MICHAEL: So the picture for this blog entry is of a natural park called El Torcal. I went there one day while Jeanne spent theday in Córdoba, checking out the sites and park benches and cafes. El Torcal is a limestone mountain area in the northern part of Málaga province. It´s been eroded by wind and rain for a really long time (probably thousands or tens of thousands orof years or more, I don´t really know, as I just skimmed the geological info and took ...

JEANNE Last night we went to the 'Arabian' baths here in Seville. You go into this lovely little place, down the stairs to the pools> hot, cold, warm, jetted, and salt water / it's all underground, and lit by candles. We both had a short massage, then back into the water. I did spend some time thinking about mildew, water purification and utensil sanitization, {which I owe to Tanya, Kara and Robin...thanks you guys}, but it was very relaxing and a lot of f...

MICHAEL: Hello from Sevilla. We actually found a picture in the offexploring library that is in Sevilla, one that we walked around yesterday. The Plaza de España was built for the Ibero-Americano World´s Fair in 1929 and is quite a magnic¡ficent building and plaza. (It seems the fair only barely actually happened, as the 1929 stock market crash kind of killed it bfore it began). So, we´re indoors in an internet cafe in Sevilla, it´s raining outside, and Bu...

MICHAEL: We´re in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, famous for sherry production and departures of some guys named Magellan and Columbus on various sailing holidays. We´re staying a few kilometres away in an out of season beach town called Chipiona, and are going for a boat ride this afternoon up the Guadlquivir River along the edge of Doñana National Park. We spent 5 nights at a small finca horse ranch/rural hotel outside Ronda. Rented a car for the time we were th...

JEANNE: We´re still in Granada, until 2pm at least... We spent Saturday in the Alhambra, and it was more than we had expected. The grounds are great. The Nasrid Palace, which has all the beautiful Moorish fountains, tiles and plaster work is stunning, and far more extensive than the few courtyards that are always pictured. The Generalife gardens are lovely now - they must be gorgeous when everything is in lush bloom. Aside from less blooms, October is a v...