It isn't far from Granada to La Linea de la Conception (near Gibralter) but it might as well be a world away. We chose to take the highway along the Sea rather than the inland route (well I'm not sure if we chose or the GPS 'cause it was pretty hairy getting out of town). The road we took was, by now, now pretty familiar as we had used it to access the Sierra Nevada mountains as well as drive to Granada. So we went in to auto mode thinking this would be a routine trip to our next destination. I have to tell you this was not routine. Our first experience in 45 years travelling the coastal route and it has changed!! No more sleepy town villages (which we knew but...). Now there are huge shopping malls, hotels & craziness. Of course this is bound to happen but who knew on what scale. Seems like most of the ads were in English with mile after mile of seasonal condos (most of which seemed empty). The building boom / bust continued when we arrived at our destination, La Linea de la Conception. Though the road took us past some grazing cows and undeveloped land we ended up in a condo graveyard. That might sound a little harsh but there are certainly a lot of partially completed and now abandoned condos on the hillside. We stayed at Apartment Vista Real which was delightful and the owners lovely but I don't think there were more than 20 people here (and that's a stretch). It is, however, a very convenient place to stay if you want to visit Gibralter. It isn't a great place to stay if you want to play 18 holes of golf. There is a beautiful golf course with a few players enjoying it. Thinking this might be the time and place to play a round we went to inquire about the cost. If you have 240 euros to spare you could play 18.....and that was a deal because we were staying in the area. Nope...that's not gonna happen....so we jumped in the car and drove past the rusting rebar to our home away from home. Walked down to the beach and watched as the sun set over Gibralter. Not a bad day but it was sad to walk past that lonely golf course at the end of the day and think how nice it would have been to hit some balls.
Next day we made our way to Gibralter. Now that is a completely different experience. Found a parking spot in Spain and made our way across the border to Great Britain, passports in hand. First thing we did was pay 2euros to take a bus across the airport runway and around few corners to a place that we could easily walk to. Don't be fooled, Gibralter is small and it is possible to get a local bus pass for the day. If you're a senior you can get on the buses for 2euros for an all day pass. (Cheaper if you pay in pound sterling).  
People speak English here.....and they drive on the proper side of the road!! Note to tourists... Again... Pay in pounds or credit card, it's a lot more expensive if you only have euros. Anyway, it was easy to get around. Found two very delightful Brits on the bus who told us where to get off so we could walk the Mediterranean steps to the top of the rock. The lovely woman (who reminded Shane of my mother) was so sweet as she said:  "It's a terribly healthy walk....but a lovely day for it". I think they were concerned that two such old people would attempt to walk the rock face of Gibraltar. We did and we succeeded though the rock face was really a whole lot of steps with paths in between and a rope to help you on your way. Beautiful views from the walk. Glad we brought water and a picnic lunch. I'm also glad we decided to eat our snack where the sea gulls couldn't get at it. There are an awful lot of birds looking for a fly by hand out!
The city was just a city with a sprinkling of English Pubs and good ole fish 'n chips as well as lots of duty free shopping. The port was amazing to see from the top of the hill as was the view of the straight and even Africa. So much history in this place as well as a few odd monkeys eying your back packs and sea birds guarding their nests. It's just a big rock but for some reason Gibralter makes you take a deep breath and imagine all the peoples who have come before and who will try in the future to make this stronghold their own. (Just as a side note: There is a vote coming up in Britain to decide if they will remain in the EU. If they vote to leave Spain has threatened to shut down the boarder to Gibralter. With 10,000 Spanish residents relying on Gibralter for work I don't think that's going to work but who knows. The Spanish hate to lose! )
The morning sun showed off Gibralter at it's best as we drove west towards Cadiz. The coastal route here is much more rural passing thousands of windmills and an equal number of cattle. The sun was shining when we made a stop at Tarifa. This picturesque waterfront area has the perfect Moorish looking castle next to the lighthouse and Fort. It was the perfect place for a last look at the northern shores of Africa before continuing west.  
The coast was surprisingly undeveloped despite the fact that we passed 'the most popular surfing beach in Europe'. 
Found our way to Cadiz in time to check in and walk to the market for tapas & cerveza for lunch. At the market you buy a beer in one place, wander around till you decide to get some food then wander on till you are full. The tapas here aren't free (as they are in smaller towns - buy the drink & get a bite to go with it) but they aren't expensive. For less than $20 we felt full & ready to explore.
Shane stayed in a youth hostel here 45 years ago before setting off to the Canary Islands. We found a few hostels in the right area but nothing was familiar to him except the bus station, port & square across from the port. I think there was a lot of beer induced insomnia in those days (!). We took some photos & wandered around taking the delightful stroll along the waterfront. Surfing beaches with sun worshippers and the odd swimmer. Most of the people are walking along the promonade or stopping to sit on one of the many benches & taking it all in.
The seafood for lunch, the Fort, typical narrow streets to get lost in plus the never ending sea view & the gentle waves was a perfect way to say goodbye to Andalucia.
Next stop is Sevilla airport to return our little car (unscratched) and board a flight to Barcelona.  
Another sunny day as we made our way to Seville. Got the car back & boarded the bus to town for one more stop at our favourite Tapas Bar. Really crowded but I managed to get some delicious food & cerveza for us both. It is much busier in town than it was a month ago. Managed to roll our bags around Santa Cruz (you can't store them at the airport due to security concerns) before boarding the bus back to the airport & the inevitable boredom that comes with waiting for a flight.
Part of the boredom was relieved as we watched the very disgruntled RyanAir customers trying to check in to their flight. We know what they are going through...we're just lucky we checked both our bags, checked in on line and printed our boarding passes. The line up to pay extra was almost as long as the line to check in. I really don't envy the check in personel!! Shane got an email two days before the flight saying if you don't check in on line you will be charged 45 euros each and if your bag is too big for a carry on (any larger than a postage stamp) you will be charged 55 euros each. Then there is the extra charge if you don't print your boarding pass, 15 euros and God help you if you don't fold it right!  
When Shane tried to check in they kept changing the first letter of his email address to a capital which, of course, woldn't work and kept getting gonged. He finally contacted customer service and they said... "Well that's the way it is". By some miracle he finally got through all the channels to successfully check in....then we had to find a printer. Fortunately the apartment we were staying in had a front desk. I managed to get the to let me use the computer and fuddled my way through the Spanish to successfully print the passes. Whew. You don't get anything for nothing. I will always hold in my mind the picture of a frustrated Texan trying to fit his family's clothes in to their bags ....or the young girl that just pulled out the fancy flamingo dress she bought as a souvenir and threw it on the waiting room chair. Only way she could avoid the fees. Yikes, what an outfit!