3 Weeks in Spain (via Japan)

[rbjhan]

Did you book your train tickets online? If so how far ahead?

Yes all booked on Renfe.
Roughly 1.5-2 months ahead.

 

[rbjhan]

If you look at a map of Spain, Toledo is to the south of Madrid. Sevilla is further south.
Unfortunately the AVE connecting Madrid to Sevilla does not go past Toledo, so I had to get back to Atocha first.
Well at least it's got a garden.


Later in Sevilla someone told me she hates Atocha coz it's too busy, I advised her not to visit Shinjuku

Renfe lounge in Atocha, some snacks and drinks, better than nothing. Seating is comfortable though.


AVE Preferente is the proper way to travel


The menu


Similar to airline Y food I guess? The pork cheek is yumm.

 

[rbjhan]

Sevilla hotels are not cheap...by the time I started looking in March, Hotel Alfonso XIII was €500+
In the end I booked a boutique hotel in the middle of Santa Cruz, just off Plaza Venerables.
If you've been to Sevilla you'll know the streets in Santa Cruz are like this:


Luckily the hotel send a detailed instruction on how to get there! Suitcases on those streets, not fun, good thing I only had to walk 3 mins or so.




Love the courtyard


I like to sit outside in the evenings...and you'll know why in the next picture.


The room is quite small, thankfully I have years of training from staying in Japanese hotels

 

[rbjhan]

I love the tapas tour in Madrid, so booked another one with the same company in Sevilla, It's a tapas and flamenco tour.
First stop, forgot the name, oops.


But the jamon and chorizo were delicious.


Second stop, well I took a picture of the entrance, smart right?


This one is packed! So I pointed my camera upwards...


Then it's time to La Casa del Flamenco. Pictures and videos are not allowed, so you'll have to take my word it was fantastic.

After the show we went to another restaurant, but for some reason I forgot to take any pictures - apart from heat, I also don't function well when starving

 

[Kangol]

Excellent report, great ideas for Madrid - planning a trip there.
Of the 4 places on the tapas tour, which did you think was the best?
Any other tours in Madrid you had people recommend that you didn't do?

Segovia looks interesting, too.

 

[rbjhan]

Excellent report, great ideas for Madrid - planning a trip there.
Of the 4 places on the tapas tour, which did you think was the best?
Any other tours in Madrid you had people recommend that you didn't do?

Segovia looks interesting, too.

As mentioned before, I went back to both Meson del Champinon and Casa Toni....
Also did an evening bike tour with Rent and Roll.

I rate Segovia higher than Toledo & Avila, but that's just me

 

[rbjhan]

Cordoba was a very late addition to the itinerary, so I decided to day trip from Sevilla instead of changing hotel reservations again.

I was running late that morning, not my m.o usually, in the taxi already frantically thinking about plan B...

Caught the AVE very last minute (literally), ​

phew!


45 mins later arrived at Cordoba. First stop is Puente Romano also known as the long bridge of Volantis in GoT


Across the river you'll have a better view with the Mezquita in the background.


That was season 5 episode 3 if anyone wants to know...clearly they borrowed ideas from Ponte Vecchio as well...

 

[RB]

Great report. Too late for you but I can highly recommend an apartment in Seville. Apartment 32 Calle Miguel Cid Seville | Australian Frequent Flyer

 

[rbjhan]

Then a quick dash to the Mezquita!









The Mihrab


I'm not a fan of the Renaissance nave...this could have been anywhere...

 

[rbjhan]

Great report. Too late for you but I can highly recommend an apartment in Seville. Apartment 32 Calle Miguel Cid Seville | Australian Frequent Flyer

Looks nice but one person really do not need that much space
I'm sure others can take advantage of your recommendation though.

 

[rbjhan]

Spent about 3 hours in the Mezquita, didn't even climb the tower. I love this place, even with all the tours...next time I want to stay overnight in Cordoba, take a stroll in the evening would be very nice methinks.

Calleja de las Flores...no idea why all the fuss about this place. There are some plants hanging from my balcony too you know.


Plaza de las Tendillas, city centre.


Templo Romano, not open to public as of yet. Looks like they are still restoring it.

 

[rbjhan]

Back to Sevilla it was not too late, so off to Plaza de Espana I went.
This must be the most photogenic of all the plazas in town.

 

[rbjhan]

Next morning off to the Alcazar de Sevilla, less than 5 mins walk from hotel, win!

I do strongly recommend buying tickets online beforehand, so that you can avoid joining this line:


Not sure how long it would take but your guess is as good as mine. The queue went all the way from the Lion Gate to the tourist info office!



Anyways, printed ticket in hand, I calmly walked past them, with great sense of triumph!

I bought the combo ticket "General Tour + Cuarto Real Alto + Audioguide", apparently the Cuarto Real Alto still belongs to the royal family and they stay here when visiting Sevilla. It is of course suitably furnished Photos are not allowed, in fact personal belongings are not allowed - you have to put them all into a locker outside (bag, camera, the lot) before the guards let you in.

Top tip: be on time! While we were waiting for our 10:30 am slot, a number of people showed up with tickets to the 10am group, 3 were able to join our group (there's a max number I believe) but others were still waiting when I left. Tickets were all sold out according to the guy manning the entrance.

This leads to the Cuarto Real Alto, no other pictures.

 

[rbjhan]

Apologies for more GoT references but I'm a great fan, despite the shenanigans of season 8.

Just a few screenhots from season 5, the Kingdom of Dorne.
Salon de Embajadores


Unfortunately this terrace is not open to the public...


But this one is!


Now off to the real thing.

 

[rbjhan]

Just my luck the Salon de Embajadores featured giant scaffoldings in the middle that day! bah.


No way to escape the thing! aagghh



BTW, we walked past the small balcony behind the scaffoldings while touring the upper palace.

 

[rbjhan]

At least nothing was going on in the Patio de las Doncellas.



Patio de las Muñecas, now imagine 3 tour groups packed into this little courtyard....must have waited 10 mins for this picture.


While pointing the camera upwards.


Dormitorio de los Reyes Moros

 

[rbjhan]

Sala de las Bovedas in the Gothic Palace


And then the garden








Entrance to Los Baños de Doña María de Padilla was well hidden in the garden...walked past it at least once before noticing what it was.

 

[rbjhan]

A few more pictures of the Alcazar.




Look what I found!

 

[rbjhan]

Spent 4 hours in the Alcazar, honestly could be more if I didn't have another place to be.
There are similarities to the Alhambra of course and the latter is more elaborated, but a not to be missed place in Sevilla IMHO.

 

[OZDUCK]

I am just catching up, because of Internet problems for the last 2-3 days, but am also enjoying your photos. Some of those of Segovia & Salamanca could just about have been stolen from my camera. I agree with you about the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca - it was the best we saw. Luckily we had no pop-up shops to spoil the view and it was lit up especially for their National Day. My wife preferred the one in Madrid - but what would she know?

I agree that the Renfe trains are excellent. We had trips in both Preferente & Touristica and they were all good. In the 7 long distance trips we took the longest delay for departure/arrival was 45 seconds!