Montag, 8. August 2011

On the road with my Mum

Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, Sevilla, Cadiz and Malaga in 2 weeks – my Mum and I had many places to see and to explore in Spain.

Finally, my Mum arrives at the airport in Barcelona
We started our trip in Barcelona – walking at least 15 km’s every day. There is so much to see in Barcelona: Gaudi’s constructions like the Sagrada Família, Casa Milá and Casa Battló – amazing buildings. Then we’ve been walking along La Rambla - a 1.2 kilometer-long tree-lined pedestrian mall. We went to the beach area: Barceloneta, the harbour, various parks, the old town: Barri Gòtic etc. etc. – Barcelona was for us an exciting and diverse city and definitely worth a visit.

La Rambla
The harbour

Sagrada Família

Parc de la Ciutadella

Barcelona's Cactus Garden
Then we continued our trip to Valencia, a city with a great mix of tradition and modern spirit.
A truly mind-blowing confection of some of Europe's most awesome architecture is the City of Arts and Science in Valencia. 


We also have been trying Valencias’s culinary specialities, like: Orxata: a drink made from tigernuts, water, and sugar - refreshing and delicious and the best Paella ever (of course vegetarian style). 

Orxata sales woman
# 1 Paella restaurant in Valencia
Next stop was the magical city of Granada, where we’ve been visiting the Albaicin and the World Heritage Site, the complex of the Alhambra.
 
The Albaicin is a labyrinth of narrow streets perfumed of blossom smell, where you can find many small tea houses. Of course my Mum and I had to try different teas and Arabian sweets, mh - yammie. 


Then we’ve been visiting the Alhambra, originally designed as a military area, became the residence of royalty and of the court of Granada in the middle of the thirteenth century, after the establishment of the Nasrid kingdom and the construction of the first palace, by the founder king Mohammed ibn Yusuf ben Nasr, better known as Alhamar.

Alhambra

30-40 degrees every day...

The garden of Alhambra
Graffiti art on the walls of Granada:




After 2 days in Granada, we hit the road again and made our way to Sevilla and the largest cathedral in Spain and the third largest (by square footage) in the entire world. Sevilla is a beautiful city but very, very hot in the summer – so don’t forget to bring a hand-fan.

The cathedral

...a great view of Sevilla after climbing a 100 m high tower
snails for sale

I always wanted to try a flamenco dress.

refreshing - after a long, hot day of walking

After so much sightseeing it was time for a bit of beach vacation and so we drove to Cadiz and enjoyed the beach, sun and ocean for 3 days. It was also the 1st youth hostel experience for my Mum and she did really well – we stayed in a 6-bed-mixed-dorm and my Mum really enjoyed meeting travellers from all over the world there.

Happy times

Sunset in Cadiz

Botanical garden Cadiz

Mum chilling on the roof terrace of the youth hostel in Cadiz
As every journey has an end, so had ours and after 2 weeks of sightseeing and beach vacation and an amazing time with my Mum it was time to say Good-bye in Malaga. But not before we explored the old town and beach of Malaga ;)





Saying Good bye at the Malaga airport.

I really enjoyed my trip through the different parts of Spain and specially spending time with my Mum was better than anything. Now my journey will continue – next stop: Bordeaux – stay tuned.

Hugs and besos from Barcelona,
Eylin

3 Kommentare:

  1. Hello lovely!

    It's so nice to read your blog and to se that you are having a wonderful time!
    Many beautiful pictures.

    I hope you will continue to enjoy, and i'm looking forward to read more :)
    Love Turid

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  2. Lovely pictures and what a fantastic trip! Any plans on passing through Luzern? Take care! towe

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  3. Hallo liebe Eylin

    so schön, deine Fotos und Berichte. so wie ich sehe, gehts dir wunderbar. Ich wünsche dir weiterhin viele spannende Begegnungen und Erlebnisse und sende die herzlichsten Grüsse aus dem Schweizerländle...
    Andrea

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