Zaragoza

We stopped at Zaragoza for a night en route to Rioja. It was another quick trip by train and we received breakfast, the Spanish omelette coming up quite well for rail food. Zaragoza has an impressive Basilica, it is a real surprise to come across in a town that is not really on a tourist route. It also has a collection of Roman ruins from the time it was known as Caesaraugusta. An origami museum made a unique visit with some very clever exhibits, including a dress made out of paper.

We stayed at the Melia Zaragoza, which is almost like a grand hotel in terms of its size. Our room was large and the hallway long. 

Madrid and Toledo

We arrived in Madrid on a hot Saturday afternoon via high speed train. Atocha train station is massive and we even had a travelator to aid us get to the exit. Heavily armed police were standing around and we would see more of them in other busy locations in Madrid. The streets were very busy on the way to the hotel, which fortunately wasn't too far, and as much as possible we walked in the shade of buildings as the late afternoon temperature reached 40C. There are many small eateries and tapas bars near the hotel so that was easy for us, some of them quite crowded on a Saturday night.

On Sunday we had a day trip to Toledo, and we headed off in plenty of time to the train station as we figured it might be difficult to locate our train. There are two different levels for train access and we needed help to locate the entry to the 'baja' level. All bags have to be X-rayed. It only took half an hour by fast train to arrive at the very attractive railway station of Toledo. Even though it was forecast to be 39C, the morning was pleasant, so we could walk up to the viewing point. We lost count of the number of tour buses on this road, we had not seen so many since Istanbul. Toledo was once the capital of Spain and the large building that towers over the city is the Alcazar, now a military museum. The artist, El Greco, is a famous former resident. Fortunately most of the streets are very narrow and shaded, giving relief from the sun to the many tourists in town.

On Monday we walked around Madrid, which seems a pleasant place for a capital. We came across a gourmet market which sells an amazing selection of tapas, so we had a tasty breakfast. There are so many places offering appetising food snacks, you would never go hungry here. We appreciated the large, shady parks in the city, as well as free entry day to the Thyssen-Bornemisza art museum.

Plaza de Mayor, Madrid

A beautiful garden bed of geraniums in Madrid.

Córdoba

Another comfortable ride on the AVE high speed train delivered us to Córdoba. We were actually on it long enough to receive a drink. When we arrived at Córdoba and walked the long length of the train we could see the majority of the carriages were not in service. We presume that is because the train goes down to the Costa del Sol full, and then they bring back the empty carriages to Madrid to fill them up again for the return journey.

The dry heat in the afternoon is intense in Córdoba, so we took relief in the Mezquita, a former mosque with a 16th century church in the middle. It is a vast building with over 800 columns topped with red and white arches. We found it one of the most interesting sights of our trip. No queues either.

We are staying at another NH hotel, well situated half way between the railway station and the Mezquita. Lovely big and quiet rooms. There is a basic restaurant on the plaza near by that was handy for us. Their grilled squid was very good, glad we avoided the pork lung stew.

Nerja

Our next destination was Nerja, a coastal town east of Malaga. The one and a half hour bus trip wound through the never ending developments on the Costa del Sol, our usual travel companions being the young and the old. Nerja has an attractive setting, with great views from the Balcon de Europa. It's a busy place with tourists enjoying lying in the sun. Burriana beach, a 20 minute walk from the centre of town, looks like the best choice, with many sun beds available and restaurants along the beach. We enjoyed paella for lunch here. We are staying in a very centrally located small hotel, Puerta del Mar, which has a nice, quiet roof top pool.

Malaga

We returned to Granada for a couple of nights and have got very spoiled with the generous serves of free tapas. We now have to adapt to life before these treats.

From Granada to Malaga part of our trip was by high speed train. We picked it up at Antequera St Ana station. We were the only ones boarding and had to make a run for it as the first carriage pulling in was no. 32 and we were in carriage 5, with an engine dividing the train. It is the longest train and platform we have ever seen. They only allow 1 minutes at the station and we were beckoned by the conductors to hurry up and jump into carriage 11 from which we could walk through to our seats. The train was full. It only took 20 minutes to reach Malaga, at speeds of up to 300 km/h.

Malaga is the gateway to the Costa de Sol, with an airport as well as the high speed train.

The side of town near the railway station is not appealing with roadworks and ugly apartment blocks, but the town centre has a very attractive shopping district, complete with a shade cloth covered main street, as we also saw in Granada. What a good idea! The harbour area has been attractively renewed with nice promenades. We climbed up to the old castle for great views of the city. As per usual there is no end of dining options and the city really comes alive in the evening.

On Tuesday we caught a bus to Marbella, which claims to be a ritzy town on the Costa de Sol. The beach and sea front area were nothing special, but there is a very attractive old town with narrow streets and flower baskets and a good choice of restaurants.

Bus travel is very easy and comfortable and is a good alternative when trains aren't available. We will probably explore more destinations with bus when we revisit Spain.

The above photos are all of Marbella.

Shade cloth protection in Malaga.

Malaga

Sierra Nevada

On Wednesday we caught the bus to Capileira, a small village in the Alpujarras, on the southern flank of the Sierra Nevada. The bus climbed up to over 1400m along winding mountain roads, it was an enjoyable ride. Our hotel, Real de Poqueira is situated on a small village square, and is a restored old village house. It has great breakfasts for only 5 euro, and a 25 m swimming pool that we have pretty well to ourselves, as it is low season up here. The white washed houses in the village are decorated with pots of colourful geraniums. Hydrangeas are plentiful also. We also have appreciated the oleanders that are planted in profusion in this part of the country. They make the roadsides bright with colour. 

We found a wonderful small restaurant that only seats 10 people and specialises in wild boar and venison. Home style cooking with lots of vegetables. They serve a local rose from an unlabelled bottle that is very good. Servings are big as per usual around here and you get lots of extras - olives, cured meat, desert and a digestive all on the house. We ate there two nights, but unfortunately they were closed on our third night. Opening hours tend to be quite random.

We have enjoyed some long walks around the Poquiera gorge and to other small villages in the area. It is a relief to come back to the pool as the temperatures are in the low 30s.

Granada

On Monday we moved on to Granada, by train from Ronda and then were transferred to a bus at Antequera as the rail line has been out for some time due to track works. It was a nice trip through the Andalusian countryside, olive plantations being the main agricultural activity. The trains and stations we have been to in Spain have all been very clean and well maintained. Antequera St. Ana, where we did the bus transfer is brand new, and it looks like the new track work is for high speed trains. It is a good mode of travel in Spain.

Granada is a bustling city, with many young people as it is a university town. It is quite noisy and there are lots of motorbikes. We are staying at an NH Collection hotel, as we did in Seville, and appreciate the sound proofing, they have both been lovely places to stay. That night we went to dinner at an Andalusian restaurant and had an amazing feast of seven courses. It was a struggle! You certainly do not go hungry in this part of Spain.

The next day we hardly ate, apart from the free tapas you get whenever you order a drink in Granada.

We visited the Alhambra, one of the great sights of Europe. Beautiful gardens, a Moorish palace and a fort. It is well worth seeing, the highlight being the Palacios Nazaries. It is such a popular sight, you need to buy your tickets days ahead, and are allotted a specific entry time. The palace was built in the 14th century and gives an insight into the civilisation of Al-Andalus - rooms decorated with carved wooden ceilings, stucco 'stalactites', ceramic tiles, filigree windows and molded plaster walls; open air courtyards with ponds. 

The cathedral in Granada is very grand, but at the Monastery of St Jeronimo we saw a very striking church with fresco covered walls.