The heart of Spain

The major cities of the region - Granada, Cordoba, and Sevilla, among others - are beautiful and well worth the visit, but don't miss the smaller cities and towns as a result. Cadiz is a beautiful coastal city, with a rich historic center. Ronda, although a little touristy, is a lovely small town with a spectacular setting on a high bluff. The Plaza de Toros and the Roman bridge here are works of art. Arcos de la Frontera is a quiet, small town with cobblestone streets and a beautiful setting as well.

Quick Tips:

When you visit, if you have time, don't limit yourself to Andalusia alone. Lisbon is a short train ride away - it's a beautiful city in a setting much like San Francisco, abrupt hills set along a huge bay (complete with a Golden Gate-like bridge!). Salamanca is another great place to spend a few days, with a spectacular plaza in the center of town. If you're an experienced traveler looking for a little more adventure, take the ferry from Algeciras or Tarifa (I'd recommend Tarifa - Algeciras is a bit of a dump) to Tangier. I made the trip when I wasn't very experienced, and frankly I was overwhelmed, but it is an exhilarating trip. The ferry ride across the Strait of Gibraltar is worth it.

Best Way To Get Around:

The train system is fast and efficient, but buses are often faster and cheaper. To get to some of the smaller towns, you'll need to take buses anyway. If you have the means to rent a car, I'd highly recommend it. Once you get to your destination, walking is the best way to get around - the cities are fairly compact.

Grenada is probably the most visited city in Andalucia. The Alhambra is easily the most popular and well-known site in the city, and it truly is amazing. The intricate Moorish interior designs are breathtaking. Be prepared to spend some time. If you go in the summertime, be prepared to wait to get inside as well. (You can order a ticket for a specific time, which is nice - the inside is never too crowded because of this.) In addition to the architecture, you''''ll find beautiful views of the city and quiet gardens. The cathedral and the royal chapel in downtown Grenada are also major attractions; the royal chapel holds the remains of Ferdinand and Isabel. The Albaicin, the Muslim section of the city, and the neighborhoods south of the cathedral are great places to explore and get a feel for the city. In the Albaicin, many of the small churches were built on the site of former mosques; if you go inside them, you''''ll see architectural remnants of the mosques themselves.

Seville is a beautiful place. The massive cathedral is one of the most amazing structures you''''ll ever see. You can spend hours wandering throughout the building; the artistry is humbling. Although Cordoba''''s Alcazar is more famous, the Alcazar in Seville is also definitely worth a visit. One part of the city you don''''t read much about but is certainly worth a look is the Plaza de Espana, built for a World''''s Fair in the late 1920s that never occurred. It''''s set alongside a beautiful, crescent-shaped building with high spires and carefully drawn tiles representing each region of the country. This building was actually used as a backdrop in "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones!"

For dinner and drinks, there are restaurants and bars all along the banks of the Guadalquivir river, which is spanned by several beautiful bridges. Sevillans flock to this area on weekend nights. The old, compact city center is full of restaurants, small hotels, and shops. The summers can get very hot here; during the midday heat, the streets downtown are covered with fabric to keep the cool air in.

Ronda, on the rail line between Granada and Algeciras, was founded by the Romans. The oldest section of town sits on a high ridge above the countryside; a stunning Roman bridge spans the narrow gap between the old city and the newer sections. The Plaza de Toros, the oldest in Spain, sits just over the bridge in the newer section of town - (new being a relative term, of course, it''''s still centuries old). During the day, you can wander through the tiny shops along the main street, then go for a quiet walk through the old section of town. The night that I stayed in Ronda was one of the most memorable nights of my travels. I stayed in a small pension almost behind the Plaza de Toros, right on the edge of the cliffs below the city. As I sat out on the pension''''s balcony over the cliffs, two couples came out and sat with me, one from Manchester, one from Belfast (Ian) and the Isle of Man (Josie). We began talking around sundown; as we talked, many of the locals began practicing for the local feria about 100 yards away from us, along the cliff in a gazebo we could just see from our balcony. They sang for hours as we talked about the United States (the Manchester couple hated the U.S.), travelling in Spain, literature, and each other. When we had nothing to say, we just listened to the singing as the sun went down and eventually came back up. It was magical.

During my night in Ronda, my friend Ian recommended going to Ceuta and immediately getting on a train for the center of Morocco and avoiding Tangier entirely. At the time, however, I thought I could handle just about anything, so I went to Tangier anyway. It turned out to be an eye-opening trip that helped me mature as a traveler very quickly. I arrived in Algeciras, Spain (the departure point for most of the Moroccan ferries) late in the day, which was not necessarily a bad thing - there is nothing to see in Algeciras, unless you like oil refineries and prostitutes. In the morning I boarded the ferry to Tangier. The ferry ride was gorgeous - from the middle of the Strait of Gibraltar, I could see Africa, Gibraltar and the Spanish coast, a dozen huge tankers, and a school of dolphins swimming next to the boat. From here, however, the trip began turning sour for me. A man approached me on the boat and asked me if this was my first trip to Morocco. What I thought was going to be a pleasant conversation became a very annoying and aggressive attempt to get me to pay him to be my "guide" through the city. After repeatedly telling him "no," I finally managed to get away from him. As we pulled into Tangier, I was held up for an hour by customs who didn''''t want to let me through. Luckily a Moroccan-born U.S. citizen was in line with me and smoothed my way through. Once I got off of the boat, I was again virtually assaulted by the same man from the boat, as well as several others who offered to be guides and/or sell me drugs. I quickly made my way to the first hotel so that I could get rid of my backpack and at least try to blend in. I spent the night in a cafe reading, then walked back to the hotel and enjoyed the city from the second-floor balcony. The next day I took a train to Asilah to get away from the city. A man began talking to me on the train about the U.S. and going to school there; we struck up a conversation for the duration of the trip. When I got off the train in Asilah, he asked me if I wanted a guide. I said no. He insisted. He pointed down an alleyway and told me that the hotel I was looking for was "right this way." I ignored him and almost had to break into a run to get away from him. I eventually found my intended hotel - a horrible dump - and decided to try to find better accommodations. As I was looking for a second hotel, the same man began walking towards me with several others, shouting at me. I ducked into an outdoor bar, and sat down around many other people to have a bite and decide what to do next. An English language news program was on the cafe''''s television, reporting that three Western tourists had just been killed in either Fez or Marrakesh. At that point, feeling very young, very alone, and very stupid, I decided to go back to Spain.

I''''ve had friends that have loved Morocco, especially Fez and Marrakesh. Unfortunately I didn''''t enjoy it quite as much. I think that a lot of my problems were a result of my inexperience as a traveler. At any rate, I''''m writing this not as a warning against going to Morocco, but as a cautionary tale. Just be sure that you know what you''''re doing and that you''''re well prepared when you go. Now that I''''ve experienced what I shouldn''''t do and what I should look out for, I''''m ready to go back.

After my fiasco in Morocco, Arcos de la Frontera was like heaven. This is what you imagined when you decided to come to Spain. Arcos is a stunning, well-preserved small town, perched on a high bluff over the countryside. I spent hours walking through the beautiful, cobblestoned old section, listening to children sing in their classrooms and trying to make conversation with shopkeepers. I stayed in a small pension for about $20 a night in the center of town. For nightlife and dining, the town boasts a few world-class restaurants if you''''re in the mood for splurging. If you want to get away from the crowds for one day, this is a convenient place to do it. One of the famous ''''Pueblos Blancos,'''' I''''ve read that the city sometimes sees large crowds, but during my trip at the end of August I was virtually alone.