sometimes sunny sevilla

our next stop was sevilla. the train ride was so quick that i didn't even have time to finish the pastry i had bought for breakfast. (oh, pro tip: if you're traveling with four people look for the four train seats facing each other. they're usually much cheaper than the rest and on a short journey like this, totally worth it.) by about 10 we were in sevilla and it was off for another walk to our hotel. again we walked through some commercial areas, then past some busy streets peppered with old churches and under las setas ('the mushrooms'), a modern structure which is said to be the largest wooden structure in the world. eventually we made it to our hotel, tucked into a side street in the old quarter.

our first stop was the nearby toro del oro, a military watchtower. there was a little maritime museum inside (lots of paintings of boats) that was okay. the view from the top wasn't bad, but the skies were fairly cloudy. after a little stroll by the river we headed in search of lunch, hungry after our long walk that morning. we made our way to the main square and found a little place with more tapas. we ordered a few sandwiches while jan and lewis tried to find enough dishes to suit both their preferences. lewis eats certain meats but not pork and a few other things, and jan eats no meat and won't go anywhere that serves foie gras, things like that. so after a little negotiating with the waiter we determined that the hamburger was made out of 'cow, not pork'. we thought we'd better check and just as he walked away we discovered it was in fact veal. lewis hastily summoned him back and chose something a little safer.

light filtering in from the courtyard

it was overcast and actually a little cooler but we thought it might rain the next day so we figured we should make it to the alcazar first, just in case. it was familiar, although more of it was gothic and less islamic than i remember. still, the mudéjar rooms were no less stunning than i recalled.

mesmerizing

gorgeous stucco patterns climbing up 30 foot ceilings and gorgeous carved wooden doors. easy to see why those parts stuck out in my memory.we spent quite a while exploring, all through the rooms surrounding the central courtyard and then out into the massive gardens, exploring the hedge maze and stopping to admire the wandering peacocks. we went down below to the cistern, with vaulted arches glowing gold, perfectly reflected in the water below. and throughout we saw no fewer than four brides and grooms having photos taken. by the time we reached the end of the gardens we were exhausted and in desperate need of a cafe bombon. or really anything caffeinated.

after the requisite stop in the gift shop (we got some lovely tile-patterned glasses for dessert wine) we ventured out to try and find a little coffee shop. this proved harder than expected as every place we passed seemed to have food and alcohol, and some with coffee only at the bar. eventually we found a place that had sugary coffee drinks which was good enough for us. the three of us got our new favorite and lewis tried some nescafe concoction that he said made the cafe bombon seem healthy. as we sat we watched as a group of bachelorettes passed by with the woman of the hour dressed as barbie complete with a box. people seemed to get a kick out of the gimmick but it seemed like practically it would be very annoying. by then we weren't far from the hotel so we thought we'd stop by for a little siesta.

churros con chocolate

we napped a little, relaxed, and chatted over beers from the vending machine int he lobby. that's also when we discovered there was a light switch that controlled the music coming from the speakers in the ceiling. that was a first. it was drizzling but we made our way out in search of churros. we found a little place on the corner of a crowded square on a busy shopping street that looked like it was where the locals went. a little place, standing room only where they had churros and espresso and our tab was written up on the metal bar. the churros were on the skinny side for my liking but the chocolate was nice and thick.

from there it was on to look for a little bar for an aperitf. in other words, a beer before dinner. but doesn't it just sound better that way? we found one with a marx brothers theme and that was good enough for us. we got a few drinks and had rather depressing, although interesting, discussion about the migrant crisis in europe and race relations in america. really uplifting stuff. we had some bocadillas and patatas roquefort with cheese sauce that was so good we practically licked it off the plate. jan ordered something with 'huevas' in the name which seemed safe enough. eggs couldn't be bad, right? well it turned out the eggs were fish eggs, made into some kind of paté. she discovered what they were after only detecting the fishy taste. not our best day for ordering.

from there we kept walking on, in search of bars with sangria (which is apparently only for tourists.. locals drink a similar but weirder red wine with lemonade) or hookah (which we were later told is illegal in the city now). we settled on a little wine bar with heavily religious decor and a man on his way home who we watched blow his 50€ in the electronic slot machine. more interesting but faintly depressing discussions about climate change before we headed out to find another place.

meats on meats. and veggies.

based on lewis' research we headed toward the 'new' part of town figuring they might have more bars and perhaps some of the hookah variety. instead we found what seemed to be some kind of renaissance faire, a large square full of tents and vendors selling everything from jewelry to cured meats. we explored it all and then settled on some bread and sheep's cheese to bring back to our hotel. we did make a pit stop for a pitcher of sangra from the guy with giant vats of vegetables and sausages strung in the air. he didn't love us taking up a table to order sangria, we gathered. once we left there and found some wine (jan had a little adventure with her frenchified spanish - "beaucoup queso. quel vino?") we made our way to the roof of our hotel and feasted on our bread and cheese. when it got too late to be out talking outside someone's room we retired to our room and played cards over more lobby beers. it was a pretty perfect evening, hookah or no.

peaceful plaza

the next day we figured we had a lot to do. we accidentally slept in and just missed the hotel breakfast. instead we got ready and grabbed a pastry from a little shop around the corner. the weather was much nicer - blue skies and no rain in sight, it seemed. so we headed to our outdoor stop first. the plaza de españa was crowded with people - probably a nice way to spend a sunny sunday morning. there were little rowboats on the tiny waterway. we walked all over and explored the little mosaic-ed niches before heading into the parque maria luisa, shaded walkways with pretty fountains and lots of little families. we noticed that all the families seemed to be rather well-dressed, sunday and every other day. also pretty much all the children were adorable. we came across two museums - one archaeological, and the other a museum of culture and costumes. i went in the latter while everyone else explored the former. apparently the archaeological museum had some interesting pieces but wasn't nearly as nice as cordoba's. the cultural museum looked a bit old fashioned too but had some interesting exhibits.

sevillana streets

by then it was nearly 2 and we figured we should get some lunch before making our way to the cathedral. (side note: the nice thing about spain is that even when you oversleep you can usually still fit everything in since most places are open so late.) the walk back toward the center of the old quarter was peppered with whitewashed walls and yellow trim and the occasional horse-drawn carriage - all with their characteristic yellow wheels. i'm not sure there's a better color to capture spain. after vetoing one place (foie gras) we made our way to another little new-looking cafe that had salads and sandwiches. probably our least spanish meal but it was nice for jan to have a whole meal she could enjoy that wasn't just potatoes and olives. we tried a glass of wine - just a random white on the menu - and it was delicious. so delicious that we picked up a bottle in a grocery stores later on.

even the ceilings seem gold

by the time we got to the cathedral it was downright hot. no sign of rain at all. we waited in a short line outside and realized that - unlike south carolina - it actually was cooler in the shade here. we got inside and the space was enormous. it's the largest cathedral (not basilica) in the world, we learned. we wanted to be sure to see the tomb of christopher columbus. you really can't miss it - the thing is huge. it's held up by four figures in crowns and regalia. i guess he wasn't an understated kinda guy. the rest of the place was full of the spoils of colonization too. the 'treasure' (not treasury) rooms were filled with all manners of gold and silver. then, in the midst of it all over an unassuming doorway was an artemisia gentileschi painting. you'd almost miss it if you didn't realize it was there. from there we climbed the tower to get a view of the city. it's a pretty genius design - to go up it's just a series of ramps, no steps. it seemed less tiring that way. of course i guess i'll never know. the view of the courtyard (because of course this used to be a mosque also) full of orange trees and the streets of the city were lovely, but the breezes coming in through the giant windows may have been even better. of course everyone was jostling for spots to get their photos.

sabroso

after that much walking, climbing and swearing we figured we had earned some ice cream. we made our way to a famous heladeria that we both a) managed to find and b) was open. amazing! we got some interesting flavors from a rather impatient woman and spent some time relaxing in the quiet street.

we had hit all the big sites we'd wanted to see so we figured we'd check out the over side of the river and venture outside the touristy areas. (okay, confession: we were also maybe trying to find this hookah bar we had read about.) we were shooting for the middle of three bridges but ended up on the northernmost ones. once across we found ourselves in triana. it's the part of town where the ceramics were historically made. it looked pretty workaday - lots of apartments and closed shops.

fraidy dog

needless to say, the shisha/teahouse we were searching for was closed. this one for good. but eventually we found a little bar with a couple of locals hanging around. we figured it was time for a couple beers and then, realizing it was almost 7, figured we'd get some tapas too. we didn't think it was possible but the tapas were even cheaper there. i mean, not by much obviously. but still. we even got a little plate of paella. the best part was the entertainment. lots of locals passing by and stopping to talk, including two obviously chain-smoking women who sounded a lot like men. everyone seemed to have a dog, which was hilarious mostly because of one of the aforementioned women's little dog. he kept barking at these big dogs but as soon as they got a little bit closer he'd hide inside the sandwich sign. we were most amused.

once it started to get dark we set off back toward the river. we were shooting for the middle bridge - again - and somehow made it to the southernmost one. what can i say, we're not the best with maps. but you know what we saw almost immediately after we crossed the river? that's right, the forbidden hookah place. it was a kind of a newer bar and there was only one flavor but we went for it. it was a good end to our time in seville and seemed like an appropriate way to send our friends off. when we left the bar we knew our friends had a very early morning ahead of them but we had to finish off the cheese we had started (by now very sweaty) and sample the orange wine (apparently a sevillian specialty) we'd had bought. so we went back to the hotel and spent the end of the night literally breaking bread (by now slightly stale) over the rooftops of the city.

catching up in córdoba

my latest trip was one i'd been planning and anticipating for nearly six months. my boyfriend and i traveled to spain, somewhere he'd been wanting to go and that i'm always glad to go back to. fortunately for us, it's also one of the most affordable countries in europe to visit, and the struggling euro helped us even more. the time of year ended up being just right, too. in september we missed the high season for european tourists, which peaks in august, and still had absolutely beautiful, warm sunny weather.

our flight to madrid was largely uneventful (except for the free wine, score!) but when we arrived we realized getting to the train station across town might take longer than anticipated and we could be cutting it close for our first train. we walked through what i'm sure is the longest hallway in any airport ever and waited for what i'm also totally sure was the slowest elevator of all time. it passed by us, empty, on several occasions. very strange. after our first encounter getting directions in spanish (i think i mostly followed everything?) and getting our train tickets from the machine in german (i couldn't figure out how to change it) we were on the train to the train station. we made it to atocha with just enough time to get a ham sandwich and fanta for the journey. so far, so good.

we passed by la giralda right at dusk

fino straight from the barrel

we had a layover (is it a layover on a train?) in a small town in la mancha so we got out to explore the streets and have our first beer and complimentary tapa - cruzcampo, the cheap beer of choice. other than a statue of don quixote there wasn't much there and it was siesta time so very sleepy. we arrived in córdoba in early afternoon, just in time to meet our friends. the benefit of living in england is that you can take long weekends in europe basically whenever you like. must be nice, right? we decided to walk to our hotel (we searched hostels and airbnbs but in the end with four of us, inexpensive hotels ended up being the cheapest bet. odd, no?) - we started in the outskirts of town, walked through the more commercial areas and along the main shopping street and into the old quarter. our hotel was on a little winding street - as it should be. we quickly explored the terrace as the sun was going down and then made our way out in search of tapas and aperitifs. the latter came first, as we found a taberna i had come across in my reading. they served fortified wine (fino) out of giant barrels that looked like they had been there for centuries, along with sherry and other wines. we stood along the old bar munching on olives and catching up. jan - the vegetarian/animal lover - even overlooked all the black and white bullfighting photos covering the walls.

eventually we made our way up the street and found an inviting tapas bar. we were able to get many of the dishes we'd been looking forward to - including salmorejo (sin jamon, for jan), which is a lovely creamy cold tomato soup, ensaladilla rusa, sort of like potato salad, and some cured hams for us meat-eaters. we talked about all sorts of things and just had a lovely evening catching up.
the rest of the evening we spent searching, in vain, for some nice spanish guitar music. we walked to the other side of town and found nothing but a sort of eurotrash bar with pricey (but not bad) cocktails. on the way home we passed by some roman ruins with lots of kittens so it wasn't all bad.

the next day we were up fairly early, figuring we had a lot to fit into our full one day in córdoba. the archaeological museum was closest so we headed there first. for such a small city it was a surprisingly modern museum! built over some of the roman ruins, they've built walkways that go over them and created projections that explain what certain parts were originally. that coupled with great artifacts and good explanations made it well worth the 1,50€ entry. us museum folk were impressed.

gothic elements with traditional moorish ornament

from there we headed to the jewish quarter - la judería - which you know is the best because it has old, winding streets. there were a number of synagogues, mosques, and patios (córdoba's specialty) that we wanted to visit. they're all fairly compact though and luckily were all within a pretty small area. the synagogue was simple but had some great stucco decoration. i continue to be fascinated by those stylistic similarities you see throughout buildings of different religions or regions. i think my favorite was a little mudéjar chapel, capilla mudéjar de san bartolomé, a tiny little chapel that's covered with beautiful decoration, from blue and gold paint to arabic elaborately carved in stucco to gorgeous geometric tiles. my kind of place. mudéjar literally comes from the word 'to remain' so it refers to the moors who were permitted to remain in spain and later the architecture that incorporated more christian and gothic elements. fascinating, right? i know.

old courtyard

we explored a few more patios on the same street. one was made to be something of a small museum of life in the city. lots of beautiful antiques from the region and lovely plants along the walls. it seemed a little fake somehow but there were still some lovely elements. plus they had some great postcards so i can't complain. another larger patio had been redone as an artisans' atelier, with studios lining the courtyard and a shop below. it was a little bit like the we visited han in bursa, but smaller.

we poked around but it was past noon and it was just about lunch time. lewis decided he'd like a coffee first though so we stopped in a little cafe where we made a very important discovery. it's called a café bombon, and it's basically a shot of espresso and a lot of condensed milk. it's incredibly sweet and the perfect mix of caffeine and sugar to give you an instant energy rush.

picturesque restaurant in the jewish quarter

after that we found a perfect little tapas place across the street, casa el malacara, with tables set up just outside one of the main gates in the old city walls. it reminded me of jerusalem somehow. we had fabulous tapas - even more variety than the day before, including albondigas (delicious meatballs), patatas alioli (potatoes in very garlicky sauce), chicken curry, spinach with chickpeas, pickled mussels and bread. tapas are usually in the 1,50-3,00€ range and even though each couple usually split about four of them it always seemed to be plenty of food. the perfect amount without feeling too full or having any go to waste. the spanish are doing something right.

gorgeous gardens at the alcazar. this isn't nearly all of them.

from here we made our way quickly to the alcazar, which was only open for another hour or so before siesta time. we made it in just enough time to get a wonderful view of the city and explore the expansive - and beautiful - gardens. from the top of the tower we could see the roman bridge, the top of the mosque/cathedral, and the rest of the alcazar. although we didn't have time to see much of the palace's interior we felt confident we hit the highlights.

figuring we were doing pretty well seeing the sights we thought we would heard toward a moorish tea house i had read about simply called salon de té. on the way we stopped by the mezquita for a view of the grand umayyad doorways on the various sides. they are impressively large. we continued on to the tea house which was beautifully appointed. we found a little cushioned corner to relax and enjoy our beverages. after some mint and fruit teas we ventured out for a little shopping along the nearby streets. along the way we stumbled upon a courtyard that promised a guitar performance in the evening. we took note for later on.

arches for days

next up was the long-awaited mezquita - or cathedral depending on how you look at it. it's pretty humbling to walk inside. not in the same way most cathedrals are humbling, for expansive vertical spaces, but horizontally, with colonnades that resemble a forest of arches. i had been before and it was incredible then. sadly my camera died at that very moment so i have few physical mementos of that part of my first trip. it's pretty amazing to be inside a building that's one of the oldest and most important examples of islamic architecture. and you can clearly see the progression of the mosque's expansion over the years with the placement of the original mihrab.. and then the takeover of the cathedral. it's so incongruous to see the understated beauty of the islamic ornament next to the overly ornate gilded everything of the later spanish cathedral. or maybe i'm just biased.

after we thoroughly explored the mosque we figured we had earned some churros con chocolate. because, given the possibility you always have churros, right? we wandered all the way back to the more commercial part of town in search of a traditional place i'd read about that seemed fabulous. of course it was closed when we finally arrived so we settled for a place along the big square. not the giant churros i remember but they were still pretty good links of fried dough.

waiting for sunset

from there it was back towards the mosque and to the roman bridge just behind it. honestly most of the bridge is no longer roman (probably in our best interest since we crossed it) but it was great to get a view of the mosque and the city behind. we tried to wait until the sun was fully down and we got a peek at the sunset but to no avail. we were worried about missing our guitar show so we headed back across the river and back to the restaurant we had seen before, el patio cordobès (another pretty direct name).

flamenco in the patio

the dinner (in other words the requirement for us getting a free flamenco show) wasn't bad but the main event was the music. it started off with just some guitar and foot tapping, then singing and clapping. eventually an older man joined in, with a raspy voice but obviously very passionate. the younger and older man took turns singing, the young one later coming in to dance. that was some very fancy footwork. they performed for what must have been at least an hour and a half and who knows how often they do this. it was clear they were very passionate. so, we didn't see any frilly dresses but we still got a great flamenco show, and without shilling out the 28€+ they charge at other places around town.

we were hoping to cap off our night with a bit of hookah, which we'd seen evidence of at the tea house earlier. we made it back there but sadly it was closed. guess we'd stayed too long at the flamenco show. instead we settled for buying a bottle of wine and drinking it on the roof of our hostel - complete with a very slight view of the giralda (bell tower). and so we rounded out the last of our hours in córdoba. i hadn't expected to, but i liked it even more than i remembered. it ended up being our favorite city on the trip - small enough to fully explore, with hidden treasures. a perfect reintroduction to spain.

CAdeeth

our last stop was cadiz, which we had heard was just a typical beach town. to get there we had to take a bus to sevilla, walk across town to the other bus station, and catch the bus there to continue on to cadiz. thanks to an accent (`) and the spanish lisp the name of the city is pronounced rather strangely. it took me several minutes to realize our british couchsurfer was not talking about cardiff.

we arrived in cadiz's new town, which doesn't mean too much considering that cadiz is the self-proclaimed oldest city in europe. they've dated it to at least 1000 BC (though hercules was said to have founded it 2000 years earlier) and their claims seem to hold up to scrutiny (perhaps not the hercules one). the city is actually an island so you're never far from the water. shortly after we arrived our host matthew took us up to a nearby tapas place on the beach for lunch. we sampled some local specialties, including a tasty swordfish, chicharrones (little fried squids), bull's cheek (delicious!), and salmorejo (like gazpacho). we were lucky to have such a knowledgeable host/menu guide.

we continued walking along the water towards the old town. as we approached we could see the cathedral with its dome of the rock-like (e.g. gold) dome. we stopped in a very pleasant square in front of the cathedral for a coffee before matthew left us to fend for ourselves. we set out but didn't get very far as we found a cute little store next door with all kinds of fun stuff we didn't need. apparently we did need earrings though so we bought those (never a bad decision). we continued on, wandering through the streets marveling at how many shops were closed - the joys of siesta.

we gave up on shopping and had an ice cream which we enjoyed at another nice square - cadiz is full of these. we walked on until we hit the water again and decided to follow the shoreline around the island. the french guide book we found compared this city to st-malo, a small beach town in brittany, and i could see the resemblance. we continued walking along the city walls, stopping whenever we found a nice looking garden or park, which was quite often. we found various benches, fountains, gardens, and even a waterfall. kelly was particularly excited about that one. we continued on to the marina where the sun was starting to go down over the boats in the harbor.

we hurried to meet matthew since we were running behind (what with all the waterfall-finding and picture-taking). after beer and a bit of a philosophical conversation we walked on to find dinner. he took us to a great little tapas place he knows where we had even more of the local delicacies. this time we enjoyed a montadito (a bocadilla - sandwich - but hot, we think) de lomo (like virtually every meat in spain a kind of ham), abondigas (delicious meatballs in a tomatoey sauce), and gambas (shrimp), which the southern coast is especially known for. afterwards we went with matthew to the weekly intercambio (language exchange), where we met mostly spaniards, but also a dutch girl, an american, and a very peppy norwegian. luckily we were there for the english hour, so we had no trouble. when we went back to the apartment we may have thought the night was over but not so. one of matthew's roommates had just returned from a massive beatboxing convention (very professional, i know). he calls himself ram-z. as you can imagine, he was quite a character and very excitable after the big weekend. he gave us a sample of his work and showed us some of the videos he took there. if you want to see more, you can find him on myspace (he gave us his card). and if that wasn't enough our host did some card tricks for us too. we were thoroughly entertained.

the next day was our last in spain. we decided to head up to jerez de la frontera, from where our bus would leave that evening. the town is known for sherry, horses, and flamenco. when we arrived we were disappointed to find that it was rainy and cold but even more disappointed to find that there were no lockers in either the train or bus stations (luckily located next to one another). it seemed there were once but they had been taken out. as kelly pointed out, why take out lockers? once they're there they don't cost any money to keep up. and the space was certainly not being used - the whole terminal was very empty. we left, rather annoyed, with all our luggage.

we decided to try to see the town anyway. we spent a very long lunch (and several games of phase 10) in one bar before venturing out again. the city itself was fairly unremarkable though it did have a nice cathedral and some pretty streets. we didn't see any horses or (being daytime) flamenco but we did entertain ourselves by shopping. we found a grocery store to stock up on cheap supplies before going back to french prices. and across from the bus station we found a nice place to enjoy some tea and hot chocolate. next door we had our last spanish dinner, appropriately paella and tapas with tio pepe, the brand of sherry that jerez is best known for.

then at 11.30 we boarded the night bus (it was full!), dozed off, and woke up the next morning in madrid. we were dropped off at the airport and spent our last few hours snacking and playing cards. overall a really nice vacation. and made even nicer by the fact that kelly joined me in returning to lyon.