September / October 2023
Enclosed you will find the best pictures of my 4-week trip to Andalusia. Given the abundance of sights, I can only show a small part of my trip here, despite the 129 pictures.
Table of Contents
Malaga
Restaurant Matiz
I went to the excellent Restaurant Matiz on the first night. This was the starter – tapas!
A store with the famous Iberian hams
Cathedral Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica de la Encarnación
Kaleja Restaurant with one Michelin star
You can find the account of my visit to the Kaleja restaurant on this website.
Alcazaba – A fortified palace
View from the Alcazaba
Nuns studying the latest reports on child abuse in church
A course at the excellent restaurant Mi Niña Lola Terrace
Picasso Museum
Street scene
Hanging laundry with a view
Botanical Garden Jardín Botánico-Histórico La Concepción
A wonderful octopus at the Restaurante y Vinoteca José Herencia de Cocina
Marbella
Antequera
An untouristy town with an Alcazaba worth seeing
Alcazaba
Granada
Granada Cathedral
Basílica de San Juan de Dios
San Nicolás Viewpoint
Alhambra
The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex. It is one of the most famous buildings of Islamic architecture.
Mass tourism? Yes, but I was the first visitor that day! Unfortunately, at this time the sun has not yet illuminated the structure.
Only the guard was present.
This photo was taken in the afternoon, when significantly more people visited the complex.
The number of photos of the Alhambra alone shows how beautiful and extensive the complex is.
Back in the city
The fountain Fuente de las Granadas
The impressive Basílica Virgen de las Angustias
Iberian ham
Cordoba
Gardens of the Alcázar of the Christian Kings
Christopher Columbus in front of the royal couple Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II.
The Church of San Francisco and San Eulogio
The tower of San Juan
Like most church towers in Andalusia, this one was a minaret before the Christian conquest.
Choco Restaurant with one Michelin star
This dish is a shrimp gazpachuela on a sauce of fish, onions and Filipino vinegar.
Mezquita Cathedral of Cordoba
This unique building is a combination of a mosque (Mezquita in Spanish) and a cathedral.
Again, I was the first, so I could take this picture without any people.
and the cathedral built into the mosque
The Church loves children!
City views
Jerez de la Frontera
Here I encountered few tourists. The city is the capital of Sherry and famous for its horse stud farms and equestrian shows.
Cathedral
Alcazar
Royal School of Equestrian Art
Cadiz
Enjoying life …
The cathedral
View from the bell tower
My hairdresser
El Puerto de Santa María: Aponiente Restaurant with 3 Michelin stars
From Cadiz, I traveled by train in 30 minutes to El Puerto de Santa María, where the only 3-Michelin star restaurant in Andalusia is located. The 3-star restaurants are the best in the world and should offer a unique dining experience. The Aponiente restaurant passed this test with flying colors.
Here I show the photos of three courses. The full report on this restaurant visit will hopefully follow soon.
The round pastry is onion-based, with baby shrimp less than one inch long and parsley emulsions on top. An excellent combination of flavors.
Caviar with a luxury version of a local soup with onions, pepper and oil. A dream!
A spoonful of young sea snails on a soup made from the innards of sea snails! This dish can only come from the star chef Ángel León. He is known throughout Spain as the chef of the sea.
Seville
This city once had the monopoly of trade with the American colonies and was therefore extremely rich from the 15th to the 17th century. This is evident in the countless churches, one more beautifully decorated than the other. I was very impressed, but I did not forget the inconceivable suffering that the local population experienced in the conquered territories of Central and South America to make these riches possible in Seville.
The church Iglesia Colegial del Divino Salvador
The Church Conjunto Monumental de San Luis de los Franceses
At the market Mercado de la Encarnación
Casa de Pilatos
The Palace of the Duke of Medinaceli
City view
Capilla de San José
The Museum of Fine Arts (Museo de Bellas Artes)
The Church Real Parroquia de Santa María Magdalena de Sevilla
I encountered 3 religious processions during my trip.
The Cathedral of Seville
Seville Cathedral is one of the largest churches in the world.
The grave of Christopher Columbus can also be found here. Up to his death, he believed that he had reached Asia by a new route. Only the navigator Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the American continent is named, discovered that the new territories belonged to a new continent.
This silver monstrance is made of over 3 tons of silver.
The Capilla Mayor contains the largest altar retable in the world, which took 82 years to create. A masterpiece!
The tower of the church, which, as so often in Andalusia, was the minaret of the main mosque.
Setas de Sevilla: A giant architectural sculpture
Real Alcázar de Sevilla
The complex is a medieval royal palace whose origins date back to the Moors. It is still the residence of the Spanish royal family when they are in Seville.
I was again the first to visit the palace that day.
A few hours later it looked like this.
But in the beginning I had the palace to myself!
Mass tourism. I must admit that I also contributed to it.
The bath of the beloved of Peter I, Doña María de Padilla
Hospital los Venerables
This hospice was built in the 17th century to care for elderly members of the church.
Plaza de España
This huge square was created on the occasion of the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929.
El Limón Restaurant in the 5-star Hotel Don Ramon
I just asked the waiter which vermouth drink he could recommend. He came back with three options for me to try: White, Rosé and Red. I liked the white wine-based vermouth best.
Cod with a Fino, a type of sherry that I already came to know in Jerez de la Frontera.
Palacio de las Dueñas
The estate is a 15th century noble palace that currently belongs to the Alba family. The 18th Duchess of Alba lives on the upper floor and married her third husband here in 2011.
This was the end of my 4-week eventful trip.