Andalusia, Spain [2023]

Our friends were getting married near Almeria; so we decided to do a prelude visit of the gorgeous region of Andalusia. The dynamic history of the area is highlighted in the striking mixture of Spanish and Islamic architecture.

Alhambra - Nasrid Palace

Pre-trip Notes

• Alhambra: BOOK EARLY! This fills up months in advance, so be sure to get tickets ahead of time.

• Parking: Can be a PAIN. We were constantly on the lookout for a parking garage, which largely was recommended by our Airbnb hosts. We sometimes even had to pre-book our parking (e.g. for our day trip to Gibraltar).

• Gibraltar: We parked at the lot at the border and walked through customs, which was super easy.

  • Note: We suggest figuring out the bus situation before you get to Gibraltar. When we arrived, our cell service was very unreliable, and the main way to get bus tickets is via website. We ended up getting bus passes for the day (after getting Wifi at a nearby coffee shop), but apparently we needed to have gotten physical tickets at some point. We had no idea until the driver of our last bus told us our digital tickets weren't valid.

What We Did

Toledo

• Puente de San Martín: Stopped in for a few photos. Decent view, but if we had to choose, we enjoyed Alcántara more (could be because we visited the latter at sunset).

• Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes: Only wandered in to get a quick peek. Very pretty inside, as well as detailed sculptures and frescoes; and it looked like a group was gathering for a wedding <3

• Convento de Santo Domingo El Antiguo: MARZIPAN! Our friends insisted we visit Toledo and specifically to get marzipan from one of the convents. In our limited Spanish, we rang the bell and ordered a small box of artesano marzipan for €7,5. Using a lazy susan-type door system, the nun rotates out your handmade marzipan, and you replace it with the money. Et voilà!

• Santa Iglesia Catedral Primada del Toledo: Even though we pre-booked this one, there was a long line to wait in before entry. It moved rather quickly and was very much worth the wait. The interior is expansive and incredibly ornate (which we would later see is a theme for most Spanish cathedrals). Common, but impressive, items we'd see in most cathedrals: massive golden monstrance, detailed wood and marble carvings, large organ(s), and MANY side chapels/tombs, beautiful (sometimes enormous) paintings (including the iconic weird baby bird angels). We spent about 1.5 hours here but could have easily stayed longer.

• Puente de Alcántara: Absolutely lost it over how amazing sunset photos are here.

Puente de Alcántara

Córdoba

• Despeñaperros Natural Park (Sierra Morena): Quick stop to walk along the Barranco de la Niebla trail (~1.5 mi roundtrip). Lots of really great views and some cave paintings at the top!

• Mezquita-Catedral: We didn't need to pre-book this one, but what we didn't know is that they close for a few hours around lunchtime. Also, there is an extra cost for the bell tower (campanil; former minaret), but the next available time slot was too late for our plans. So, if you want to see this, you'll want to pre-book. While we waited, we got empanadas, strolled the town (including getting pictures of the bell tower via the Calleja de las Flores), and got some ice cream. After our stroll, we came back to the Mezquita, and the line was LONG. We were a little worried, but again it moved quickly. The cathedral was once a mosque, but later converted during the "Reconquista" and is stunning. Lots of similar aspects as the one in Toledo, but the interior had beautiful columns of red and white. This place is quite unique as it still retains several aspects of a mosque

Mezquita-Catedral

Sevilla

• Royal Alcazar: Pre-booked these, as well as admission to the bedrooms (Royal Quarters). We unfortunately thought our booking only meant we had to enter the fortress by our ticketed time, but our time slot was, in fact, specifically for the bedrooms. So, we missed out on those, but the fortress itself was still cool to see for a couple of hours. We loved seeing the Arabic walls, ceilings, courtyards, etc. We also quickly walked the gardens and hung with the peacocks.

• Catedral de Sevilla: Another beautiful cathedral, but for this one we paid to go into the Giralda Tower. We didn't think the audio guides were necessary, but we thought the view was really cool because you could see the intricacies of the cathedral's exterior architecture, including the gargoyles! The other very unique aspect of this particular cathedral is it contains the tombs of Christopher Columbus (very ornamental) and his son (plaque on the floor). The central choir wood and carvings might be my favorite part of the Spanish cathedrals, but the one in Sevilla has the largest and most ornate central altar in the world - It's breathtaking.

• Plaza de España: A MUST. Star Wars aside, the plaza is so expansive and beautiful. There were also some flamenco performers, which was so fun to watch.

• Tablao Flamenco El Arenal: We were able to experience a full Flamenco performance. It is full of passion and intensity, and we are so glad we sought out a show in the area it was founded. No photos/video allowed, but highly recommend this place.

Plaza de España

Gibraltar

• Europa Point Lighthouse: Iconic spot to take photos of Morocco! It's amazing how close it actually is. You can also get great views of The Rock.

• Mediterranean Steps: We took the cable car to get up the mountain (The Rock; We didn't pre-book, so there was a notable line). We carefully made our way (around all the monkeys) towards the steps and actually missed it, having found ourselves at a massive machine gun chamber. After taking some more viewpoint photos, we slowly backtracked and found the entrance to the steps. The downward trek can be steep in some spots, but it was much more enjoyable than the upward direction. We crossed paths with a family; one daughter was sobbing her way up lol.

• St. Michael's Cave: Previously, we'd skipped on caves in general. But after our experience in Lebanon, we don't do that anymore. We were honestly pleasantly surprised with this one, as well. It's only a small portion you can visit, but the lighting is very colorful and unique (they also light the rock sans color, too).

  
  

St. Michael's Cave

The Rock

Ronda

• Mirador La Hoya Del Tajo: Scenic spot to get THE photos of the Roman bridge. We hiked towards it until we got to the felucca. We later read it was the second iteration that was built in the 1600s.

• Town: Ronda was the most active place we visited. So many people were out shopping, eating, and drinking.

• Caminito del Rey: While we didn't do this actual activity, we did do a via ferrata nearby that caught a far-away glimpse of the path :P We had joined our friends and had a super fun time. Amazing views, even better company <3

Puente Nuevo, Ronda

Capileira

• Soportújar: Since it was on the way, one of our friends had us check out this witch-themed village. We had a fun time wandering and visiting places like the Cueva del Ojo de la Bruja, as well as a bunch of spooky structures and art installations (i.e. a Hansel and Gretel house).

• Mulhacén: The tallest point in Spain, non-technical hike for summit. We pre-booked a bus and did a bunch of research in advance. However when we went to the bus pick-up point, it never showed. We later received an email saying the bus was cancelled due to weather, and we were not entitled to a refund. We were annoyed at first, but we ended up hiking a nearby valley that turned out to be a really fun hike.

• Acequias del Poqueira Trail (PR-A 23): Instead of Mulhacen, we hiked this valley loop for about 5.5 hours. Most of the path was straightforward, but the midpoint was overgrown and had the steepest bits getting you down into and out of the valley. There is also a farm here, at which the farmer warmly greeted us and kindly asked us to close the gate behind us. He also warned us of the impending bad weather (hence the bus issue earlier). We got a bit off course towards the end of the hike, but Google Maps helped get us back on track (as Nick had come down with quite a sickness).

Acequias del Poqueira Trail

Granada

• Alhambra: BOOK IN ADVANCE - Especially the Nasrid Palace. It's absolutely worth the visit. We easily spent 3.5 hours at Alhambra in total. It's incredible how ornate and beautiful the Arab architecture is here.

  • Note: One odd thing was they checked our passports instead of our tickets at each checkpoint during our visit.

Níjar / Almería

• Finca Maltés San José: This was the wedding venue, and it was absolutely stunning. It's such a cute boutique hotel with great views of the surrounding hills. We even hiked up one of them to get views of the hotel.

Beach in San José (just south of our hotel)

Madrid

• Plaza Mayor: The only thing we visited in Madrid lol. It was a good filler activity before dinner but nothing to go out of your way for.

Food

Toledo

• Cafe Restaurante Scorpions: Honestly, we only remember the food being okay. But, it's great for people watching and is situated just across the street from the beautiful Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes.

• Taberna el Botero: Intended to get cocktails here, but they didn't serve hard alcohol until 5 pm lol. So, we resorted to beer and wine with a snack of olives and chips. Place was packed in early afternoon - standing room only!

• Cervecería La Abadía: Really nice IPAs and pale ales with sides of crunchy artichoke and papas bravas.

• Turrones Artesanos: Got some fun candies and marzipan to share with friends later in the trip. Great shop!

Córdoba

• Restaurant Menchero y Rubio: Perfect for our need of coffee and Pain au chocolat and apple pastries.

• Tana Criolla: Stopped here for a snack while we waited for the cathedral to re-open. Really tasty empanadas!

• Heladeria Da Vinci: Guy took a stab at what we might like and gave us a few samples. He did a good job! Anyway, great ice creams - do recommend.

Sevilla

• Bodeguitas Antonio Romero: Solid "meh" on these tapas. This place was when Ash realized how difficult it was about to get for her being a vegetarian in southern Spain. They put jamón on just about everything. Anyway, Ashley mostly ate ~grass here.

• Cafe Bar Los Angeles: Really only stopped for coffee and a quick bite. Was honestly just so-so.

• El Librero Tapas Y Quesos: REALLY good paella!

• Bar Postiguillo Tapas: Apparently the meat tapas were fab, but was really lacking on any veggie options.

Gibraltar

• St. Michael's Cabin: Stopped here for food and drink. There wasn't much to choose from, so we had beer and a muffin.

Ronda

• Queso y Jamon Boutique Ronda: Tasty bocadillos and wine!

Capileira / Bubion

• Restaurant Teide in Bubioón: We weren't all that hungry, and we were tired from a day of via ferrata-ing. So, we didn't have much. But, it seemed like a really popular spot!

• El Corral del Costano: Really great pizza and wine!

Madrid

• Venta El Buscon: Writing this 1.5 years after this visit, we don't recall the quality of food, so it definitely wasn't bad.

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