12Jul
There can be no doubt that being in the warm Spanish weather - a hot dry heat in this part of the world - has helped me to feel better every day. We caught a train to Cordoba and after a short walk in the afternoon sun returned to our hotel for a siesta. By the evening it had cooled enough to find a local spot for dinner where we enjoyed another delightful meal - a chicken and rice tagine.
The next morning was the highlight - the Mosque - Cathedral - an epic Mosque with a Cathedral built in the middle - quite remarkable.
We moved on to Sevilla which whilst larger than Cordoba was just as wonderful with so many beautiful buildings to explore. We walked along the river for our evening stroll and found an Italian restaurant and ate risotto which was memorable. The morning saw us take a guided tour to the 1920 trade pavilions which have to be seen to be believed - the photos do not do this area justice.
We then walked through the old city visiting two palaces in amazing condition and after a leisurely lunch we went into the Sevilla Cathedral - it is beyond imagination - truly breathtaking. We were treated to a tapas tour with a young Spanish tour guide and we walked a lot more to taste jamon and tortilla.
After 2 nights we were off to Granada - another bucket list moment for me. On arrival we went to the view point opposite the palace and gazed in wonder at the pale reddish fortress across the valley. We then wandered down the steep narrow lanes back to our hotel for a little nap before venturing out for an evening of flamenco dancing and tapas - not our favourite guided tour but interesting nevertheless.
In the morning we enjoyed a private guided tour of the Alhambra Palace - the summer palace and gardens were spectacular - the whole complex dating from 1230 is remarkable. We had lunch in a little place which served the fine set gazpacho and a salad that we couldn’t get enough of. We walked slowly back to our hotel trying to process the wonders we had seen.
It was back to Madrid for a night with another city tapas tour which was a great finale to a wonderful journey around central Spain. We were spoiled with an upgrade in our final hotel and it was difficult to farewell a new favourite city.. Adios
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