2024 Exploring Southern Spain (Toledo-Avila-Segovia-Salamanca-Cordoba-Sevilla-Grenada)

Not quite sure where we are headed nor for how long. Ended up being driven by when we could get into various historical sites and work we needed to undertake.

Here is the route map.

Toledo - 24-28th May

We visited Toledo with Lexy on a one day trip out of Madrid. What a place. We just needed to return to explore further. So found an apartment in the heart of town. No parking in town. We parked in the station at the bottom of the hill, caught the escalators up into town and pack muled all the gear in!!!

So pleased we decided on 3 full days to take in all of the history of this place. Visited the various churches, went to Mass in the Cathedral, visited the synagogue and museum, the military museum and a plethora of different restaurants and cafes.

Lots of tourists during the day. All disappear from about 5pm onwards, leaving the balance of the "espanol dia" to use "locals".

We stayed in a beautifully restored Muslim home converted into apartments. The temperature outside might be 28C and as soon as you enter the large gate and step into the inner courtyard the temperature drops about 5C. At times we donned long sleeves in the apartment.

We enjoyed some walks around the outside of Toledo following the course of the river. I did an early morning walk (10k) to capture sunrise. Theresa joined on a 2nd lap a few days later.

There is SO MUCH to see, do and enjoy in Toledo I have split these into a few categories:

The sights of Toledo
Our hike around the outside of Toledo
The Military Museum
The Synagogue, Monastery and gate crashing a Wedding
Dining in Toledo
El Greco Museum

The Sights of Toledo

Our Hike around the outside of Toledo

Mark hiked around starting at Dawn. Then we both walked on another day a little later. Really interesting walk around the entire city.

Toledo Military Museum

Built on top of a Roman fort. Lots of interesting military exhibits and the military history stemming from pre-Roman times.

Toledo Places of Worship

Toledo reflects the various faiths that have lived in Spain. We visited the Synagogue, various Catholic churches and saw the Muslim presence.

Dining in Toledo

Lots of different options. The stand out was the silver "chopstick" Chinese opposite the Cathedral!!!

El Greco Museum

Another interesting museum which we did not expect to find in one of the side streets. We love Spain and the surprises it springs on us.

Avila - 28th-31st May

A UNESCO site owing to the walled fortress encapsulating the town. We rented an apartment just outside the fortress (a 200m walk) but in the old part of town also.

We scored a car park in a basement complete with a car lift!!! Navigating around the basement was an "interesante" experience. So many pillars and no marked route.

The highlight of our stay in Avila was definitely the stroll around the top of the fortress. There is about a 3km section of the battlements open to visitors. Just astounding.

And the Cathedral did not disappoint.

Also visited Avila with Lexy on our Madrid day trip. Again, this helped us decide to return for a longer stay.

The Walls of Avila
The Churches
Wandering through the cobbled streets
Gastronomical Pleasures

The Walls of Avila

The walls are the essence of the reason for the Unesco classification. Magnificently restored. With walking opportunities in two locations stretching for around 6km.

Wandering

Our apartment was just outside the walls. Also meant we had a parking space nearby. With a car lift. Perfecto. And our hosts just incredibly helpful and friendly.

The Churches

Spain does churches very, very well. Avila did not disappoint. Having visited many during our Camino and after. Some "have spirit" others "have not". I am truly enjoying the spiritual aspect of this journey.

I did not expect that to impact. More revelations to come.

Gastronomical Pleasures

As we have moved south the food choices change dramatically. And we found Avila's best on offer. The Michelin Star was E.xtraordinary.

Art in Avila!!!!

Sometimes you've just got laugh! I DEFINITELY enjoyed the art.

Side trip to Segovia

On the one day tour with Lexy we visited Segovia and viewed the Roman Aquaduct and the town. VERY INTERESTING town and with only an hour didn't get a chance to really explore. But what we found was fabulous!!

Salamanca - 31st May - 3rd June

Another fortified town but has lost many of its walls. However, the various Plazas, Churches, shops, restaurants, Palaces, tiny streets et al did not disappoint.

The challenge was navigating through very narrow streets trying to find the designated parking area for the car. Did a couple of laps. Each lap about 5km. And then carting gear to our apartment.

The apartment looked directly down the main "avenida". Fabulous.

Attended a wonderful Mass, the "padre" an absolute gem, replete with robes and microphone he delivered his sermon (in Spanish) from various parts of the Church. Extraordinary involvement of parishiners. We sat in a pew with three venerable Spanish ladies all of whom were delighted that "Australianos" would travel so far to attend Mass with them. And had walked "la Camino".

The Padre gave me a huge smile a couple of days when he spotted me video taping the Corpus Christi processing.

Exploring Salamanca. Our apartment was in the heart of town. Fabulous.

We found the Palace, still occupied after many generations.

Food choices are definitely changing as we move further south into Spain. Wonderful. NO OCTOPUS for us!!!!

Of course there are interesting Churches to visit. The Cathedral was magnificent. But a local church 150metres from us was our favorite. Enjoyed Mass there on Sunday with the locals.

And we enjoyed the Corpus Christi procession though town.

Cordoba - 3rd-8th June

A LONG 500k drive to Cordoba. Not much to explore on the way down, and we wanted to get into the "deep South" quickly. WOW. The temperature increases dramatically, so too the humidity. Have not used the long sleeve outfits.

We're staying in the Jewish quarter, which is the oldest part of town. It is surrounded by an array of Plazas, Churches, Moorish designed homes, Roman buildings and bridge, ... such a cacophony of history here.

Parked the car in a station some kilometers away and walked in to explore. Then went back, called a cab and got them to navigate the streets to our apartment.

And a selection of videos of us exploring Cordoba.

As we headed further south we escaped the Octupai of Galicia!!! Much greater choice of traditional Spanish food and also a heavy Moorish influence.

The Cathedral was once the Mosque. And a most interesting place to visit. Huge. Fabulous.

Also explored the back streets and found the Synagogue and the Museum. Both worth a visit.

Then there was the Fortress! Cordoba had so many interesting sights within a short walk of our apartment. All in the old quarter. The Alcázar Andalusí de Córdoba is a fortified palace.

Theresa bought me this shirt! Not quite retired but we've found that wonderful balance of exploring and working from interesting places around the globe.

Loved Cordoba.

Sevilla - day trip by high speed train 6th June

We decided there were a couple of key attractions for us in Sevilla. So decided to base in Cordoba and caught the high speed train down for the day. Brilliant option as it turned out.

We used Spain written by Rick Stein as our guide. His guides are truly excellent. Not only are they content rich but include "off the tourist route" places of interest. And detailed walking guides.

Granada - 8th-12th June

The high Sierra's, the Old Town and the Alhambra Castle were the key attractions. Neither disappointed nor the town.

It is a relatively short distance between Cordoba and Grenada. And we had seen this amazing Castle on the way to Cordoba so wanted to back track to visit. It featured on Game of Thrones so absolutely a MUST for Theresa and I. "Castillo del Almovidar".

And since we had time we spotted an archaelogical site we thought might be worth a quick stop. Medina Azhara. WOW... spent a few hours exploring this place.

Found our nearest car park (La Paz) to our AirBnB in Grenada. Fabulous, off loaded the gear, gave them the keys and walked 100m to our place. Located on the 3rd floor of this fully restored apartment block, overlooking a Plaza and the High Sierra mountains.

Again Rick Stein and his self-guided walks from his book Spain provided impetous for us to go exploring. Saw much more than Rick suggested but guided into the right locations.