Córdoba | Palacio de Viana

blue potsCórdoba is undoubtedly one of the most important historic cities in Europe, with a list of world-class monuments topped by the splendid Mezquita. But it also has quieter, less obvious charms. Among these are the famous Córdoban patios and courtyards (which even have their own festival), decked with flowers, often in the distinctive dark blue flower pots that can be seen all over the cities. Of course, patios and courtyards are not unique to Córdoba, being a typical architectural form all around the Mediterranean, but here they have been developed more than almost anywhere else, and have become almost a local art-form.

For this reason no visit to Córdoba can really be considered complete without going to see the Palace of Viana, the Museum of the Patios, and a few days ago I was fortunate enough to be invited to a tour both of the patios and the palace of which they form a part (it was actually my second visit as last year I saw the patios shortly after the museum had opened). In fact, I have only been in summer (first last June and now August) and really must go again in the spring.

viana collage

[a few of the Palacio de Viana patios]

The palace is known to have existed since the 14th century, and in the 15th became the home of the Don Gome family. In the 17th century it became known as the Rejas (grilles) de Don Gome, because of the barred windows of the patio giving on to the street outside. The original palace occupied a much smaller area than the palace as it is now, but under a succession of owners it has grown and changed over the centuries. In the 19th century, when it was the residence of the Marques de Villaseca, the house of Torres Cabrera, another palace that lay alongside, was taken over in its entirety. In 1902 the Palace became the property of the second Marquis of Viana, and over the next two generations completed its evolution into almost the form we see today. In 1980, on the death of the third Marquis, the Palace was sold to the CajaSur foundation and registered as a monument of national historic importance.

The palace today has twelve courtyards and a garden, intertwined with the various wings and sections of the palace, whose rooms and galleries house important collections of artifacts and artworks, including Breughel and Goya, tapestries and furniture, as well as an impressive library with over 7,000 books. I recommend taking the guided tour of the upstairs rooms. Although it is only given in Spanish there are printed handouts in different languages that give you a brief description of the rooms and collections.

There are also nighttime events and concerts which must be magical in that setting. You can check events, dates and times on the Palacio de Viana website.

Palacio de Viana
Plaza de Don Gome, 2
Córdoba

 

Horse Racing in Sanlúcar de Barrameda

I have ALWAYS wanted to do this. And now I have. For years I’ve heard about the wonderful sounding horse races on the beach in Sanlúcar de Barrameda and every August I have somehow never managed to make it. In part I blame the very shoddy public transport between Sevilla and Sanlúcar… nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is going to get me to sit on a bus for over two hours for a journey that normally takes just over an hour by car. But I digress. Because yesterday I did have the chance to go by car with my friends Markus, who runs Veoapartment, and Peter Seville Concierge.

We set off in time to catch the first race (the times announced were vague, we got there for the 6.30 pm race to discover that it didn’t start until 7.00, más o menos.). Eventually we managed to find a spot in the front row and waited for things to get going. I had my camera ready to take some photos but other than a few pics of the horses making their way to the starting gate I got nothing because they ended up whizzing by again in about three seconds flat. So I decided to try Vine for the next one. Six seconds.

beer on the beach sanlucarIn between races we went over to one of the beach restaurants in Bajo de Guia to enjoy a cold beer and the sea breeze. But after the second race we decided that was enough and headed back into town for a bite to eat before heading back home. The obvious choice was Casa Balbino, home of The Very Best tortillitas de camarones, well, anywhere. As usual it was jam-packed but we found a little corner spot in front of the bar and started off with – what else? – a chilled glass of made-in-Sanlúcar manzanilla and some plump and juicy locally caught langoustines. Then the super-crispy tortillitas, some seafood croquetas and gambas pil-pil.

On the large flatscreen above our heads we watched recaps of the races which were quite a bit different from our blink-and-miss-it experiences, as cameramen in cars and at various strategic points along the beach caught the entire races. But I was still glad I went and experienced it for myself, and a day trip to Sanlúcar is always enjoyable. All in all, it was a lovely Sunday.

sanlucar

There will be one more weekend of races 16, 17 and 18 of August.

The Reluctant Feriante

more ferias

Since going to the Feria de Córdoba last year I seem to be turning into a bit of a feriante. Which is particularly odd as I don’t much like the massively famous (and massive) Feria de Abril here in Sevilla, though this year I ended up going twice – haven’t done that in years. I also haven’t been to the fabulous Feria del Caballo in Jerez for years – five to be exact – so I have booked off a couple of days next month to do that, in case I feel like staying overnight. And then I was told about the Feria de Primavera y Fiesta del Vino Fino in Puerto de Santa Maria, which started yesterday. So I think I’ll be popping over there on Sunday. But I’ll probably miss the Córdoba Feria this year as I want to go to the Patio Festival there, which finishes the week before. Ah well, can’t be everywhere. I have to say that I really prefer these much friendlier ferias with their casetas open to the public. And I like how the Feria in Málaga also takes to the streets and spills over to the centre of the city, though I haven’t actually been to the fairground there.  Maybe this summer. How many ferias have you been to in Spain?

El Aljarafe | An Afternoon in Salteras

El Aljarafe is Arabic for “knoll”, and is the name for the cluster of villages dotting the hills just outside Sevilla. I rarely venture out there other than to go to IKEA (in Castilleja de la Cuesta), mostly because it’s a pain to get to by bus. It would actually be fun to do a day trip to some of the little villages out there some time if I can convince someone with a car to do this with me. But I digress…

I’ve only been to Salteras once, about 12 years ago, when I was invited to a special lunch at one of the “parrilla” restaurants there. About thirty years ago the first one – La Bodega – opened in Salteras and was such a great success that soon other places started copying its “formula” of offering a simple menu based on BBQ grilled meats served with “papas arrugás” and “mojo picón”. These are small potatoes boiled in a small amount of very salty water leaving the skins wrinkled and sparkling with salt, which are then dipped in a spicy Canarian sauce. Soon Salteras was full of these establishments and became THE place to go for fabulous meat & potato meals. Since then the menus have become more extensive while the number of restaurants has diminished. Now there are about five left and on Sunday I decided to go out there and try one out.

After a bit of online research I chose La Resolana because I liked the look of their website and I especially liked that they had a “tapas corner”, which meant that my friend Peter (aka Seville Concierge) and I could try more dishes. So we trekked down to the bus station just in time to catch the 1pm to Salteras and when the bus driver pulled out of the station and put on some rock-a-billy music it started to feel like a proper Road Trip. We got held up for awhile in a village just outside of Camas when the main road became blocked by a funeral procession. I’d never seen this before and got one of those odd “I’m living in Spain” moments as I watched a crowd of at least fifty people walking slowly behind a hearse, with half a dozen pallbearers in the lead. It was a sad and beautiful sight.

If you go to Salteras from Sevilla by car it will take you about ten minutes. The bus takes about 25 minutes (or 35 with funeral) and we stopped in places I didn’t even know existed. Luckily we had been told which stop in Salteras to get off at, which ended up being just a few minutes walk to La Resolana. And well, we had a wonderful lunch. As it was a hot afternoon in August the place was pretty quiet, though I’m told it’s always packed out during the rest of the year. I can see why. The service was great, the food excellent, and at one point when a Twitter friend asked me exactly which part of the pig “pluma” comes from (yes, I tweeted the whole lunch) one of the chefs brought me out a book showing me the different pork cuts. After that we were given some boozy sorbet drinks on the house and I got to take photos of everyone for Sevilla Tapas. If you want to see all the great stuff we had to eat then have a look here:
La Resolana

It was only after I got home that I realised this had actually been another of my 20th anniversary day trips! And I’m now keen to explore El Aljarafe a bit more.

If I can find someone to take me…

Yunquera’s Gold

As part of my weekend break in Ronda, I had the opportunity to visit a small olive farm in Yunquera, a village in the mountains between Ronda and Málaga, run by Kenton Smith and Ann Larson. The 35km ride from Ronda to Yunquera turned out to be on some narrow winding mountain roads that were a bit hard on the nerves, but we made it in one piece and were met near Yunquera’s Napoleonic “watchtower” by Kenton and his land rover – a vehicle that proved essential on the last leg of the journey up to the farm.

Ann and Kenton left their London IT jobs nine years ago to come and live the “slow life” in southern Spain (though I think they work harder than most city-dwellers I know), tending their steeply-sloping olive orchards and working on various other projects – they really have achieved an impressive amount. The house, almost a ruin when they bought it, now has a terrace over a pleasant patio, a modern kitchen, workshops, a small swimming pool and even a custom-made totem pole which looks down over the village. As it’s “off the grid” they have to generate their own electricity (wind and solar power, though they have a generator for emergencies) and their water comes from a private well. You can read more about their life and adventures on their blog.

After taking a short walk into the grove to see the olive trees, accompanied by two large, boisterous and very friendly boxer dogs, we sat out on the patio and were treated to a sampling of Ann and Kenton’s own olive oil – Yunquera Gold – along with freshly baked foccacia for dipping and locally produced jamón, washed down with some excellent home brewed beer. We were also given some olive oil to take home. But there were still more treats in store!

While the others were discussing battery packs and the possibility of engineering students installing a hydraulic ram pump, Ann took me upstair so show me her Lujos range of olive oil based skincare products, which she developed herself and makes to order. They all looked – and smelled – wonderful, and so I was delighted when she gave me a gift package including Lovely Hands (luxury hand cream), Absolutely Fab (intensive face cream) and Orange & Black (body cream). Now that I’ve had a chance to try them out I can say that they are all terrific but the body cream is particularly fine and smells delicious, like a sweet soothing custard.

All too soon it was time to leave, but I’m looking forward to seeing Ann and Kenton in Sevilla before too long. In the meantime it’s fun staying in touch on twitter and by email – sometimes a short visit is enough to know when you’ve met kindred spirits.


Lujos skincare products