The Southern Spain Trip : My Top Five

Well actually one of the five is in France. And one of the five is kind of in international waters. But enough explaining, let's get on with the post...* 

1. Segovia
That's Segovia up there - stunning huh? Segovia is about 45 minutes drive from Madrid (unless you miss the turn off, as we may or may not have done, and then it's 1.5 hours from Madrid...). When you're looking for somewhere close to Madrid to spend a night or two, everyone seems to recommend Toldeo. And I can sort of understand why - the place just oozes history and it has lots of lovely buildings. But it's also hot (really hot) and kind of a bit soulless in a strange way. We had planned to stay in Toledo for two nights on this trip, but after one night we packed our bags and took off to Segovia. 

Segovia really was stunning - a beautiful old town, complete with an amazingly intact Roman aqueduct, gorgeous cathedral and fairytale-esque castle. Plus it has good shopping and very lively tapas bars. It felt like a town where the locals lived their life, not just one where tourists came and gawked. 

We stayed in the Parador, which was a bit out of town but had a pool and a great restaurant, both with a view looking back over the town (see above photo at sunset - magic!). It also had some awesome 70s architecture - giant spaces filled with giant indoor plants, big concrete slabs, exposed brickwork - it looked just the way people in the 50s imagined how the future would look.

2. Dolphins off the coast of Malaga
We've been on a few big boats in the Mediterranean and we've never seen dolphins and it's always disappointed me (because really, how awesome are dolphins?). But the first night of our cruise as we were pulling out of Malaga and heading to Valencia, as the sun was setting and we were eating dinner, a constant parade of dolphins was passing by. Some on their own, some in groups of ten or twenty; some jumping and playing, some just swimming along in that graceful way they do. I didn't have my camera with me, but that's okay, because it was enough just to be able to watch them pass by.

3. Corsica
One of the stops on the boat we were both looking forward to (mainly because it was a new place) was the island of Corsica. Corsica was delightfully French (the food!), rather pretty and had a relaxed beachy feel. We wandered about, drooled a bit at the food market, and ate a tasty loooong lunch. And I wore one of my favourite vintage frocks (this one). It's a place I think we'd both like to visit again (and not just for the world's best worst photoshopped postcards ever).

4. The Alhambra, Granada 

After getting off the boat and picking up a hire car, we drove to Granada. Granada is a nice enough town, but what makes it worth a visit is the spectacular Calat Alhambra (Red Castle) and the stunning gardens (the Generalife) that surround it. The photos barely capture the loveliness of it all...

5. The Sunsets

*I've been watching a lot of Miranda lately. Have you watched it? You should, if you can find it. She is a very funny lady.

ps. More (many more) photos from the trip will be on my Flickr soon!