Room With A View / ANDALUCIA
“Out beyond ideas of right doing and wrong doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” — Rumi
We flew into Gibraltar, crossed La Línea, and hit the road—olive groves, jagged hills, freedom up ahead. First stop: Marbella Beach Club. Paella by the beach in a high wind. My son made castles in the sand. A Frenchman from Beirut gave him a silk pashmina for his nap.
Malaga was hot with light. Roman ruins underfoot, Goya prints, anchovies and vermouth at El Pimpi. Sunset over the Alcazaba, then the road again—steep and winding into Granada.
Room Mate Leo, Room 502: balcony view over the rooftops, Alhambra turning amber in the dusk. Visit the Alhambra early and lunch at El Parador, inside the old convent on the palace grounds. Orange trees, carved fountains, and views that haven’t changed in centuries.
The Alhambra isn’t a ruin. It’s alive. Geometry, water, light. The Court of the Lions moves like music—slender columns, central fountain, marble so pale it glows. The carvings are poetry in stone: water, paradise, power.
The Generalife gardens climb the hill behind it—terraces of citrus, cypress, and running water. A Moorish escape plan. Every step is designed to slow you down. The Water Stairway hums under your feet.
These aren’t ornamental gardens. They were engineered—cooling systems, irrigation, shade, scent. A philosophy, not just a style.
Flamenco in the Albaicín that night. Street guitars in Santa Nicolás Square. Supper at Humo—contemporary, clean, flame and citrus.
Onto Cordoba. The Mezquita hits like a holy trance. Pillars, light, shadow, arches moving like a dream. Tapas in the courtyard. A pianist playing over the river. In Seville, Casa 1800, Room 201: cold plunge pool, jasmine, and the best local bar—La Teresa—right next door.
Horse-drawn through María Luisa Gardens. Incense in the air. Mass inside La Catedral. Later, beers and sunglasses in the graffiti quarter, tapas at La Fresquita with smoke and salt in every bite.
The Royal Alcázar gardens are geometry in bloom—myrtle hedges, tiled paths, fountains in rhythm. Landscape as theology.
Then Cadiz by train. Sea wind, eucalyptus, peeling paint and light. On to Tarifa in a red Toyota. Kitesurfers, coffee, vegan brunch at Powerhouse. One night in Puerto Banús was enough—Lamborghinis, sparklers, a room above a lap-dancing bar with a velvet-jacketed Airbnb host.
Back to Malaga. YOU Hotel—all clean lines and rooftop pool. We swam under stars. The church bells rang for All Souls and processions coloured the streets. A last night street party. Andalucía delivered: history, architecture, sea, light and road curves. From Moorish palaces to windsurf horizons—this is one region where every drive, every view, every ending feels like the prelude to another journey.
Viewfinder: Andalucia
Roomkey
Granada – Room Mate Leo, Room 502. Rooftop views and walking distance to the Alhambra.
Seville – Casa 1800, Room 201. Hidden courtyard, rooftop plunge pool.
Cordoba – Hesperia, Room 131. Central, quiet, classic.
Cadiz – Domus Hotel. Boutique, brutalist touches, sea-sprayed balconies.
Malaga – YOU Hotel. Smart, sustainable, with a rooftop pool.
The Table With a View
El Pimpi – Anchovies, vermouth, locals.
Humo, Granada – Fresh, modern, fire-led.
Bodega Mezquitas, Cordoba – Tapas under orange trees.
La Teresa, Seville – Loud, local, unbeatable.
La Fresquita – Smoky, salty, sacred.
Through the Lens
The Alhambra isn’t a museum—it breathes. In Court of the Lions water cuts through the courtyard like time. Up the hill, the Generalife gardens unfold in terraces of myrtle and citrus.. These gardens weren’t just for strolling. They were a blueprint for paradise.
On The Road
Vehicle of Choice
Red Toyota Corolla, hired with little ceremony at Gibraltar Airport. Reliable, air-conditioned, and just enough oomph for mountain switchbacks. No one’s filming a car commercial here — you want something that handles cobbles, climbs, and coastal wind without drama.
Where to Hire
– Gibraltar Airport: Easier than Malaga, fewer queues, and you roll straight into Spain.
– Malaga Airport: More options, better for luxury rentals or electric cars.
– Seville: Start inland and end at the coast — ideal if you’re doing a linear route.
What to Pack
Sunglasses, water, playlists with Paco de Lucía and early Stones, a scarf that doubles as a sunshade. You’ll go from sea air to mountain altitude in a matter of hours.
Top Drive: Granada to Ronda via El Chorro
The road out of Granada climbs hard and fast. Within minutes, the city gives way to mountains — the Sierra Nevada, jagged and pale in the heat. Head south through pine and olive groves, then west through El Chorro Gorge, where climbers hang like ants on red rock. Stop for lunch near the Caminito del Rey, then sweep down through white villages, finally reaching Ronda — built on a cliff and proud of it.
Soundtrack Suggestion
Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk into Tinariwen, full volume for the descent.
Future Frame: For The Global Citizen
Fundación Global Nature
Restoring wetlands and traditional farming in Spain — grounding regeneration in beauty and biodiversity.
Rewilding Europe
Turning abandoned land into wild corridors — from Iberia to the Danube.
Slow Food Travel
A global map of places where food, culture, and landscape are protected — by eating well.
Filed on location across Andalucía, with thanks to Turismo de Andalucía (the official tourism board of the Junta de Andalucía) and YOU Hotel Málaga.