Andalusia Part 2

FINALLY!

The rest of the Andalusia!

After a long writing pause ... 31 days!?! really!? ... We continued our Andalusian road trip to Cordoba, a town with a beautiful old city center and let's not forget: The Mesquita, a mix between a Catholic cathedral and a Moorish Mosque.

Tower from the Mesquita seen from the inner garden.

We only were in Cordoba for 2 days and one night and we stayed in the AC Hotel Cordoba, where we got a free upgrade to one of the best rooms in the hotel!
After Cordoba, which food-wise was a bit disappointing, we moved on to Sevilla. On the way we stopped in Ecija , called 'la sarten de España'. This town got it's nickname because in summer temperatures can easily get above 40°C. On first sight a small, boring town. But we stopped there because the town of Ecija got 11 beautiful towers! After eating, again, some tapas we moved on to Sevilla.

San Juan tower in Ecija

On the way we decided to make another stop in Carmona, a small town on top of a hill with a beautiful view over the andalusian landscape. Besides some Roman leftovers, narrow streets with old houses and the wonderful Parador, almost like a Moorish fortress, there isn't much.
Sevilla... finally we got there!

Sevilla is a lively city which has a lot to offer!
We stayed in an apartment at only 1 minute walking from the cathedral! Surrounded by little bars, locals and tourists and loads of horse carts passing by.
Here are some really good restaurants and tapas bars to go to in Sevilla:

Gastronomic tapas bar "Petit Comite": The pricing isn't as low as traditional tapas bars but the food is exquisite! I know the best tapas are the most simple ones. But gastronomically speaking this was the best we had in Spain.

Risotto from "Cerdo" with foie - Petit Comite

Tapas bar "Infanta": A big place which was completely full! Pricing was fine and the food really nice!

Salmon tartare with pumpkinseed ice-cream - Infanta

Tapas bar "De Varia Commensuracion": It seemed like a newly open place to us. Nice interior, good pricing and wonderful food!

Clockwise: Iberico kebab with cheese sauce, Duck with red wine sauce and fried banana,
the restaurant from outside & Grilled beef with garlic and cherry tomatoes. - De Vaira Commensuracion

After a week in the Andalusian inland we really needed the sea, so we decided to make a day trip to Faro, Portugal. If you should go there definitely take the speedboat to "Ilha Deserta" and after a long day go for a drink in restaurant/bar "O Castelo" back in Faro. Take a Caipirinha or a Mojito and enjoy the sunset over the Ilha and the sea... and the airport.

Caipirinha & Mojito - O Castelo

After Sevilla, and Faro day trip, we moved on to Cadiz where we stayed in the Parador de Cadiz. All the rooms have ocean view and you can open the window completely which gives makes your room one with the balcony. The breakfast in this hotel is overwhelmingly big, but Nutella-lovers be warned: they have none!
A few days cadiz and a visit to the Royal Andalusian Horse School in Jerez De La Frontera it was time to move on to our final destination on the road trip: Tarifa!
Tarifa is the place to go if you are a wind-sports person! Also whale- and dolphin watching can be done from the port of Tarifa and even day trips to Morocco.
If you are looking for a chill place to eat, go to "Pachamama". This grill-restaurant is along the beach road and serves an awesome mixed grill!

After two weeks of driving the Andalusian roads, visiting the beautiful cities and tasting the best tapas, it was time for us to head back home. It was an awesome trip and I've learned a lot from the Spanish cuisine which I can integrate in my own cooking!

Andalusia, you stole our heart!

The End.