Blanca & Ian's Travels

Spain

Trip Report - June 2005

Searching for Moors

Madrid & Andalusia

Almagro, Jaén, Granada, Sevilla, Nerja, Madrid

Itinerary

Arrive Madrid June 5 11:00 AM Sunday

2 Nights - Parador de Almagro
2 Nights - Parador de Jaén
1 Night  - Parador de Granada
3 Nights - Hotel Amadeus - Sevilla
4 Nights - Paraiso del Mar - Nerja
2 Nights - Villa Real - Madrid

Depart Madrid June 19 12:30 PM Sunday

My wife wanted to see tiles.  I wanted historical.  We had visited the Iberian Peninsula once before, but only Catalonia - Barcelona, Tarragona, Girona etc.  This had whetted our appetite to see more of Spain & at the time, we swore we would come back.  Combine that desire with a search for tiles & that pointed to Andalusia.  Al-Andalus.  The famed Moorish palaces. 

I planned our itinerary with care a year in advance.  Our goal was a slower paced, but interesting holiday that allowed us to discover many different facets of Andalusia.  On previous trips we have made the 'mistakes' - hotels too cheap, too much driving, not enough sit-on-butt time etc.  Not this time.  We are a 50s-something couple & we enjoy historical sites, museums, art galleries, fine dining & wines.  We dislike tours.

The plan I ended up with proved to be perfect.  Sleepy La Mancha, the castles & palaces of Al Andalus, vibrant Sevilla, lazy Nerja & the rush of cosmopolitan Madrid.  It was certainly one of our best adventures to date. 

(Text rewritten & pictures revamped August 2012)
 

Our Trip

Almagro

Jaén

Granada

Sevilla

Nerja

Madrid

Our Route