Before we left Ireland, we really wanted to make a trip to Spain. Jeff still had a number of vacation days to use before we moved back, so we decided to book our trip to southern Spain just a few weeks before we would be leaving Dublin. Home to the spicy, sultry Spain of the imagination — bull fighting, flamenco dancers, and a world that, culturally and physically, straddles Europe and Northern Africa — Andalusia is a unique place and one we definitely wanted to spend some time in!
Planning our time there was a bit overwhelming, as there are so many beautiful and interesting sites, but we ultimately decided to visit Malaga (because we were flying into the airport there) for a little bit of beach time; Seville, the heart and soul of Andalusia; and Granada, to see the stunning Alhambra. The one tricky part of our timing was that visiting Southern Spain in July, at the height of summer, is a sweltering experience! Daytime highs can reach around 104F, and when it cools off in the evening, it’s a pleasant 85F. We knew this going in, and tried to plan accordingly with making sure we had air conditioning and some swimming options, but still, it was hard to believe the heat until we felt it.
Our first stop, Malaga, was a pleasant surprise! Because we were flying into the airport there, we decided to spend 2 nights and a full day before heading off for Seville. I didn’t really know what to expect in Malaga, and thought it might just be a somewhat cheesy Mediterranean tourist town (as many of the towns along the Costa del Sol are), but it’s actually quite a lovely city. Beautiful architecture, easy to walk around, with a fun nightlife and a chill beach scene. Plus, due to its fame as the birthplace of Picasso, there is a well established art scene, with a large Picasso museum and other modern art museums, including a satellite location of the Pompidou (Paris’ famous modern art musem). Our time in Malaga mainly centered on walking around and spending some time playing at Malagueta beach, before a meal of tapas and taking in the bustling night time scene with people of all ages out in the streets until all hours.
We left for Seville the next day, and arrived to our centrally located (and very well air conditioned!) airBnB where we settled in and relaxed. We spent the next few days exploring the plazas and alleyways of Seville, taking in the architecture and watching the locals going about their lives visiting tapas bars or taking their evening strolls. Seville has some amazing architecture, including the Cathedral where Christopher Columbus is buried, and also the Alcazar, a sprawling Moorish palace with intricate interiors and lush gardens full of roaming peacocks. To escape the hustle and bustle of Seville, we took a stroll through the Parque de Maria Luisa, a large green shady park containing the Plaza de Espana, many statues and monuments, fountains, museums, and playgrounds. We attempted to play on the playgrounds but soon realized the heat had made the metal slides and other equipment too hot! So we settled for eating some ice cream on a park bench in the shade.
One of the things I would have loved to explore more in Seville was the Jewish history, as there is quite a rich history of Sephardic (Spanish) Jewry from before the Jews were expelled in 1492. There are virtually no Jews living in Spain these days, but there is much to explore historically. Hopefully if we return someday when the boys are older, we can all learn about this together.
We very quickly adapted to the Spanish time table and way of life — out of necessity due to the heat! Most restaurants don’t open for dinner until 8pm at the earliest, so our schedule became: eat a late (for us) dinner, go to sleep around midnight, sleep in til 10 or 11, get up and explore a little, come back during the heat of the day for a siesta (nap), and then when it cooled down in the evening go out again for walking around and dinner. This was quite a different schedule than our kids are used to, but they adapted well, and we all enjoyed experiencing a new pace of life. It was interesting to see so many young kids out so late at night, until 11 or midnight, with their families, walking around, playing, etc. But I suppose if everyone is napping for a few hours during the middle of the day, it makes it easier to stay up late! One of the nights, we visited a part of Seville that our host recommended called Alameda de Hercules. In the center of a traditionally bohemian neighborhood, the pedestrianized avenue dotted with fountains and playgrounds is surrounded on both sides by bars, cafes, and street musicians. It was a fun place to stroll, eat some tapas, get a feel for the lively artsy part of Seville, and cool off in some of the spray features (though they mainly seemed to be used by dogs…I think we were the only people to take advantage of them).
We also joined the local families another day with a visit to a local water park. It was so refreshing and fun to cool off in the pools and slides, and to see families of all types enjoying a summer day outing. There were even older couples there (without young kids or families), just enjoying the water and staying young at heart.
One of the things I really wanted to experience during our trip was to see a flamenco performance. I don’t know why, but something about it — the combination of dance, passion filled song, melancholy guitar, castanets, the outfits, the fans –really intrigued me, and I felt it was something unique to the region that would be really special to see. We found a small intimate performance with a few musicians and a male and female dancer. After the first few minutes, Jeff had to take Rafi out because he was a bit antsy, but Isaac and I stayed for the remainder of the show.
After a wonderful few days in Seville, we headed for Granada, the last stop on our Andalusian tour. Driving through the countryside, we saw many of the famous white villages (pueblos blancos), which dot the hillsides with their characteristic white washed walls and red tile roofs. They look like stacks of sugar cubes on the otherwise brown landscape. We stopped for lunch in one of the villages, called Antequerra, before continuing on to Granada.
Our goal for the last few days was mainly to see the Alhambra, and to relax. We definitely needed to stay somewhere with a pool, which was surprisingly difficult to find in the center of Granada. So we opted for a really cool and unique hotel about 20 minutes outside the city, called Cortijo del Marques. Nestled in the hillside, with a view of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance, the hotel is set on the site of a traditional Spanish country estate, with buildings surrounding inner courtyards and patios. Our room was in what used to be the old dove-cote, and still had the signature shelves full of hundreds of little holes where the doves would nest. We enjoyed lounging by the pool there, relaxing in the room, and having leisurely breakfasts and dinners in the dining room. Because the owners (a Dutch and Austrian couple) had 2 children of their own, there was a small selection of kids’ toys and books in the dining room, a soccer goal outside, and pool toys to play with as well. So we had no problem just hanging out and chilling out there.
And of course, one of the days we ventured into Granada to visit the amazing Alhambra, for which we had pre-booked tickets. The beauty and grandeur are hard to describe, but it’s definitely a site worth seeing for everyone. Isaac enjoyed helping take pictures, and was intrigued by what the carvings in Arabic said. Get ready for a ton of beautiful pictures!
Despite the sizzling temperatures, we had a truly spectacular time in Spain, and since it was our last trip during our time in Dublin, it also had a memorable and bittersweet feel. I hope to go back again to Spain, as there is so much more to see and explore!
dublingers 