5C's Que Pasa

Sad as it was to leave Seville, we had a new adventure ahead. We flew to Lisbon where we had a three hour layover which we enjoyed in the business class lounge.  With the new credit cards we got last year, between us, we get 12 lounge visits worldwide, annually . So even if we aren’t traveling business class we can still enjoy our longer layovers. It was great as we never paid for food all day plus we were able to squirrel away enough water in our carry bags to get through our first night in Morocco. I booked the flight last August and we only paid $56.00USD/$76.00CAD each.  A great deal. The flights were one hour and one hour and twenty minutes respectively.  We were served cheese, cut up apple with nuts and raisins on the one and a chicken wrap sandwich with cheese and crackers on the other. Amazing that for that low airfare we were served a meal.  Our Canadian airlines have lost the art of customer service.

We were met at the airport by our Airbnb host who had kindly offered to pick us up.  Good thing as we would still be trying to find our way down the streets of the Medina to his Riad. Click here for the link and photos of this amazing place. Don’t just look at our photos below, there is so much to see in this special place. We still can’t believe that we are here, never mind staying in this extravagant apartment.  I love all the colors as well as the colored glass and the lighting in this unique home.  Colin is just itching to have his proper photography equipment with him.  This place should be documented in a b0ok or a museum.

Once we toured our place which is beyond incredible, we were invited to our host’s private half of the Riad where he treated us to fresh squeezed orange juice, figs with stems on them and the freshest walnuts we have ever tasted. We chatted for a long while. Eventually we headed back to our apartment and unpacked and got ourselves set up. Each apartment is different and this one more so. It has so much colour plus a very interesting layout. The air conditioning is only needed for a small part of the day because the design of the apartment allows good air circulation. There is only one sink for both the bathroom and kitchen and we are able to adjust to that. The main bed has a wall on three sides  but there are two other places to sleep so we are sleeping in two areas, easier for both of us. As well as the A/C,  we have a mini fridge, a stove top, a microwave and a TV complete with CNN should we choose to watch.

Once unpacked we just headed out into the streets. The only thing to watch for are the scooters which appear to have the right of way and stop for no one. It is the only way to get through these narrrow labyrinth streets.  We had spotted a vegetarian restaurant nearby as our host drove here. By the way he parks his van in the last parking lot closest to the Medina.

We sat and watched pedestrians dodge traffic that included all types of transport including horses and donkeys.  It was fascinating. Instead of a planned itinerary we are going to simply wing it. No set site seeing stops that are deemed necessary. We are simply going to walk and see what we see.  We have seen enough palaces, mosques, etc. The next three full days ( we had planned four nights here ) will bring what they bring.  Our host has offered to take us on a city tour or out of the city to a particularly beautiful area  but after sleeping on it we have decided to just feel the magic of this unique environment.

Everything has been perfect here in Seville including the weather.  On our final full day we awoke to 61F/16C and that slowly changed to a glorious 90F/32C which was hot in the direct sun. However all the tall buildings provide shade so you can still walk around.

Months ago I booked tickets to the Real Alcázar. It was a toss up between here or a visit to the Cathedral. We had read that the Alcázar was the number one attraction. When our tour guide yesterday told us that between the two this would be the first choice, I was happy. For certain we will visit the Cathedral on our next visit.

The Real Alcázar, a royal palace, has a history stretching back more than a thousand years. It is one of the most complex and important buildings in the world; the diversity and uniqueness of its almost labyrinthine rooms are of extraordinary value.  The history of the Islamic palace is that of a city itself:  a dynamic city that grew in size along with its political influence and architectural wealth.

It is one of two Royal Places still in use in Europe. The current Royal family still lives there and tours of the Royal Apartments are for sale in limited numbers.  Security was prevalent plus we had to put everything into a locker including my purse and our cameras. We had the only key so we were not concerned about leaving  our things. There were 17 maximum to a group. We given an audio device and were under the supervision of a security guard. You might want to Goggle to check if there are photos online. The tour was amazing and lasted about 45 minutes.  Such a vast amount of wealth along with invaluable items. From there we went on to tour the palace’s patios, halls and rooms where we saw the various Islamic, Mudejar, Gothic and Renaissance styles.

Then there were the wonderful gardens that were first planted a thousand years ago and bring together, in perfect harmony, landscapes, galleries, ponds, sculptures and fountains, all full of history and legend. We visited for a good three hours. The following are photos of some of the gardens.

We walked out and started meandering until we came to a lovely patio table in the shade. We sat down and saw that the menu suited us perfectly. In fact, it was the best lunch we have enjoyed here in Spain. It was another perfect day.  Colin had purchased another pair of shoes yesterday and today it was a hat. He is becoming very chic. I finally found something to buy, a lovely fan as a reminder of our time here in Sevilla.

Later as we walked, I saw a fellow bend down next to a bicycle. I thought that he was unlocking his lock. Then he reached over his shoulder into his backpack.  Out came a tool and snap snap and he was on the bike racing away. It was that fast. I kept thinking about how the owner of that bike will have his day ruined.

We went back to the apartment where we both did blog work, words and photos. Colin went out to find batteries and more nighttime cough medicine for me.  Poor guy, he had to go to four pharmacies before he found it.  Meanwhile I showered and washed my hair. We both did as much packing as we could.  Then it was time for our last meal in Seville.

Yes we are off again. This time by air. It’s to a different country. I know that you will enjoy it.

 

In just a short period of time we have come to love Sevilla, even more than Barcelona. The city tugs at our heart strings, the architecture, the ease of walking everywhere, there is so much to see, there are walking paths and biking paths plus the fact that our Spanish is widely understood here and also that for the first time in the past few weeks we are able to easily find foods that we can eat and enjoy.  Our diet restricts us somewhat but here we are able to find something in almost every restaurant. We have always been able to find something to eat but here the food is at a higher level.  A waiter told us that he had a client earlier who was from Barcelona and told him that the food here was superior.  We agree.  We started our first day with what turned out to be a fabulous three hour free walking tour.

This is the scene from the opera Carmen where she comes out of the cigarette factory singing the famous song, Habernera.  Our guide asked if anyone had figured out who was the most important factory worker and I had.  He gave a brief explanation of how the factory workers were gypsies ( which is true ) and how new guards were assigned to guard the factory, also true. He mentioned Don Jose as if he was a real soldier and how Carmen trapped him to instantly love her.  He even sang a bit of the Habernera ( of course I chimed in ) and wove a wonderful spell.  Likely it went over the heads of many of the others on the tour but it was pure magic to me.  Here I was standing in the very spot in which the opera was composed.  It happened here in Seville, the gypsies were real, as well as thieves and smugglers.  My favorite opera just became real to me.  It was an extremely personal and special moment.  I have tears in my eyes as I write this as I know the music and the words and now I was standing in the very spot.

Colin has been looking for the perfect venue since we arrived in Spain to attend a Flamenco show.  He finally found one here in Seville at La Casa del Flamingo.  It was a traditional Flamenco show in a 15th century house which lasted a full hour for only 18 Euro each. The difference from all the other Flamenco shows is that we sat ( a limited number of guests ) in chairs ( 2  – 3 rows deep ) surrounding the stage.  No interference with food or drink.  We all had a good view of the show. Each performance had a new cast of fresh performers.  It was not a choreographed performance, they played, sang and danced from their hearts and souls.  No two performances will be the same. We were privileged to have been a part of this great cultural experience. It was not just dancing, but exceptional guitar playing, singing and of course dancing, both female, male and the two together. It was so very special to watch how they interacted to each other to create the music, the songs and the dance.  We were privileged to see how one performer opened up and just danced to his own inner beat and how the others reacted and enjoyed the changes.

 

 

 

 

 

Or as they say here in Spain, Sevilla.  We still have another 15 full days before we arrive home.  It seems like this vacation just keeps going and going.

We arrived at 12 noon exactly and had a bit of a hike with our luggage to get to the terminal.  We finally got to a taxi and once again we are in a pedestrian only area and had a bit of hike this time with our luggage. Check in was at 2PM and we were instructed to drop our luggage at a nearby restaurant and to come back for the keys.  Turns out that our place was ready and we were inside and on our own by 12:50PM.  Click here for the link to our Airbnb accommodation which again is yet another perfect location, central to everything.

Our second course of tapas was fried sea bass loin with pistachio mayonnaise for Colin while I had the cod fillet with pumpkin foam.  They were generous serving sizes for small tapas.  We walked around some more before heading back to the apartment for a bit.  However we got caught up in planning the next two days and finishing the blog.  I am feeling a bit better but still tired.  I was happy to stay in for the night and Colin went out and picked up a few more tapas for our dinner.  Life is good.  There is actually a bathtub here which is a real treat except that the hot water tank is small and you only get a few inches of water in the tub.  Colin went first and then it was my turn later.  The tub is narrow, really narrow.  You all know how thin Colin is, well he had trouble getting out of the tub.  So you can imagine how I fared.  I eventually got out but there is no space to turn over to get on your knees to get out 😳

I forgot to mention that we had to get money from an ATM in Granada,  We had enough cash to get through this far what with using our Visa.  The service charge at this end was 5 Euro 😯 plus whatever I have to pay from my end back home.  Fortunately we likely will only have to do this once as everyone takes Visa except for the taxi cabs and very few other instances.  Oh and one other thing, the bus from Granada had a toilet but it was out of service 😥 And this one did not have internet.  We have had pleasant weather here with sunshine and temps between 24C when we arrived and about 28C at the end of the day.

We are so happy to be here and the next few days are going to be full of new experiences.

 

 

 

Our first full day was spent at the Alhambra. You need to book your ticket as far in advance as you can and tickets go on sale exactly three months ahead of the date you want to visit. It was four in the afternoon in Mazatlan and midnight in Granada and I had both computers ready to go. It took about ten minutes before I could get into their computer system.  I wasn’t the only one wanting to get tickets. There is a general ticket for sale but you need to specify the time that you want to enter the Nazrid Palaces. They open at 8:30AM and so many people are let in every thirty minutes.  You can stay inside as long as you want so eventually the area will become crowded. We wanted to be first in so that we could get a feel for the palaces and of course better photos without the crowds.  Alhambra sits high above Granada so we took a taxi up for 5 Euro to the Puerta de la Justicia which opens at 8AM. You need to do your homework or you could waste your time. The main entrance to Alhambra is a good twenty minute walk uphill. The Puerta de la Justicia is a fairly level five minute walk to the entrance of the palaces. Six hours later when we left we walked downhill back to town. I ended up putting over 10,600 steps on my Fitbit in those six hours.

Alhambra is the reason tourists come to Granada.  The Dar al – Mamlaka comprises what we know today as the Nazrid Palaces, each identified with the sultan who ordered its construction. Palicio del Mexuar: Ismail 1 (1314-1325); Palacio de Comares: Yusuf 1 (1333-1354) y Muhammad V (1362-1391);  Palacio de los Leone’s: Muhammad V (1362-1391).  The palaces are beautiful with intricately carved patterns on the walls, actually three dimensional. The colours, decorative doors, windows, ceilings and fountains make this a worthwhile place to visit. After all where else can you walk through a sultans palace?  Muhammad XII-Boabdil was the last sultan of the Nazrid dynasty.

But this is just one part of the huge area called Alhambra. Between 1492-1516 Isabel I of Castile and Fernando II of Aragon incorporate the Alhambra into the crown as a royal house and assign it military functions. This area is called the Alcazaba. Carlos V added a grand imperial renaissance palace between 1500-1558 to stamp the Christian identity onto the Alhambra after the conquest. There is also the Partel Gardens complete with various ponds over the terraced area as well many archeological structures. The final area is what it called Generalife consisting of more gardens and fountains and a recreational building used by the Sultans.

The Alhambra was declared a National Monument in 1870. In 1984 the UNESCO World Heritage Committee declares the Alhambra and Generalife World Heritage. One final piece of trivia, in 1829, American writer Washington Irving traveled to Granada, where he was inspired to write “Tales of the Alhambra”.

Fortunately it was cooler in the morning and later only warmed up to 23C.  We had no idea how long the visit would take us, I had read that 2.5 hours was average.  We certainly exceeded that. By the time we walked down the very steep path which was partly in the shade, we were ready to sit and have something to eat. If you recall from the photos above, it was quite the walk down. As we descended we were surprised to see so many climbing up, they looked hot and tired and there was so much more climbing ahead of them. Too bad they didn’t know about the Puerta de la Justicia.

After brunch we headed back to the apartment where I took a well deserved nap. Colin went out and explored the area we were staying in.  Granada is fairly small with 237,000 citizens. I was so worn out that I did not want to get up.   Colin had found a very restaurant with an outdoor seating in the Plaza Nueva, mere steps from the apartment. Our location was so central that it was like living just off of Times Square.

The next day (yesterday) we slept in and did nothing much all morning. I got caught up with my computer and Colin played. I had started new medication the afternoon of our Alhambra visit and took something different at night to help with the constant coughing, which seemed to be helping.  I just wanted to stay put but made an effort for  Colin’s sake and we went out looking for lunch.

Later after my nap and after we started packing we headed out for dinner and were surprised at how cool it had become but kept on walking enjoying the ambience. At one point we passed a restaurant that looked really good and decided to eat there instead. Nice to be spontaneous. We can always check out the other one next time we visit. Yes we will be returning to Granada. It appeals to both of us and I missed a lot of it. So far this will be our only revisit, from this particular trip. From our trip last spring we plan to return to Barcelona at some point and would love to visit Naples again just for the pizza but life is short. Part of the reason for so many destinations this trip is to check out where we would want to spend more time in the future.  Sorry for so many photos but I am covering two important days in Granada in this one post.

We are off to the next destination in the morning. In fact I have written this post on the bus while Colin edited the photos from the past few days. Stay tuned for the reveal of our next stop.

Tags: music