♥ SPAIN!
Hola (Hello) readers! From the title, I'm sure all of you know what I'm about to blog about!
Firstly, my mother & I went to Spain somewhere back in December 2009 around Christmas up till New Year's Eve & we enjoyed our trip! From the culture, food, shopping & architecture. Everything was fantastic!. We went to Madrid & around southern Spain specifically Trujillo, Sevilla, Ronda, Costa Del Sol, Granada & Toledo. There's so many BEAUTIFUL things to see! (As for the ladies, the men there are gorgeous!). Based on my experience, Spain is definitely one of the best places to go!
MADRID
Football fans! Yes, it's the home of Real Madrid & the official venue for MTV's 2010 European Music Awards or better known as EMA's. This is the city to shop! We had a 5-storey ZARA building nearby our hotel, the biggest chain of department stores in Spain, El Corte Inglés & Starbucks. Madrid has a very efficient subway system & the people there move FAST! (City people). There were many buildings & monuments of old architectures. Beautiful indeed!. A must for football fans is to visit the Real Madrid Stadium. Unfortunately, I didn't have time. Another must (for those who visit Hard Rock Cafe & Hotels around the globe.. like me!) is to visit Hard Rock Cafe. Besides that, take a walk down the streets of Salamanca which is the uptown & high street of the city of Madrid where the riches shop & high-end brands are sold. If you're looking for middle-range to high end brands (depending on the store), go to the Factory Outlet Village located at a distance of 30 minutes from the city. Take a stroll along the streets of Gran Via as well if you're looking for food, more shopping & a lively atmosphere. In terms of culture, it is a must to attend a flamenco show! This is where you get to see & listen to how the Spanish people play their guitars (watch their fingers!) & perform the famous flamenco dance.
Buildings, buildings & MORE BUILDINGS!
Home of Real Madrid.
Pictures from the flamenco show!
First stop, Trujillo! It was more like a pit stop as our main stop was Sevilla. Trujillo was more like a village. They had bars, stalls selling hand-made jewellery & other items. There were also restaurants catered to tourists as the town looked like as if it was a village. The houses there looked small & compacted.
The pictures below were taken in Trujillo.
Plaza Mayor (Trujillo's main plaza).
We then headed to Sevilla where we spent a couple of nights there. Sevilla is an old town. My first impression of the town was I wasn't going to enjoy myself. I was definitely wrong! My mum & I took a walk from our hotel to the town. It wasn't boring at all! The roads there were still narrow but we had fun walking through. Spotted ZARA & a few other well known stores such as H&M & Promod along the way. Sevilla was also once known as a port whereby trades were made. Each country had its own port, they called it pavilion if I'm not wrong. We visited Catedral de Santa María de la Sede, the third largest cathedral in the world & the burial site of Christopher Columbus. The cathedral was also a mosque once before the Christians invaded & turned it into a cathedral. There are still some architectural aspects of the mosque left on the cathedral. Music was also being played constantly by musicians holding or sitting somewhere with a guitar strumming away.
Our adventure continued when we went to Ronda which was a pit stop on our way to Costa Del Sol. Ronda had a bull fighting museum. We didn't went in though. Instead, we decided to walk until we reached a bridge where there was a very beautiful scenery. It was as if we were on top of a mountain. A good place to bungee jump I suppose?. We then headed to our destination, Costa Del Sol. Beautiful beaches!. Unfortunately, it was raining at that time. Strangely, our hotel had an Egyptian concept. The statues were of Egyptian elements. We also stumbled upon a shop selling all items for 2 Euros which was owned by a Chinese man who couldn't speak English nor Spanish! Makes you wonder how he managed to open a shop down there?.
The pictures below are taken in Ronda.
FINALLY! Our final destinations were Granada & Toledo.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE TRIP = AL HAMBRA
Al Hambra, located in Granada is one of the wonders in the Islamic history. It is also the last kingdom of Islam in Europe. As I walked through the palace & stood at the balcony facing the city, I felt like Princess Jasmine from Aladdin. The palace had encryptions all over the walls, ceilings & arches. The garden is magnificent. They still had preserved statues & the original tiles in the palace. Only a few restorations had been done. We then took a walk to charles V's (Roman Emperor) unfinished palace. We finally went to Toledo, our last stop before we headed back to Madrid. Toledo, known for its gold & steel handicraft also supplied props for the movie, 300. I also managed to take beautiful panoramic photos of Toledo. Marzipans are also famous in Toledo.
The pictures below were taken in Al Hambra.
The garden.
Encryptions! How did they do them back in the old days?.
Charles V's unfinished palace.
The old floor tiles.
Close up!
The ceiling representing the heavens in Islam.
The oldest room in Granada!
The pictures below were taken in Toledo starting off with panoramic views of the city.
See how narrow the street is?!.
Entirely made of marzipan!.
Before I end my post, I noticed I didn't talk much about food. Since my mother & I are Muslims, we couldn't fine Halal food around so we survived on eating seafood instead. SPANISH DISHES YOU MUST TRY! Paella & Tapas!
The view from our hotel room.
My mother in front of the Town Hall.
Puerta de Alcala, this is where Katy Perry performed during the EMA's.
Pictures from the flamenco show!
Gran Via!
First stop, Trujillo! It was more like a pit stop as our main stop was Sevilla. Trujillo was more like a village. They had bars, stalls selling hand-made jewellery & other items. There were also restaurants catered to tourists as the town looked like as if it was a village. The houses there looked small & compacted.
The pictures below were taken in Trujillo.
Spanish steps.
The biggest jar of Nutella I have ever seen!
Don't be fooled! It was only a Christmas decoration.
We then headed to Sevilla where we spent a couple of nights there. Sevilla is an old town. My first impression of the town was I wasn't going to enjoy myself. I was definitely wrong! My mum & I took a walk from our hotel to the town. It wasn't boring at all! The roads there were still narrow but we had fun walking through. Spotted ZARA & a few other well known stores such as H&M & Promod along the way. Sevilla was also once known as a port whereby trades were made. Each country had its own port, they called it pavilion if I'm not wrong. We visited Catedral de Santa María de la Sede, the third largest cathedral in the world & the burial site of Christopher Columbus. The cathedral was also a mosque once before the Christians invaded & turned it into a cathedral. There are still some architectural aspects of the mosque left on the cathedral. Music was also being played constantly by musicians holding or sitting somewhere with a guitar strumming away.
The pictures below were taken in Sevilla.
I forgot what pavilion this was.
Music being played.
The map of Sevilla, made in ceramic like most of the things here are.
It's not like everyday you see a pink leaf right?!
Catedral de Santa María de la Sede.
MY MOTHER'S MOST PEACEFUL TIME OF HER LIFE. 18:53:43, 25th Dec 2009
Mandarin oranges in Sevilla?! FOR REAL!.
It's a sink!
This is entirely made from chocolate!
Our adventure continued when we went to Ronda which was a pit stop on our way to Costa Del Sol. Ronda had a bull fighting museum. We didn't went in though. Instead, we decided to walk until we reached a bridge where there was a very beautiful scenery. It was as if we were on top of a mountain. A good place to bungee jump I suppose?. We then headed to our destination, Costa Del Sol. Beautiful beaches!. Unfortunately, it was raining at that time. Strangely, our hotel had an Egyptian concept. The statues were of Egyptian elements. We also stumbled upon a shop selling all items for 2 Euros which was owned by a Chinese man who couldn't speak English nor Spanish! Makes you wonder how he managed to open a shop down there?.
The pictures below are taken in Ronda.
My mum & Fabiola in front of the bull fighting museum.
Spotted a condom machine by the street.
The pictures below were taken on the bridge in Ronda. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.
The pictures below were taken in Costa Del Sol.
Our last flamenco show.
Sunrise on the way out from Costa Del Sol.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE TRIP = AL HAMBRA
Al Hambra, located in Granada is one of the wonders in the Islamic history. It is also the last kingdom of Islam in Europe. As I walked through the palace & stood at the balcony facing the city, I felt like Princess Jasmine from Aladdin. The palace had encryptions all over the walls, ceilings & arches. The garden is magnificent. They still had preserved statues & the original tiles in the palace. Only a few restorations had been done. We then took a walk to charles V's (Roman Emperor) unfinished palace. We finally went to Toledo, our last stop before we headed back to Madrid. Toledo, known for its gold & steel handicraft also supplied props for the movie, 300. I also managed to take beautiful panoramic photos of Toledo. Marzipans are also famous in Toledo.
The pictures below were taken in Al Hambra.
Entrance to the summer palace.
Ruins.
The pictures below were taken in Toledo starting off with panoramic views of the city.
Merchandise from the movie 300.
Marzipans!.
Saint Martin's bridge.
The view from the bridge.
Before I end my post, I noticed I didn't talk much about food. Since my mother & I are Muslims, we couldn't fine Halal food around so we survived on eating seafood instead. SPANISH DISHES YOU MUST TRY! Paella & Tapas!
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