Spain: Granada and Seville

We flew Vueling Airlines from Barcelona to Granada, which is in Spain’s Andalucia region. This most southerly region of the country is known for offering some of the most authentic, if not typical, Spanish experiences: bullfighting, free tapas, flamenco, etc. Granada proved to be a friendly, hip and historic city, all while offering an interesting Muslim influence due to its proximity to northern Africa. Granada’s must see attraction is the famous Alhambra, a 9th century fortress that was converted into a fortress-palace complex during the 13th and 14th centuries. Now, impressive ruins remain to explore…if you’re lucky enough to get in. Tickets to visit the site are very limited, so we bought ours in advance several days earlier online. Once inside the fairy-tale like fortress, we explored the ancient palace, the former military barracks and the fantastic gardens called Generalife.

Although Alhambra is the big story in Granada, we also thoroughly enjoyed walking around the Albayzin area, the old Muslim quarter, the beautiful views from Mirador San Nicolas, an old hilltop church, and we even had fun losing miserably at Quiz Night at the lively Irish pub in town.

After a couple of days in Granada, we boarded a shiny new train to Seville, Andalucia’s picturesque and surprisingly hip capital city. We both loved Seville. It’s a beautiful mid-sized city that is rich with authenticity, history and is easily walkable. During our days here, we strolled the city’s beautiful historic district, Barrio Santa Cruz, we gawked at the massive cathedral, watched foot traffic in the plazas, wandered the botanical gardens, crossed the Bridge to Triana, sat along the riverside walkway, and…well, you get the picture. We genuinely enjoyed the sites, especially wandering around the old streets in Barrio Santa Cruz, but what took the cake in Seville was our two trips to an awesome, character-filled bodega . Here, the menu was translated by the one patron who knew English, we devoured tasty tapas, drank good red wine, and listened to the local crowd banter in Spanish.