Seville
There was an incident at the airport, and after an hour of running-arounds and phone-calls (my English is so fluent when I'm pissed!), I was just glad to be on the plane. Even in a middle seat. (If memory serves, I even picked a seat -- a window seat.)
Ah... being in Seville in a pleasantly chilly weather. That made all the difference in the world. I will say this up front. I loved, LOVED, every minute and every inch of it.
...even though I got lost 2 minutes after stepping outside the hotel. But hey, that's an Andalucian
...even though I got lost 2 minutes after stepping outside the hotel. But hey, that's an Andalucian
Cordoba
It takes mere 45 minutes from Seville to Cordoba via super fast AVE train. A perfect day trip! Mezquita was gorgeous and Juderia, even more so. Scroll down...
Striped arches of Mezquita.
Cordoba was my first dose of flower-hanging white buildings. We were lucky to find this tiny "Flower Alley" -- especially photogenic with the Mezquita bell tower as a focal point -- but all the streets of the Jewish Quarter was an absolute loveliness. Plus, I'm a sucker for peeling paints and orange trees.
Ronda
Ronda = ridiculously pretty clifftop white village. And what's up with the bridge!
We walked around the old town until lunch, and then went outside the wall into the open field. We walked for half an hour to reach the foot of the bridge to see the view from the below. And then, naturally, we had to climb up the gorge, which made us add "exercise" on our list of new year's resolutions.
We walked around the old town until lunch, and then went outside the wall into the open field. We walked for half an hour to reach the foot of the bridge to see the view from the below. And then, naturally, we had to climb up the gorge, which made us add "exercise" on our list of new year's resolutions.
...and this is the town.
After having a coffee to recharge, we went back to the bridge to take some more photos. Gotta take advantage of the setting sun!
The orange sunset was seeping through the giant arches of the bridge... and the scene. A beautiful day in Ronda turned into a beautiful evening in Seville featuring craft shopping, tapas dinner, but honestly, nothing's better than hanging out with an old friend.
Seville
Last day. Last peek at the Cathedral.
I had been to the Alcazar back in 2005, but I couldn't remember a thing. Was it because of the heat? Or was the Alcazar shadowed by the Alhambra? Either way, it was incredulous -- how could I possibly forget these yellow-and-coral-colored walls and lush gardens dripping with palm trees?
The buildings and walls were slightly wet, making the vivid colors even deeper, and a mild light of the overcast sky was ever so lovely.
The buildings and walls were slightly wet, making the vivid colors even deeper, and a mild light of the overcast sky was ever so lovely.
Even though the room itself was quite stunning, everybody was looking/walking/facing toward outside.
I followed.
Tada!
They were all pouring out to this courtyard, full of gorgeous arches, tiles and stone carvings.
Intricate stonework of the courtyard. Who needs Alhambra?
Revisiting the Cathedral Plaza, realizing this trip was way too short.
Cobblestone streets of Barrio de Santa Cruz. To get away from rain, we had a perfect coffee at a perfect little coffee shop, and then because it was still raining, we decided to feed ourselves rather than climbing up to the Giralda, the bell tower. (When are we ever going to go up there? We will have to come back.)We were so wet, all the way to the airport.
