FUN-travel: Chiva & Buñol, Spain
September 10, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Chiva & Buñol, Spain
Trip Day 49 – Tuesday, August 28 – Chiva & Buñol , Spain
What I LIKE
Tomato Contest
- good hot coffee on patio
- Chris found connection for a balcony on internet & have appt @ 11 am
- 9:45 – drive to Buñol
- find parking close to main square
- in pursuit of a balcony
- walk up Cid (main street for festival)
- many people wrapping & draping their apartment homes with blue tarps
- (tomato stains stucco – need to keep it off)
- see family with corner home & roof top on 4th story
- looks like a good place to be
- walk over and ask in Spanish “Is it possible to rent a balcony?”
- they said, “Si”
- the rest is history
- get interviewed by local TV station
- 11:30 – connect with Jacopo
- wonderful young man from Italy who books balconies for festivals
- his tag line is “Being there, but without the crowds”
- he likes our rooftop so we introduce him to the family
- 2:00 – lunch in Plaza Layana – full of young people partying
- order pizza to be safe
- 3:00 – back to hotel in Chiva
Locals Hanging Out on Cid
- siesta
Cid At Sunset
- 7:30 – drive back to Buñol
- Cid is closed to traffic
- 7:00 – tomato contest – judges are rating the locally grown tomatoes
- street is lined with locals on both sides
- have set up tables with food & drinks
- street has colorful lighted decorations strung across it
- lots of music & people strolling
- get table on street – great people watching
- have beer & paella
- 10 pm – head back to Chiva
- stayed here because they had a *** hotel
What I DIDN”T LIKE
- didn’t get good directions for meeting Jacopo
- wandered around for 30 minutes trying to find him
- more mediocre pizza
- wished we would have stayed in Buñol
- only ** hotels here
- Chiva hotel needs some TLC & maintenance
FF (FUN-fact) – One of the most popular theories is that disgruntled townspeople attacked city councilmen with tomatoes during a town celebration. Whatever happened to begin the tradition, it was enjoyed so much that it was repeated the next year, and the year after that, and so on. The holiday was banned during the Spanish State period under Francisco Franco for having no religious significance, but returned in the 1970s after his demise.
FUN-travel: Granada to Chiva & Buñol, Spain
September 4, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Granada to Chiva & Buñol, Spain
Trip Day 48 – Monday, August 27 – Granada to Chiva & Buñol, Spain
Buñol Plaza de Puebla
What I LIKE
Cid – Street for La Tomatina
- up and ready to go to next big adventure!
- (same coffee, fruit, sandwich to-go experience)
- 10:30 head out
- drive looks a lot like the mountains close to Yuma, AZ
- make good time
- arrive 4:15
- drive to Buñol takes 10 mins
- 1st stop – beer break
- 2nd stop – Buñol Hotel & ask about La Tomatina & getting a balcony
- very helpful young women @ front desk tells us about the Paella Cook-off happening @ 7 PM
- town is terraced on a steep hill
- snake down streets
- find the castle, the church, the main square – Plaza de Puebla
- 6:45 – need to eat – find pizza place – mediocre at best but I’m really hungry
- 7:15 – walk one block to street by the park, over four blocks long, lined on both sides with families & groups cooking their paella
- consists of sand on the pavement to create fire pit, stack of firewood, a metal stand to make stove, & big round metal pans of varying sizes with handles (like a huge wok with the bottom cut flat)
- unlike anything I’ve ever seen!
What I DIDN”T LIKE
Paella Cook-off
- have to drive 330 miles
- no luck finding a balcony
FF (FUN-fact) – The tomato fight has been a strong tradition in Buñol since 1944 or 1945. No one is completely certain how this event originated.
FUN-travel: La Alhambra – Granada, Spain
September 3, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: La Alhambra – Granada, Spain
Trip Day 47 – Sunday, August 26 – Granada, Spain
Palacios Nazaries
What I LIKE
Palacios Nazaries
- being able to sleep in the walled city of La Alhambra
- 8:00 – good, hot coffee on patio overlooking gardens
- nice fresh fruit & sandwich for later
- 10:00 – depart for guided tour of La Alhambra
- 10:30 – start our tour
- headsets are provided so you can hear the guide
- Enrique – very dapper man – is the “best” guide we’ve had in Spain
- 1st stop – Palacio del Partal
- 2nd stop – Charles V’s Palace – impressive Renaissance building
- 3rd stop – Palacios Nazaries – the jewel of Alhambra – 14th century Moorish royal palace – consists of carved wood ceilings, ceramic tiles, molded-plaster walls, stucco “stalactites” & filigree windows – impressive size of 9 different rooms & areas
- 4th stop – Alcazaba – the original 13th century fortress
- 5th stop – Generalife Gardens – Sultan’s summer palace & the vegetable & fruit gardens
- 1:30 – back to parador – beer & siesta
- 8:45 – dinner on patio – Carpaccio, broad beans with jamon, baked cod – Anta Banderas (Antonio Banderas winery)
- dessert splurge – melody of sherbet & fresh fruit
Generalife
- no bugs
- warm & not humid
What I DIDN”T LIKE
- still bothered by being charged for dinner in Nerja
- shame on me for not checking or asking @ check in
FF (FUN-fact) – The Alhambra is the last and greatest Moorish palace in Europe.
More FF – The Parador de Granada San Francisco was once a Moorish palace and was converted into a Franciscan monastery in the 14th century.
FUN-travel: Nerja to Granada, Spain
September 3, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Nerja to Granada, Spain
Trip Day 46 – Saturday, August 25 – Nerja to Granada, Spain & La Alhambra
Granada
What I LIKE
Alcaicería
- 8:30 – good hot coffee
- 9:30 – take lift down to beach
- walk along promenade & back on the sand
- 10:30 – breakfast fruit & sandwich for later
- 12:00 – checkout & ready for next big adventure
- 1:30 – arrive Granada
- 2:00 – check into parador in La Alhambra
- 2:30 – beer on patio overlooking gardens
- 4:30 – 10-minute walk down hill to city of Granada
- using Rick Steves guided tour – start @ Plaza Nueva – see Cathedral – Royal Chapel Square
- Plaza de Bib-Rambla – the original main square & focal point of market & festivals
- Alcaiceria – originally a Moorish silk market with 200 shops – packed into narrow alleyways
- Plaza Isabel La Católica – beautiful statue shows Columbus unfurling a long contract with Isabel
- 6:00 back to Plaza Nueva for a beer
- then walk up Paseo de los Tristes –
- “walk of the sad ones” – once the route of funeral processions to the cemetery
- take the #31 mini bus to Albayzín – walk up to San Nicolás church – majestic views of La Alhambra
View of La Alhambra
- 8:00 bus back to Plaza Nueva – tapas & beer stop @ restaurant with sign that reads “Los mejores tapas en todo el mundo” – broadbeans & ham – YUM!
Plaza Isabel La Católica
- 8:30 – dinner Cunini – locals love this place – bar is standing room only – we have table outside – fresh veggie salad & sea bass
- taxi back up hill $10 Euro
What I DIDN”T LIKE
- charged $94 Euro for breakfast
- dinner was included but no one told us @ check-in
- during high season hotels add “half & full board” charges
- would have liked to spend more time here
- need to make sure you order fillet of fish otherwise you get whole fish with bones (ordered turbot on waiter suggestion, had to send back)
FF (FUN-fact) – For a time, Granada was the grandest city in Spain.
FUN-travel: Tarifa to Gibraltar, UK to Nerja, Spain
September 2, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Tarifa to Gibraltar, UK to Nerja, Spain
Trip Day 45 – Friday, August 24 – Tarifa to Gibraltar, UK to Nerja, Spain
Rock of Gibraltar
What I LIKE
- 7:30 – coffee @ La Palmera Churreria – locals breakfast spot
- they have a niche market – very limited menu – & they’re packed
- have great FUN just being with them
- 10:00 – load up & head out!
- 11:30 – arrive Gibraltar
- parking garage just outside saves from us from actually driving in & having to wait in a very long line
- good walk through town
- nice breeze – 80’s
- 12:30 – take aerial tram to top of rock
- see monkeys with brand new babies
- see where John & Yoko got married
- 1:30 – lunch stop @ Angry Friar – fish & chips, beer
- 2:30 – back to car
- easy in & out – (cars backed up 2 miles to get into Gibraltar)
Mama & Baby
- 5:00 – arrive Nerja – staying @ Parador
Nerja Plaza
- grand outdoor patio overlooking the sea
- pool & grass terraces high on the bluff
- views of the mountains to the north
- 8:00 – walk into main plaza
- Balcón de Europa – pedestrian only
- really cute & upscale feel – the Laguna Beach of the Cost Del Sol
- 8:40 – dinner @ Haveli – Indian restaurant – chicken vindaloo, rice, dal & garlic nan – food just so-so
What I DIDN”T LIKE
- parador is from the 60’s – not much charm – just location
FF (FUN-fact) – We still haven’t figured out how the people in Spain eat dinner so late at night and get up and go to work.
Balcón de Europa