. We are five, and there were no bigger taxis to book for the whole family (fixed fee 25€/taxi from the center of Sevilla to the airport).

Two hours later we landed in Paris, we picked up our dog from the dog-pension, and vacation was over.

Thanks for sharing so many details of your trip! We've really enjoyed following your experiences. Sorry you ended up with those rainy days, but overall, you seemed to have a great time.

Thank you tomarkot for your kind words.
I hope you have the possibility to go to Andalucia next year as planned!