All tagged Spain
MIJAS, SPAIN. Coming from Bajondillo beach in Torremolinos, we travelled for 30 minutes up to the town of Mijas. Mijas took us by surprise. First because we did not know that the town is situated up in the mountains and close with the clouds; second, because we were not aware that we will be seeing a piece of Santorini (or what I imagine Santorini to be as I have not been to Santorini yet) in Spain.
COSTA DEL SOL, SPAIN. Seeing the sun and having its rays reach my skin which is already craving for some heat perked up my spirit! Since it is winter, it is a given that gloomy days outnumbers the sunny ones. To tell you the truth, I barely felt the sun while I was in Madrid, Toledo and Granada! With that, I was not expecting to see and feel the sun when we drove to the south of Spain. But Costa del Sol is something. And I think the place would not have been named like that for no reason. Costa del Sol is the break that I have been wanting to see for many days now and well, it did not disappoint.
GRANADA, SPAIN. Often enough, I find myself at loss for words when visiting a place. These are those instances when I just find myself revelling in the beauty that is ahead of me rather than typing incessantly in my phone to form sentences and paragraphs that I will later on use in my blog posts. During my visit in the Alhambra, I was struck by that desire to just enjoy and let it be. I found no notes or whatsoever in my phone. This time around, I will not type any phrases and sentences to go with the pictures. They are on their own and I will just let them do the talking.
GRANADA, SPAIN. We stayed in Hotel Carmen for a night when we went to Granada to watch the Flamenco in Cueva del Rocio that same night and to visit the Alhambra Palace the day after. Compared to other alternatives, it is an upscale option for accommodation with a pool and a restaurant. Starting today, I will only focus on four factors that greatly matters to me in a hotel: location, wifi connection, food and their beds.
GRANADA, SPAIN. Traversing the narrow streets of Granada on the way to the Holy Mountains took us to the Gypsy caves. The gypsies are from India and the largest community of gypsies in Europe is now in Spain. When our travel director told us that we will watch the gypsies dance Flamenco in a cave, what I had in mind were those large and dimly lit, or most of the time dark, hollow spaces in the ground. When we arrived, I was surprised to see brightly lit rock-like structures painted in white and carved to look like normal houses filled with life and music.
TOLEDO, SPAIN. Going up and down for 3 hours in the streets of Toledo made my tummy crave for nourishment. That is why when we were introduced to this place that apparently offer a nice plate of Risotto, we immediately grabbed it without even considering the fact that we are about to eat an Italian dish in a Spanish city. Tucked at the end of Calle Alfonso VI, Restaurante Virgen de La Estrella can be reached by entering at the Puerta de Alfonso VI and traversing the said street.
TOLEDO, SPAIN. If you have only a day to spare in Spain, spend it in Toledo. It took us 45 minutes by coach to arrive in the capital of Castille La Mancha and to the most important city in the country. Appreciating Toledo from a distance, we saw the infamous Tajoe River that surrounds the walled city of Toledo and the St. Martin's bridge which connects the city to the outside world. We drove through the Cicadas which features houses with views of the Old Town. The price of the houses here usually starts at 1 million Euros and it is understandable why is that so as the view from these houses is magnificent.
SEGOVIA, SPAIN. A 1-hour drive in Madrid took us in Castilla and into one of the most charming cities I had been to on this trip so far. Segovia has a lot of story to tell and it starts with its aqueduct. The city built an amazing waterway system to transport their water from other parts of Spain. It runs for about 15 kilometres and snakes through some parts of the city where they finally filter it before distribution. Sometimes, the lengths of the aqueduct can be found underground, like what a canal would be; and sometimes it can be found up high, supported by columns made in stacked stones.
MADRID, SPAIN. Tapas night is always a great idea on a Saturday evening in Madrid. We joined a tour group and part of the experience being put forth by Trafalgar is its ability to let its travellers experience what the the locals typically do at a given day or moment of a day and bring them to the best places there is in town to let them experience it. Our travel director whisked us away to a nice restaurant along Calle del Padre Damian and near out hotel, AC Cuzco. Cinco Jotas is the name of the restaurant and it offers varying types of tapas that are so flavorful and delightful which made me forget all the tapas (especially those disguising as tapas) that I have eaten before.
