Valencia to Ronda
The train to Valencia was fairly painless, only because we were one of the first passengers on board so we could stow our large bags in the very small area designated for them. Others had to keep theirs in the aisle. Bill sat in front of me, and his seat seemed to be broken and would spin out to the right and rock. He was pretty aggravated, and it wasn’t fun for me either since my tray table was attached to the back of his seat and it was in constant motion. Near the end of our 4-hour trip a porter came through and in one move clamped it into place.
Our Airbnb was not in a very nice an area, so I was a little worried, until we got up the five flights of stairs (There was no elevator again but our host met us at the door and helped me carry up the luggage. When did I become the old man that other men help with the heavy stuff?) and found a lovely apartment. Not only was it tastefully furnished with a great bed, comfy couch and full kitchen, the host had provided a dozen bottles of water, 3 bottles of wine, a 6 pack of beer, horchata, fartons – like donuts for eating while drinking horchata and several chocolate-filled mini croissants. (We don’t get treated this well when we visit family).
Turia Fountain
Our sightseeing took us to the Central Market, Turia Fountain, Valencia Cathedral, and Basilica de la Mare de Deu Desemparats. We went inside the Palace of the Marquis of Dos Aguas where the Regal Ceramics Museum was located, but the highlight was the Church of San Nicolas de Bari and San Pedro Mártir which is described as “The Sistine Chapel of Valencia”. The entrance was down a short non-descript alley, so no fancy exterior that we saw, and we would have totally missed it if it had not been on our list. It was established in 1292 and redecorated by Juan Pérez Castile in baroque fashion between 1690 and 1693. It was rather small compared to the other cathedrals we have visited but the beautiful frescoes that completely covered the ceiling and other chapel decorations were fantastic. A major restoration was completed in 2016 (so we could enjoy the complete experience rather than the partial view covered by scaffolding we have encountered so many other places).
“The Sistine Chapel of Valencia”
After picking up our rental car, we stopped in Murcia enroute to Granada (these side trips were the primary reason to rent a car rather than take the train from town to town. Of course, it also made it easier to haul our luggage and groceries from apartment to apartment). When we got to the Murcia Cathedral there was a bride about to enter. Once she went inside, we followed, along with other tourists, to take our photos during the wedding. On the way to the market in search of lunch, we came across a man dressed as an elf in a tree that danced when coins were dropped in his hat, and a bum whose sign said he needed money for “drugs and beer”. Bill liked his honesty so after making sure he wound not spend the money on anything else, he made a donation.
Dancing Elf
In Granada we were catfished again with the accommodations. The nice furniture from the pictures was no-where to be found, the hand-held shower wand was lying on the shower floor – the holder was broken and some of the kitchen lights crackled when we flipped the switch. On top of that, the frying pans wouldn’t work on the induction cooktop so Bill had to try to flip a fried egg in a sauce pot (in other words, we had scrambled eggs).
Disguised in all the photos, the apartment had one of those tiny center courtyards, that was nothing more than an eyesore and created a u shape floorplan you had to go around to get from room to room. Most of the rooms were interior, so no natural light, and one day we came back to find the power out. They can really trick us with the professional photos of these places, and I apparently can’t trust the reviews either.
Granada Parade
Our first morning in Granada we could hear what sounded like a parade, so we grabbed the cameras and rushed out, then ran around a block to get ahead of them. There was a full marching band and a group of people inside a big square of carpets hung on poles. It was covered on top and we could only see their feet as they slowly made their way down the narrow street. We still don’t know if it was a funeral or some other sort of celebration. Very strange!
Alhambra Complex
Granada is in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range, and exploring required climbing up and down steep hills. As we made our rounds of sights across the river from the Alhambra we had great views of the complex, and we came across a large crowd watching some sort of dance-off performance. Naturally we visited the Granada Cathedral, and they are getting a bit repetitive already. It is amazing how many churches there are in Spain, just the Catholic faith has 100 cathedrals, 23,000 churches, and 735 monasteries. At our lunch stop, a miscommunication got us a plate of sliced tomatoes that were excellent (first time I have ever seen her eat a tomato) and Paella with chicken and rabbit that was also pretty good.
Alhambra Generalife
Even though I checked ticket availability to the Alhambra more than once, I had not understood that although there were lots of tickets for sale, they did not include the Nasrid Palace, the most important area. I ended up having to pay double for city pass all-inclusive tickets so we could get a time slot for the palace. Considered by some to be the eighth wonder of the world, it was constructed to be a paradise on earth, and consists of an Al Calabaza (fort), Generalife (gardens), Palace of Charles V, and Nasrid Palace. First built in 899AD, and expanded during the 11th to 14th centuries, the complex of Islamic architecture sits on top of a rocky hill and is so massive is feels like a small town, taking about thirty minutes to walk from one end to the other. Originally it was occupied by Nasrid rulers, then in 1492 it became one of the Royal Courts of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. The gardens were multi-level and extensive, with frequent water features and reflecting pools, and giant walls of hedges lining the paths. The Moorish carvings on the walls, archways and ceilings were impressive, and the views from the windows were fantastic. We did our best to take photos without gobs of people in them, which takes lots of patience (which we both find challenging).
Nasrid Palace
As we drove from Granada to Seville, we stopped in Malaga to take a photo of the coast line at a park above the city, then headed to the Cathedral (of course). Google maps had us turn onto what was clearly a pedestrian plaza area (in my defense, it was only clearly a pedestrian plaza after I had driven down a narrow alley with no way to turn around). There were tons of people strolling down the middle of the marble paved street. The driving directions showed a turn just ahead, so we hoped it would put us back on a real road…but no luck. We crawled past all the sidewalk cafes, turning left and right at every corner looking for a way out. At last, we saw a taxi and a delivery van, so at least we were not the only vehicle, but it was obvious we were dumb tourists in the wrong place. Naturally we were concerned that if we saw the Policia we would be in trouble, but just as we got to a spot where I could see a road with cars, we also spotted several cops. Bill pulled up to them and (preemptively) started trying to tell them our problem. They did not speak English, and thankfully they didn’t seem to care that were driving through the plaza, they just pointed us to the road and went back to chatting amongst themselves (only thing missing were the donuts). We were super glad to get out of there and did not go back to see the Cathedral (I doubt that we missed much).
Ronda
The scenery along our drive through Andalusia was beautiful, with terraces of olive and orange trees, and fields of sunflowers with the Sierra Nevada Mountain range as a backdrop. Our next stop along the way was Ronda, recommended by a friend of Bill’s that recently did a similar tour. It is located in the Sierra de las Nieves National Park, was originally settled by Celts in the sixth century, and the new and old cities are divided by the Tajo Gorge. It was an impressive sight, with the buildings clinging to the sides of the cliffs. At nearly 400 feet deep the chasm on one side looks more like a crack in the earth, while the other side opens to a pastoral valley floor. It was definitely worth the detour (thanks Randolph).
On to the next town we go…Dessa & Bill
You can see our photos and video here.
