I’m in Lyon at the moment, but the other day I caught the train to Avignon to met up with my friend Lenny - from my Intrepid trip in Northern Spain - who’s also travelling around France at the moment. Despite being right in the south of France, it rained most of the day, but it stopped long enough to go to the lookout at the top of the Palais des Papes (where Popes used to live in the 14th century) and to go walk along what’s left of the Pont Saint-Benezet (a stone bridge which only extends halfway across the Rhone river - as most of it collapsed during the 17th century as a result of flooding and content battering by felled trees being swept down the river). We also ate a couple of nice meals and explored town a bit. The town had a really nice feel about it, and we had a great day despite the weather, but I imagine that Avignon would be an amazing place to be during the summer months.
And one last stop in Madrid before my flight to France - including another walk through the El Retiro gardens, a lengthy browse in the Prado museum and one last round of tapas. Three weeks in Spain went way to quickly. Gracias España, te amo!
Cordoba Mosque
Cordoba Mosque
Cordoba Mosque
Cordoba
I originally planned to go all the way back to Madrid from Seville, but I still had a night up my sleeve so I decided to make a stop in Cordoba, as my friend Carly - who I met through one of my housemates in London - lives there, and I also wanted to see the grand mosque - an incredible structure which is a remainder of when the city was under Islam rule 1000 odd years ago. It was so hot outside, but inside the Mosque it was so cool and dark, and the whole place had a mystical feel about it. It was really busy though - as there was a flower festival in town for the weekend so there were lots of tourists out and about - but I imagine that it would be even more amazing during a quieter time. Carly showed me around town a bit and we had dinner at a really good Argentinian restaurant. The next day I would have loved to check out one of the Moorish style tea rooms - also a legacy from the Arabic days - but the first one didn’t open until 11 in the morning (which in Spain means that it will probably actually open any time between 11.30 and 12) and my train back to Madrid was just after midday. Maybe next time. Brett, Sam and Kay (who I was travelling with up until Seville) had come to Cordoba later the night before as they wanted to stay in Seville to see the Sunday evening bull fight, so I caught up with them for a quick breakfast and to say bye, then I was off to Madrid, the last stop on my Spain trip.
Seville
Seville
Seville
Seville
Beautiful Sevilla
