Safely in Vancouver (Tuesday, October 28th)

On Tuesday morning we were up at 2:15, and our pre-arranged taxi picked us up on time at 3:15 am.  By 3:30 am we had printed boarding passes and were in line, waiting for the Lufthansa check-in staff to come to work (which they did at 4:15).

The flights were both uneventful and we arrived safely in a gray and windy Vancouver at 1 PM PDT, where we were met by Norm and Kinley.....a perfect end to a perfect trip.

We really enjoyed Spain, each place had something special about it, and we collectively have some great memories (individual short term memories may be failing a little).  I would be hard pressed to choose a "favourite" place....I choose one and then I think of something great about another place.

The younger Spanish people tended to speak more English and were generally more helpful, although a few older folks were very helpful to us also.

We were fortunate with the weather, Randy did a great job booking the accommodations, and we got some great transportation deals by booking a group of 4 ahead of time.......no glitches with any of it.

Spanish food was not really "our thing", and we found the number of smokers and their habits objectionable, although Spain supposedly has the toughest smoking restrictions in the EU.

On the exercise front we walked 518 Km (average 16 Km per day) and climbed 15,580 ft. (average 470 ft. per day), and I am sure that I lost weight, so not all bad.

It will take a few days to get over the jet lag....I was in bed at 6:30 last night and up at 3:30 this morning.  But we will enjoy a couple of days with the grandkids and then head back to the island on Thursday, ready to plan the next adventure.

 

Madrid day 2 (Monday, October 27th)

It will be a short posting today....we didn't really do anything.

First on the agenda was to check us in for our flights tomorrow, which was achieved with relative ease.  Next was to check the Lufthansa website for any signs of a walkout by the pilots....no news is good news.

We did one last walk in the shopping area to make sure that we did not miss any bargains, stopped for a coffee and to pick up groceries for lunch, and then back to the hotel for the balance of the day.

I think that we are all ready to go home, and we were not up to doing any more touristy stuff.

We had kebabs and falafels for dinner at a small stall, then back to the hotel to try and get a few hours sleep before the alarm goes off at 2:15 am (ouch).

The next posting will hopefully be from Vancouver.  

Madrid day 1 (Sunday, October 26th)

Madrid is the largest city in Spain and third largest in the EU, with a population of 3.3 million (6.5 million in the metropolitan area), and I think that every one of them was on the street today, as movement in the central core was very slow.

It was an awkward day....daylight saving ended last night, so we headed out at 9 am when it was already well light, and we were still out in the heat of the afternoon, when we should have been napping. 

First stop was Buen Retiro park, known for the quantity of statues within its 350 acres.  Randy and I (now aka Statler & Waldorf) decided that we could do with a little more exercise so we worked out on the exercise bikes in the park (or perhaps we were just happy to sit down). 

We stopped to watch the first 50 or so runners cross the finish line in a local 10 km race, then wandered through the rose gardens and on to the Crystal Palace, which might have been more interesting if there were something going on inside it. 

Next stop was the lake in front of the memorial to Carlos XII (the dude on the horse), where we sat and listened to a local quartet playing a medley of jazz songs, and watched the locals enjoying Sunday in the park.

We exited the park on one of the statue-lined paseos onto Calle de Alfonzo XII. 

At the Puerta de Alcala we went left on Calle de Alcala, heading toward Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor.  Calle de Alcala is lined with impressive buildings, mainly from the early 20th century, such as the Palacio de Communicaciones shown below. 

We had a short break for a coffee and sweet before continuing on our quest.  We passed one of the best statue mimes that I have seen, so had to take his photo (and drop a coin in his hat). 

It is hard to believe that the Spanish economy is in trouble when you see the number of people in the Apple Store in Puerta del Sol. They were doing a roaring trade!

We made it to Plaza Mayor, but the crowds there and in Puerta Del Sol, and everywhere in between, were crazy, so we headed home via some quieter streets. 

Puerta del Sol, from the Apple store

It was after 3 pm when we arrived back at the hotel, hot and exhausted, but somewhat satisfied to know that today we broke the 500 km walking milestone on our trip.  So now the pressure is off. 

We don't have big plans for tomorrow....just to get some rest before our 3:15 am departure from the hotel on Tuesday.  We are all now in "going home" mode. 

Seville to Madrid (Saturday, October 25th)

We had some time before catching our train to Madrid this morning, so after breakfast we walked back over to the Plaza de Espana, to try and get some photographs before the sun was too high in the sky.

It is a difficult building to get good photographs of, due to its size, semi-circular shape and the fact that it is never all in sun nor all in shadow.  So I have included some photographs, but they don't really do the building justice.

One end tower

Area adjacent to the left tower

The Lugo panel (there is a panel for each major place in Spain, alphabetically from left to right around the building)

A lamp standard in daylight (with wedding photos being taken in the background)

We really enjoyed Seville (May, you were right), particularly the architecture, the wide streets and the vibrant nature of the people after dark. Everybody, young and old, was out there having a good time, well beyond our normal bedtime....it is like they don't have homes to go to.  Perhaps it has something to do with the daytime being too hot to be outside - only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun 😓

Our last train ride (Seville to Madrid) went off without a hitch and we arrived in Madrid on time at 2:15 pm.  We heard on the train that there are no empty hotel rooms in Madrid tonight as Real Madrid is hosting Barcelona at football tonight, with an anticipated 50 million tv viewers.  It sounds something like a Calgary / Edmonton or New Zealand / Australia rivalry (but with more fans), which could make the city interesting tonight. Rather than tackle the subway with our luggage we opted for a taxi, which was 13 euros for the 4 of us, so probably not much more than the subway would have been.

When we arrived at our hotel I couldn't help but notice the car parallel parked in front....I dare you to try this manoeuvre at home.  The Spaniards park with very little space between the vehicles and we have watched in envy a few times as people park in spots that look definitely too small.  

Tonight we enjoyed a home cooked meal of chicken and garbanzo beans in our apartment, and a large cup of tea made with real milk....such a refreshing change from tortilla Espana (cold potato pie in a bun). 

Real Madrid beat Barcelona, but the streets in our area were remarkably quiet.  Maybe the parties haven't started yet.  We enjoyed a quiet drink on the street a few buildings up from our hotel, but were driven off by the clouds of smoke after one drink....it seems that almost everybody in Spain smokes, or perhaps only the smokers sit outside as they cannot smoke indoors.  

Only 2 1/2 more sleeps until we leave for home, so we have to make the most of the next two days. Thankfully the temperatures in Madrid are only mid-20s Celsius so a little better for sightseeing.

Seville day 2 (Friday, October 24th)

Three things to do today - 

1 - walk to the end of the pathway along the river

2 - find the ceramics district

3 - visit the old Jewish quarter

At 9:00 am we set off for the river pathway with a short stop for breakfast along the way.  The target was to walk to the end of the river pathway, 3 km beyond where we walked yesterday.

After not locating the ceramics district yesterday, despite instructions from the web (one bridge looks the same as the next), we made a small detour at the Puente de Triana, and found the ceramics district....about 10 shops all grouped on two streets.  There were tiles of every size, shape and colour, along with plates, pots, etc.  Marlene and Marty were like kids in a candy store.

Laden with a few extra bags we walked on, and came across an indoor market with many stalls selling fish, meat, cheese and fruit.  We so much wanted to buy some snails (not), but ended up with only bananas.

After exhausting the walking possibilities on the south side of the river, we crossed over and continued to the end of the path on the north side of the river, as planned, by which time it was 12:30 pm and getting very hot.  So we headed back, stopping at a cafeteria at one end of the Alameda de Hercules, where we relaxed under an umbrella and rested our weary feet.

Enroute back to the hotel we detoured through the old Jewish quarter.  Some of the streets there are so narrow, that they were called kissing lanes, as you could literally kiss the person in the building opposite, from your balcony.

 

It was almost 3:30 pm and 33 degrees Celsius when we got back to the hotel for a much needed siesta.

At 6:30 pm we headed out again in search of entertainment and food, and came across a drum band in Puerta de Jerez. They were good, but the music was very loud and somewhat repetitious.  But we listened to a few numbers before moving on to a cafe for a drink and people watching, and then later had some food at a student hangout....3.90 euros for any item on the menu, including pizzas, pasta, burritos, etc.  We were the youngest people in the place by about 30 years, but what the heck.

As we wandered, we came across an enclosed courtyard, surrounded by a semi-circular building, which was an attractive design.  We seem to stumble on to these little gems.  

Tomorrow we take our last train ride, Seville to Madrid.  It is hard to believe that in 4 days we fly home. 

Seville day 1 (Thursday, October 23rd)

Seville, with a population of 703,000 (1.5 million in the metropolitan area) is Spain's 4th largest city.  Situated on the Guadalquivir River, it is only 7 metres above sea level and is Spain's only river port.  But it is much more than that....

Anticipating another hot day, we left the hotel at 9 am, and set off up the river, beginning at the Puente de las Remedios, walking the Paseo de la Delicias, Paseo de Cristobal Colon and the Torneo, all the way to the Puente de Barqueta. The large phallic building in the centre of the photo below appears to be still under construction, and looks somewhat out of place versus the surrounding buildings.

Puente de Triana

On the way back, we wove our way through city streets and plazas, ending up on Avenida de Roma for lunch.

Buildings off Plaza de San Fransisco

The beginning / end of Avenida de la Constitucion at Plaza Nueva

A very good statue mime near the cathedral

Seville Cathedral

The 3 amigos having falafals / chicken and chips in the park opposite Jardines de San Telmo

Jardines de San Telmo

After siesta we wandered through Triana looking for ceramic stores, then looking for a place for dinner, before heading back to Prado de San Sebastián, where the Festival de las Naciones has been going on since September 18th.  There were booths from lots of countries, but the list did not include Canada.  It was mainly a food and drink festival, but live music on the stage started just after 10 pm. 

On our way back to the hotel we passed the Plaza Don Juan de Austria (a large roundabout) with its impressive fountain all lit up.

We walked a good number of steps today, but only gained 100 ft in elevation, and that was mainly climbing the hotel stairs....quite a difference in terrain from the other cities that we visited.  It was a late night for us folks!

Ronda to Seville (Wednesday, October 22nd)

Adios Ronda....hola Sevilla. 

We had a lazy morning buying some supplies for lunch, having once last wander of the streets of Ronda, and then lunch in a park before heading to the train station for our 1:30 pm trip to Sevilla (Seville to us English speakers) changing at Bobadilla.

The train ride to Bobadilla was uneventful, but when we arrived there, the ticket seller told us that our train to Seville would go from platform 1. We checked the electronic sign and the written schedule, and both indicated platform 2, so back to the ticket seller, who again indicated platform 1. Who should we believe?  The two trains due before ours were both running late, and one was on platform 3 and the other on platform 1, we could only hope that the two on platforms 1 and 2 did not arrive at the same time and really confuse things.  As it turned out, the train to Algeciras arrived about 3 minutes before ours (on platform 1) and was clearly labelled with the destination.  Ours arrived on platform 2, as scheduled, on time, and was also clearly labelled as going to Sevilla. Another crisis averted!!

As we approached Seville, the outside temperature hit 36 Celsius (at 5 pm), so we splurged on an 8 euro taxi rather than endure a 2 km walk with our luggage.  The hotel is refreshingly air conditioned (the air conditioning did not work in the hotel in Ronda and we endured a 24 hour sauna) and is in a great location - over the road from the Plaza de Espana, which is probably the most impressive building that I have ever seen.  It is built in a horseshoe and has ceramics showing all the areas of Spain, alphabetically, from left to right, below the lower railings.  It is so immense that it is hard to get photographs that do it justice.  Perhaps tomorrow in better light?  Plaza de Espana is adjacent to Parque Maria Luisa (sister of Isabella la Catolica?), which is the biggest park in Seville.

Centre of Plaza de Espana

Plaza de Espana at night

One of the lamp standards at Plaza de Espana (note the ceramic work)

We walked towards the centre of town to get dinner, and there was one amazing looking building after another.  We thought that we had seen the best of Spain, but it seems that Seville may be special....if we can stand being out in the heat to see it all in two days. 

Ronda day 1 (Tuesday, October 21st)

Tour guide - "Our favourite pastime in Andalucia is bull fighting".

Tourist - "But that is revolting". 

Tour guide - "No, that is our second favourite pastime". 

Besides the gorge, Ronda is best known as a bull fighting town, and our hotel is over the road from the oldest bull ring is Spain.  The local hero is Pedro Romero who fought over 6000 bulls, and was never gored.  Bull fighting has apparently been around since Visigothic times, and was well established in Roman times.  I guess the Spanish didn't get the memo about cruelty to animals!

We did not tour the bullring, opting instead to walk to the church in a cave, Rupeste Virgen de la Cabeza, about 4 km out of town.  Apparently during Moorish times, 9th / 10th century, Christians were tolerated in Ronda, but they could not practice their faith within the city walls, so they built a church in a cave, across the valley from the city.

Anticipating hot weather, we set off at 9 am with a good supply of water, and it took about an hour and a quarter to get there, with a few distractions along the way, firstly visiting ruins of a villa and a tower, and secondly so that Randy could sample the local olives - he was still trying to get the taste of the orange out of his mouth from last night, and the olives took care of that for him, but not even a Fisherman's Friend will get rid of the taste of the unripe olives.

The church cave was well and truly locked up when we arrived, and it seems is never open to tourists, so a bit of a disappointment, but a good walk.  

The church caves from the valley

Marty's back was bothering her, so she and Randy walked back to town, the way we had come, while Marlene and I braved the alternative route back.  We had very good online instructions, which ensured that we did not get lost.  The path took us down a steep hill, then through an oak forest, before joining a meandering road in the valley bottom.  We had great views of the new bridge and the city along the route, and opted for the scenic choice once almost back, which took us to a viewpoint, with fantastic views of the bridge and waterfall beneath it.  Overall a 10 km walk with 990 feet of elevation gain (almost all of it in the last km). 

The magnitude of the canyon 

The new bridge and waterfall (lighting sucks, but we don't control the sun)

The photo above was taken from the rocky outcrop on the right of this photo

We were then ready for a "meal", before our siesta, as breakfast was a pear, a plum, and a slice of toast at 8:30 am. I demolished a plate of pork and fries, a plate of omelette, and two cokes, while Marlene put away a vegetable paella and an orange juice.

It was 34 degrees Celsius when we left the hotel again at 5 pm, and we wandered some more on the Moorish side of the bridge, winding our way down to the old bridge (which was actually rebuilt in the 1960s). We found some nice spots on both sides of the gorge to sit and enjoy some coolness, out of the direct sun.

We revisited our favourite tapas bar (the sangria was calling to Marlene) and enjoyed an hour of people watching, then did a little shopping, before taking a circuitous route back to the hotel.

A great day, and although we did not break any distance records, we set a new elevation gain record at 1290 feet, so we were allowed to feel tired at 10 pm.

Tomorrow afternoon we take the train to Seville, as we begin the last week of our holiday. 

Granada to Ronda (Monday, October 20th)

We really enjoyed Granada, but this morning it was off to Ronda.  Ronda was not originally on our list of stops, but my sister, Margaret, said that it was worth a visit, so we added it to the list.

The journey continued through fields of olive trees almost all the way to Granada, and despite being high in elevation, the outside temperatures reached 33 degrees.  The train was modern and very comfortable, but we are definitely in an area less travelled as the stops were in very small places, and we had to wait for passing trains several times.  Speed was also somewhat lower than on the main lines.  But we arrived in a Ronda on time at 3:45 pm and while all the locals were napping, we trudged the kilometre or so to the hotel in the heat.

Ronda is a town of about 38,000 people, 62 km west of Malaga, and is Andalucia's fastest growing tourist destination (hence all the bus loads of English speaking people in the streets in the afternoon). People have been living in Ronda sine the 5th century BC, and was a city under the Romans.  It was taken over by the Arabs in 713, and by the Christians in 1485.

The most striking feature of Ronda is El Tajo, the 100+ metre deep canyon which separates the two parts of town and is spanned by the "new bridge" built in 1793.  The canyon is not wide, but it certainly is deep.

The new bridge

We did an initial wander through town, and whilst getting some shade in a small plaza, an orange fell from one of the many orange trees in the plaza.  Randy took this as a sign from above, peeled it, and not being able to get me to eat the "forbidden fruit", took a bite.  The photo below tells how much he enjoyed it.  Most of the oranges grown in Spain are Seville oranges which are used for making marmalade, so not too sweet.

Towards dusk we walked up the Calle Espinel, a long car-free street with lots of shops, cafes, etc.  we stopped for tapas and a drink before exploring further.

Calle Espinel at dusk

After dark we went back to the new bridge for some night time views.

We only have one full day in Ronda, so tomorrow will be a busy one.

Granada day 2 (Sunday, October 19th)

We set off at 9 am for our tour of the Alhambra and the Generalife palace.  Entry into the Nasrid palaces within the Alhambra is tightly controlled and we did not want any glitches in making our 11 am entry time, which we had booked two months ago.   Rather than walk up the hill, we caught a bus from Plaza de Isobel Catolica, spending a whole 1.20 euros. 

Background info....Building of the Alhambra was commenced in 1238 by Muhammad I al-Ahmar of the Nasrid dynasty, and three palaces were built within the walls before the Alhambra was surrendered to the Catholic monarchs on January 2nd, 1492 (which seemed to be a particularly busy year in Spain....evicting the Jews, Columbus heading to the new world, and taking Granada from the Muslims). The Generalife palace (architect's garden) was built in the 14th century as a summer recreation area for the Nasrid Kings of Granada, and in 1526 Charles (Carlos) V built an additional palace within the Alhambra walls, so the whole hill is covered in palaces as well as fortifications.  It was declared a national monument in 1870 and a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. Now on with the story....

Once we gained admission to the complex we had an hour before entering the Nasrid palaces so we started at the Generalife, which had some amazing gardens.  The whole Alhambra complex has an integrated water system that uses gravity feed to move water to where it needs to be....it even runs in shallow channels in the floor of buildings or along the top of walls. 

The interior of the Nasrid palaces was amazing, with the keyhole arches, pillars and Arabic plasterwork on the walls and ceilings.

The Court of the Lions

Wall and ceiling of the Hall of Kings

Marlene enjoying the peace and quiet of a courtyard

After the Nasrid palaces we went through the Alcazaba, which is the military area of the complex.  We climbed to the top of all of the towers and got some great views over the city of Granada.

The Cathedral from the top of the watchtower

Albaycin district though a window arch

We spent 4 hours in total at the Alhambra & Generalife and enjoyed every minute of it, but we were ready for a break. So we found a cafe in behind the cathedral and enjoyed a hot lunch and a cold drink, before walking back to the apartment in the 32 degree heat, at about 4 pm. 

After siesta we went looking to buy some supplies for dinner, but being Sunday, nothing was open....no supermarkets, no bread shops, nothing except cafes and bars. So no dinner 😥

We had arranged to meet Randy and Marty at 6:30 pm, to do the walk along the river paseos that we missed yesterday due to the religious procession and other distractions, so off we went. As we approached Plaza de Isabel Catolica we heard another marching band....you guessed it another procession, and this one was big (they had both main streets closed off and the procession was several blocks long). This time the "float" was the crucified Christ (or as my friend Luis in Puerto Rico calls him "the deaded Jesus"). Again we have no understanding of the significance of this procession on this date, so any suggestions are welcome. 

Eventually we tore ourselves away and set off in new territory towards the river, where we joined Paseo del Salon and then Paseo de la Bomba, as we headed upstream. These pedestrian areas were wide and there were lots of families walking, sitting and playing all long the route.  We were very glad that we took the time to explore this area, and so we rewarded ourselves with a snack and drink in one of the larger plazas on our way back home. At 9:30 pm it was still 26 degrees, so a great night to be outside, watching the locals doing their local thing.  We seem to be getting more into the eating later routine!

Paseo de la Bomba

Tomorrow we take the train to Ronda, and a whole new adventure, as we enter the last quarter of our trip. There is no rain in the forecast for the next 8 days, so hopefully we won't see any until we hit Vancouver on the 28th.