Trip
We found a cheap flight from Chicago to Ireland for ~$350 through Scott's Cheap Flight (going.com). Since we've been to Ireland before, we decided that southern Spain will make up the majority of our trip.
The Crew 👱🏼♂️👱🏽♀️👩🏻👩🏻
Lam, Jacki, Diana, Thao
Siblings 👩🏻👱🏼♂️
Ireland
Upon arrival to Ireland, we stayed at the Clayton to drop off our luggages and then ubered to Howthe Head for a day trip. You can take the DART train if coming from Dublin. We took the green trail hike starting from the Dart station. A third of the way into the hike, it started raining a bit. Because of the rain, we skipped the hike to the lighthouse (it's recommended to check out the lighthouse for a great all around view).
Small road 🛣️
Us along the cliff shore 👱🏽♀️👱🏼♂️
Hilly area above us 🏞️
360 view from the hilltop
Misty rain 🌧️
Book of Kells 📖
Tickets must be booked in advance or else it will get sold out. The ticket we purchased includes the Old Library and Red Pavilion. I don't think the Red Pavilion was worth adding onto the ticket.
Spain - Seville
As the first city of Spain, we stayed at a lodge northwest of the city center. We've spent 2 days in Seville; our highlights include: attending a Flamenco show at the Museo de Baile Flamenco (that we've booked in advance), Plaza de Espana, Royal Alcázar of Seville (book a ticket in advance - early in the morning to avoid the rush), and touring the neighborhood of Barrio de Santa Cruz.
Small road 🛣️
Fatouch - hummus 🫓
Fatouch - potatoes 🥔
Wifey loved this the potatoes!
Fatouch - lemonade 🍋🧃
We ate at a Lebanese restaurant and the dish I enjoyed was the hummus.
Muffins for giants 🍞
Faena - Ladron de Manzanas 🍎🍺
European ciders are the best in the world! A squirt of the lemon enhances the flavor!
Faena - sangria 🍷
That pitcher is bigger than it looks and is equivalent to 4 glasses. The best sangria in Spain!
Museo de Balie Flamenco 💃🕺
The museum can be skipped but the Flamenco show is amazing. I can't share any photos or videos because it was disallowed during the show. Hands down to the performers!
Royal Alcázar of Seville - Grand dome ceiling ⚜️
Royal Alcázar of Seville - Sculpture on a door 🚪
Royal Alcázar of Seville - Tapestry painting Spain 🗺️
Catedral de Sevilla ⛪️
La Oleoteca - Fresh Olive Oil 🫒🛢️
We had a few sample tastings and they taste 10x better than olive oil in the US. We purchased a strong tasting olive oil with a spicy after tasty.
Plaza de Espana - Us 👱🏼♂️👱🏽♀️
Plaza de Espana - 180 view 🌧️
Plaza de Espana - Flamenco dance 💃
Bumblebee with Thao 🐝🤖👩🏻
Spain - Cordoba
We took a 45 minutes train ride at the Santa Justa station from Seville to Cordoba for ~$27. After arriving, we took a cab to our lodge with a total charge of ~€11. We stayed at the Plaza del Potro, a ~10 minutes walk from the Jewish Quarters.
Cathedral de Cordoba ⛪️
Roman Bridge 🌁
Rey de Reyes - pastel cordobes 🥧
Delicious pastries from Rey de Reyes - Pastel Cordobes Artesano. Must get! They only accept cash (€5.90 per slice). It's located here.
Grupo Ordonez - ox tail 🥩
Grupo Ordonez - wine 🍷
I forgot to capture the image. However, if you like rich red wine, then order the Copa Ribera Boada Yllera.
Coasters 🍽️
These coasters look like the tiles from the board game Azul.
Spain - Granada
We took a ~2 hour train ride from Cordoba to Granada for ~$42.
Alhambra & Nasrid Palace 🏰
I read that Nasrid is highly recommended. However, I don't think it's worth the visit. I much prefer Royal Alcázar of Seville. Alhambra is a pretty small outdoor area with a great view of the city.
Climbing many staircases to Alhambra ⬆️ 🛣️
At the edge of the world 👱🏽♀️👱🏼♂️
O-MED olive oil 🫒🛢️
I highly recommend the guided tour and tasting/pairing. We've added the olive grove which I didn't think was worth €10/person. We rented a car to drive to the olive oil grove because buses runs long and late while taxis are very expensive.
Picual olive tree 🫒🌴
Cold extract education 🫒💧
We purchased the following for a total of €129.02:
- 2x 1L of Arbequina - A smooth, less strong of a flavor, a bit of the spice on the after taste. This can be drizzled with almost anything e.g. mango salad, ice cream.
- 1x 1L of Picual - A stronger flavor and buttery.
- 3x 500ML of Novo - This is the very first harvest and first day of the season for the harvest of the Picual oil. It's the highest quality olive oil, greener than the usual Picual oil and more buttery. It's much more floral and stronger taste than the Picual oil.
- 1x Rose vinegar - The wine I hate the most is the vinegar I like the most here. It has a slight sweet flavor.
- 1x Chardonnay vinegar - The 2nd wine I hate the most is the 2nd vinegar I like the most here.
- 1x white truffle vinegar - Truffle infused flavor vinegar.
Novo 🫒🟢
Picual & Arbequina 🫒🥫
Vinegar made from wine 🍷🍶
Spain - Nerja
We drove from Granada to Malaga, to fly back to Ireland. The drive along the coast was beautiful!
Road view 🛣️⛰️
Balcon de Europa 🌊⛰️
