Ok - we again hit the jackpot with our accommodation. Centrally located and a 2 bedroom apartment - with separate lounge and kitchen and balcony - really quiet. Could have accommodated a few more people and had a party ! Not more than 10 minutes walk to all the main areas and the beach and 2 blocks from the closest Metro. A good address to remember. Final analysis - Barcelona is definitely the top city in Europe for us ...of the ones we have been lucky enough to...

Thoughts on Valencia The 4 days in Valencia disappeared far too quickly. It is a city with a beautifully restored old city, fantastic green spaces and some really modern architecture. Our accommodation was very central, just outside of the walls of the old city. As usual, we walked the city flat and hired bicycles for a day. There are many interesting walls filled with graffiti ...it looks like some are commissioned, and some spotaneously taking advantage ...

This time our bus journey from Granada to Alicante, was set to take the whole day (about 7 hours) - not due to the distance, but due to the many and some lengthier stops along the way. Not a problem at all though, as it was a tour through totally different landscapes with amazing sights. Initally the trip took the route through olive grove covered hills, with hilltop towns and the Impressive Sierra Nevada mountains as the backdrop. Then the vegetation started be...

The during our trip from Cordoba to Granada a side of Spain unfolded that we had not seen before. Plains, hills and mountains almost completely covered with olive groves provide the background for white hilltop towns with their fortresses and churches. Just beautiful ! Washington Irving, in his novel "The Tales of the Alhambra", which he wrote in the early 19th century in a room at the Alhambra, stated that people often assume that Italy and Spain are the same....

On first arriving in Cordoba and walking through the little alleys of the Juderia (Jewish Quarters), it had the feel of Toledo. With our luggage it proved to be a bit of a challenge, as the alleys are too narrow for a car to pass our suitcase ...unless we are able to duck into a doorway. All very funny ! Cordoba seems more authentic than Toledo, and boasts an equally old history. It is beautifully maintained and has so many romantic nooks and crannies. Just magi...