{"id":6305,"date":"2024-09-08T11:31:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-08T18:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/?p=6305"},"modified":"2024-10-12T23:34:02","modified_gmt":"2024-10-13T06:34:02","slug":"adventures-in-andalusia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/2024\/09\/08\/adventures-in-andalusia\/","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Andalusia"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>It has been years since we traveled without Westley, but with Retina Society<\/a> coinciding with the first week of school, we took the opportunity to plan a 2-week couple\u2019s itinerary through southern Spain and Portugal. Our delayed flights to Malaga allowed good use of lounge access at SFO<\/a> and LIS<\/a> and an early introduction to Portuguese fare<\/a> during our layover. Despite the post-midnight car transfer<\/a>\u00a0to Granada, we picked up early morning churros and hot chocolate<\/a>, then browsed the Arab Market<\/a> on the way to the Madrasa<\/a>, Granada Cathedral<\/a>, and Royal Chapel<\/a>. The hot and uphill climb to the Royal Convent of Santa Isabel<\/a> awarded us with cookies and macaroons through a revolving wooden door. After visiting Dar al-Horra<\/a>, we dined al fresco in the Albaicin neighborhood on gazpacho, tomatoes, and grilled squid<\/a>, then returned for siesta at the hotel<\/a> before a flamenco show at Jardin de Zoraya<\/a>, sunset views from Mirador San Nicolas<\/a>, and dinner at Los Manueles<\/a>, where we sampled beefy albondigas, more gazpacho, deep-fried eggplant with molasses, and killer codfish and oxtail. On Tuesday, we queued up early to beat out the tour groups at Alhambra<\/a> to visit the impressive Nasrid Palaces<\/a>, Alcazaba<\/a>, and Generalife<\/a>. Returning downhill, we were less impressed by the Paseo de los Tristes<\/a> and El Banuelo<\/a> along the Carrera del Darro<\/a>. After yummy seafood tapas at Bar Los Diamantes<\/a>, we relaxed at Hammam Al Andalus<\/a> with a long soak, scrub, and massage, then returned to a livelier Paseo to dine<\/a> beside Alhambra with jamon Iberica, gambas of Motril, and black ink paella. A Wednesday morning train delivered us to Cordoba, where we explored the Alacazar de los Reyes Cristianos<\/a>, strolled past the Roman Bridge<\/a>, and secured last-minute tickets to the Mezquita<\/a>, where we appreciated the unique juxtaposition of Catholic and Muslim architecture. We stopped for fresh patatas fritas<\/a> on the way to Palacio de Viana<\/a>, where the 12 different patio styles showed us how rich people show off. We sampled empanadas for lunch, then enjoyed our hotel\u2019s<\/a> rooftop patio for sunset views of the Mosque-Cathedral<\/a> before dinner<\/a>. A refreshing breakfast at our hotel courtyard fueled our early shopping and synagogue<\/a> visit in the Jewish Quarter<\/a>. With a pastella de Cordoba in hand, we caught the train to Seville to check into our Airbnb<\/a> at Casa Palacio Gandesa<\/a>, where the interior felt decadent with library murals and busts of Spanish emperors. The line moved quickly at El Rinconcillo<\/a>, where we enjoyed pavas de bacalao, ensaladilla, fried fish, and the chalk order directly on the counter. We watched the Supermercado Mas<\/a> staff unjam their machine for some fresh-squeezed OJ before a siesta of Severance<\/a> episodes, followed by less-tasty paella for dinner<\/a>. We started Friday strolling with churros<\/a> to the Plaza de Espana<\/a> and Maria Luisa Park<\/a>, and got lost inside the maze of Real Alcazar\u2019s<\/a> expansive interior and gardens. The long line to visit the Seville Cathedral<\/a> took a good chunk out of our planned itinerary, so we skipped climbing La Giralda<\/a> and headed to lunch at Castizo<\/a> for excellent cod and rice. Despite an afternoon nap before our evening show at the Museo Baile Flamenco<\/a>, we fell asleep and missed dinner that night, but were refreshed for our Saturday in Triana. We skipped the soggy-looking churros at Especialista<\/a> for fresh ones at Mercado de Triana<\/a>, followed by purchases of jamon, cheeses, and sausage snack cups, and shopping for ceramic bulls<\/a> and a skinny suit<\/a> for the meeting banquet. Lunch at Blanco Paloma<\/a> included crispy croquettes, stuffed aubergines, and sizzling gambas casserole that put us to slumber again before dinner at Al Wadi<\/a> for kebap and kabseh with lamb that was indistinguishable from chicken. We left Anadalusia in an early-morning Uber<\/a> with fond memories of the region’s evocative architecture, fresh seafood, and friendly culture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It has been years since we traveled without Westley, but with Retina Society coinciding with the first week of school, we took the opportunity to plan a 2-week couple\u2019s itinerary through southern Spain and Portugal. Our delayed flights to Malaga … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6305"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6373,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6305\/revisions\/6373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}