A Siesta in Spain

[Okayyou]

The Euro tour continues... now it's Spain's turn on stage. My time in Spain was sandwiched between my travels in Mali and Sri Lanka. It was the last developed country I was in before I arrived in Hong Kong several months later. At this point in my travels I had been on the road for 2 months. Looking at the photos, I'm pretty sure I had hit a wall. Taking pictures every single day for a couple months was something I was not accustomed to and I think I was getting burned out. On top of that, after visiting wild places like Mali, Morocco and Egypt, where nearly every day elicits feelings of culture shock, being in Spain with its orderliness and rules felt a little tame. I was more interested in eating the food, drinking the beer and sleeping in mosquito free rooms than documenting the culture. I took about 30 pictures in Madrid...fail.

I visited four cities, Cordoba, Seville, Grenada and Madrid. I'd really like to get back to Madrid. I know I only saw a little bit of what the city has to offer. Much of the city felt pretty quiet, I'm not sure if this was due to the time of year or maybe the economy, but it definitely wasn't bustling. Seville is beautiful. I got really lost in the city, I mean lost in space lost. Cordoba is also very pretty, I'm not sure I saw a local while I was there. Elderly tourists everywhere. I could spend a lot more time in Grenada, the famous Alhambra is pretty magnificent. However some of the uniqueness was lost having been in Morocco and seeing ornate riads and cities in the same and greater style.

One of the hotels I stayed in spilled bleach on nearly every article of clothing I had given them to wash. That meant 2 more months on the road wearing shirts and pants with orange splotches on them

Some Siesta tunes...
*edit - youtube blocked the last video from being embeded. If this one gets blocked you'll just have to play the music in a separate tab.
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It's been a slow start but things will start picking up, London is on deck. I just need to re-edit my black and white w/ red bus shots so I don't get sued.

[Expat]

So beautiful. Wish I were there right now!

[BnaBreaker]

Christ...wow...what an incredible thread. You, sir, have some amazing talent!!

[Bedhead]

Beautiful shots - you picked out the details superbly.

From the short times I've been in Spain, this picture sums up what I like most about the towns - narrow streets, giving views of one historic building crammed in on top and behind another.

[R@ptor]

Great photos. You managed to capture the vibe of Spain perfectly.

Originally Posted by Okayyou

Cordoba is also very pretty, I'm not sure I saw a local while I was there.

I suppose you didn't venture out of the immediate area around the Mezquita and the Juderia. There are barely any tourists in the actual city center (Barrio de la Compania & Barrio de San Pedro).

[ColDayMan]

An amazing country.

[Aqua_Chicago]

Great pictures!!!
Next time, come to Barcelona.

[Nineties Flava]

Amazing shots. This is my favorite of your Europe tours.

[10023]

I'm impressed with your shots of the Alhambra... for such a photogenic place, it's surprisingly difficult to get good pictures of the interior. Good work with the lighting.

Granada was probably my favorite place in Spain, hopefully you were able to kick back in a tiny bar somewhere in the Albayzin and relax for a bit.

[toyota74]

Beautiful indeed,one of my fellow PIIGS countries.Great camera work O.K.U

[Okayyou]

Expat - wish I was there right now too. I like the CO winter but come February, I start wishing for somewhere warm

Bedhead - I blame the narrow streets for me getting lost in Seville. Nothing but winding rooftops to try and get my bearings.

R@ptor - No, I was in the tourist section the whole time which would explain seeing all the tourists. I was only in Cordoba for a day? So not a lot of time to explore.

Aqua - It's on the list

10023 - I did find it hard to get good shots, I have some real stinkers sitting on my hard drive. I shot one fountain for about 30 mins and just couldn't get the shot I had in my head. Finally, I realized I spent the last 30 min shooting a fountain and moved on. I had plenty of cervezas y pimientos de padron

Thanks to all.

[Omaharocks]

Really, really nice. I might be going to Spain for a short time in May, these have me excited.

"Expat - wish I was there right now too. I like the CO winter but come February, I start wishing for somewhere warm"

From what I gather, this year Colorado may be having a warmer winter than even southern areas of Spain...

[Danny]

Very nice pictures, Okayyou!

I miss more pictures of Madrid. Did you like it? Did you visit Cuatro Torres?

Wonderful pictures of Seville and Granada.

Congrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain!

[Lipani]

I definitely miss not stopping by Andalucía when I lived in Spain, despite being fairly close (Alicante region). Sweet pics like these will have to do in the meantime.

[Illithid Dude]

Whoa.

[giovanni sasso]

wait a second, a mariachi band in spain? isn't that like eating a cheeseburger in england?

awesome pics, of course. i'm pretty sure spain is my #1 international destination. you didn't hit it on this trip, but you don't happen to have a separate barcelona set waiting in the wings for us, do you?

[10023]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Whoa.

Yeah that one is sick.

[ifeeldope9779]

Those temples in Cordoba are outstanding. I wish some day I can see them in person

[mousquet]

Holy shoot, we all may be sort of used to those threads of yours, this one leaves me quite speechless...

Originally Posted by Okayyou

Much of the city felt pretty quiet, I'm not sure if this was due to the time of year or maybe the economy, but it definitely wasn't bustling.

It depends on the time when you were there. The Spanish economy was getting bigger and bigger until 2008 when the financial crisis spread to the overall economy. As you probably know, now southern Eurozone (Greece in particular but also Portugal, Spain and even Italy and France to a lesser extent) is stuck in the sovereign debt crisis, somewhat paying for their lack of rigor and seriousness in managing their government budgets. We're also paying for the Greek disaster since our banks were very involved in funding the Greek policies. That's how the Germans are kinda taking over right now, bringing their famous discipline to us all Latins and Greeks. It's okay, that fucking crisis won't last forever anyway, right?

[Okayyou]

Omaharocks - I think some parts of the state have had a mild winter, here in Boulder we've gotten several substantial storms and cold spells. Unless southern Spain is frozen solid I think we've got them beat.

Thanks Danny, I missed Quatro Torres, is that similar to Le Defense in Paris?

gio - no Barcelona unfortunately. Depending on my plans this summer I might try to head over there. It's one city I've always wanted to visit.

Illith Dude - That's one of my favorite shots from Spain. I stood in that spot for what felt like forever waiting for tourists to clear out the the way. I remember one guy aimlessly walking to the edge of the frame, stopping and loitering in the shot. I understand it's difficult to know when you are in someone's shot but I got the feeling this guy was purposely trying to ruin mine. Eventually he left and I had brief window to snap that picture before more people walked into frame.

mousquet - I was there in 2010 so the financial crisis was well into its second year. I've been following the Euro crisis now for several years, it just seems to drag on. When I was in Europe last summer the Greeks were on strike and I met many people that were having issues getting into the country. I would feel safe to wager they will be striking again this summer. Eventually something's gotta give.

Again, thanks to all.