Joe's Travel Blog: Spain Road Trip Part II - Central Andalusia (11/12/2021

My road trip through Andalusia continued for the next week, visiting Sevilla, Córdoba, Montilla and Granada.

Sevilla is the largest of the cities I visited, and the capital of the region. Most people go there to see the Royal Alcázar (al-Qasr al-Muriq), the beautiful Cathedral of Seville (that was unfortunately under renovation during my visit), the Archive of the Indies (documenting their colonial times), Toro del Oro and Plaza de España. I did all these things in addition to a lot of walking, just to feel the air of the city.

Walking around the narrow cobblestone streets I encountered something non-obvious and unexpected - an extraordinary amount of dog feces, which is something that I haven't been used to for a long time (very common in 1990s Romania) and fortunately I didn't misstep.

Aside from that the food was excellent, and the architecture beautiful (including the very odd and modern Setas de Sevilla - the world's largest wooden structure).

And yes, I got a haircut at the Barber of Seville, and it was a masterpiece. And no, I did not sing Figaro while getting it :).

In Córdoba, I discovered sherry - not the cheapest bang for buck alcohol you could get in college, but a refined beautiful fortified local Montilla-Moriles wine, which came in various ages and strengths some of which approached fine cognac (I undoubtedly offended some people with that comparison). It was only a short stop as the main reason for visiting was the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, a unique building that was a church, half-church/half-mosque, a full mosque, then a church again, over the course of ~800 years (beginning in the mid-8th century).

The sherry let me to vineyards of Montilla, and nearby I discovered there were some solar reflector powerplants, PS10 and PS20, which are quite rare worldwide.

Granada was the real star - solely due to Alhambra - one of the best preserved and most famous Islamic palaces in medieval times. I could have spent the entire day just in the gardens, and walking through the palace I was in awe of the craftmanship - the carved calligraphy, the mosaics, the intricate patterns, just outstanding!

Sevilla