 |
| Cycling in Valencia to la Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciències |
We arrived in Valencia, Spain in our motorhome Vanni, and found a campground for the night. The next morning, we cycled into Valencia city headed for the futuristic Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciències (City of Arts and Sciences).
But somehow, we got lost. Asking directions, we met a guy who, after hearing we were from NZ, explained he had spent a year there, loved rugby, and was returning soon. He had a koru tattoo on his ankle and was very proud of it.
Following his directions, we found ourselves cycling on a Formula 1 track being prepared for the Valencia Grand Prix. Our second Grand Prix experience after Monaco last month.
 |
Leigh in Valencia's historic centre |
We found the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciències and loved it, then cycled into the historic centre.
Founded as a Roman colony in 138 BC, today Valencia’s historic centre is one of the largest in Spain, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Once we reached the centre, we explored this delightful area on foot.
Valencia presents a fascinating mix of heritage buildings, sitting happily side by side with some amazingly designed futuristic structures, such as Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciències.
We saw so much in Valencia as there is much to see!
 |
Marg outside the Central Market, Valencia, Spain |
A favourite was the Art Nouveau Central Market, with its amazing iron structure, lit by the beautiful coloured glass windows, and housing hundreds of vendors selling their fruit, vegetables, and spices.
Other places included the 15th century Silk Market, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and considered one of the best examples of non-religious Gothic architecture in Europe; the Palacio del Marqués de dos Aguas, a 15th century palace that is now the National Museum of Ceramics; and Barrio del Carmen with its ancient buildings dating back to Roman and Arabic times.
We stopped for lunch at a street-side café, and after enjoying a pizza and sangria, we walked on.
 |
| Marg in the Plaza de
La Virgen, with Valencia Basilica behind |
We found the beautiful Plaza de La Virgen with its Gothic Basílica De La Virgen De Los Desamparados. We also saw the 15th century Serrano and Quart towers which were once part of the wall that surrounded the city.
The Cathedral, built between the 13th and 15th century, is an interesting mix of Gothic, Baroque and Romanesque architecture.
The whole includes many parks, and lots of trees. It is a clean, green and vibrant city, and we loved it.
We’d had a wonderful day, and found biking home easier because we found a much shorter route. We were glad to reach Vanni as we were pretty hot and tired by then.
 |
Guadix cave houses, Granada, Spain |
After a few days, we drove south. En-route we drove through the very grand Sierra Nevada Mountains, and in the foothills of the mountains, we found the cave houses of Guadix.
Apparently, people have been living underground here since Moorish times. Now-days, there are a number of houses that look like normal Spanish dwellings from the front (i.e. stucco etc) but a meter or so back from the facade, the dwelling is built into the rock! They were fascinating.
Driving onwards, the road speed was 120 kph - yaay! We passed lots and lots of trucks, which was a little challenging in the windy conditions.
 |
| Granada, Spain |
Then we arrived in Granada and proceeded to find a campground for our stay there. We eventually found a very good one over the other side of town.
It had plenty of people in it, was clean, and had a bus stop at the gate.
That night, we had a delicious meal at the camp’s award-winning restaurant, with lots of meat and a beautiful bottle of local red wine – heaven!
However, we had to search for this place - the first camp we visited we immediately backed straight back out again as it looked very rundown, and the only resident was a dubious looking character camping long-term right at the gate.
 |
| Marg and some beautiful fretwork at the Alhambra, Granada, Spain |
The next morning, we caught the bus into Grenada city, then another up to the Alhambra Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Constructed in the 14th century by the then sultan of Granada, the Alhambra is built in the Moorish style with lots of gardens, water, arches, and intricate fretwork. It is absolutely beautiful.
The water and the shade were very important to us for surviving the several hours of sightseeing in the extremely hot 36 degree temperature.
Luckily, we had pre-bought tickets from the campground to get into the Alhambra, because the queue to get in was long, and people were standing in the heat with no shade, no water, and nowhere to buy any.
 |
| Marg at the Alhambra, Granada, Spain |
We enjoyed a long break in Granada and really loved the friendliness and helpfulness of the people there. In fact, we have found this friendliness and helpfulness right through Spain – the people are lovely.
While in Granada, we decided that the low and black oil in Vanni’s engine required a change. After asking at the campsite, we found a lovely guy who, without any English, told us he could help us out.
The next day we left Vanni with him and spent an hour in the air-conditioned local mall while he changed our oil, put in a new oil filter, and topped up all essential fluids – all done in the street as we were too big to fit into his workshop. What a great find!
 |
| Horizon to horizon olive trees around Baena, Spain |
Several days later, we headed toward Córdoba via Baena. Baena is known for producing high quality olive oil and for many kilometres before and after Baena, we were treated to an amazing vista of horizon to horizon olive groves.
As we drove through, we could see the white village of Baena sitting on the slope of a hill, but we didn't stop there.
Arriving in Córdoba, we found our campsite only 2 km from the centre of the city, with a McDonald’s just down the road that had free wifi and air conditioning.
McDonald’s has been a boon right through our trip (except in Germany), particularly for the free wifi.
 |
Inside the amazing Córdoba
Cathedral
|
We cycled into Córdoba the next day, and walked around the historic centre. A standout during that walk, was the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, with it's many colourful arches, gilded doors, and painted ceilings.
It started off as a Moorish mosque in 784 AD, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We could see why, with its superbly rich internal decoration.
The structure itself is huge, and considered one of the most “accomplished monuments of Moorish architecture built by the European Moors”. Walking further, we could see that Granada abounds with other interesting sights as well.
 |
Marg at the Palace
de la Merced, Córdoba, Spain
|
Highlights were the historical Baroque style Palace de la Merced, once a convent and now a government office; the sturdy Roman Bridge and surrounding Roman ruins (UNESCO); the beautiful Medieval Alcázar, a Palace of the Moorish rulers up until 1236; the Puerta del Puente (city gate); and several plazas.
We also like the stone Episcopal Palace near the Mosque–Cathedral. Built over what was once a Visigoth palace, that became a castle, that became a Bishops palace, it is now a fine Arts Museum.
Córdoba has the second largest historic centre in Europe, and it is the largest urban area in the world declared a World Heritage city by UNESCO.
 |
Leigh in La Juderia,
Córdoba, Spain
|
On our next visit, we walked more around the historic centre, and especially liked La Juderia, the Jewish quarter. It is full of narrow, winding streets with whitewashed houses and shops, quiet squares, flower-filled patios, and monuments.
The Jews lived here between the 10th and 15th centuries, and two monuments that remain are the 15th century Mudéjar-style synagogue, and the 14th century Casa de Sephardi (House of Spanish Jews) which is now a museum.
We loved Córdoba. The city is clean, treed and has lots of parks. It also has a great restaurant and café scene, not too many high-rise apartments, and lots of very interesting sights due to its history.
 |
| Andalusian horse and rider at the Royal Stables in Córdoba |
On our last night, we headed back into Córdoba city to see a show of Andalusia horses at the Royal Stables. The show was a mix of clever horsemanship, beautiful horses, and flamenco dancing. It was very interesting.
Later, we bounced our way back on our bikes over the VERY bumpy cobblestones of the old town. We were a bit saddle sore by the time we got back to camp!
The next morning, we moved on to the coastal city of Málaga.
We found this to be a huge and vastly spread-out city and didn’t enjoy it. It is supposedly a tourist mecca, but we couldn’t wait to get out.
 |
| Estepona beach on the Costa del Sol, Spain |
Then we drove along the Costa del Sol through Marbella, Puerto Banús, and San Pedro de Alcántara to Estepona, which we discovered, has a lovely beach.
It seems to be one of the few coastal towns along the Costa del Sol, that has retained a little of its old town charm. Alas, we could not find parking and so after a quick look around, we moved on.
On the whole, this coastline promised a lot, but is so crowded, built up, and lacking in visible signs of cultural heritage, that it disappointed us.
On the other hand, the inland parts of southern Spain that we had seen, dripped with history so we were happy that we had seen a variety of settings.
Driving on, our next stop will be Gibraltar.
This blog describes
part of our 6 month motorhome trip around western Europe, which began in
Prague.