Andalusia Tour

Orio al Serio - Granada

The Ryanair trip goes wonderfully, except that at check-in they are super strict about kilos and centimeters: so many people in line to pay the "overweight charge", circus scenes of people moving shoes and clothes from one piece of luggage to another...

Granada is a simple town to get around and very human-scale (or student-scale: it really seems like a university city).

The tourist route includes the Capilla Real and the Cathedral (majestic), the Arab market of the Alcaiceria (truly typical), the Cartuja (what an effort to get there on foot!!!).

Unmissable is the Alhambra and the gardens of the Generalife: it is advisable to book from Italy to avoid a long line. Better to go in the morning (especially in the hot seasons) to avoid the most scorching heat.

For dinner, many suggest the Bodega Casteñeta, which however disappointed us a bit. Much more exciting was the stop in Caldereria Nueva, where there are many Arab tea houses (and you eat quite well)

Granada - Cordoba

Along the route, someone suggests detouring to Ubeda and Baeza (two Renaissance gems), but we prefer to go straight on.

Cordoba is very small and can probably be seen in just one day. Given the heat and the tiredness, in the "extra" time we treat ourselves to a real Arab bath: an hour and a half of pure relaxation, among the hot, cold and warm pools. I also treat myself to a relaxing massage. And after the relaxation, we treat ourselves to further refreshment at the adjacent Teteria.

Interesting to visit the Mezquita, the Roman bridge (avoid the windmills: disappointing), the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos and of course the white and yellow (and very narrow) alleys of the Juderia

Cordoba - Seville

This time we accept the guidebooks' advice and stop in Ecija, famous for its beautiful (and numerous) bell towers, but also for its storks.

Seville is a beautiful city, worth walking around, to discover hidden corners and famous monuments.

Among the monuments: the Old Tobacco Factory (setting of Bizet's Carmen), the beautiful Plaza de España (who knows if Italy too will build such beautiful things for the Expo!!!), the Cathedral (with the supposed tomb of Christopher Columbus) and the Giralda (an easy climb for everyone), the Alcazares reales, the Casa de Pilatos (a typical Andalusian house), the Basilica de la Macarena (patron of the bullfighters).

We instead skip the Plaza de Toros (arena), since many advised against it, given that we will pass through Ronda.

Among the characteristic things: - a dip in the fountain of the Plaza de España, a real cure-all in the hottest moments - the sweets of the cloistered nuns, which can be purchased through the famous "wheel": we managed at the Convent of the Sisters of Santa Ines on calle Maria Coronel

To eat, you absolutely must choose a round of "tapas" in the Barrio de Santa Cruz and if you can, a good stop at Las Teresas.

For a flamenco show in a not very touristy place (therefore without dinner and lots of chatter), we booked a seat in the courtyard of the cultural center La Casa De La Memoria (

Seville - Jerez - Cadiz

We leave Seville and its vitality to head towards the sea, but first we stop in Jerez de La Frontera to visit the famous wine and sherry cellars.

They had also recommended the Real Escuela del Arte Ecuestre Andaluza, but there are not shows or training sessions every day and unfortunately today there is nothing.

Instead we visit the beautiful Tio Pepe cellars, where there are guided tours in various languages and where a tasting of some sherries is also included. The visit is extremely interesting, while the quality of the wine will hardly be able to win over an Italian. A bit more satisfaction could come from the sherry, but... we are not English.

Cadiz is a renowned seaside resort, so the quality of the hotels goes down and the prices go up. Fortunately we stop only two nights (and perhaps it could even have been skipped).

Beach and sea are not wonderful, but the temperature is acceptable and we manage a good swim.

Much more interesting instead is the Cathedral (especially at sunset).

Cadiz - Tarifa - Algeciras

On the road from Cadiz to Tarifa, for those interested, you can see Cape Trafalgar (the very one of Admiral Nelson)

Finding a room in Tarifa is not easy, especially if you have opted for a last minute, as we did. Algeciras is decidedly less beautiful, but the hotel we ended up with is not bad at all.

Anyway, Tarifa is the southernmost point of Europe, where the Mediterranean and the Atlantic meet, where you can admire the African coast. The sea is truly spectacular, but the water is unfortunately freezing; the Atlantic side, very windy, is particularly loved by European surfers.

From Algeciras you can take ferries to Africa (especially Tangier), but for this time we have to pass, there are other stops waiting for us.

Algeciras - Gibraltar - Ronda

To "cross the border," instead, we treat ourselves to a stop on the rock of Gibraltar... To avoid the line we leave the car in Spain and cross the border on foot, passing right through the middle of the airport runway, together with other pedestrians, buses and cars.

Gibraltar is truly and entirely English: from the street signs, to the telephone booths, through the menus and the souvenirs. And it is English in its prices too: much more expensive than Spain.

Thanks to the cable car (and after several meters of line) we reach the top of the rock, where you can admire a wonderful landscape, provided you can tear your eyes away from the numerous monkeys.

By the way, to avoid unpleasant episodes with the monkeys (thefts), it is better not to hold food or plastic bags in your hand.

We go down on foot, avoiding (more than anything else for lack of time) the various museums we come across. And before returning to Spanish soil, we treat ourselves to an excellent fish & chips.

Ronda is a very small village, perched on the mountains, overlooking gorges. But it is also the cradle of the main bullfighting families.

Must-see: the Puente Nuevo (very high) and the Plaza de Toros (which you can tour freely without a guide).

Ronda - Malaga

We chose a hotel in Alhaurin el Grande: very nice and cozy (with a lovely pool), but really hard to find, even though I had printed out the route from Google Maps.

Anyway, it was a great base for visiting a couple of nearby spots.

Malaga We visit the cathedral (Manquita), the Alcazaba (a bit disappointing), Gibralfaro (you absolutely have to go by car or bus). For eating, don't miss El Pimpi (Cathedral area)

Marbella The historic quarter is very nice, but absolutely not suitable for shopping, since all the shop windows are now designer-branded.

To our great disappointment, the sea in this area isn't at all nice and the beach is made of scorching hot black sand. Luckily our little out-of-the-way hotel had a pool!!!!