In Andalusia in the scorching summer of 2003

SEVILLE 1ST DAY

We arrive in Seville right on time and, after picking up my trolley, which has been almost completely destroyed on the flight, we head to the car rental desk to pick up our car, booked months earlier, and then begin our trip, planned entirely by ourselves.

The itinerary consists of 7 stops about 100/150 km apart from one another. The roads are comfortable, major highways. The journeys are quick, leaving plenty of time available for visiting the cities.

We head to our hotel in Seville, booked, like all the other hotels on the trip, online after carefully visiting their respective home pages.

Hotels in Andalusia, like many other things, cost decidedly less than in Italy; precisely for this reason we have chosen a series of particular accommodations, completely different in style from one another, ranging from the modest hostel to the luxurious Parador.

We finally begin visiting the city, terribly hot in August, and moreover during one of the hottest summers in history. But the enthusiasm of the trip gives us the strength to endure the situation, reconciling the moments for sightseeing with the cooler periods of the day (the whole morning and the evening).

Note: In Seville, as in other Spanish cities, on Mondays all the museums are practically closed on rotation; so we settle for visiting the exteriors.

The Santa Cruz district, where our hotel is located, is fascinating, with its beautiful narrow streets, colourful little squares and lots of characteristic outdoor restaurants. Too bad it is too hot to sit outside. Better to look for places with air conditioning inside!

We also visit the first of a long series of Plaza de Toros (bullfighting arenas) and have dinner based on fish "Tapas" (tapas = small portions or tastes of various foods).

SEVILLE 2ND day

It's finally Tuesday! The museums will be open today!

First of all we visit the beautiful Plaza d'Espana. Even with some work in progress, it is particularly striking. We are especially fascinated by the numerous Azulejos (mosaics made of decorated tiles) dedicated to the main Spanish cities. From there we move on to the adjoining Maria Luisa Park, where we treat ourselves to a walk among small ponds and fountains. Back by taxi to the old town and finally we visit the "Real Alcazares", a visit that will remain impressed in our memory for the beauty and sumptuousness of the place. We remain enchanted by the arabesques that decorate entire walls and by the beautiful fountains. We avoid visiting the interior of the famous Seville Cathedral because of the long queue and above all the ticket price, which we considered "unfair" for visiting a religious place in which we are not particularly interested.

We prefer to the cathedral the beautiful Casa De Pilato, which is located in a slightly out-of-the-way position but which is definitely worth a visit. Also decorated in Moorish style, it is rich in decorations and pleasing to the eye. After that we dedicate ourselves to shopping, buying the first souvenirs: the selection is varied in Spain, you just have to know how to choose (ceramics, fans, jewellery, plush bulls, miniature houses, etc., etc.).

Dinner in one of the many restaurants in Santa Cruz that offer fixed-price menus, rather affordable (about EUR 25.00 for dinner for 2). Typical dishes recommended: the classic "Paella" (with fish and with meat) and "Gazpacho" (cold vegetable soup).

JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA AND CADIZ

We leave Seville, heading for Cadiz with a stop in Jerez de la Frontera.

A rather disappointing city that, in our opinion, does not deserve a stop except as a technical one.

We visit the pedestrian island with quite a few modern shops; there is also a small Alcazar, but we decide to skip it since we consider it decidedly inferior to the one in Seville.

The main attraction of the city seems to be the factory or distillery of the famous Sherry Tio Pepe, but, not being particularly interested in it, we get back in the car, heading for Cadiz, where we will spend the night.

Cadiz does not enthuse us that much either: a seafaring city, or rather a port city, narrow streets with little shops but no interesting building to visit. The sea is not particularly inviting either, but since we are very overheated, we treat ourselves to a swim at the city's only crowded public beach.

An aperitif based on good Sangria, which will become a pleasant habit for us, in the charming little square of our hotel, and an abundant dinner in a small outdoor restaurant. Then bed, difficult because of the air conditioning malfunctioning in the room.

ARCOS DE LA FRONTERA, RONDA

We leave Cadiz without regret and head towards our next stop: Ronda.

First, though, a stop recommended by our extremely efficient Mondadori guide: Arcos de la Frontera, a typical pueblo blanco (white village) perched at a certain altitude.

The village is small but nice; we take some photos that will later turn out particularly bright. I also take the opportunity to buy a new trolley to replace the one destroyed by the zealous baggage handlers at the airport. We set off again, crossing enchanting places in the middle of the sierra: semi-desert landscapes, so much green but, suddenly, lakes of a particular intense blue appear before our eyes.

We arrive in Ronda and are struck by the beauty of the place. A striking and very tall ancient bridge divides the old town from the new one, both extremely charming.

The old town is very quiet, very white and very romantic; it invites you to stroll, inspecting every single narrow street. We visit Mondragon Palace, appreciating in particular the inner courtyards, the small gardens and the ever-present water sources. In the old town there are other palaces open to visitors, but for reasons of time and cost we have to make choices, and so we move on to visit the new town with its pedestrian streets full of shops and restaurants. We choose the restaurant for the evening, with outdoor tables along the street, but first we stop at the bar of the local Parador to treat ourselves to a small luxury. The Paradores are a typically Spanish hotel chain, characterised by luxury hotels located in striking historic buildings (inns, convents, period palazzi, etc.).

But our accommodation in Ronda is no less: a cheerful farm stay in a convenient and enchanting location, with a small pool surrounded by flowers, a bed with a mosquito net, rustic furniture, breakfast with natural products in the garden.

MARBELLA - MALAGA

The first stop of the day is Marbella. We decided to stop in such a touristy and culturally poor place only because, in researching, we learned that Marbella has an interesting old town. In fact the old town surprises us with its cheerfulness and colours: painted houses, flowering plants on the walls and luxurious shops laid out nevertheless with a certain taste and an eye for local tradition. We completely skip the glamorous part of the city and set off again.

Our trip, planned months in advance at the drawing board after carefully studying no fewer than 4 tourist guides and countless websites, was characterised by the alternation of days with beautiful stops and days that were less interesting.

Today it is the turn of the not very interesting stop.

Unexpectedly Malaga turns out to be a decidedly modern city.

The only thing worth visiting is the Alcazaba: remains of an ancient palace characterised by ancient walls, columns and a few pools.

The city centre, however, is depressing: decidedly modern and crowded with mass tourism in search of nothing but the kind of fun typical of the Costa del Sol.

We therefore retreat to our luxurious Parador, where we console ourselves with a pleasant swim in the pool, with the luxuries of the beautiful room and with the gargantuan breakfast the following morning that we will hardly forget.

GRANADA

Today should be the turn of the "beautiful" stop, and so it is: Granada.

The main attraction of Granada is the famous Alhambra: a complex of buildings from different eras and styles that dominates the hill above the city. Following the suggestions of some tourist guide, we book the entrance tickets online months in advance, so at the entrance we have no difficulty or loss of time.

We visit the buildings one after another, but our attention is drawn to the palace with the arabesques in relief on the walls, with beautiful fountains and large water basins, and to the gardens of the Generalife.

A characteristic of the Generalife is the continuous sound of water in the background: splashing water everywhere coming from the beautiful fountains that characterise the garden, rich in flowers and plants.

The city of Granada is not bad either: beautiful views and many characteristic little shops that invite shopping.

Our hotel, tonight, is in a characteristic period palazzo located in a small alley, with wooden balconies and a charming patio (inner courtyard with arches).

BAEZA, UBEDA, JAEN

We travel pleasantly for about 100 km, completely surrounded by orderly rows of olive trees. Olive trees and more olive trees as far as the eye can see, interspersed with the occasional charming white farmhouse.

First we visit the two small towns of Baeza and Ubeda, close to each other but which turn out to be quite disappointing and not very interesting after the glories of Granada, despite being described by the guide as "pearls of the Renaissance". Who knows!

We head towards Jaen, where we completely skip visiting the city centre to head for our beautiful Parador located near the castle of Santa Catilina.

The castle, in truth, consists only of ruins, but the adjoining Parador, built with the very same stones as the castle, turns out to be a surprising place.

A real castle rebuilt with large halls with fireplaces and period furniture.

Refreshing swim in the large pool and a luxurious dinner in the Parador restaurant.

CORDOVA OR CORDOBA?

Cordoba is the most colourful city in Andalusia. Completely in Arab style, it is characterised by the numerous patios full of flowers, with terracotta pots hanging on the walls. Every little souvenir shop and every restaurant has its own patio decorated in the imaginative local style. We visit almost all of them: photos and video camera footage abound. The patio was in ancient times the cool place of the house; a small inner courtyard where one could refresh oneself sheltered from the torrid outside temperatures. We visit the famous Mezquita and are amazed by the richness of the decorations. The Mezquita is a mosque, partly destroyed to make room for a Christian cathedral. In the same building the two different cultures thus blend, granting the viewer an alternation of styles that is nothing short of spectacular.

In the afternoon, I drag my reluctant fiancé to the Arab Baths.

An unforgettable experience, at least for yours truly: the Arab baths are characterised by a series of pools at different temperatures. So you go from the cold of the first pool, to the warmth of the second, all the way to the boiling heat of the third pool. But the atmosphere is what strikes you most: a place all in arches, candlelight, the scent of incense and a silence that is hard to maintain, caught up as we are in the enthusiasm of the experience.

But alas, it is our last day and melancholy begins to creep into our souls.

So we spend our last Andalusian night in an original Arab-style Hostal.

CORDOVA AND BACK

Before heading to Seville airport, we still have a little time. So we visit, very early in the morning, the Alcazar of Cordoba. The Alcazar is not particularly interesting, but the gardens are charming, well kept and full of fountains. We thus appreciate our last cultural visit and head to the airport for the return trip, which fortunately takes place without mishaps. We enjoy the layover in the very tidy Brussels airport, full of beautiful shops that entertain us pleasantly between one flight and the next.

Well, we're home, holiday over.

All that's left is to console ourselves with the countless photos we took, but we are nonetheless happy to have spent a splendid holiday completely do-it-yourself. We did well, didn't we?

Of course we could have skipped a stop or two like Cadiz or Malaga, but that way we gained a more complete view of Andalusia.

DANI AND MAX to find out more, visit our website:

texts by Daniela photos by Max