Andalucía (21st to 29th September 2009)

Ralph, Michael, Callum and myself decided to visit southern Spain in September 2009. We flew from Stansted to Málaga on Monday 21st September, where we spent 2 nights, followed by 2 nights in Jerez de la Frontera, 2 nights in Cádiz, and 2 nights in Seville.

Málaga

We arrived quite late in the evening of Monday 21st September and, after a bit of a hike from the train station, checked into our hostel, nestled in a side street off the Plaza de la Merced. We spent Tuesday in Málaga, visiting the Roman amphitheatre, Moorish Alcazaba and Gibralfaro, the Museo Picasso, and the harbour, before having dinner in a restaurant overlooked by the huge Renaissance cathedral.















Jerez de la Frontera

The next morning we took a train to Jerez de la Frontera (of sherry fame). We went on a tour of the Tío Pepe sherry bodega (including road train ride!), where we observed the sherry cellars, containing barrels signed by celebrities past and present, and sampled various sweet and fino sherries (plus some grape brandy for good measure!).









We spent the first part of Thursday exploring Jerez's fine Alcazar, which included a fascinating olive press, mosque, and traditional Moorish gardens.








In the afternoon, we caught a bus to the hill town of Arcos de la Frontera, where we wandered around the winding streets of the old town, whose white buildings perched precipitously on the cliff overlooking the Andalucían plains below.









Cádiz

A short train ride on Thursday morning brought us into the harbour town of Cádiz, best known as the place where the Armada sailed from to battle Drake's fleet in the late 16th century. We found a small pension to stay at in the old town, and then caught a bus to Conil de la Frontera on the Costa de la Luz, where we spent the afternoon on the beach. We returned to Cádiz for dinner in a square in the old town.







Thunderstorms throughout Saturday scuppered our plan to take a boat trip across the harbour to El Puerto de Santa Maria. Instead, we wandered round Cádiz, spending the morning in a museum, and then walking along the great sea battlements.









Seville

On Sunday morning we caught a train to Seville. We spent the afternoon visiting the great Alcázar, enjoying the stunning, intricate Moorish architecture and peaceful, sprawling gardens, including an amazing musical fountain which burst into life every hour (see video)!















In the evening, we enjoyed a traditional Andalucían supper of tapas, before going on to a packed flamenco bar (see video) tucked away in a side street of the old city.



On Monday we first took a stroll through the old city down to the bank of the river Guadalquivir. We went on a tour of the city bullring, before walking back into the city centre past the Torre del Oro.











In the afternoon, we visited the gigantic Gothic cathedral, and climbed the Giralda, a Moorish minaret turned bell-tower following the Reconquista, where we were rewarded with fantastic views over Seville.















We then wandered out of the city centre, through the university, to the grand Plaza de España. We had tapas and sherry for our final dinner in Spain, and flew back to Stansted early on Tuesday morning.