All Posts in 'Andalucia'
Gracias to all for a wonderful time in 
Southern Spain’s Andalucia! In addition to the big 3: Cordoba, Granada, and Seville, we also had time for a visit to an olive oil factory, the bullring of Ronda, a horse show in Jerez, and we topped off the tour with a spectacular flamenco show! We also got a few KM’s in to off set those fabulous meals!
Here are some photos from our journey:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frescotours/sets/72157626324350958/
Ole!
Fresco Tours
www.frescotours.com
23 Mar 2011 in Andalucia | 
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Baths of the Alcazar of Seville.
The scent of orange blossom in spring makes the streets of Seville come alive. It is a pleasure to lose yourself in the shaded streets, peering into oases of calm in the tree-planted courtyards.
Here are some walking routes that take in key sites:
1) Starting at the Giralda, the Cathedral tower, head for CalleSierpes, passing the town hall with its exhuberant plateresque carving. Sierpes was the old silversmiths’ street and still has workshops you can pop into. At the Corte Inglés turn left along San Eloy and head for the river Guadalquivir passing the enormous Dominican convent church. Crossing theIsabel II bridge into Triana you go past the site of the old Inquisition. In Triana turn right into the Alfarería, the old potters´district, then double back to the chapel of the Esperanza de Triana. In Lent she will be decked out ready for the Easter processions. Canaries singing, geraniums on window ledges and winding streets with colourful locals taking a ‘tapa’ in the many bars- all this makes Triana a treat. Come back over the Guadalquivir pausing to admire the Torre del Oro from the San Telmo bridge. Between the river and the Cathedral is where the old shipyards were. On your way back to the Cathedral, stop in at the Santa Caridad the hospice church of a lay brotherhood founded by Miguel Mañara in the seventeenth-century. There is a great painting of a skeleton with his foot on a coffin inside!
2) The Cathedral is right next to the Alcázar, the royal palace, where you can admire the mudéjar and Renaissance ornament and the enchanting garden. As you exit walk past the Casa de Contratación, where all trade with the Americas was controlled for centuries, and head past the old tobacco factory, now the University, the setting of Bizet’s Carmen. Around the corner you will find the entrance tos María Luisa park. Shaded walks between ancient trees will lead you to the Museum of Folk Art with an impressive display of lacework. When you return you can take a walk around the huge Plaza de España monument put up for the 1928 International Trade Fair, with azulejo tiles representing all the regions of Spain. Skirting the back of the Alcázar along Avenida Menéndez Pelayo we enter at the Jewish court at the first turning on the left. You walk past Sta María la Blanca, the former synagogue. Pop in: the gesso work is astounding. Turn left off the road here and allow the winding alleyways to lead you back to the Cathedral. Keep your eyes open for those telling details that make Seville so magical: ancient and mysterious doors, window grilles and patios; local colour.
3) Starting at the Giralda head up past the Archbishop´s Palace into the Jewish quarter. Stop in at San Ildefonso and when you come out take a right that will lead you to the Casa de Pilatos, a noble mansion with attractive gardens, sculpture and tilework. There are more churches and convents on the backroutes that lead you to the Puerta de la Macarena, or you can just enjoy the 30 minute walk through the streets. This is one of the gateways in the city’s enormous defensive walls, a fragment of which remains here. You will also find the Basilica de la Macarena. More than just a dance the Macarena is one of the iconic virgins of Seville. Carved by Luisa Roldán, her mysterious expression has given her thousands of devoted followers who process behind her image in Holy Week. The museum has an interesting exhibit of her processional gowns and the float which is borne on the shoulders of the beefy confraternity men who vie for the privilege of carrying her. On your return head for the Alameda de Hércules, where there is a flea-market on Sundays, and dip into the pretty church of San Lorenzo, then let Calle Jesús del Gran Poder lead you back to the Corte Inglés, Calle Sierpes and then the Cathedral.
4) Go straight to the Museo de Bellas Artes and spend three hours looking at the paintings. With Zurbarán, Murillo and Velázquez as natives of the city the Museum of Fine Art in Seville is one of the finest provincial museums in Spain. You should also take in the sculpture of Martínez Montañés. Popularly known as the ‘God of Woodcarving’, he carved some of the most famous images in the region. It is worth pausing as you look at the exhibits to appreciate the building itself, an elegant Mercedarian convent building, beautifully restored and adapted so as to preserve its original features.
Enjoy the magic of Seville’s Andalucia – a very special place!
11 Jan 2011 in Andalucia | No Comments
A coffee in Andalucia‘s Granada takes away the chill. From the coffee bar you look up and see the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. You feel the cold on your face in the morning breeze and step into a bar near the Cathedral for the warmth.
Just to be in Granada is to feel echoes and resonances from the past. You do not go to Granada to study, but to open your heart and mind to the whispering voices of the past. The great poet Lorca was murdered in Granada. His spirit seems to inhabit the lanes and alleyways: passion, desire, beauty and death. Sitting quietly now with a coffee, looking at the imposing Cathedral façade I am overwhelmed by the knowledge that Lorca was here.
This is where Columbus came in 1492 to present his petition to Ferdinand and Isabella. And the Gran Capitán, Ferdinand’s brilliant, arrogant general who made Spanish arms invincible in Itlay was here. The beauty, pomp and splendour of the monuments and architecture both hide and reveal these historical presences.
The streets of the town are lively with their ghosts, but to feel their presence more deeply you have to go to the Alhambra. It is a dream palace raised over a gorge, with galleries and arcades that lead you to think of paradise. You cannot help but meditate on what the towering cypress trees in the Generalife gardens have seen.
Opposite the Alhambra is the Albaicín, the Moorish quarter. The winding alleyways between low houses look across at the fortress’s picturesque but bleak exterior. I make my way to the top and sit on a bench, still thinking about Lorca. His gypsy spirit squashed by Franco is like a parable or metaphor. As though he were the last sigh of the last Caliph of Granada, Boabdil, who on finally leaving Al-Andalus broke into tears.
07 Jan 2011 in Andalucia | No Comments
We are getting ready for our September 30th Camino de Santiago tour, where we have 8 clients from around the globe: the USA, UK, and Japan! We have had a truly international selection of clients so far in 2007 with Fresco Friends from:
- the USA
- Canada
- Puerto Rico
- the United Kingdom (England & Scotland)
- Denmark
- Norway
- Ireland
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Hong Kong
In 2006, we were proud to also have representatives from:
- Finland
- Panama
- Peru
- Bermuda
- Egypt
- Korea
- China
It really is a small world after all!
29 Sep 2007 in Andalucia, Basque, Camino de Santiago, FAQs, Spain-taneous | No Comments
We’re back in the office, but tomorrow morning we set off again for Galicia. It has been a great month of May with 2 excellent groups. We’ve just posted our latest pictures of our Spain-taneous Andalucian Adventure with the Chicas de Virginia, a private group of 6 friends that have been traveling together for years.Our upcoming Camino Tour is with a couple from Australia, a couple from the USA and a woman from Canada! It will be nice to be back on the Camino!
Hasta pronto!
26 May 2007 in Andalucia, Camino de Santiago | No Comments
We’ve headed south and are now with a private Spain-taneous group from Virgina, USA. We have a full plate this week – visiting Cordoba, Seville, and Granada, while still fitting in some short walks in the White Villages, Subbetica, and the Sierra Nevada. The massages on our rest afternoon are going to be a true treat! Ole Andalucia!
21 May 2007 in Andalucia, Spain-taneous | No Comments
A new year and keeping with our changing times, I am happy to announce Fresco Tour’s very own Blog! We are very excited with our new outlet to share ideas and thoughts of Spain and to keep you up to date with what we are doing!
This is a new experience for us, so please come, share, and grow with us! MUCHAS GRACIAS!
We have already launched our 2007 tour season with our March Andalucian Affair Tour in sunny Southern Spain. Have a peak at our tour photos and let us know what you think: March 2007 Andalucian Affair Pictures
It was great to be in shorts and a t-shirt at the beginning of March!
Easter week is fast approaching and we are preparing for a private Spain-taneous Tour of the Basque Country.
Hope all is well and hasta pronto!
Alex
31 Mar 2007 in Andalucia | No Comments
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Southern Spain’s Andalucia! In addition to the big 3: Cordoba, Granada, and Seville, we also had time for a visit to an olive oil factory, the bullring of Ronda, a horse show in Jerez, and we topped off the tour with a spectacular flamenco show! We also got a few KM’s in to off set those fabulous meals!
