SketchTravel Spain 2022

October 17, 2022

To Madrid
*Note: after traveling in Switzerland and northern Italy for 2.5 weeks in late September, we spent the next 3 weeks exploring the towns and countryside of Spain. These posts show sketches I did along the way. There are separate posts for Switzerland and Italy.
Arriving in Madrid from Florence, we spent the first few days visiting the galleries and museums – Prado National Museum, Reina Sofia, National Archaelogical Museum, Museum of the Americas, and the Royal Palace. I got to see Picasso's "Guernica", a highlight of the trip for me. 
Madrid is full of classical architecture, wide shaded avenues, and amazing bus and taxi systems. The old town was also fun to wander through, very lively and colorful.

San Sebastian and Saint-Jean-de-Luz

Then it was off to San Sebastian, with its beautiful promenade and its fun old town full of tapas bars. We took a day trip to the French town of Saint-Jean de Luz. It has such a different architectural feeling, along with Basque influences. I got a black beret there, apparently the best you can find.

Saint-Jean-de-Luz

segovia

Next destination was the old town of Segovia, where we stayed in a small, discreet hotel in the old town, with a little balcony offering views of Alcazar Castle and out across the valley. Watching the changing light over the hills was stunning, along with seeing all the hot air balloons filling up and floating over us in the mornings. 
There is something special about being in the middle of things, where just stepping out the little hotel doors puts you on a stone street right in the middle of the old town activities. The crazy narrow cobblestone streets and helter-skelter building plan is not for the faint-hearted. Most of these towns have restricted areas for locals only. And they punish you with a big fine if you drive into the forbidden zones. Segovia was easy though once we were told where to park. It has a stunning Roman aqueduct that enters the town.

Salamanca and Cordoba

Salamanca was next. We spent just a night there, visited the old town and university. Next day on the backroads toward Cordoba we had hopes of catching a glimpse of the "Stonehenge of Spain", known as the Dolmen of Guadalperal. They appear when the lake level drops enough. We found the lake but didn’t see anything that looked like it. I did a sketch of the Roman columns and arch still standing there.

Our rental in Cordoba was the trickiest place to find. Down a road with a do-not-enter sign, around a few very tight turns until we arrived, with the parking lot even tighter, requiring a 3-point turn to even squeeze the car down. Once we navigated through all the missed attempts to find it, parked the car and stumbled our way through the process of getting into the building and our room, it felt like we’d solved a big mystery. Again the old town was accessible and inviting.

Sevilla

Sevilla was probably the coolest place we’d been to so far. We stayed in the old blue collar neighborhood of Triana, full of cafes, restaurants and bars, where the old ceramic and tile shops still create their work. A short walk across the river leads to the old town and Jewish Quarter. The Royal Mosque of Alcazar and its extensive gardens is a fantastic place. All the important sites are very close together, making walking the best way to get around.

Arcos de la Frontera

Continuing our trip through Spain, we left Seville, stopping to explore the city of Arcos de la Frontera. It is one of the Spanish white towns, with its old town clinging to the steep cliffs towering over it. It is a small community and easily walkable, unless you get mixed up like we did and walked over most of the rest of the town in search of it. Turns out it was near where we parked. Stunning views of the countryside spreading out from vertical cliffs. And of course the Basílica de Santa María de la Asunción was central, interesting and easy to access.

Ronda

Then on to Ronda, that community famous for its deep gorge and the bridges connecting to the old town. Our apartment was at the very edge of the main town, looking out to the bridge over the gorge. We got a ticket to see the sites in the old town, but it didn’t include the main attractions, so I wouldn’t recommend it. Along with some great tapas, we saw a Spanish guitar performance at sunset.

Cueva de la Pileta

Leaving Ronda, we stopped to visit the cave of Cueva de la Pileta. We hiked up a few hundred yards through the rugged, dry, rocky terrain to the cave opening, and took a tour through this amazing long and complicated cave. Along with stalagmites and stalactites, there were three separate sets of ancient cave paintings. It was slippery walking.

A day on the Mediterranean at Nerja

We then dropped down to the Mediterranean for a day of relaxation at Nerja, a scenic little beach community. I loved the cliffs lining the sea, with amazing beaches between outcroppings of rock. We had some tapas in the old town as well – very affordable and tasty.

visiting Alhambra and the jewish quarter at Granada

castles and windmills

Last stop before returning to Madrid was Toledo. On the way we visited two ruined castles. The Almonicid castle also had an awesome view and windmills nearby, interesting to check out. The second castle sat alone on a lonely hilltop. The road to it was winding, steep and narrow. Being the only ones there contributed to the eerie feeling of the place, and very strong winds were borderline menacing. A path takes you around it and inside in places where it has fallen through.

Toledo's great old town and jewish quarter

Our 2nd story apartment in Toledo was on a very narrow winding street in the old town, with a tiny balcony showing a partial view of the church of Santo Tome tower. The Jewish Quarter is inside the old city walls, so it is all easily explored on foot. Parking was free in the main lot just outside of the old city walls. We always seemed to be hungry and thirsty by mid-afternoon. All the regular local places tended to be closed then, so we made the mistake of stopping at a few tourist restaurants – the ones with all the outdoor seating in the main plazas. Best to avoid them in our experience.

Map of the routes we traveled