San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Spain

Gaztelugatxe is an islet on the north coast of Spain where there is a hermitage (religious retreat) in dedication of John the Baptist. The islet is connected to the mainland with a man made walk way and stairs up to the church that dates back to the 10th century.

In the 7th season of Game of Throne the islet was used as Dragonstone with a digitally made castle on top instead of the church.

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Seville Cathedral, Spain

Catedral de Santa María de la Sede de Sevilla (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See) in Seville, Andalusia, Spain, is the third largest church in the world and the largest Gothic church. (See photos of the second largest church HERE).

We visited this UNESCO World Heritage Site in the winter of 2017.

Life forms at the Oceanographic, Valencia, Spain

A couple of years ago we have visited Valencia, in Spain, a city with many cultural treasures and rich history. Interestingly it is not only preserving the past through architectonic, literary and art  jewels, but it also nurtures its future with modern buildings and attractions. One of them is the Oceanographic, the largest complex of its kind in Europe. The park is divided in 10 areas, with species from all around the globe, including not only fishes, but many other species such as birds and mammals.

Plaza de España, Seville – Spain

Plaza de España is situated in the Maria Luisa Park (Parque de María Luisa) in Seville, Spain and was completed in 1928 for the 1929 World’s Fair. It’s built as a half circle and covers almost 50 000 m² with a radius of 170 meters. For a comparison it’s about twice as large as the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba.

This is one of the places that photos doesn’t justify the epic grandeur of the area and buildings, this must be experienced first hand.

Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, Spain

As with most very old buildings, they have changed during the years mostly because of the rulers that would like to have their personal touch on it. “Mezquita de Córdoba” has expanded four times until it reached 24 000 m² and in the 1600th century they inserted a Renaissance Cathedral in the middle.

Even though the building is huge, it’s not easy to spot from a distance as only the bell tower and the Cathedral is quickly recognized over the surrounding buildings, which can make you believe it’s just another church.

Ronda, Spain

When we made our road trip trough Southern Spain last winter, we didn’t plan it very carefully, but Ronda was one of the places that was a sure stop along the way. It was also one of those places we was really eager to make a blog post about, but somehow it has taken us many months to come to this point that its ready.

Ronda is famous for the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain (Plaza de Toros de Ronda), witch is actually open to the public. The other tings are the three bridges and the 100 meter deep canyon that is cutting the city into two halves. There are several ways to get down to the water level in the bottom of the canyon.

Generalife (Alhambra), Granada – Spain

The Palacio de Generalife sits across the ravine from Alhambra, and was earlier connected with a walkway. Generalife was built in the 13th century as a summer palace and has been redesigned and rebuilt several times through the years.

As promised in the posts about Alhambra, here are our photos from Generalife. Visiting the gardens in February may not justify the full beauty the garden in full bloom though.

Erosiones de Bolnuevo, Bolnuevo – Spain

This eroded sandstone formations has many names like “Gredas de Bolnuevo” and also “Ciudad Encantada” besides the official “Erosiones de Bolnuevo” and sits at the end of the 1600 meters long Playa de Bolnuevo (Bolnuevo  Beach) in Bolnuevo, Murcia, Spain. The beach reaches all the way to the neighbor village of Puerto de Mazarrón to the east.

The sandstone formation has been eroded by water and wind for thousands of years and in the clay there is an abundance of micro fossils dating back to the Pliocene period 4.5 million years ago.

Alhambra, Granada – Spain (Part III)

Here is the final set of photos from Alhambra.

Alhambra, Granada – Spain (Part II)

We don’t like too many photos in one post, so here are some more from Alhambra.

Alhambra, Granada – Spain

Alhambra was a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We visited the site in February and even it was off season, the place was crowded with people making it a challenge to take good overview photos. Even so it’s hard to choose between those we think look cool, and feel the need to divide them into three parts (not including the Generalife area, which will have its own post later).

Sierra Nevada, Spain

Sierra Nevada (Snowy Mountain Range), Andalusia – Spain, is a mountain range in the southern parts of Spain with the highest mountain top on continental Spain with almost 3500 meters. It’s also one of the southern most ski resorts in Europe.