16 Apr Intro for Andalucia
2006.
First year that I wanted to travel to Andalucia.
For over 12 years I kept dreaming of this part of Spain but always postponing my trip. I saw countless places along these years but I always kept thinking someday I will reach these places too.
And finally in March and April 2018 I did it. I travelled for 15 days in Andalucia and it has been an incredible experience.
These series will have a different format. Due to the fact that I travelled in many cities and slept in a few hotels and visited over 15 restaurants I will modify the layout and try to bring a new aspect to how my articles are written.
In this first article, the intro for the series, I will present the cities, the hotels and the restaurants and then I will start moving deeper, touching each point that impressed me from this trip.
I was so lucky that my first week in Andalucia was the Semana Santa and I can tell you right now it has been an incredible experience, an experience I witnessed in three cities during that week.
My trip took me to Seville, Cadiz, Jerez de la Frontera, Cordoba, Ronda, Setenil de las Bodegas, Granada, Nerja, Frigiliana and Malaga. A lot of places as you can see but I still feel sorry that due to time constraints and the fact that I couldn’t book a car I wasn’t able to see 3,4 more places. Unlike my other trips where I rented a car here the price was just too big and I needed to leave a big deposit (1000 eur) so I chose to move thru Andalucia by train or buses.
However, if you do book a car, make sure your driving and parking skills are top notch because some of the alleys and roads in these cities are so small that you constantly feel you are hitting the car.
My accommodation was as follows:
- Seville- Nochela Sevilla
- Cordoba- Hotel Gonzales
- Ronda- Hotel Arunda 2
- Granda- Hotel Universal
- Nerja- Hotel Bajamar
- Malaga- Castilla Guerrero
Now before I list the restaurants tried I must make a confession. Besides writing on my blog I also kept updating locations on Google Maps and TripAdvisor. However I lately considered stopping writing on TripAdvisor due to the fact that I think the site is no longer relevant.
Everywhere you go, you see TripAdvisor logos in the windows or doors of hotels, restaurants, etc. and unfortunately during my trip I have tried some meals I did not enjoy.
And this is not a first time. In the past I have eaten also things I did not enjoy in TripAdvisor high rated restaurants so I think since many of my views don’t match the rankings it is a waste of time to upload articles there too.
Unlike before I will not review each restaurant in a separate article. What I will do is write a full article for all the restaurants tried in a city then in the second part of the article I will write more about some foods I enjoyed, the prices, etc.
The following restaurants were tried during my trip (and I really hope I’m not forgetting anything) and in the next articles I will detail them and upload photos of the things I have tried: Bodega Santa Cruz, Cata Ciega, Alvaro Peregil, Bar Merodio, Conbulli Tapas, Dos d Mayo, Bar Alfalfa, Garum 2.1, Restaurant Bar El Lechuguita, La taberna, La escueva, El Bodeguita de Coto, Los Diamantos, Avila, Riviera, Restaurante Albi, El pulguilla, Little Italy and Casa Lola.
This being said I really enjoyed most of the meals in Andalucia. Since I am not fluent in Spanish( I understand it but I can’t speak it) I often asked the staff to pick for me tapas(their favorites) and I must say I was quite impressed most of the time.
I enjoyed my meals very much and I am happy that besides visiting places filled with history, beautiful places, I tasted some great dishes and local drinks (beer, sherry, wine).
Also I will detail the prices of the trains, tickets for admissions to different sights or churches and I will try to cover as much as possible from this wonderful trip.
This being said the first article will focus on my accommodation in Seville since this is where my trip started.
Enjoy!