memejs

I just returned from a 2.5 week trip to Madrid, Cordoba, Seville, Granada, and Barcelona, and absolutely loved it! I've traveled a fair amount, and I think this is one of my favorite trips. I love reading detailed trip reports, plus writing one gives me to relive the experience, so here I go!

Background
I'm an American female in my mid-thirties, and this was my first solo trip. I spent a little over a year living in Argentina in my twenties, so although my Spanish was rusty, I was comfortable communicating with people and navigating my way around the country. Aside from one minor incident, I felt completely safe. Dining alone was a little awkward and not as enjoyable as it would have been with a companion, but other than that I enjoyed traveling solo. In the future I'll probably look for a travel companion first, but if I can't find one, I wouldn't let that stop me from traveling.

Originally I planned to book hotels and transportation ahead of time but leave my itinerary during the day pretty open. However, the more I researched, the more I found that it was advantageous or necessary to purchase tickets for sites ahead of time. I ended up purchasing tickets for just about all of the sites I visited ahead of time, and I'm really glad I did. I only booked 1-2 things per day, so I still had plenty of freedom in my itinerary.

I brought with me a couple of things that were lifesavers: before leaving the US I starred/favorited my hotels, sights of interest, and recommended restaurants on Google maps. Then I used the Google maps app on my phone to download maps of each city I'd be visiting. The markers for my starred places were also downloaded. These maps get saved so that you can use them offline. When I was in the city I could pull up the map without using any cell data. The offline maps don't map out directions for you, but you can see where you are (with a little pointer showing you which direction you're facing) and use the map to get where you want to go. If you haven't already starred locations you can also search for places, and the map will find them - all without using data. I can't imagine how I would have survived without this!

I also brought an external portable phone battery charger, which I used often and provided a lot of piece of mind. I didn't have to worry about being stranded somewhere or getting lost because my phone died and I didn't have access to my map. '

Itinerary
Day 1- Arrive in Madrid mid-day
Day 2 - Madrid
Day 3 - Madrid, late afternoon train to Cordoba
Day 4 - Cordoba
Day 5 - Cordoba, evening train to Sevilla
Day 6 - Sevilla
Day 7 - Sevilla
Day 8 - Sevilla, evening bus to Granada
Day 9 - Granada
Day 10 - Granada
Day 11 - Granada, evening flight to Barcelona
Day 12 - Barcelona
Day 13 - Barcelona
Day 14 - Barcelona
Day 15 - Barcelona
Day 16 - Morning flight home

memejs

For those who don't like wading through the narrative of a long trip report, here are my 15 favorite experiences, listed in chronological rather than preferential order.

- Palacio Real in Madrid - beautiful building, wish I would have paid for a guided tour

- Festival de los Patios in Cordoba - I was so excited to be in Cordoba during the festival. I'm now scheming about how to make my little backyard into an oasis of plants and flowers.

- Mezquita in Cordoba - I studied art history in college, so I was really excited to see this mosque turned cathedral. It did not disappoint. I went during the free morning hours, and it was plenty of time.

- Singing groups in Seville - I'm still not entirely sure what was going on, but while I was in Seville there were numerous groups of men dressed in Renaissance-style attire wandering through the streets and stopping in plazas to sing and play the guitar. They were so fun to listen to.

Bar el Comercio in Seville - The tapas bars kind of intimidated me, but this one is the perfect mix of regular locals and curious tourists. Great churros and chocolate and amazing fresh squeezed orange juice. I ate breakfast and dessert here several times.

Palacio de la Condesa de Lebrija in Seville - the house of a wealthy Countess who was a collector of Roman and Moorish antiquities. The tile and mosaics in this home were gorgeous. I questioned whether it would be worth spending the money to tour this site, and it absolutely was! There are a couple of other homes like this in Seville that I didn't get a change to tour, so I can't do a comparison.

Alcazar gardens in Seville - The alcazar buildings are impressive, but the gardens were absolute paradise. (I'm a huge fan of beautiful parks and gardens.)

Walking tour in Granada - I did walking tours in just about all of the cities I visited, and the one with Walk In Granada was far and away the best. Nacho led the morning historic tour, and he was amazing. His English was really good and he provided so much interesting information about the history and culture of Granada. Several of us from the morning tour showed up again for Nacho's evening tour of the Sacromonte district.

Alhambra in Granada - Everyone says you have to see the Alhambra when you go to Spain. They're right.

Casa Batllo in Barcelona - Really great audio/video guide.

San Pau Recinte Modernista in Barcelona - Beautiful art nouveau style hospital built in the early twentieth century. The guided tour was great, but I think I would have had a great experience with a guide too.

Beach in Barcelona - I visited Barcelona at the end of my trip and I was exhausted I arrived there. An hour sitting on the beach completely revived me.

Boqueria Market in Barcelona - It's totally touristy, but I loved the market. And I really, really loved the cheap fruit juices.

Palau de Music in Barcelona - The tour is relatively short, but the building is one of the most beautiful you'll ever see. I seriously contemplated buying tickets for the evening's concert, but by this point in the trip I had pretty much exhausted my funds.

Sagrada Familia in Barcelona - Hands down the most amazing man-made thing I've seen/experienced in my entire life. I know Gaudi might not be everyone's cup of tea, but despite the fact that this place is perpetually crowded with tourists I found it awesome in the literal sense of the word.

arthurames

Having five (5) nights in Barcelona between cruises, looking for some ideas to pursue there.

Revulgo

< Singing groups in Seville > Probably, what you saw was "la tuna".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuna_(music)

memejs

MADRID

I arrived in Madrid mid-day Monday. Originally I was scheduled to have arrived late Sunday afternoon, but my flight was overbooked, so I volunteered to take a later flight in return for a significant airline voucher. I gave up my window seat and historic walking tour, but my next trip's flight is already paid for!

I took public transit - which was very easy to navigate - to the Casa de la Plaza hotel, a budget hotel (hostal) right across from Mercado San Miguel. The hotel's location was great, but I wasn't a fan of the hotel itself. The walls were paper-thin and I could hear each person's every movement.

After showering I made my way to the Prado Museum. I had purchased my ticket ahead of time, but if I hadn't the line to purchase tickets didn't look very long. Even though I love learning about art history (I minored in it in college), I don't always like having an audioguide when I go to an art museum; I often prefer just to wander and see what catches me eye, which is what I did at the Prado. In my studies Spanish artists beyond Velasquez, Goya, and maybe a brief mention of Murillo, weren't emphasized much, so it was fun to see some familiar styles and periods of art represented by artists unfamiliar to me. Before this trip I read the Young Adult novel I, Juan de Pareja - based upon the real-life slave/assistant to Diego Velasquez. I highly recommend the book. Velasquez is highly revered in Spain, and it was nice to have a little background on him.

After a couple of hours at the museum I made my way to the nearby Retiro Park, which is a huge park of trees and meadows and fountains. It was peaceful and lovely - tranquil and practically deserted in some areas and lively with street performers and tourists in others. I was really excited to see and photograph the Crystal Palace in the park, so I spent a good chunk of time there. The building itself was being prepared for an exhibition, so I couldn't go inside, but I enjoyed sitting on a bench and people watching and then moving down to the steps in front of the building and watching the turtles at the edge of the lake.

By this time I was, not-surprisingly, pretty hungry, so I meandered my way back to Mercado San Miguel, marveling at all of the beautiful buildings along the way. Just about every building has beautiful wrought iron balconies. It made me miss my days of living in a big urban city.

At the mercado I picked up a tapa of mozzarella cheese, salami, and arugula and a fresh fruit juice. Not a huge dinner, but it hit the spot and I was saving room for chocolate and churros. After a brief rest in my hotel room, I found my way to Chocolateria San Gines. This day happened to be my birthday, and I was super excited to be celebrating it by eating real Spanish chocolate and churros...which I had dreamed of eating ever since watching the Rick Steves travel videos on Spain as a teenager.

Luckily I wasn't feeling any jet-lag, so after the chocolate and churros I wandered over to the Plaza de Oriente, where a gorgeous orange and pink sunset had lit the sky behind the cathedral and royal palace. It was the icing on the cake to a memorial birthday.

The next morning I grabbed some pastries - including the recommended napolitana - from La Mallorquina bakery and headed to the Plaza de Oriente to sit and people watch before my Royal Palace tour. I loved watching numerous locals with their dogs - owners greeting owners, dogs greeting dogs, all in a leisurely fashion. I don't think what I observed was anything particular to Madrid, I was just at leisure to be sitting and observing and it was nice. I also wandered through the well-manicured Sabatini gardens.

Because I had purchased my ticket in advance, I got to skip the long line and enter the palace right at 11am. I really loved the palace; it was beautiful. Aside from the main entrance hall, they don't allow photos. On the one hand this is nice because people aren't frantically elbowing each other aside to get the perfect photo, but on the other hand this makes it more difficult for me to remember my time there. There were a couple of rooms in particular that I really liked: the dining room - I'm always impressed by huge dining tables and chandeliers. I love to host and grand dining rooms always set my imagination on fire. The other is the Gasparini room. It has gorgeous silk wall coverings and an ornamental ceiling, both with patterns of vines and flowers. Each room had explanatory signs, but I wish I had paid for a guided tour of the palace. I caught snatches of the guided tours and the guides sounded well informed.

After the palace I didn't quite know what to do with myself! I know there is tons to do in Madrid, but I really didn't have too many must-do's on my list, and everything I had done hadn't taken as long as I'd anticipated.

Many people had told me that a day trip out to Toledo was a must-do, but with so little time in Madrid, I had figured it wouldn't fit into my itinerary. Now, though, it seemed like a good option. So I rode the Metro out to the Atocha train station to see about getting a ticket. I assumed that there would just be electronic kioks, but no, there was an in-person ticket office and it was crowded. After waiting for some time, I finally got to talk to an agent and discovered that there weren't any available train tickets to Toledo until evening. So there went that plan. (Later someone suggested that I could have taken one of the many buses, but unfortunately that didn't occur to me at the time.)

So I did what I always do when I don't have any particular plan, I walked and wandered. I stopped for lunch at a restaurant I'd seen recommended. I had the menu del dia at Taberna el Sur. I found it surprising that this little out of the way restaurant was full of tourists the whole time I was there. (I went back and checked and it's #16 on TripAdvisor, so that explains it.) The meal was perfectly adequate, but I don't think it deserves an special distinction. I probably would have eaten as well at any restaurant I happened into.

I wandered all around La Latina, all the way up to the Plaza de Espana and Templo de Debod. I stopped for ice cream in Chamberi, about 6pm, when the city was coming alive. Sidewalk cafe tables filled up and each corner was full of people chatting with one another. Every couple of blocks there was a small playground and all were full of toddlers and their parents.

I'm not sure where I ate dinner and what I did for the rest of the night because that's where my journal entry stopped, but I walked a ton that day, so I think it's safe to say that I turned in relatively early and slept well.

My weather app seemed pretty certain that there would be rain the following day, so I decided to spend my morning hours before the train to Cordoba at the Reina Sophia museum. First I stopped for breakfast at Matilda cafe, which was adorable and charming and the exact comfortable community coffee shop of my dreams.

I found the Reina Sophia to be disappointing, and usually I'm a big fan of modern art. Seeing Guernica in person was cool, but the more I learned about Picasso the less respect I had for him. I find Guernica to be important because it's such a powerful depiction of the terrible suffering that humans can inflict upon one another. From what I learned about Picasso though was that this painting really wasn't an expression of empathy with the victims, it was more an exploration of Picasso's fascination with death and destruction and the animal drives that lie within each of us (that's my interpretation anyway). There were Picasso quotes on the walls and one was him saying he'd never seen beauty. Much of the work in the museum was dark and depressing, lots of grotesque depictions of women and the female body. Usually I feel that if you understand some of the background of modern art, you can learn to appreciate it, even if you don't like it, but I just left this museum feeling depressed and regretful I'd spent the money on the entrance.

The train to Corboda was easy and efficient and a nice rest from a couple of days of almost non-stop walking.

My final assessment of Madrid is that I liked the city, but I'm not raving about it and insisting that everyone make it a priority destination.

Keiracaitlyn

Great report! Bookmarking for a future trip, so thank you for all the detail - it will be helpful.

PegS

Thanks! Looking forward to the rest of your report.

Leely2

Enjoying your report. I have thought many times about taking a solo trip to Spain, but for some reason I have always imagined that it would be a bit awkward to dine solo there so it's interesting to read your comment. I have done trips by myself elsewhere and have found solo dining to be the least awkward in France for whatever reason. But that might just be me and my personal experiences and biases.

Anyway, looking forward to reading the rest.

memejs

Leely2 - One the one hand there are tons of tapas bars where you can sit or stand at the bar, so I could see some people saying that Spain would be a very un-awkward place to dine alone. I quickly tired of tapas though, so I didn't eat at those places too often.

There are a lot of restaurants and cafes with terraces/outside tables where people sit to chat and eat and drink. Even though some of those places are more touristy and therefore more expensive, it's a nice way to relax and spend time in the middle of or at the end of a long day. When you're dining alone, however, there's only so much time you can sit and relax or stare at your phone before it's just time to move on. I think having someone to sit and chat with at those terrace tables would have enhanced my experience, but don't let the awkwardness of dining alone keep you away from Spain!

memejs

CORDOBA

When I decided to go to Spain, Andalucia was a no-brainer. I had two Spanish teachers in high school and both had studied abroad in Sevilla, so I had practically grown up hearing about the Alhambra and flamenco. Cordoba was my first stop in the Andalucia region.

Before leaving on the trip I had kept my eye on the weather forecast and, seeing several days of rain predicted, had brought along an umbrella. I'm glad I did! When I arrived in Cordoba it was pouring. I walked several blocks in the rain to a bus stop. I realized later that there was a much more convenient bus stop right across the street from the train station, but since I didn't have internet I had to rely on the directions I had written down previously.

Taking the bus in unfamiliar-to-me cities is always stressful for me because often buses will pass stops at which no one requests to get off, so I'm never quite sure where I am. I knew which stop I needed to get off at, so I asked the bus driver to let me know when we arrived at that stop. I sat on the bus for quite a while - in fact until the entire bus had emptied out - and realized that the bus driver had forgotten about me. No big deal, I figured I'd just ride around the loop again. This time the bus driver made sure to let me know when we had arrived.

During this "free tour" of Cordoba I was less than impressed. I'd pictured Cordoba as a small, quaint little city, but this was a large city with nothing particularly pretty or quaint or charming about it (I had a similar first impression of Florence). And then I passed through the old city walls and entered the historic district and all of the charm and quaintness and beauty came bursting out. Cobblestone streets and winding narrow passage ways, white buildings with yellow trim and flower pots everywhere.

Isn't this often how it is? The larger city, where most people live and work, isn't particularly distinct, but there is that one district or neighborhood that gives the entire city its reputation.

My lodging for this city was the Mayflowers Hostel and I loved it. It was right in the middle of the historic district in one of those cute white and yellow buildings. The inside was all white marble and was impeccably clean. I stayed in a six bed female dorm room with a very large bathroom. The hostel also has a couple of private rooms.

It's funny, on this trip I stayed in two dorm rooms at hostels and four private rooms at pensions. My budget allowed for cheap hotels/hostal/pensions or nicer hostels, and I ended up liking the hostels best. I was a little concerned that my age put me outside the normal demographic for hostels - that I'd be the "old" woman asleep by 10pm while noisy drunk 20-somethings would be coming in at all hours of the night. That wasn't my experience at all, fortunately.

By the time I had checked in and gotten settled, the rain had abated, so I went out to explore. When I was researching things to do in Cordoba I learned about the festival of the patios and was absolutely thrilled that it would be happening during the time I would be there. The houses in Spain are generally build with an open courtyard in the middle, and many people cultivate flowers and plants in their courtyard. There's a festival and competition each year where people open up their courtyards to the public and there are competitions and prizes for the best ones. Some of the homes have tiles in the entry ways announcing their awards from previous festivals.

The patios are open from 11-2pm and 6-10pm, and since it was just before 6, I decided to see a few patios that evening. There were various maps showing which homes were participating in the festival, and fortunately for me the greatest concentration within a small area were located right in the neighborhood of my hotel. I was surprised - though I shouldn't have been - to find people lined up waiting to enter. There were hosts from the festival outside of each patio, and they would regulate the flow of people inside. So although it was crowded, it wasn't horrible. Entrance is free and you're not limited to the amount of time that you spend at each patio. I toured several patios that evening and they were incredible! Some are small and some are larger, but all have been tended to with such care. It made me come home resolved to find a way to make my little backyard into an oasis.

I had created a list of recommended restaurants for each city I had visited, but I pretty much threw that list out the window. That evening I decided I wasn't as concerned about quality of food or price, I just wanted something with a nice atmosphere. I found a restaurant - not on a main plaza but full of people, decorated in what looked like a traditional style - and asked for a table for one.

I don't like seafood; I don't drink alcohol; and I'm not a big meat eater, so I'm not exactly the target demographic for Spanish cuisine, yet I was excited to try some of the traditional dishes. First I ordered salmorejo, which is a traditional Analucian cold tomato soup. It was okay, but I found it to have a very strong garlic flavor and I would have preferred it warm instead of cold. Next I ordered another traditional dish, eggplant fries topped with dark honey. I don't think eggplant is a particularly good substance (it's really hard to think of it as a vegetable) in any form, but this was okay. I'm glad I tried both dishes but I didn't feel the need to order either one a second time.

After dinner I walked across the Roman Bridge to see the city lit up from across the river.

When I got back to the hostel, about 11pm, I was surprised to find most of the other people in my room already in bed.

Adelaidean

Spain has been on my radar for awhile, I look forward to reading more about your impressions. Enjoying your observations and detail

kimhe

Great report, thanks!

<The tapas bars kind of intimidated me>.
You must give tapas bars a new chance, a ton of variety if you research a little. Taps bars are where Spain is happening!

If you go again to Spain, join up for a tapas tour with a knowlegeable guide. In Sevilla, you could join Azahar, she have lived here for ages and knows everything there is to know about the fabulous tapas bar scene in Sevilla. http://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletap...rs/tapas-tour/

And this could be an idea if you go to San Sebastián, the food capital of Spain and all of Europe. The gourmet style pintxos (Basque tapas) will make your head spin: http://sansebastian.mimofood.com/en/...ng-tour-dinner

This gives you an idea of a pintxos/tapas tour in San Sebastián: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WowXrGJdFCU

And in Sevilla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mFE9k0E-2Y

alison

@memejs don't stop now. Love your details and I leave for Barcelona next week. Hopefully you will come back and finish this great TR. thx.

CLBtravel

Enjoying your report! I leave Friday for a shorter version of your trip. Looking forward to Seville. I didn't realize so many places can be booked in advance online. I was debating about the Reina Sophia. I have half day planned for Prado.

emily71

Thanks for your trip report and as a solo traveler it did feel weird to eat alone in Spain but I think it's because most Spanish women I saw were in groups usually don't dine alone. But I wouldn't let that stop me from eating out in Spain.

As for Picasso, I have to disagree with stating that he didn't care about the Guernica victims. The Spanish Republic commission him for an exhibit at a World Expo and when he heard the news about the bombings, he decided on Guernica. He was not a fan of Franco and stated that the painting would not go back to Spain until Fascism was ended in the country.

quiltingmamma

Really enjoying your report. I have a solo trip scheduled for Oct/Nov and will also have a birthday in Madrid (though mine is considerably more advanced than your mid-30's).
Your insight on some sites are very interesting and I'll keep them in mind. I really liked your top 15. Barcelona is my last stop too, so I will have to remember some time at the beach for a mental break. I am staying near San Pau Hospital, so it will be a trek, but most likely worth it.
I am used to eating alone, but often I deal with that by renting short let apartments...also deals with some food allergies. I will admit I have reservations on how to enjoy meals out in Spain. It is such a social activity, and as you observed, women there are less likely to eat alone; that I feel the longer meals will create impatience on my part. Breakfast and a menu del dia at lunch should be easy enough. Tapas could keep me attached to my early dinner schedule, but otherwise I think I'll be bringing in food or doing simple dinners. I am not a fan of being out after dark - to me that means home time, but I'll work at taking advantage of late museum or site openings and try to reset my body clock for later starts to the day as well.
With your art appreciation and good visual eye, I look forward to your reports on Seville and Granada in particular.
As a gardener, I can only encourage you to action that back yard oasis you mentioned. What a lasting reminder of a trip you loved, and possibly the start of a life long hobby. I hope you brought home a few things from Spain that you can add to your garden ( I can imagine one of the clay flower pots from Cordoba or some hanging oriental lamps from the Albacin in Granada). If not, I am sure a garden shop will have something similar. Design it soon while your emotions are still invested in this trip.

memejs

@alison I doubt I'll get to writing about the Barcelona part of my trip before you leave for your trip, but suffice it to say that I fell head over heels in love with Barcelona. There is so much to do there!

@CLBtravel I loved Seville! When I was planning my trip everyone on this forum said to give Seville several days, and I'm so glad I listened. I'm sure there are people out there that love the Reina Sofia, it just wasn't for me, which surprised me because I almost always enjoy art museums. In hindsight I wonder if I would have enjoyed the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum more.

@emily71 I think a big part of my interpretation of Picasso and Guernica is the way the exhibit was presented. It really focused on some of his darker images and philosophies.

@quiltingmamma I did bring home a small ceramic flower pot from Cordoba!

memejs

CORDOBA (continued)

I got up fairly early in order to be at the Mezquita doors by 8:00am for the free entrance at 8:30. A number of other people were, like me, also early, but I could have walked right up and in at 8:30 and there wouldn't have been a line. I'm just a little crazy when it comes to arriving early/on line. The Mezquita, a mosque turned cathedral, is something I had studied in high school and college so I was really excited to see it. It's huge! Those distinct red and white striped horseshoe arches go back for days. Although there were a number of people there in the free entrance hour between 8:30-9:30am, most people spoke in hushed tones. It was a nice experience. In the center is where they plopped the cathedral portion of the building when the Christians conquered Cordoba and converted the Islamic buildings to Christian ones. It looks quite different from the rest of the space. It was roped off, I assume in preparation for the service that would start at 9:30. I found that an hour was plenty of time to enjoy the building.

I paid 2 euro to climb the bell tower, which is separate from the mosque/cathedral and gives a good overhead view of how the building is laid out. Because many of the churches and cathedrals in southern Spain were converted from mosques,so they don't have the traditional Latin cross plan traditional of most churches in Europe.

In Cordoba I saw for the first time the orange trees that line many of the streets in Spain. (Maybe there were orange trees in Madrid too, I just didn't notice.) I grew up in southern California, so it's not like I've never seen an orange tree before, but I was so charmed by all of these lovely trees. I can only imagine how wonderful it must have smelled a couple months earlier when the trees were in blossom.

After the Mesquita I set out to find some breakfast. I had a traditional Spanish breakfast of ham, crushed tomatoes, and oil on toast at Gourmet Iberico. It was surprisingly creamy; I'm not sure if it was the ham or some combination of ingredients, but I was pleasantly surprised. The flavor of the ham was very good, but I could see the pig's leg from which they had shaved the ham sitting right in front of me (super common in Spanish restaurants), so that diminished my appetite. I mentioned before that I'm not a big meat eater, especially when I'm reminded that what I'm eating was once an actual animal.

I spent the middle part of the day wandering the warren of winding, narrow streets that make up the Jewish quarter and old part of the city. I visited several more patios and decided that the most impressive patios were the ones I had seen the previous evening. I'm not sure if that was because they were honestly the biggest and best laid out or if it was because they were the first I saw. Regardless, I enjoyed all of the patios. I think I would have liked Cordoba had I gone at another time of year, but getting to see the patios was truly a highlight.

I was on my way back to the hostel when it started to POUR. Even with my umbrella I was soaked. Everyone was huddled together under awnings or trees or anything that provided shelter. It was just a brief downpour, but it was one of those moments that unites people with a "we're all in this together" feeling. While at the hostel I spent an hour or so chatting with a couple of other solo female travelers of varying ages. We were native English, French, and Portuguese speakers conversing in Spanish.

In the evening I went to the Alcazar for the free hours from 6-8pm (this is just on Thursdays). There isn't much to see on the inside; the gardens are the main attraction. I love public parks and gardens - a sentiment I'll most likely repeat numerous times as I report on this trip. I especially love that Arabian-style gardens incorporate so many water features. I spent my time wandering through the gardens, which felt large at the time but would be nothing compared with the size of the gardens at the Alcazar in Sevilla.

I ate an early dinner at Bar Santos, known for its tortilla de patatas. It's right across from the Mezquita, so you'd expect this to be a touristy bar. While there were many tourists there, there were also quite a few locals. Of all of the traditional Spanish food I tried, tortilla de patatas is what I liked best. It's kind of like potatoes au gratin pressed in to a dome and then sliced like cake.

I also went to a grocery store to pick up some European chocolate. Nothing fancy, but Milka bars are heaven compared to the grocery store chocolate in the States.

I called it a fairly early night since I knew this was a long trip and I'd wear myself out if I was out and about until midnight every night.

The next morning I surprised myself by sleeping until almost 9am, which for me is very late. I ate breakfast at the hostel and then went out to browse in the souvenir shops. I'd been having something of a souvenir crisis. I LOVE pottery and ceramics and have collected a few pieces from my various travels. The pottery in the shops was calling my name...but where would I put it? I didn't want to spend money on something that would just end up in a closet because I didn't have a place for it at home. In fact, I had just finished taking a pottery class, so I had a couple dozen vases and mugs and bowls sitting on my counter at home. Eventually I came upon a shop selling ceramic flower pots. This was the perfect solution. I got my ceramics fix by buying something that I could actually put to use!

In several of the trip reports on this forum I had read about a church/convert where you could purchase cookies from cloistered nuns. That seemed like a novel thing to do and I had passed the church the day before, so I decided to do it. I rang the buzzer at the gate and told the person that answered that I was there to purchase cookies. She unlocked the gate and told me to pass through to the courtyard. Once in the courtyard I wasn't sure where to go or what to do. The nuns are cloistered so the whole idea is that you never see anyone during this transaction. Eventually a cleaning lady came into the courtyard and showed me the little door where I could pick up the cookies. When I got to the door I asked the nun how much I owed and I was taken aback when she said 8 euro. 8 euro! I had expected a little bag for 1-2 euro. If the transaction hadn't been so unorthodox I might have said never mind, but I was flustered, so I put my money on the turntable and out came a box of butter cookies. They were good cookies, but more of an investment than I had anticipated.

By this time it had started to rain and I had forgotten to bring my umbrella with me. I waited around in the Mezquita courtyard for a while, but instead of letting up the rain just alternated between light and heavy. Finally, during one of the light periods, I made my way back to the hostel, where I drank tea, ate some of the cookies, and read for a little while before it was time to catch the bus to the train station.

Final thoughts on Cordoba. I really liked this cute little town (or rather the little part of it that is historical and catered to tourists). I enjoyed Madrid but it wasn't until I got to Cordoba that I thought, yes, this is why I spend $$$ to travel. This is something unique.

Many people come to Cordoba as a day trip, and I do think you can see the highlights in a day, but I'm glad I stayed a little longer. I was there for two partial days and one full day. I don't think I would have needed as much time if the Festival of the Patios hadn't been happening. Even with the festival, I probably could have left the morning of the third day instead of the afternoon.

memejs

Ugh, sorry for the typos.

I am slowly making my way through the hundreds of photos I took. Once I have them edited I'll upload them to my blog and post the url here.

memejs

SEVILLA

All of the advice I received on this forum warned me against shortchanging Sevilla. I would want a number of days there, they said. They were so right…and I’m glad I listened.

Sevilla is so much fun! It feels both big and small. It’s the largest city in Andalucia and it feels busy and bustling, but the main historical/tourist sites are mostly within a manageable area. It’s full of beautiful buildings, a few wide boulevards, and a maze of narrow winding streets. The city was in bloom with the purple of flowering jacaranda trees and, of course, orange trees.

My home for the next few nights was a private room at Pension San Pancracio. It was in a good location and quieter than my hotel in Madrid. A good budget option but nothing special.

After getting settled I walked a relatively short distance to the Plaza de Espana. I was already impressed with the city but this sealed the deal. The Plaza is built within the Parque de Maria Luisa. It features a wide arc of buildings built for a world’s fair in 1929, a moat where you can rent a rowboat, and a large fountain. There is tons of beautiful tile work on the bridges, lamp post, and balustrades. I read that parts of Lawrence of Arabia were filled here, so I guess I’ll have to go back and watch that movie again. Apparently some scenes in one of the more recent Star Wars movies was also filmed here. I was pressed for time, so I didn’t get to spend too long here, but I knew I’d be back. It was a fabulous introduction to Sevilla.

I had reservations that night for a flamenco show at the Casa de Memoria, but first I needed to find something to eat. Choosing restaurants on this trip was a struggle (not necessarily due to the awkwardness of dining alone). I was generally trying to find some combination of great atmosphere, good food, and low-ish price, and I usually ended up somewhere that only sort-of checked any of those boxes. I had friends traveling in Paris at the same time and over social media we commiserated about the difficulties of choosing restaurants. Anyway, this evening I went with low cost and ended up at 100 Montaditos, which is basically the McDonalds of tapas. It’s a chain restaurant with montaditos (small sandwiches) starting at 1 euro. Not high quality cuisine, but it filled me up and ensured I’d have the budget to eat at nicer places later in the trip. It turned out, though, that this was a great choice. Inside the restaurant was a group of young men dressed in velvet breeches and capes singing and playing the guitar. I would see a number of these groups over the next few days (someone upthread explained that this is the tuna). The music was really great; of the number of groups I listened to, this turned out to be the best one. After I was finished eating I went out to the square next to the restaurant and watched several other groups. They’d sing a few songs and then move on through the streets, leaving the space for the next group.

I made my way nearby to the Casa de Memoria about half an hour early and found that there was already a line waiting to get in. The venue is pretty small, so I’d say that all of the seats are good. Everyone had their cameras out and ready to go, but they announced that photos would only be allowed during the final five minutes of the show, upon the signal of one of the performers. The performance was amazing; the hour-long show felt too short! I didn’t note the names of the performers, but as is traditional there was a singer, a guitarist, and a male and a female dancer. The footwork was most impressive to me – so fast! At the end the male dancer gave the signal for cameras, but it was way less than five minutes. We maybe got a minute for photos and video. Oh well, I got some photos the next day of some of the street performers. I’m really glad I went to the show; the ticket was 18 euro, so not a huge investment. However, if you really don’t think you’d enjoy a flamenco show, I think you can still get a pretty good taste of it from the many street performers. (I’ll probably be raked over the coals for saying that, but it’s my honest opinion.)

I came out of the show to find that the musical groups were still singing in the streets. I followed one a few blocks into the area near the cathedral. It was Friday night, so everyone seemed to be out and about. I grabbed some gelato and meandered back to my hotel. Had I not been alone it would have been fun to stay out all hours doing a tapas crawl, but it wasn’t something I felt would be as fun on my own. That’s the downside of traveling alone. On the upside, though, I got to do whatever I felt like doing all day long.

The next morning I sought out Bar el Comercio, which I liked so much it sort of became my spot in Seville. It’s always busy, continually full of both tourists and the local regulars. I really don’t know that there’s anything much better than the fresh squeezed orange juice you can order at bakeries, restaurants, and bars around Spain. The bartender threw a few oranges into a machine and a few seconds later I had a glass of juice. He gave me a packet of sugar, but the juice was sweet enough that I didn’t need it.

After breakfast I went to the Plaza Nueva to meet the guide for the walking tour with Sevilla Free Tours. The group of English speakers was fairly large and the tour was long, in a good way; it was thorough. The guide was pretty good. He was very nice and very enthusiastic, but he had a strong accent and repeated himself a lot to make sure he was understood. Overall a good tour and I’d recommend it as long as you set expectations appropriately.

After the tour, I went to the church of San Salvador, which is where you can go to buy a combination entrance to the church and the cathedral, thereby letting you avoid the long lines at the cathedral. I got the audioguide here, and it was very, very thorough, to the point of being boring. Lots of names and dates, not much narrative story.

The plaza right outside the church was really interesting. The restaurant terraces there were absolutely full of bachelor and bachelorette parties. These were smallish groups of young men and women dressed up in matching costumes. Usually the bride or groom was wearing something especially silly – i.e. a woman in a chicken suit, a man in a flamenco dress. There were dozens of these groups all over the city, especially in this square. I’m not sure if there’s a reason so many people are getting married and holding bachelor/-ette parties this time of year, but it felt like the entire population of Sevilla was getting married. (All seemed to be local, but perhaps this is a destination for Spanish parties, as opposed to the many British groups I saw in Barcelona.)

Once again I was faced with the restaurant dilemma. I walked a ways up to Eslava, but it was super crowded, and I didn’t really want to wait, so I ended up at a sort of hipster-ish place. I ordered three tapas – roasted vegetables, ravioli, and I forget the last one. The food was good tasting and good quality, but the 15-17 euro price seemed a bit steep for a meal that wasn’t all that filling.

Unlike in Madrid and Cordoba, where I breezed through my lists of things to do pretty quickly, I had numerous things I wanted to see in Sevilla, but of highest priority to me this afternoon was just sitting and imbibing the atmosphere. I went back to the Plaza de Espana and spent a while there, and then meandered back near the Cathedral, stopping at various places along the way to sit and observe street performers. At one point I had the thought that this felt almost like Disneyland: a beautiful, colorful setting, a holiday atmosphere, and the fact that a brass band started playing the Pirate of the Caribbean theme didn’t help!

Before it got too late, I went back to Bar el Comercio for churros and chocolate. These were even better than the ones in Madrid!
I browsed the shops for a while – so many fancy dress shops! – before my feet started begging me to go back to the hotel. I felt like I was missing out by turning in relatively early on a Saturday night, but I was also exhausted and it had been a full day.