We flew into Barcelona and spent 3 nights and 2 full days there. Unfortunately, we had rainy cool weather which put a damper on the experience of the city but we still loved it. We spent the first day exploring the Barri Gotic, or Gothic district, and visiting the Gothic cathedral:
After a quick tour through the Santa Maria del Mar cathedral, we had some lunch and headed over to the beach and harbour.
Sangria:)
We walked along the harbour to the Christopher Columbus monument, which normally you can climb to the top of but unfortunately it was closed. We then headed up La Rambla, a wide promenade filled with street performers and stalls selling tourist gifts. It is a beautiful boulevard and is always packed; great for people watching. Along the way we stopped at an awesome food market, Mercat de la Boqueria, where we picked up some roasted nuts and ice cream:
That night we had dinner at a restaurant just off Rambla de Catalunya, an upscale shopping street in the L'Eixample district, called Cerveceria Catalana (recommended by our friends Jake and Shayne.) It was an awesome tapas place; all the food in Spain was great but I think the best food we had was definitely in Barcelona. Some particular favorites were the peppers (pimientos de padron) and the chorizo and almost everywhere had some type of potatoes with a fried egg on top, brilliant.
The next day w explored all the Gaudi architecture in the city. Gaudi was a late 19th century Catalan architect who built some really unique houses and his most famous, still unfinished venture, the cathedral, La Sagrada Familia. We toured Casa Batllo, which he built as a private home and it was unlike anything we'd ever seen:
Then we headed over to La Sagrada Familia. Construction began on this cathedral in 1882 and it is still incomplete. When Gaudi died in 1926, it was about 25% complete and is now about half completed. Expected completion is in 2026 so maybe Dan and I can head back in 20 years and see the finished product. What is already completed is outstanding; not only is it truly unique because of Gaudi's influence but it is so rare to see a "modern" cathedral. This is a definite must see if you're in Barcelona.
In the afternoon, we headed up to Montjuic park. Montjuic sits on a hill overlooking the ocean and was the site of most of the 1992 Olympic events. We wandered around the Olympic park, ate lunch in the stadium, and walked along the steps of the National Museum of Catalan art for great views of the city:
We then took a cable car up to Montjuic castle:
We tried to head to a restaurant on the harbour that night for dinner but got caught in the rain and ran into the closest place we saw, which ended up being pretty good; decent paella and good wine.
The next morning we took off early for Sevilla. We arrived at the most adorable hotel we have ever stayed in, Un patio de Santa Cruz, after much wandering and the aid of a friendly Brit who has lived in Seville 26 years:)
Our room is the door on the right:
I could wander the streets of Seville for hours; around every corner was another quaint square or outdoor cafe. We walked through the Old Town, or Barrio de Santa Cruz, had lunch, and headed to the cathedral. (Yes, this trip contains a massive amount of cathedrals, prompting Dan to say he is over cathedrals and does not want to visit any more, ha, we'll see, we do live in Europe;-))
climbed the bell tower:
Aftter some drinks on the hotel patio we headed to a Flamenco show at Los Gallos, pricey but very well done, followed by a late dinner at a cute restaurant right across from the hotel.
The next morning we had our usual pastries and cafe con leche breakfast at a cute cafe right in the shadow of the cathedral and then headed over to the Alcazar. I've decided the Sevilla Alcazar is the best palace I've ever seen. The Moorish architecture, wood coffered ceilings and Spanish tile work is just stunning.
The gardens were equally breathtaking:
Guadalquivir river:
Sevilla bullring:
Puerta de Jerez:
a quick dip in the park:
After going to two restaurants that night (the first was deemed unsatisfactory after we had already sat down so we ordered drinks and moved on); we got up early the next morning, picked up our car at the train station and began the drive to Granada. On our way, we stopped in the hill town of Ronda. Ronda is built around a gorge with cliff-hanging houses and picturesque countryside.
We spent a couple hours in Ronda, exploring the town, visiting the Arab baths, and having lunch overlooking the gorge. We then continued on to Granada. After a dramatic entrance to Granada in which the GPS tried to send us down streets barely wide enough for people to walk through and a lot of screaming and arguing we successfully parked at the Alhambra and got a taxi to our hotel near the Plaza Nueva. We then began exploring Granada; starting with Rick Steve's walking tour through the Alcaicera shopping area, up Carerra del Darro (which translated means "Street of Sorrows" because it was where they held funeral processions but is now considered one of the most romantic streets in the world) and through the Albaicin, the old Arab quarter:
Plaza Bib-Rambla:
Carrera del Darro:
Albaicin:
Drinks overlooking the Alhambra at sunset:
dinner at a middle eastern hookah restaurant:
The next day we visited the Cathedral and the Capilla Real, which is the chapel adjacent to the cathedral dedicated to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand containing their tombs.
Cathedral:
Alhambra beer:
After lunch on Plaza Nueva we spent the afternoon at the Alhambra, the gigantic Moorish palace sitting high up on the hill above the Darro river overlooking the city and the Sierra Nevada mountains. The grounds also include the Charles V palace, a Renaissance addition, the Generalife, the Moors summer retreat, and the Alcazaba, the 9th century fort. With similar architecture to the Alcazar in Seville, the Alhambra is equally impressive and intricate and the views are to die for.
Alhambra:
Alcazaba:
Generalife:
We had dinner that night at Restaurante Sevilla right in the shadow of the Cathedral. It was a great location and excellent food.
The next morning we woke up early, retrieved our car, and started the long drive to Toledo (~4 hours.) We arrived at the Parador hotel around lunchtime and had a delicious lunch on the parador terrace with brilliant views of Toledo. Toledo is located about 40 miles outside Madrid. It is a well preserved hill top town surrounded by the Tagus river. The hill that the parador hotel is located on (and where these pics are taken from) is supposedly where El Greco, a celebrated 16th century Spanish artist, painted his View of Toledo. Toledo was actually the ancient capital of Spain before it was moved to Madrid.
After another incident of driving around in circles and yelling at each other while trying to locate the Avis to drop off our car we finally found it and made our way to our hotel, aptly named Pintor El Greco ("the painter, El Greco) which was located right next to the El Greco museum, and began exploring Toledo. We visited the Museo-Hospital de Santa Cruz, featuring El Greco paintings and others by Spanish Renaissance artists. We then wandered through the winding, hilly streets of Toledo, including the Jewish Quarter, and eventually settled on a place for dinner.
Plaza Zocodover:
View from the city walls:
Toledo Alcazar:
Jewish Quarter:
On our way back from dinner we noticed they were having an outdoor concert at the El Greco museum next to our hotel and as a result of it being the weekend of the city's "birthday" admission was free. So we took some time to wander through the museum and listen to the concert before heading to bed.
The next morning we checked out the Toledo Cathedral. Now, by this time we were definitely a little over cathedrals, but I have to say it was one of the most impressive ones of the trip:
Main altar:
El Transparente (unique altarpiece located behind the main altar with aperture letting in natural light):
We then took the train into Madrid, checked into our hotel right off Plaza Mayor, and headed out for lunch. After a good, but overpriced lunch on Plaza Mayor, we walked over to the Palacio Real. This huge palace was built in the 18th century and has over 2,000 rooms. It was last used as a royal residence in 1931 and is quite impressive. The scale and architecture is similar to Versailles, though less elaborate and it doesn't have the gardens which make Versailles so amazing. That being said, it had some rooms that definitely rivaled Versailles in their decoration, a particular favorite being the throne room. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed inside;(
Plaza Mayor:
San Miguel el Mercado food market:
Palacio Real:
We then wandered through the palace gardens (Parque del Campo del Moro) and through the streets of Madrid. After a cerveza break at a cafe right outside our hotel, we headed to Casa Toni, a tiny and delicious tapas place, for dinner.
Plaza de Oriente:
Palacio Real:
Parque del Campo del Moro:
Puerta del Sol:
Plaza Santa Ana:
The next morning we headed over to the Prado museum. The Prado is huge and takes 3-4 hours to really see it all. We spent about 1.5 hours there before realizing that the modern art museum we wanted to visit, Reina Sofia, actually closed in 1 hour. So we raced over there and checked out the Picasso and Dali exhibits, including the most famous piece, Picasso's Guernica. Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch in the beautiful Parque del Buen Retiro, before heading back to the Prado for another couple hours to really do it justice. The Prado has some great masterpieces including Velasquez's Las Meninas, and The Drinkers, and Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights.
Parque del Buen Retiro:
We finished the day, and the trip, with drinks in Plaza Santa Ana and an ox carpaccio and tapas dinner at El Madrono before flying back to London in the morning. Thanks again for an amazing trip mom & dad ;-)
