On the morning of the 31st, we left Tarifa and started to drive towards Granada (previous post here). The road between Tarifa and Marbella is just unbelievable. At some point, you can actually see 3 different countries at once (Gibraltar – Britain, Morocco and Spain).

Marbella

Marbella is quite nice but way too “seen and be seen” for my taste. If you leave the city and continue driving, you’ll discover beautiful little places right on the shore. We were really lucky, the weather was just incredible. I was wearing a t-shirt that day!

Breathtaking view right after Malaga

We left the coast right before Motril and soon were driving along the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Sierra Nevada is a protected National Park and has the highest mountains in southern Europe (from Granada, you can actually go skiing for the day).

Sierra Nevada from the highway

We arrived in Granada in the afternoon. Our hotel was perfectly located , a short walk away from the Alhambra. I had been to a wedding in there in 2007 and actually visited it but this time, all tickets were sold out (being the 31.12) but the beautiful view and sunset we had made it worth the climb anyway…

Alhambra

We had a simple evening, made of wine and tapas in a nice bar, followed by a crowd dive with the locals at midnight and it was just perfect. I don’t really like New Year’s Eve, everyone is just trying too hard I think, this way was how I wanted to be…

fireworks at midnight

On the first day of the year, we left early for Cordoba. It was a pity, we left the sun for the rain and the clouds but the drive was nice. It was definitely another world compared to the south and the coast but when I’m traveling, I like to see different places to get a better idea of the place I’m visiting and not just stick to one city or neighborhood (or the all-inclusive hotel resort if you know what I mean…).

Cordoba under the rain

the cathedral

Despite the rain, Cordoba is a really cute little city and it’s cathedral alone is worth the drive. Unfortunately, like in Granada, we could not enter because all tickets were sold out since November… (that’s what you get from planning a spontaneous break one week before leaving) but what the hell, it gives us a good reason to go back!

After a short coffee break we were sitting in our rental again and driving back to Seville.

This time, our hotel was on the other side of the Guadalquivir river and offering us another spectacular view of the cathedral. I loved the neighborhood we stayed at, Triana, filled with restaurants, little coffee places and cool bars. We were lucky enough and find a table right on the river (picture above), it wasn’t cold (but got chilly after the 3rd glass of white wine) and it was the perfect last evening of our trip…

spooky bull heads as decoration and one of the oldest ceramic fabric in Seville (1870)

Must go place in Triana:

Café de la Prensa, calle Betis 8 (just follow this street, filled with restaurants and bars)

Calle San Jacinto (we had tapas there), cool people and wine places

Across the bridge:

calle Adriano