Carol
1. Sevilla - love the vibe,
the history, the architecture
2. Granada - the
goal was to give it a second chance - love the VRBO we stayed in, the historic
center was very cool, loved the tapa tour
Glen
1. Sevilla - Sevilla is undisputed, undefeated champion of the south of Spain.
2. Granada - Same reasons as Carol. She mentioned the VRBO; the views were unreal.
Question 2: Favorite new city to us and why? Second choice and why?
Carol
1. Cadiz beautiful
setting, cool architecture
2. Caseres - UNESCO everything, great tour
Glen
1. Merida -- The Roman ruins are spectacular. An entire UNESCO World Heritage city.
2. Trujillo -- I really did like Cadiz as well, but I really enjoyed wandering around this town in the early morning cool of the day. It felt like we had the place to ourselves.
Question 3: Favorite site we went to, and why?
Carol
1. La Mezquita - amazing history, so beautiful, fell in love with in while studying Spain in high school
2. Alhambra - incredible
gardens, history and architecture
Glen
1. I don't know why I asked this question -- it's a tough one to pick from so many great sites. I'm going to cheat and name some honorable mentions below. But ultimately, #1 surprises me. The Royal Alcazar of Seville.
2. Alhambra -- the architecture, the setting high on the hill with snow-capped mountains are great but the Moorish designs are spectacular. Ranked the parts of the Alhambra would be Palacio Nazaries, Generalife Palace & Gardens, the Alcazaba, and finally Palace of Charles V.
Honorable mentions: La Mezquita of Cordoba (an absolutely stunning place), the Roman Theatre of Merida, the roof walk on the Seville Cathedral.
Question 4: What were your favorite three restaurants of the trip and why?
Carol
1. Angelita (Madrid) - just amazing food. best of the trip
2. Celso Y Manolo (Madrid) - second best food
of the trip. Great twist on tapas
3. Vertical (Malaga) - fusion, organic,
delicious
Glen
1. Angelita -- best food of the trip without a doubt. And, the special welcome and treatment by the co-owner because of our friendship with an American friend of us made us feel special.
2. Vertical -- We were whiffing on finding a place to eat. Most, but not all, nights I had made reservations. We were wandering around Malaga, Carol saw an outdoor table at this restaurant, and we ended up loving the food. Had a great waiter as well.
3. Celso Y Manolo -- second time there, and enjoyed it immensely both times.
Question 5: Best two hotels, and why?
Carol
1. Parador Zafra - amazing
ceiling art, great balcony, cool bar
2. Parador de Cadiz - great views,
walkable
Glen
1. Parador Zafra -- staying in a room in an Alcazaba, going upstairs to the crenellated walls and towers, is as romantic as can be. And, the quirkiness of going through the bathroom to get out to the massive balcony is neat.
2. Hotel Ilunion Merida -- Being right across from Plaza de Espana of Merida, which was jam-packed with people eating dinner at the restaurants and kids playing games made it feel like we were allowed into the secret evening culture of Merida. And the fountain in the plaza
Question 6: What were your favorite two VRBOs and why?
Carol
1. Granada - view of Alhambra,
balcony, cool neighborhood
2. Seville - neighborhood close to everything, elevator, easy parking
Glen
Same two as Carol, same reasons.
Stat Boy Stats!
- We went to 15 cities/towns/villages in 17 days.
- Some stops were two hours or less.
- We spent three nights in Seville.
- We spent two nights in the following: Cordoba, Granada, Malaga, Casar de Cacares, and Madrid.
- One night in each of Fuengirola, Cadiz, Zafra, and Merida.
- We did several hour drop-bys in Frigiliana, Mijas, Cacares, Trujillo, and Guadalupe.
- We traveled 1,124 miles around the south and west of Spain.
- We've been to 78 total places (cities, towns, villages, national parks) on the Iberian Peninsula, 63 in Spain and 15 in Portugal.
- The two areas of Spain we have covered the least -- Murcia and Castilla LaMancha.
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