The last time I went to mainland Spain I was ten years old. I’ve been to a Spanish island since, Lanzarote, where Sue’s dad had a timeshare. But never on the mainland until last week.
We travel quite a bit, mainly long distance which has its attractions, but we haven’t spent much time on holiday in Europe. In a previous life, we worked all over the place in Europe but that’s not the same as traveling.
So it was, we decided to travel in Spain. Not the Spain of the Costa Brava’s or Benidorm, as those don’t seem particularly Spanish, besides it isn’t the beaches we are after when we travel. We chose the cities of Seville, Cadiz and Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia in the south of the country. Cadiz the only city we were to visit which is on the sea.
Typically Sue did the pre-booking and made the travel arrangements. We flew into and out of Seville and the rest was done by train.
Trains.
That was a revelation. If our journey was typical of Spanish trains then they have the UK beaten hands down. Clean, comfortable – though not luxurious – and inexpensive. Easy booking, reasonably quick, though not TGV or Bullet train standard, and to repeat… INEXPENSIVE. The stations we used were excellent. It really was a good experience which we would repeat.
Hotels.
Our hotel in Seville was formerly a very large house built around what was previously an open light well, now topped with a canopy. Excellent, clean, functional with very comfortable bed and great pillows, I’m a bit fussy about pillows. Breakfast was a good continental breakfast. There are plenty of cafes around if you want more. Churros and chocolate seemed a local favourite.
The hotel in Jerez was similar and similarly excellent.
The hotel in Cadiz was quite another matter. Yes, it was clean and our room enjoyed the benefit of facing the Cathedral just across a small square, which may go some way to explain the high cost of staying in what was little more than a slightly upmarket guest house.
My point here is hotels are variable like anywhere I suppose. However, all were scrupulously clean and well serviced by the domestic staff.
Religion.
Spain is a Catholic country. Religion seems to dominate. Admittedly we visited in the run-up to Easter so the cities were getting ready for the Easter processions. In each city we visited tribune seating was under construction along the procession routes. These processions seem to be massive affairs reflecting perhaps tradition and the deep Christian faith of the population, particularly Catholicism.
Processing images of Christ on the Cross, the Virgin Mary, and the Monstrance together with the Ku Klux Clan like figures of the penitents all seems excessive to this atheist from colder climes.
My advice would be to not travel to Spain at Easter unless you are either a devout Catholic, eager to photograph the event, or happy to pay for the additional costs of the hotels during this busy time.
Would we go again? Yes. Sue is already talking about flying into Barcelona and leaving by another city, as yet undecided. Spain is definitely more than Sun, Sea, and Sangria.
March 2018
Bramblings 