Over the last three days we ventured out of Sevilla by train to visit the ancient cities of Cordoba and Granada. We negotiated through the ticket purchase at the Santa Justa station in Sevilla and ended up with tickets for the high speed train to Cordoba and then a late afternoon high speed train to Antequera and a bus (the new line was under construction) on to Granada. The high speed train was great but twice the price of the regional media distance routes.
Day 1
The train ride to Cordoba, the first ever for Matt, lasted about 45 minutes through orchards of oranges, and upon arrival we were ready to locate the famous mosque… that is after we fed the kids.
We found a restaurant with a patio where Nick had calamari (a new staple of his diet), Matt tried the Iberian sausage, but again defaulted to the bread (so far the staple of his diet) while Katy went with the artichoke tapas, and I tried the cold, creamy tomato soup called salmorejo. Yes we are travelling through Spain on our stomachs.
This was also our first hot weather, reaching the mid 20s by the middle of the day. It gave us our first feel of how hot it must be in the summer and why they need siesta time. Cordoba displayed a lot of history with Roman ruins and ancient bridges. We were also surprised by how muddy the rivers were, probably due to the amount of rain we have been experiencing here in Andalusia.
When we finally got to the Mezquita (mosque), it was an amazing mix of a church (16th century), built within a a mosque (8th century), built on top of a church. We were in awe of the size of the structure, the columns (over 850 of them), the arches and the blending of Catholic and Moorish architecture.
The sun really came out in time to visit the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Palace of the Christian Kings). The gardens, pools and fountains were outstanding, especially in the sun. With everything in bloom they would be even that much more amazing. It was originally built for King Alphonso XI, but housed Isabel and Ferdinand II during their campaign to conquer the Moors in Granada.
It was then back on the train. For a short trip to Antequera during which Matt had a much needed nap. Passing field upon field of olive trees. We then jumped on a bus to take us into the hills and up to Granada. The valleys and ridges along the way let you imagine the Bandelleros looking down for their next prize, as Washington Irving describes. That is, as long as you can ignore the wind turbines, solar fields and gas stations.
After finding our accommodations for the night, we ventured out to get some dinner before getting a good nights sleep. We have been happily subsiding off tapas in Seville, the serving size is great for the boys and we have enjoyed the variety and price. To our surprise we found the restaurants in the section of Granada were only serving entrees in the restaurants. This was both a lot of food and quite expensive compared to what we had been used to (Spain on the whole has been quite reasonable). We had calamari (for Nick), meatballs (for Matt), and more artichokes (for Katy), and I had some of each. We later found we were in a very touristy part of Granada and received some good recommendations for the next night (unfortunately none of them opened until 8pm…). After getting the kids to bed (with a chapter of Cervantes’ Don Quixote to lull them to sleep) we decided to stay another night in Granada, unfortunately the hotel we were in didn’t have a vacancy and we had to look for another spot, which is not easy when travelling with a young family of five…
Day 2
We woke up in Granada, had breakfast at the hotel, packed up all our stuff and headed for the Alhambra. We took the bus up the steep windy road and arrived fresh and ready to explore. To our surprise, and disappointment, the tickets including the Nasrid Palace were sold-out both for the day, the night and the next day. We settled for the tickets to the Generalife and Alcazaba. My mother-in-law, Annette gifted me with a lovely copy of Tales of the Alhambra– by Washington Irving for Christmas which was a wonderful way to get a feel for the Alhambra before hand. Both Irving’s description of his visit in the early 1800s and the legends of the palace he relays were thoroughly entertaining and set the scene for the visit. The Generalife, which was the traditional summer home of royalty when it gets too hot in the Alhambra, was a highlight with it’s pools, fountains and waterways. It would be marvellous to see when all the flowers are in bloom. We also really enjoyed the Palace of Charles V which was a renaissance building designed by a student of Michelangelo. From the outside it is a square building but inside it has a circular courtyard surrounded by great pillars. The Alcazaba was the bell tower, traditional defences and fortress that offered some amazing views over Granada and down to the Paseo de Los Tristes below. While we were disappointed in not seeing the Camares Palace and the Palace of the Lions, it was a pretty full morning with three young kids. I guess we will just have to come back one day… and book ahead!
Early afternoon we headed back down into Granada and went to find our new hotel, a single room with 4 single beds and a crib… This was looking to be a fun night. We checked out the train schedules and decided we would leave late morning the next day, so we headed for the Cathedral de Granada as we wouldn’t have time in the morning. It was an amazing space and had a great kids audioguide. Unfortunately the audioguide promised a surprise at the end of the tour and the bookmark didn’t quite meet Matt’s expectations, which meant the next hour with a tired Matt, was not a lot of fun.
Since we were leaving the next morning we decided to fight through the meltdown (probably to be blamed on the parents for the heavily scheduled day) and see the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel) of Granada with the tombs of Isabelle and Ferdinand II. It was great to see the chapel after reading Dogs of God – by James Reston Jr, a great recommendation from family friend. It gives a great history of the creation of the Spanish nation state, Spanish Inquisition, Spanish conquest of Granada, and the beginnings of the exploration of the Americas. With Seville and Granada being major settings for much of the historical action this was a great travel read, thanks Hugh!
This was an ambitious day with the kids, and as we looked for somewhere for dinner we realized how tired the boys were. When we discovered all of our recommended dinner spots were not going to open until 8pm we decided to split up and Olivia and I hit up the grocery store to buy dinner, while Nick, Matt and Katy headed back to the hotel. Luckily the boys were exhausted and when Olivia and I returned Nick was already in bed. After a quick dinner (bread, ham & cheese) and a reading of the “Legend of the Two Discreet Statues” from the Tales of the Alhambra, everyone crashed (in the morning I discovered this was with the exception of Katy and Olivia who hung out a bit longer, much to Katy’s dismay).
Day 3
After a late start (everyone slept in after the big day before despite all five of us being in the same room) and a packed lunch (yes bread, meat and cheese again), we caught the 11am bus to Antequera and then the media distance (slow regional) train from there to Sevilla, during which Olivia caught a little more sleep.
The high speed route from Sevilla to Granada looks great (most of the line has been laid) and will probably cut the travel time in half, but unfortunately we were too early too take advantage of it. Once in Sevilla, the boys were happy to be “home”. While it was great to explore a little bit more of Andalusia, our little road trip confirmed for us that we made the right decision to base ourselves in one location for longer periods of time. With 3 young kids the varied train schedules, carrying luggage, uncertain accommodations, less than ideal sleeping arrangements, inconsistent meal times and over scheduled sightseeing make short term travel quite a challenge. We now await the arrival of three of Katy’s aunts who will be visiting during the rest of our stay in Seville. It will be great to again have visitors come see us here in Sevilla!
It's About the Ride 