Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Spain photos being loaded


Alhambra
Originally uploaded by MhairiT.
Currently loading photos from Spanish trip onto Flickr at the moment - first batch are up there now, and there will be another batch tomorrow (Flickr only allows you to upload 30 or so photos a month). Enjoy!

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Spain Day 7 - Malaga

After breakfast, I caught the bus into town and went to a couple of museums. The Museo de Arte y Costumbres has a good collection of folk arts - items made for the home and village celebrations. So there were lots of tools, some clothing and costumes for festivals, furniture etc. Then I wandered across to the biggie, the Museo Picasso Malaga. It´s quite newly opened and is based on donations of works from Picasso´s daughter in law and her son. The collection is housed in a lovely old villa. There was also a temporary exhibition of works from when Picasso was living in Antibes - the paintings and sculptures there are designed around classical motifs - fauns and nymphs etc.

Other than that, had a quiet day. The shops all closed down about 3pm, and so I went back to Pedralojedo and sat in the sun, before having some fish for dinner by the beach.

Friday, May 26, 2006

Spain Day 6 - Granada and Malaga

Had a wander around the Albaicin area in Granada today - it´s the hill that faces the Alhambra hill, and is full of shops, bars and restaurants, as well as some homes. Lots of shops selling Arabic themed items, most of which are apparently made in Morocco. Walked up to the Mirador San Nicholas which has a fantastic view of the Alhambra - got my photo taken by a very Kiwi woman called Noelene! Had some lunch at Kiki San Nicholas, a restaurant behind the church -had an enormous plate of seafood which I couldn´t finish!

Caught a taxi to the bus station and then the bus to Malaga - the bus cost about €8.50, cheaper than the taxi! Bus journey took two hours.

When I arrived in Malaga, I took another taxi to my hotel, Hotel Acacias, which is about ten minutes out of town in an area called Pedregalejo. It´s very pretty and only about five minutes walk from the beach - the actual beach doesn´t look that nice for swimming though. Went and had some dinner down by the water - there are loads of cafes and restaurants. The popular thing is for fishermen to grill their day´s catch on a barbeque. After my seafood at lunch I wasn´t that keen but I will be returning!

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Spain Day 5 - Granada

Had a lazy morning this morning and wandered around a bit and had breakfast before stocking up on water and catching the Alhambrabus up to the entrance of the Alhambra.

I´d booked my ticket for the Alhambra right when I was booking this trip two months ago. And I was really glad I´d done so! Talked to a couple of people who didn´t book and so couldn´t get in at all. Tickets book up really quickly - they let about 80 or so people into the Nazrid Palaces at half hour slots throughout the day. And the slots must run from 8.30 in the morning until about 6pm, so that´s lots of people. Loads of groups. They´re really strict about when you´re let in too - I overheard one guy at the Tourist info centre saying that they´d been late because his girlfriend was sick, and they weren´t let in at all. And when they´d tried the next day they were out of luck.

There were a couple of things I was glad I did - I arrived up there at noon, even though my slot wasn´t until 1.30, so that gave me plenty of time to wander around the gardens and get my bearings. And I also paid 3 € for the audio guide which was very useful and meant I didn´t have to stop and get my guide book out all the time!

When i actually got into the Nazrid Palaces, I was blown away. It really was lovely and very spectacular. i´d been really impressed by the Alcazar in Seville, but the decoration and design here were on a whole different level. Lots of rooms with intricate carvings and stucco ceilings, as well as reflecting pools, and views out over the city. Spent about two hours in the Palaces, and then had a look around the Alcazar and the Generalife Gardens. Had about six hours up there in all! Took loads of photos, but bought a book on the Alhambra as well.

After catching the bus back down to the centre, i went to the Arab Baths for a soak and a massage. These Baths were quite a bit smaller than the ones in Seville, with only two baths, a hot and a cold. There was also quite a small, unisex changing room with tiny areas curtained off for private changing. Massage was also a bit fierce! But it was nice to have a relaxing soak, and the tiling and atmosphere were lovely.

Spain Day 4 - Seville, Granada

After breakfast of a Spanish omelette (while in Seville, as Dad said...) I headed off down to the Maestranza, the main bull-fighting ring in the city. While I´m not that keen on the actual bull fights, the whole tradition is quite intriguing, and of course it´s a location in Carmen! There are half hour tours that you can take of the arena, which takes you to the seating areas, the infirmary (pretty well organised for goring injuries!), the museum and the stables. A very slick operation, but still very traditional.

After walking along the river for a bit and listening to the cheesy music of the riverboats, I went and had a look around the cathedral, close to where my hotel was. It was huge, with a high vaulted ceiling and enormous columns. The tomb of Christopher Columbus is also there. The largest carved wooden altar in the world is in the cathedral, and in fact, the cathedral is meant to be the largest in the world, larger even than St Peter´s in Rome. I walked up to the top of the Giralda, the cathedral´s tower - there are no steps, and were designed so that one of the kings could ride his horse up to the top. Views were pretty amazing from the top.

Made my way to the station next, where my train left at 15.55 for Granada. Very comfortable journey, modern train. Took just under three hours. Some great mountain views en route, as well as views of wind machines.

Got a taxi to my hotel when I got to Granada, as the train station wasn´t in the centre. I´m staying at the very pretty Hostal La Ninfa, about ten minutes from the centre of town. Went for a walk in the evening and had dinner at a restaurant which looked up at the Alhambra. Lovely old town with windy little streets.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Spain Day 3 - Seville

Much more of a relaxing day today! Wandered up to Santa Justa train station in the morning to get my ticket for Granada on Tuesday. A relatively simple transation!

Then managed to find my way to Casa Pilatos, a mansion that was supposedly built along the dimensions of Pilate´s palace. Lots of mosaics and a lovely peaceful garden. Also lovely to see some of the restoration going on.

My next stop was the lovely Arabian baths - what a treat! It´s all housed in an old residential building, but there are baths of different temperatures, treatment rooms, a jacuzzi and a steam room. All very atmospheric and a great way to spend a couple of hours unwinding. My skin felt so soft afterwards!

Next I walked over to the Parque de Maria Luisa and spent a couple of hours reading in the shade and walking around. The park was built for the 1929 Expo, and has lots of buildings in it that are now used for embassies. There is also the huge Casa de Espana, which has a different tiled area for each of the regions of Spain. There´s also a military museum there.

Had dinner in a much cheaper place tonight - my first two dinners have inadvertently been in expensive places so I need to watch my budget! Some fantastic flamenco music being played in the plaza.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Spain days 1 and 2 - Seville

Am I just getting old or is checking in at airports getting worse? My check in and security checks at Stanstead en route to Seville were tortuous! In reality, it probably wasn´t as bad as when I went to NZ last, and of course nothing touches the two hour Air India check-in, but shouldn´t European flights be a bit speedier? Argh! Oh well, made it onto the flight ok, got to Seville in one piece, found the airport bus and (after a bit of aimless, but ultimately directional wandering) found my hotel.

My hotel, YH Giralda, is really close to the centre of town, and is an old abbot´s palace that´s been converted. I´d read a terrible review of it on Trip Advisor, but in reality, it´s fine. Didn´t get to the hotel until about 10pm, so I basically dumped my stuff and went and had some food at a restaurant right by the cathedral. Fantastic views of the Giralda itself, the huge tower of the cathedral.

Spent most of the day today at the Alcazar, the palace at the centre of Seville. It was stunning. There is a huge Moorish palace that´s nearly 1000 years old, with tiled rooms, fountains, reception rooms and secret balconies for spying on visitors. It was just so beautiful. There is also an older section of the palace that was built in the 14th century, and huge gardens, with a 30 foot high jacaranda tree. It was a beautifully warm day, so I took advantage of the many shady spots and cool rooms.

After spending about five hours there, I went and had some lunch and chatted with two Los Angelenos women who are here on vacation. The Santa Cruz area around the Alcazar has lots of little bars and cafes as well as souvenir shops etc.