I think I have a new favourite country: Spain. Tapas bars on every corner, free food with your beer, laidback people who start everything late (shops after 10am, dinner at 9.30pm), siesta's, sunshine till 9pm and the occasional flamenco. What more could you ask for?

First stop was a small medieval town called Toledo, about an hour out of Madrid. This town is so old and has really retained all of its medieval culture. It was great to wonder around the windy, narrow streets, which felt like you were walking in a maze (kinda like Venice) and it was so much fun to explore and lose myself in this really historical town.

Toledo

We travelled along the south of Spain next, which is apparently the more traditional part of the country: The area is Andalusia and first off was Seville. This city was full of tradition, with incredible tapas bars, an amazing Alcazar, which is a Spanish castle with enormous gardens, a huge gothic style cathedral, a bullring with a massive bullfighting following and a really laid back vibe. Wondering around the streets of the old town and dropping into bars to try a selection of tapas, like sausages, potatoes, salads, cheeses and meats with a refreshing glass of sangria was so much fun.

Bullring in Seville

The Alhambra may soon be one of the modern seven wonders of the world and that was the main attraction in Granada. Back in the 12th century Granada was occupied by Moors, or Arabs, so the town echoed Arabic culture and The Alhambra was built in this period so there was a lot of Islamic detail embedded in it. It acted as a sort of town within Granada with a beautiful Islamic style Palace with Arabic art engraved in the walls, lush gardens with fountains and an old fortress. We wondered around The Alhambra for about 4-5 hours, there was so much to see! Granada itself was a lovely town, particularly the Albaycin, the old town with old white buildings and tea houses.

The Palace in the Alhambra

We saw a lot of old white buildings along the Costa Del Sol, the southern coastal towns of Spain, which have been raided by tourists. Unfortunately the small town we picked, Nerja, was no better. It was like a British colony, the place had been taken over by British expats and tourists, so much so that it didn't feel like I was in Spain. The beaches however, were lovely. I wouldn't go so far as to compare them to Australian beaches, but they had some sand and clear blue water. We found a part of the beach that had great little coves to explore and even jumped in the painfully cold water when it was only 20 degrees!

Nerja beaches

So Spain has been wicked and next is the cultural capital: Barcelona. We have 9 nights with a cosy apartment and the 3 day Primavera Sound music festival to look forward to. Can't wait.