Spain & touch of Portugal

Trip report continued:

Granada. After the intense museum time in Madrid, the first thing for me to do was relax in a spa like setting. The Hammam Al Andulus arab baths fit the bill. It was a fabulous start to my time in Granada. The money was well spent and the relaxing time was essential for me at this point of my trip. That afternoon I was able to get into the Cathedral and Royal Chapel. I wanted to be sure to see the King and Queen tombs.

What can I say about the Alhambra? It is a wonderful world heritage site that any visitor to Spain should not miss. The advise I received on this Forum was spot on; visit the site at night for a totally different experience and then to view the Nasrid Palace the following morning at 11 a.m. so that I could have the remainder of the day for the Generalife Gardens and main buildings. It was simply awesome.

The remainder of the late afternoon and evening (after my siesta), I explored the Albaycin and then dinner at San Nicolas viewpoint; I didn’t feel at all insecure to walk back down the hill to the center of town but I joined a couple and were good for a while and then we all got somewhat off on our directions and ended up sharing a cab to town.

Seville for me was all about visiting the fabulous Cathedral (climbing the Giralda Bell tower, Tomb of Columbus) and the Alcazar. The peaceful experience of the Alcazar was very pleasant and it was literally one block from my hostel. Also, I was very happy I chose to see a flamenco show in Seville. It was mesmerizing and very exciting. I can’t say enough great accolades for the show at Casa del Flamenco-intimate setting with a small crowd. No drinks or food, but that did not detract. The next day was for Cordoba. But on my last morning/day in Seville I enjoyed Plaza Nueva and explored more of the Santa Cruz neighborhood. I followed the RS walk through Santa Cruz with little rest stops at a plaza here and there between all those little streets. What a maze, but fun.

Cordoba: My day in Cordoba was tiring because I should have left earlier in the morning to time the visit to the Mezquita before 11:30. Upon arrival found out the Mezquita was not going to re-open until 3:30, so I explored the replica of the Roman Bridge, Carriage house – no horse show during the day and the pretty patios and alleyways. Here’s a tip: if you are early for your train back to Seville, find the water “mall” fountain just outside the station for a little splash time and feet cooling. My feet were so sore from all the walking on cobbled streets.

Salema-Sagres: Paradise is Salema. I had fabulous much needed beach time in a wonderful seaside fishing village. Yes, there is a small resort feel to the place but I could not have chosen a more relaxing and peaceful place for this portion of my trip. Absolutely, the best timing ever. The locals are so friendly, even on a rainy day, the beachfront restaurant opened affording the opportunity to eat some hot fish stew. Being from Seattle, I do not mind walking in the rain and after the stew, I had a very nice walk in the rain back to my comfy B&B.

My second day in Salema was for a day trip to Sagres and the San Vincent point. This was easily done by local transportation, but timing was crucial. The day was sunny and viewing the most Southwestern part of Europe was truly an experience to remember. With the sun in my eyes and wind in my face, the sea was calling..so, I made my way back to sleepy Salema and lay on the beach. I will come back to Salema, for sure.

Lisbon: traffic into the city (by bus from Salema) made for a late arrival – so, I only had time for the Oceanario and a nice dinner and exploring the area around my hotel, Praca Pedro IV. The following day was all about exploring the Castelo Sao Jorge, battling the crowds on cable car #28 (an experience I still would not have missed). The evening was spent enjoying a delicious dinner and fado show @ Sr. Vinho. The ambience was a bit more formal than what I would normally have enjoyed, but, the food was fabulous and the singing very heartfelt and, actually, upbeat. I was afraid the music would be too melancholy. After a late night and a bit too much wine, I slept in a bit on my second day in Lisbon. However, Belem was waiting and after taking care of photo uploads and posting on Facebook and email, I was ready to explore. Belem day-Tour de Belem, Monument of Discoverers, Monastery and Mercado De Ribeira for lunch. Highly recommend experiencing some real down time and fabulous food at the Mercado de Ribeira. It was recommended in all the guidebooks and Trip Advisor – it did not disappoint. I also marveled at all the gorgeous tile work in Lisbon, especially Avenida de Liberade and houses in the area. The ironworks were beautiful as well. Modes of transport I loved are: the funicular to viewpoint at Sao Pedro, and the Santa Justa elevator with sunset views of Castelo Sao Jorge.

Recommended Restaurants, noshing places:

Barcelona: La Boquera Market for picnic goodies, Saffron – marinated anchovies and olive app – delicious. Excellent café con leche with created fleu de lis.

Madrid: La Mallorquina for café con leche breakfast goodies and snack to “take away”; Mercado de San Miguel – Seafood salad (delicious) & tortilla (not the best), La Casa Del Abuelo-fun shrimp skewers; Rabo de Toro @ La Tintoreria.

Granada: Café just outside of Generalife-Alhambra?? Lovely courtyard setting and kind service – the best tortilla on the trip; Estrellas de San Nicolas at the top of Albacin – lovely Alhambra view & fabulous service – roast pork with fruit compote and fresh vegetables; Aperitif to top the evening off was a lovely touch

Sevilla: Focaccia w/tomate and brie; tapas at Cerveceria las Columnas @ Rodrigo Caro 1 – exciting frenetic energy place; don’t be intimidated by the crowd, just weave your way in like you would weave a crowded street. 

Cordoba: El Olivo, at Ave. Doctor Fleming, 25, Cordoba-near the Alcazar – yummy bulls tail and potatoes.

Salema: Restaurant Lorenco – Sole grilled to perfection; very sweet service; chat at dinner with parents from Chelsey, England about son who is animator for Wallace & Grommit cartoon; fresh squeezed OJ at B&B Amare; Fish stew at Mira Mar Casa de Pasto served on a very rainy day

Lisbon: Mercado da Ribeira-Crab/Avo salad and Pate; Sr. Vinho – Quail and roasted potatoes/gravy; smoked salmon salad – freshest vegetables on my trip; best breakfast besides B&B Amare, was papaya and yogurt at a cafeteria on my river walk to the Tour of Belem; Caseiro in downtown Belem – beautiful golden breem & long green beans; decorated with currency from around the world, very sweet family run restaurant. A stop at Pasties de Belem right on the main street of Belem for tart deliciousness.

Entertainment/Music: Gypsy street musicians at San Nicolas Point Granada, flamenco in Sevilla, fado in Lisbon; guitarist on the bus ride to Lisbon

Everyday life: beer for breakfast Barcelona, potatoes served with every dinner; electrical sensors in hostel room for wash basin area – had to do a dance about every 30 seconds to keep the lights on; Sevilla weddings all weekend, gardeners filling the wall with new plants in Madrid, royals in town – xxl entry to Palace, many wind turbines outside of Salema/Sagres, storks on the water/marsh; traffic into Lisbon, explosion on the Belem marina

Mistakes? There were three occasions where my timing was off and planning could have been better and also, I believe a taxi driver took me for a longer ride than it should have been. On my day before Granada, I spent valuable time in Madrid trying to find the long haul bus station because I feared I would miss my 9 a.m. bus the following morning. In the end the next morning, I hailed a cab from my hotel area and the driver kept repeating the traffic is bad and took me around the traffic, onto the freeway and back into town. Added about 7 euros onto the bill and gave me a few tense moments. The second mishap was my timing into Cordoba. I should have booked an earlier train to arrive in Cordoba before 11:30. The third mishap was that I waited around for the Point Vincent to Sagres bus when I found out later, it is a nice walk back. I literally spent 2 hours just killing time at the point. All in all, though, my trip went well.

So much of the Portugal that I visited was all about the sea. I found the following lovely poem at the San Vincent Point (most southwest point of Europe):

Waters are calling me.
Seas are calling me.

All distances raise a bodily voice and call me,
and all seafaring ages felt out of the past are calling me.
(ode Maritima, Alvaro de Campos)

Adios & happy travels all,

Linda

Hi Linda. What a great trip report. It brought back lots of great memories. Thank you.

I've made a note of the TI Monserrat info for my next visit, hopefully in March.

Chani: Thanks for the nice words. In Barcelona, the TI at the Placa Catalunya was where I purchased my combo ticket. I will look forward to "re-visiting" Spain when I read your trip report.

Just for you, Linda, I'll report on my last trip (in February):

Seville My first day was laundry, then vino y tapas, topped off with a performance at La Casa del Flamenco - flamenco net, no drinks, no food, just great flamenco. Many in the audience were Spanish speakers (could have been tourists from South America?) Not having any particular agenda for the morning, I fell into a "free" walking tour that was quite good and Seville is so beautiful. Met a couple from Israel who joined me to meet a local acquaintance at the Alcazar (as beautiful as I remembered). We spent the afternoon chattering over the best tapas y vino in Spain at Bodeguita Casablanca.

What should have been a quick stop at the train station to pick up a rental car turned into a minor nightmare. After an hour I was finally in the car and circling Seville on the limited access road system that encircles the city. At long last I was on the road to Ronda, surprised as the scenic vistas changed with the changing altitude, enjoying the pueblos blancos glistening in the sun. This visit, I found the Bandolier Museum (Museo del Bandolero) and learned about another bit of Spanish history. Excellent tapas y vino at ???, outside the old city walls opposite the Gateway of Almocabar. It's the only one on the square and a favorite of the locals. Be very careful driving in Ronda. It is way too easy to end up in tiny narrow streets with sharp corners and lots of badly parked cars. The gorge and the bridge are beautiful at sunset.

On to Antequera for a quick overnight. Bad planning . . . I arrived on Sunday afternoon and only had a couple hours before the sights closed . . . until Tuesday. I still enjoyed walking around this town on a hill in the middle of a large plain . . . even in the rain . . . in Spain. Maybe someday I'll get to the dolmens.

Another easy drive, this time to Cordoba. The roads in Andalusia are very good. I had perfect driving directions to get from the highway to the train station to return the car. It would have been a breeze except for the roadworks and detour. After half an hour of driving around, I finally got to the train station, made three long circles until I finally found the car return Hint - it's not in the train station as stated in all Europcar's information; both the garage and the office are in the bus station across the street. Cordoba is my favorite city in Spain. Dropped my gear in my hotel room and headed out to walk around. Saw the new TI (interesting exhibits as well as TI services). On this trip I discovered salmorejo which is a Cordoban specialty. It's a cold soup, similar to gazpacho (but better). I found it in cartons (like OJ) in the supermarkets along side the gazpacho. So good, even the veggie version (no jamon sprinkled on top). There's a new outfit doing evening walking tours in English. If you don't book in advance, you can try to be a walk-up. This works if [1] the tour isn't full and [2] if someone else has booked the tour. I tried the walk-up method unsuccessfully. I'll be smarter when I go back in March. I had a good dinner at Taberna La Montillana. Walking there, I discovered that there's a lot more to Cordoba than the area that most tourists see. Even though it was chilly, the many sidewalk cafes were filled with (mostly) young locals enjoying a night out. Another great day in Andalusia.

I had to go back to the Mezquita. This time I had my binoculars with me. The ceilings are as beautiful as the rest of the detail, just harder to see in the dim light. Go early, before the crowds so you can absorb the mystical atmosphere. If you go in winter, dress warmly as it gets pretty cold inside. From there I had a lovely walk to Viana Palace with its 12 patios and gardens, then back to the Guadalquiver river for an excellent lunch at La Taberna del Rio.

to be continued . . .

Thanks for sharing Chani. Next trip to Southern Spain I will experience Ronda. Planning on Paris via Iceland with my granddaughter, who will be 10 in a year and a half. It takes about that long for me to save funds. It will be nice to focus on only two places though.

Happy travels, Linda