CORDOBA & GRANADA

Oops, Sorry, late post – forgot to hit the publish button

Heading south, the Spanish countryside becomes more densely packed with olive trees and much of the architecture has a strong islamic influence.

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In Cordoba, horses are taught to dance…

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…or transport visitors around the town

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The Mezquita and the Cathedral of Cordoba is an amazing structure. After being blown away by the scale and beauty of the Mosque, you discover a huge Christian Cathedral right in the middle

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The decoration is mesmerising. The more you study it the more intricate it becomes.

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Cordoba Cathedral

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More Photos from Granada and the Alhambra.

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TOLEDO

From Barcelona to Toledo on a train traveling at 300kph makes taking photographs difficult. The countryside is sparse and dry, dotted with olive groves and small dwellings. To travel slowly through this region of Spain would be fantastic.

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The old town of Toledo is perched on a hill surrounded, almost entirely, by a river and protected by high stone walls

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Bus loads of visitors invade the town during the day. Once the sun goes down visitors are replaced by locals heading off to bars and restaurants.

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We were lucky enough to catch a concert in the square outside the cathedral. 9:30 the square was empty – by 10pm you couldn’t move. The music was great and the acoustics, created by the perimeter of complex facades, amazing.

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The old town starts to stir around 6am with people heading off to work.

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By 7am the sun rises and beams straight through the main arch into town.

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These guys, in the Jewish area of the old town, spend their day tap, tap, tapping with tiny little hammers to make intricate gold jewellery.

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BARCELONA

Everything is extreme in Barcelona – the food,  the fashion, the bars, the music and the architecture.

Antoni Gaudi’s amazing buildings dot the city and have become some of  the city’s major tourist attractions.

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Sagrada Familia – still under construction after 120 years.

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Barcelona balconies – making a medieval facade look like a Gaudi facade.

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Some of the architecture prior to Gaudi was pretty wild and elaborate too.

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9:30 at night and the city starts to come alive – bars and restaurants start to fill around 10 or 11 and crowds are heading home as the sun comes up.

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Nail Polish pink Vesper.

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Man with dog and sidecar.

The Barcelona Maritime Museum had an exhibition of giant puppets used for festival performances in the city. It’s a weird feeling standing next to these huge papier mâché figures, twice the height of an average human.

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Sailing into Barcelona Harbour.

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Tiring work selling candles.

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Ham in Spain is an art form. Jamón de bellota, made from acorn-fed black-footed Spanish pigs fetches up around 200 Euro/kg for the best quality. The markets in Barcelona have hams ranging from thirty Euro/kg upwards and the vendors are happy to coax you into purchasing by slicing off tasty samples.

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Barcelona’s Maritime museum is housed in beautiful old ship building warehouses near the waterfront.

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This is a replica of the Royal Galley which was built in Barcelona in 1568 and was the dominant warship in the Mediterranean up until the 17th Century. The ship was 60 meters long and powered by 59 oarsmen.

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Inside the galley is not near as impressive as outside.

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Subtle Spanish sneakers.

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Barcelona Beach architecture.