My Andalucían Adventure

In this week's blog post, I'll be writing about my two-weeks travels around Andalucía, Southern Spain. Before I began my year abroad, I had a bucket list of Spanish destinations to visit while I was there. Granada, Málaga, Seville and Córdoba had been at the top of the list. I'd never visited Andalucía before, so I was very excited to experience another region of Spain.

I travelled by bus through Andalucía, starting in Murcia and travelling to Granada, then Málaga, then Seville, then Córdoba and finally, back to Murcia, spending three or four nights in Airbnbs in each destination.

Arriving in Granada, we instantly noticed the temperature rise that people back in Murcia had warned me about! 

Granada is such a beautiful city. Go if you want to see a traditional part of Spain as it is very old and bohemian. The city is also very green, not really what you expect when Andalucía has a very dry climate.

The architecture in Granada is visually stunning. The Cathedral is a must as there's so much gold everywhere.

In the city centre, you'll find architecture reminiscent of Paris, with flowers lining the streets. 

GOLD!

the city centre of Granada - a blend of modern and old with beaut French buildings

We walked down El Paseo De Los Tristes and checked off another item on my bucket list - seeing an authentic Flamenco show in one of the cuevas. The show was so passionate and you could tell how much the flamenco singer, guitar player and dancer loved what they did. We then went for dinner and I had one of Spain's specialties, fried fish (octopus, squid and small fish) with a slice of tortilla, all with a view of the Alhambra walls above us. 

Italy, France or Spain?

Olé, eso, olé

The next day, I visited La Alhambra which has been on my Spanish bucket list forever, and it was even more impressive than I had imagined. All the gardens were so beautiful and the buildings looked like something out of Aladdin. I literally couldn't stop staring at the architecture and the view of the city from the top was something else. 

We are big fans of the Alhambra!

The next stop on our tour of the South was Málaga. I thought it would just be a standard touristy Spanish city full of English tourists but it was so much more. The cathedral and buildings were beautiful, and the streets were filled with charming restaurants with typical Spanish dishes and shops selling unique trinkets and souvenirs. As well as that, we had the coastal breeze in Málaga which was a welcome relief after Granada's heat. I truly consider it as one of my favourite Spanish cities as it has such a chilled vibe but there's also loads to do and see.

We walked around the Alcazaba and had some wine afterwards in the famous El Pimpi Bodega Bar. This is quite a funky bar with vines crawling up the walls and wine barrels signed by celebrities who have visited. I finally got my hands on some Porto wine which I had been missing ever since I had left Portugal.

Meu vinho favorito...

Spain's answer to the Louvre?

Then we braved the heat for a long walk up to the Castillo del Gibralfaro. The panoramic views of the city was well worth the walk even though my legs were like jelly when we reached the Castle. From the top, you can see the Cathedral, the harbour and also Málaga's bull ring. 

During the night, we found a rooftop bar called Oasis in the city centre. The bar served caipairinhas - a Brazilian cocktail which are similar to mojitos which are unreal. Then after, we went for some dancing at a nightclub where we got soaked by water guns!

Coolest bar ever

The next day, we went for a walk in El Paseo del Parque, a stretch of gardens at the port of Málaga which provide a bit of shade from the sun. We also went down to the port to look at the sea and the boats docked. There's a shopping and restaurant complex down at the harbour with great souvenir shops and I couldn't resist buying a few trinkets to take home with me.

We also spent a day at the beach in Málaga. We went to La Playa La Caleta, which is lovely because it has a nice sandy beach but also a lawn of grass to lie on and sun-bathe when you get sick of the sand getting everywhere! I was surprised the beach wasn't more packed seeing as it was June time but it was good for us as there were plenty of spots to take in the rays.

Bliss...

We spent our last night, exploring Málaga and getting some nice night-time photos.
We also watched a group of Fifties-style dancers performing in front of the Alcazaba which was lit up at night. It was a perfect end to our trip to Málaga.

The next day, we set off to Sevilla. The heat blasted us as soon as we got off the bus and we realised it was gonna be desert-like temperatures from now on. 😳

The first attraction we went to see was Plaza de España, which was every bit as beautiful as it looked in photos I had seen of it. Another item on the bucket-list was checked off when we rowed a boat around the plaza, furiously waving our wooden fans to cool us down.

Mira que cosa bonita...

All around the plaza were the different cities of Spain in tiles, and I found my own city, Murcia and the town where I lived, Alhama.

ALHAMA-zing

Racing around La Plaza in our boat

After cooling down with some granizados, we walked around the city and explored the Alcazar de Sevilla, which reminded me a lot of the Alhambra with the arabic designs of the palace.





We also walked around La Giralda, which is surrounded by horses and carts, making you feel as if you're in a different century.

The next day, we went to the Metropol Parasol, a mirador which looks like honeycomb where you can see Sevilla from above.



Though the heat may have inhibited us from spending the whole day exploring, we got to see Seville's most important tourist attractions. We also witnessed the Corpus Christi festival, where there were displays of religious figures around the city.

After Sevilla, it was time for the hottest of our destinations - Córdoba. The temperature during the day was in the early 40 degrees, which for two Northern Irish girls, was like being inside of an oven! There was even a street called Horno de Cristo (Christ's Oven) which I thought should be renamed Satan's Oven, because that was how hot it was! However, that wasn't going to stop us from exploring.

The main attraction in Córdoba is the Mezquita, a mosque which is inside of a Catholic Church. The mosque was built in 784, which is unbelievable to think about when you are standing within its walls. We also walked up the Bell Tower for a view of Córdoba from above.

Afterwards, we ticked off another of Córdoba's tourist attractions - La Calleja de Flores. We managed to get a few photos of it empty just before a crowd of Chinese tourists came along!
The street looked just as pretty as it appeared in all the postcards and photos I had seen of Córdoba.

The next day, we got up to see the Alzacar de los Reyes Cristianos, a fortress with beautiful gardens. Southern Spain is so worth it to visit the different Alcazars and gardens.

One of the highlights of our trip to Córdoba was, without a doubt, our visit to the Hammam Al Andalus Arabic Baths, where we went for a massage and an hour in the baths. There were three baths - one lukewarm pool, hot baths and then ice cold baths. After a hot, sweaty day walking around Córdoba, unwinding at the spa was such a treat, and a wonderful ending to our two weeks travelling around Andalucía. The sweet arabic tea they served was so delicious too!

On our last night in Córdoba, we ventured out to see an international flamenco festival which was taking place in various parts of the city. It was so hot in La Plaza de Las Tendillas that we grabbed some paper fans and tinto de verano to cool ourselves down. After the flamenco performance, we walked down to the Mezquita to see the Bell Tower lit up at night. We sat down inside the Mezquita grounds, pouring water from the fountain over ourselves before eventually giving in and going home as it was far too hot (37 degrees at night!). Thankfully, we had a fan in our airbnb which we were pressed up against all night until the air-con came on!

Overall impressions of Andalucía : It's a lot more traditional than other parts of Spain I have visited and the cities are very picturesque with beautiful buildings and surroundings. The food is also one of the highlights and the main cities there have plenty of amazing restaurants and tapas bars. I already can't wait to go back some day, maybe at a cooler time of the year! So hasta luego, Andalucía...