FUN-travel: Sevilla to Arcos de la Frontera, Spain
August 26, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Sevilla to Arcos de la Frontera, Spain
Trip Day 41 – Monday, August 20 – Sevilla to Arcos de la Frontera, Spain
Plaza on Top
What I LIKE
Church in Plaza on Top
- there are 3 Starbuck’s within 5 minutes of our hotel
- 9:30 ready to go on to next big adventure
- take taxi to parking garage for $6 Euro
- not trying to drive on the crazy tiny, narrow streets
- don’t have to drive far
- 11:30 arrive – Arcos de la Frontera
- sheer cliffs
- dramatic views
- once again Parador is on the very top of the hill
- 12:30 lunch here – big mixed salad – tuna sandwich & beer
- stay cool & take siesta
- 8:30 – dinner @ Parador – “typical” local dish of huge white beans & ham, grilled tuna steak, salad – pretty good
What I DIDN”T LIKE
- had to go to all 3 Starbuck’s to find the one that opens @ 7:30 am
- OMG more twisty, teeny, tiny cobblestone lanes for streets
- really, really hot!
FF (FUN-fact) – Andalucía is the home of bullfights, flamenco, gazpacho, pristine whitewashed hill towns and glamorous Mediterranean resorts.
Plaza on Top
FUN-travel: Sevilla, Spain – Day 2
August 25, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Sevilla, Spain – Day 2
Trip Day 40 – Sunday, August 19 – Sevilla, Spain
Plaza Espana Tiles
What I LIKE
Alcazar
- 9:30 – walk to Plaza Espana in Maria Luisa Park (Sevilla’s Central Park)
- 1929 international fair was held here – colorful ceramic tiles & grand architecture
- stroll back to town along the river
- Cathedral is free on Sunday morning during service
- get to walk in & take pictures
- save $17 Euro!
- 11:00 – snack @ Gusto across the street – Panini & coke – $5 Euro
- 11:30 – Alcazar – 10th-century palace – still functions as one today & is the oldest in use in Europe – Christopher Columbus recounted his travels to the queen here – many tapestries, colorful tiles, elaborate facades, courtyards & lush gardens
- 12:30 lunch @ Doña Francisquita – need cold beer to cool off – Mexican chicken salad with corn, carrots, jalapenos – Risotto with mushrooms – nice light crisp white wine
Cathedral
- today’s “tapas” is a digestive – shot after lunch
Alcazar Gardens
- great service!
- 3:00 – siesta
- 5:30 – tea time @ hotel – free coffee, soft drinks & sweets
- 9:00 – walk 6 blocks to Indian restaurant
- 9:45 – back to Doña Francisquita since it was so good
- service truly does make the food taste better
- anchovy tapas & vegetable pizza & wine – $44 Euro
What I DIDN”T LIKE
- this morning told we have to pay $2.50 per cup for coffee
- river walk promenade is closed
- really hot – over 100+ in afternoon
- Indian restaurant closed on Sunday
- Doña Francisquita not so good tonight
FF (FUN-fact) – Sevilla’s Cathedral is the third largest church in Europe (after St. Peter’s in Rome & St. Paul’s in London) and the largest Gothic Church anywhere.
FUN-travel: Sevilla, Spain – 2 Days
August 22, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Sevilla, Spain – 2 Days
Trip Day 39 – Saturday, August 18 – Sevilla, Spain
Cathedral Plaza
What I LIKE
- 8:00 am – really good strong coffee @ hotel out of a machine – a 1st for us!
- 9:00 am – nice walk through town to ECI – El Corte Ingles (our favorite store)
- get breakfast – bowl of fresh fruit & nuts
- get a manicure & pedicure (ECI in Madrid was booked)
- don’t need hop on, hop off bus
- save more money!
- 12:00 – lunch – La Terraza – spinach, walnuts, goat cheese salad & mussels in spicy sauce – just so so
- misters in umbrellas to cool you down
- 7:00 pm – Flamenco Show @ Flamenco Museum
- only $20 Euro for 1 hr show
- man on bike who helped us drive in yesterday runs the museum – (What R the Chances!)
- tell him he is “my angel” & give him big kisses
- 8:45 – dinner @ Maccheroni & Co – really fresh arugula salad with tomato, onion, & tender thin veal slices (thought I ordered cheese) good quality olive oil & balsamic vinegar – VG (very good) – pizza with spicy salami – YUM! – nice Italian wine recommendation – good service
- Casa 1800 has really cute roof top deck
- only 1 flight above our room
Alcazar Facade
What I DIDN”T LIKE
- breakfast not included in room rate
- want $9.50 PP
- not enough fruit for me so opt out
- over 100+
- feels like a sauna
- 6:40 – arrive Flamenco Museum & all good seats are all taken
FF (FUN-fact) – Flamenco is a music-and-dance art form with its roots in the Roma (gypsy) and Moorish cultures.
FUN-travel: Toledo to Cordoba to Sevilla, Spain
August 21, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Toledo to Cordoba to Sevilla, Spain
Trip Day 38 – Friday, August 17 – Toledo to Cordoba to Sevilla, Spain
What I LIKE
Inside La Mezquita
- Paradores in Spain have been very consistent – all 4 or 5 ****
- staff in Toledo is the most personable & helpful
- our Mercedes has 2, 12 volt plugs so we can use the Garmin & play the IPod!
- 9:45 depart for Cordoba
- countryside is rolling hills with olive orchards in every direction as far as the eye can see
- 1:30 arrive Cordoba
- made good time
- find free parking
- La Mezquita – named as a Wonder of the World but didn’t make the top 21 – massive remarkably well-preserved 10th-century mosque – now with a 16th-century church rising form the middle – once the center of Western Islam & heart of a cultural capital that rivaled Bagdad & Istanbul – a definite wonder of the medieval world !
- 2:30 – depart for Sevilla
- 4:00 – arrive
- made good time
- no tolls at all today
- wonderful man @ bar on teeny, tiny, road asks us where we are going – jumps on his bike and directs us to our hotel
- Casa 1800 is in the heart of the Old Town
- able to drive & find parking garage
La Mezquita
- 5:00 Beer stop
- 8:30 dinner @ La Burra – locals favorite – order hamburger, seared ahi, chicken – nice red wine only $18 Euro
- cafe patrons spilling into the streets
- Casa 1800 is in the heart of everything!
What I DIDN”T LIKE
- drive to Cordoba takes 4 hrs
- then Sevilla is another 2 hrs
- teeny, tiny, twisty, narrow, cobblestone streets on the Old Town
- parking costs $20 Euro a day in Sevilla
- La Burra food just so-so
- 5:00 Beer stop has no free tapas
FF (FUN-fact) – There are an abundance of service areas on Spain’s major roads that have gas and food.