BARCELONA – Spain’s most cosmopolitan city, and again, very different from the others we have visited.  Gaudi of course makes an impression – Gaudi influenced buildings appear when you are least expecting them and can be quite bizarre amongst “normal” architecture of the time.  It’s also a very European-looking city with wide leafy avenues – wide shopping streets that have a huge pedestrian avenue in the middle making for excellent shopping.  Seats under the trees in these lanes give husbands a good place to sit and reflect upon the need for another suitcase…

MADRID was majestic with big squares, small plazas, everywhere there were meeting places crammed with bars and great places to eat (heavily into meat).  One claim to fame was Vermouth on tap!  And of course lots of live music.

CORDOBA will be remembered for its tiny winding streets –  (nightmare one-way system -similar to Cuenca in that respect) and of course the incredibly beautiful and haunting memories of the Mesquita.

SEVILLE  was for us probably the most beautiful – it’s historic buildings of which there were many seemed to coexist quite happily with modern architecture and stylish hotels.

GRANADA was amazing, mainly because of The Alhambra and the leafy greenness around it, especially the long walk through the woods that enables the weary tourist to traverse from The Alhambra to the middle of the Old City completely under trees.  The Alhambra dominates the old part of the city and no doubt provides a huge part of its income.

Each Spanish city has been quite different with the only one we disliked being Torledo -ridiculously steep (it was too steep to see the buildings) and crammed full of tourists.  There’s nothing a tourist likes less than more Tourists!

– can you spot La Sagrada Familia surrounded by cranes in the picture?  Some say it will be finished in 2020 and some say 2040…  Would be lovely to go back one day and see the complete picture.