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Amazing Andalucia 1

I've never done a trip report before, probably because it seems daunting to recount things! I'll add what I can and please ask questions or message me if you want.
Background: My husband and I took a twice delayed 20th anniversary trip to Andalusia in mid-Oct 22. We have traveled a good bit and have lived outside the US for a few years. We visited Madrid and Barcelona a few years ago. He also speaks Spanish so that definitely helped!
We had an amazing trip! We loved the historic sights, a mix of Spanish/Moorish culture and of course, the Spanish people. They were kind, helpful and easygoing. Southern Spain was inexpensive and yet very efficient and functional. (I had imagined a little of the craziness of southern Italy-nope, clean buses, everything on time and decent bathrooms) The temps were up about 10 degrees right before our trip. We were sweating in Sevilla and struggled with air conditioning in several hotels. I can’t imagine going to these places in summer.
**Major thoughts: A friend encouraged me to add Malaga to our trip, we did and treated those two days as a “vacay from our vacay”. Seville was our favorite though and I think if you’re doing this plan add more days to Sevilla and skip Malaga. Cordoba was underwhelming to us but we had bad weather that day and we were on a time limit so maybe that affected our view of it. And Granada was so full of tourists, rough rocky streets, I’m glad we just did 2 nights there.
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Sun-Arrived in Madrid at 6amish. We gambled and had already booked a train to Sevilla at 11ish. No issues getting into town on the regional train. Took an AVE train from Madrid to Sevilla. Be sure not to book the seats that face another pair of seats; we had an awkward trip kicking the couple in front of us(and vice versa).
Stayed at El Rey Moro. Very clean, terrific staff, LOVED breakfast in their center courtyard. But it was 90 when we were there and the air barely worked. I wouldn't stay there in warm weather again. Also loved the winding Santa Cruz area. Got lost the first two days but it was fine! Another thing we loved about Seville is how close things are together. It was easy for us to pop back to the hotel to use the bathroom or fill up our water bottle at the water fountain. Had a first late lunch at La Hosteria del Laurel near our hotel. We think it was a tad overpriced but it was my husband’s favorite paella of the trip. Just wandered the city a little and tried to get over jet lag so no major sights.
***Mon-Had a morning walking tour with Conception at Sevilla Walking Tours from Rick’s recommendation. She was terrific! Lots of details about the culture, past and present, with an overview of the city. Great way to start in Sevilla. Had lunch at La Azotea Vinos & Tapas. My fav gazpacho of the trip! Inexpensive and tasty like most tapas in Spain. Did Rick’s walking tour through the Santa Cruz area.
Reserved tickets online and entered the Cathedral at 3:30pm. We found the audio guide to be a little confusing. We enjoyed climbing the bell towers though. We saw the cathedral quickly. Our hotel had a nice perk where they gave you coffee or a soda from 5pm-7pm each day. We enjoyed coffee each day.
We then joined in the Paseo in the Plaza Nuevo area. Did have a much different feel than earlier in the day as we browsed alongside school kids shopping with Grandma and locals out. We had unseasonably hot weather and I bought a second skirt to wear on Tues. Dinner at Casa la Viuda which Conception had recommended. It was excellent (quality, locals, inexpensive) and we were tempted to eat there again but wanted to try others.
Ended our day at La Carbonería Flamenco Bar. We had seen a flamenco show in Madrid and so we enjoyed the casual nature of this location. We saw one set and bought drinks as payment. Although I tried to tip the singer and he gave me a cd in return so that was a nice surprise!

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**Tue-9:30am Royal Alcazar ticket bought online although we had to stand in a long line to enter anyway. Read through Rick’s info and it was a nice build up to the Alhambra which we would see later but still impressive itself. Gardens were nice, too. Lunch at Bodega Santa Cruz, very local (also recommended by Conception), inexpensive and second-best paella. Long lines so we got there early (like 1pm!).
We walked over to the Triana neighborhood, over the Isabel bridge, for a flamenco lesson at 3:30pm. We scheduled it through Conception and it was fantastic. The teacher, I think her name was Yessica Brea, was adept at explaining flamenco to give us the history, and slowly going through a basic dance sequence. So fun and a highlight of our trip! I even rented shoes and a skirt! My husband is a sweetheart and danced with me. It was our biggest step count day, though. You could take a taxi to Triana to save walking. We had wanted to see the Mercado de Triana but didn’t come early enough. After our lesson it was closed. Walked back through town along the river and past several interesting sights. Had dinner later in the Plaza Nueva area but it was awful. Sorry can’t remember the name.
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Wed-Took at 10am bus to Rhonda. The bus seemed very new and left on time. Enjoyed the scenery (flamingos in a swampy area, old castles standing here and there) and arrived about 12pm. Checked in our hotel at Hotel San Gabriel. It was a gorgeous old mansion that is now a hotel. Really beautiful but our air conditioning unit was poor and made clicking noises half the night. I kept thinking someone was opening the door! We shut it off about 3am and opened our balcony door to sleep. I loved the hotel but that particular room at least was hard to sleep in hot weather.
In Ronda we just walked around and enjoyed views of the bridge. Toured the bullring and did Rick’s walking tour of the old bridge. Had lunch along Calle Nueva, maybe Mason Bodega el Picadero? It was another hit although a bit touristy. We tried to go one of Rick’s recommendations in the evening but they were closed. The bar next door said they had gone on vacation! We almost ate at Tragata which is highly rated, but the seating hostess and waitress were kinda arguing and we didn’t like the vibe. Honesty we’d eaten a lot of Spanish food by this time so we had pizza at La Vita e Bella and it was amazing. Just a break for our tastebuds! We did pass by Confiteria Daver, a pastry shop earlier and it looked heavenly! It was closed after our dinner. =( Ronda closed up early in October.
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*Thurs-Took a 10am bus to Malaga. Again interesting views of white hill towns and olive groves. Malaga seemed very hectic after the calm of Ronda! We took a 5Euro taxi to our hotel (incredibly worth it!) at Molina Lario. I changed our itinerary late in our planning so there weren’t many available. It was expensive and very modern, although we loved the good air conditioning and felt pampered for 2 nights in the middle of our trip. In hindsight it was a terrific break from the historic homes turned hotels we stayed in the rest of the trip.

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Unfortunately, it was incredibly foggy that day and slightly rainy. We had planned to eat at a chiringuito but it was awful on the beach. We ate on the pier at a horribly touristy restaurant but still enjoyed the vegetables/hummus at a Greek place. We’re reasonably healthy eaters and the ham and fried foods were getting to us! We did laundry nearby and had coffee. Walked around the beautiful area near the cathedral and saw so many interesting shops. We had lived in Israel so recognized many European brands! Did not go into the cathedral or do the alcazar/castillo since we saw better versions in Sevilla and (soon) Granada. Loved walking past the Roman theater at night. Still enjoyed the city! Had a fantastic meal at El Refectorium Cathedral right beside the cathedral. We thought it would be a fortune (steak was priced in grams and they asked us approximately how much, then brought an enormous plate of meat!) Total bill was $100 with tons of excellent food. Oh my goodness that would have been $200 where we live in Phoenix. You need a reservation and it was packed with Spaniards. (hotel recommended)
**Fri-Took a 9am train to Cordoba. It was raining cats and dogs for several hours! We took a taxi to the Juderia, bought an umbrella and toured Casa Sefared. Really loved understanding the history/language/culture of the Sephardic Jewish community. Still raining so we had coffee and some squash pie in a tiny coffee shop, very yummy! It slackened a bit so we toured the area. Saw sights like city walls and gates. We popped in the free synagogue there, only 3 total in Span that they’ve found. Also walked the Roman Bridge and Calleja de las Flores. We did more coffee at some point!
Ate lunch at Casa Mazal Restaurante in the Juderia. Beautiful setting and we found more veggies! Would recommend. Visited the Mesquita at 3pm, Bell tower at 4:30pm. Really incredible and a high point of the trip. Took a million photos! Afterwards more walking and coffee in a local area east of the Mesquita. (seemed like a low key place, locals hanging out with their dogs, cheap, quality and clean) We had noticed before the trip that trains were pretty full so I had booked our return before we left the states. Left at 8:30pm so got back to Malaga around 9:30pm. Had a late pizza again, so very cheap and tasty!
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*Sat-Took an early train to Granada. Checked in our hotel oat Hotel Casa Capitel Nazari. Walked the city towards Plaza del Carmen and found some interesting places to eat. Granada was busy with tourists and locals kept coming up to us to buy lottery tickets, even while eating. Our lunch place was ok. We explored some more and I visited the cathedral and Royal Chapel. I loved the cathedral as it’s white and different than most. We again had coffee and later walked through the Albayzin to the San Nicolas viewpoint. The streets in the Albayzin are made of cobblestones stood on their side (so very bumpy) and are quite steep. After sunset we found a Restaurante Arryanes, a Moorish eatery that was packed and delicious. My fish was fantastic. Full disclosure: the whole Albayzin looks rough. Some areas are disturbed with construction and the walk/hill beside the restaurant was torn up and hard to navigate. Motorcycles and cars also squeeze through streets and pedestrians almost flatten up against the wall! It was kinda wild but unique. If you have any mobility issues just use the mini buses. Last thing, we stopped at a tea house and they even had a belly dancer come out some. Maybe for tourists but enjoyable none the less.

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**Sun-Got up early to be at the Nasrid Palace at the Alhambra at 8:30am. It was the earliest entrance time and we were thankful for it. But it was rough getting there. I didn’t plan very well on how to get there, and we left in the dark (sunrises late in Oct) and it felt hectic and rushed. We hurried up the hill and it was an exhausting and stressful start to the day. I encourage you to use public transportation to make the start of your day go smoother!
But we had very light crowds at the Palace and it was totally worth the early start! After only an hour or so there were hordes of people around. Of course, the palace was stunningly beautiful. Afterwards we were able to sit in the garden and eat a breakfast that our hotel had packed for us. It was so perfect! We also found the coffee stand near the Charles Palace and had our coffee looking over the city. Really nice!
We toured the fort and Charles V palace and gardens. We chose to just read Rick’s info and not rent an audio guide or do a tour. Honestly it was perfect for us and we enjoyed the ambiance more than tons of detail about the history and décor. Afterwards we walked down the hill and collapsed in a café in the Puerta de los Tristes area. Again, I wished we could have taken public transportation down but my husband likes to walk and we didn’t have a mask for the bus with us. Seriously exhausted by about 1pm!!!
After resting at our hotel (2 hr nap!) we sat at a café in Plaza de Bib-Rambla, then wandered the city a little northwest of the cathedral. We heard drums and followed the sound a few blocks to stumble upon a procession. A float that celebrated a saint was being paraded through the streets to a church. It was very interesting. We then hiked up to dinner at Carmen de Aben Humeya at 8pm….reserved online from home. The food was kinda gourmet and very delicious. Of course, the view was amazing. Highly recommend this!
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Mon-Took an awfully early train to Madrid (6am!); it was a pain because we had a 2 hr stop in Santa Ana Antequera (not the same as Santa Ana), I would try to avoid this because the station didn’t have a coffee shop or anything but a sparse vending machine. Thankfully we had a to-go breakfast again from our fabulous hotel but it would have been nice to have coffee.
We arrived in Madrid around 12pm and took a regional train to the Sol stop. Didn’t have to take the metro since our AVE ticket allowed us to use a regional train that stopped at Sol. Checked in the Hotel Francisco I. We have stayed here before and it’s a spacious, clean, modern and comfortable hotel. But we suspect the hotel didn’t allow us full control over the air unit and we had another hot night with poor sleep. Couldn’t open the balcony doors as the street (Calle del Arenal) was bursting with sound! However, we stayed here in March on a previous trip and liked the accommodations and location.
In Madrid we basically wandered and enjoyed a last moment of Spain. We spent several days here in 2018. We had one last lunch of jamon. Popped in the bull bar that Rick recommends (La Torre del Oro); I don’t like bullfighting but that place is neat. Walked through Plaza Mayor and had churros and chocolate at San Gines. Even looked into El Cortes Ingles to search for a favorite British handbag brand but no luck. As the American dept store wanes though I love the fancy and exclusive feeling of that store. Dinner at Casa Gallega, we ate in the bar area in the basement. Food was fabulous and we were treated like gold. Perfect last dinner in Spain!
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*Tues-Took a taxi to the airport for an early flight. It was more expensive than public transportation but only 30E, very relaxed trip and worth it, I think!

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Amanda, our trips must have overlapped cause we were in Spain Oct 1-23. We also took the dance class through Concepcion’s tour company. So much fun, wish is was maybe 1/2 longer. We stayed 4 nights in Seville and enjoyed it immensely. Cordoba has the most interesting cathedral of all the ones we visited but agree it is more ‘sleepy’ then the other places we visited. I also purchased a skirt, in Barcelona, cause it was almost 90 degrees while we were there. It cooled off later in the month. You really do need thick soled walking shoes for most of Spain as those rocky streets show up in Cordoba and Toledo. Thanks for the report, I enjoyed reading your experience in Spain.

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6382 posts

Glad you had a good time. Guess you need to plan a return trip but to a different region next time.

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Thank you so much for your trip report! Going to Spain next year so this is very appreciated!

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Spain actually passed a law this year restricting air conditioning use because of the energy crisis, but it’s not meant to apply to private spaces like hotel rooms. However as energy prices are incredibly high all across Europe I expect that’s why AC use is being rationed by hotels. Even before this I’ve stayed at hotels which turn it off after the summer regardless of temperature. As you’ve found the large international chains are best for keeping cool.

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avirosemail: No we were there 10/23. A shop worker told us it was for a saint, we're not catholic so had no idea which one!

Barbara: Oh wow same time! Yes, the dancing was really great. Although we were happy with our time as the studio was very hot that afternoon. My husband was ready to get out of there! Yes we've encountered rough streets before but maybe Granada was the worst! I'm picky about shoes and choose carefully but at the end of our trip, my feet were not loving those streets!

jaimeelsabio: We'd totally do Spain again but maybe planning France and then Portugal next!

Helen: Oh that's interesting and totally makes sense. We've never encountered it before although a fellow tourist in Venice one March was freezing bc their AirBnB in a public building had limited control. I really feel bad for those in Europe gearing up for a cold winter with limited heat. Terrible.

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I can't wait to take this trip! I was starting to put it together for late August/September 2023 but it seems it has been so hot the past couple of years that we are planning to wait until we can go another time of year.

Seville sounds amazing!

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2288 posts

Thanks for sharing this. Very informative. I'm hoping to make it to southern Spain in the next couple of years.