Month: November 2021

And what a view!

That’s basically it. What follows is really just more of the same.

That’s our apartment in the middle floor.

That’s it for now. It’s 27th November and it’s been great. Apparently returning to gusty sleet showers which should be fun.

Sightseeing done. Off to Nerja for a few days R&R.

Fabulous drive through the mountains on the Sierra Nevada Highway. Only took a photo when we stopped which doesn’t come close to doing it justice. Note the snow.

And to an apartment we stayed in over 10 years ago. The view trumps the lack of WiFi! There may be a lot more of this in the next few days.

Starting with food, a total surprise was to have a meal on a par with Chewton Glen and Mika in Istanbul. Especially the wok stir-fry vegetables with Iberian pork.

Leaving Cordoba for Beaza and Ubeda – really important to remember to take your rucksack with all the money and important documents in it before you lock the door …. oops!

Cold and wet forecast and delivered.

Beaza – ok and would be much better in the sun.

Ubeda

Dodged most of the showers, and it really was cold – almost like being back home!

Off to Nerja for the final few days. So sightseeing and no WiFi!

Apartment is great, and sooo close to the Mosque-Cathedral.

That’s our rooftop.

La Mezquita from the inside:

And the outside

Found time for lunch – tapas of course, including the famous Mazamorra with quince and almonds, flamenquin, and deep-fried aubergine with honey!

Or, thinking of blue skies. It’s our first cloudy day, and Carmona looked a bit rubbish.

So on to Cordoba for lunch.

Difficult to drive to the apartment ….

Which we knew, but unfortunately it rained as we were dragging our cases around. Oh the hardships we have to put up with ……..

Or filling in the time between eating and drinking ….

Not even sure what this is called, but it’s a fantastic looking building.

Casa de Calinas

Then on to the serious stuff – lunch:

Sangria (eye-wateringly expensive but a tremendous view and cool clientele (except me!)).

And a flamenco show – our first live event for years.

Wow it’s a confusing city. Staying right in the heart of the old town with numerous little alleys and snickets. Have been lost numerous times, even when we’re certain we’re within 50m of the flat. Have never known being lost quite like this – a combination of scary and fun!

And some flamenco

Serious sightseeing after the obligatory morning walk ..

Alcazaba

Plaza Espana is a bit of a cross between Vegas and St Pancras!

But really it’s all about tapas. A very unassuming little bar where we loved the green beans and iberico ham for lunch

And a nice place for evening tapas, although there seem to be hundreds.

Three nights seems to work well before moving on. Before we left a glass of wine in the square

And a bit of a shock as it was the first place that only takes cash, which we didn’t have. A jog back to the flat where we had a spare €10 for emergencies such as this!

And dropped in to Jerez on the way, which was ok, but not much more.

Then to Seville. We had been offered a parking space near the flat which we were very pleased about. But when the satnav chimes up “you can’t really drive there, and you certainly can’t park. Do you want me to send you somewhere else and you can walk?” we knew it would be fun and it was. A bit of a tight squeeze to put it mildly but we made it.

Seville looking very fine on our first walk around.

Two days with pretty light duties. Only issue (talk about first world problems!!!) is the Spanish really do eat late. Cadiz doesn’t seem to acknowledge tourists like Malaga does, so it really is 8.00 or 8.30 opening for restaurants.

But a fabulous city. Our apartment is down here.

with a roof terrace

And so many nice walks

Coffee, lunch and sunsets

And a climb up the tower

Which we really liked.

Both of us feeling mildly spooked at the moment, for no rational reason. Combination of the hire car, unfamiliarity with being abroad, definitely FOIT (fear of IT what with all the paperwork etc. An example is parking in Cadiz – all you have to do is download an app – all in Spanish of course – register, book, and then use the app to open the barrier when you arrive. Possibility of it not working and us being flummoxed is huge. Anyway, it all worked perfectly, although no idea how!!!).

Anyway, moving on to Cadiz which is about 3 hours. Stopped in Vejer which we had been to in May 2017 but it was a bit hazy.

Here’s proof from then!

Anyway on to Cadiz. Pleased it was a Sunday afternoon as our flat is right in the centre of the old town, making navigating and unloading not the easiest. But we managed. Cadiz looking very fine.