Here it is–the unedited photo dump from the trip. I apologize in advance for any duplicates, thumbs on the lens, or other irritants–but there are some amazing photos in the mix. I’ll clean things up as I find time. Some photos may appear in more than one album. Seville, City Scenes Seville, Real Alcazar Seville, Cathedral Seville, Salvador Cathedral Seville, Archivo de las Indias Seville, Museo des Belles Artes Córdoba, City Scenes Córdoba, La Mezquita Ronda, City Scenes Ronda, Arab…
Thirty minutes (and 37€ para ida y vuelta, para dos) from Madrid via high speed train lies Toledo. It’s mythical, mystical reputation is well deserved once you peer through the heavy veil of tourismo. Behind the armories (need any swords or suits of armor?), the souvenir shops, and the tiendas mazapánes you’ll find yourself standing in as close to a medieval city as you can be. And try the mazapán. It’s delicious and not at all like the marzipan that…
We chose to stay in B&Bs wherever possible. (Ronda was the exception.) We hoped that having a personal connection would give us access to information and suggestions that were out of the way or had local flavor. That proved to be true in every case. Seville B&B Case Alfareria 59 Alfareria 59, Triana, Seville, 41010 ES The Good: Location in Triana, an easy walk to Real Alcázar, Seville Cathedral, ceramics shops, the old city (Santa Cruz) Hosts Carlo and…
…it’s time to leave. Tomorrow morning we head to the Madrid airport to begin a two-day journey back to Montana. (We decided to break the trip up in Charlotte for some rest.) Here are some final thoughts. I want to come back. Or live here. I said it before and I’ll say it again. The buses and trains in Spain are a delight. The stations are clean and modern (even the ones occupying buildings that predate Columbus), they’re fast, they…
So far every locality we have visited has yielded a hidden gem –a museum, cathedral, garden, plaza, neighborhood, or other attraction that wasn’t on our radar but which provided a nice surprise. Madrid is the largest, most diverse place we’ve visited, and for the time we’ve had here, the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza has been that gem. Yes, another art museum. The Thyssen is small but it has a marvelous collection of impressionist and modern paintings. Rick Steves describes it as having…
If you visit Madrid, take at least a morning to visit the National Archelogical Museum. The museum traces the anthropology of the Iberian peninsula from stone age prehistory through the present time with an innovative and expertly curated series of exhibits, including some well-produced videos and stunning collections of artifacts. (The museum also includes a fine Egyptian exhibition and an extensive Greek exhibit from the museum’s archaeological digs in the late 1800s. The museum itself was founded in 1867.) The…
The Prado museum in Madrid holds one of the two or three most important collections of European masters anywhere in the world. Painters and sculptors from the 12th to the 20th century are represented not only by well-known masterworks but also by sheer volume and scope of their work. We spent an entire day in the Prado. Photos are not permitted once you enter the extensive facility, so all you’ll see is a few shots of the building exterior, which…
We arrived in Madrid on Saturday evening and the first thing that struck us was the mass of humanity in every nook and cranny. Which is why it was surprising that at 10:00 am on Sunday the streets were practically deserted. We decided to see the Reina Sofia first, as we did not have advanced tickets and we thought the lines would be shorter. In fact, there was no line at all. When we left after an extraordinary three hours,…
When you’re a sultan and you need some time off from the rigors of life in the Palacio Nazaríes–you know, the daily grind of sitting around on Persian rugs smoking hookahs and munching on pomegranates–you’d retreat to Generalife, a three-room escape built a half mile or so up the hill from the Palacio. The main attraction here are the gardens and the pools. The fountains were added in the 19th century. The Moors preferred still pools to running water as…
If you climb up the parapet walls in Alhambra and look down on the city of Granada, it’s difficult to miss a grand, sprawling cathedral not far from the base of the hills in which Alhambra is situated. The Granada Cathedral is the second largest church in Spain and one of only two Renaissance cathedrals in the country. (Spain went all in for the Gothic look, apparently.) Admission is four euros and it’s worth spending half a day (or more,…
