Baeza (Jaén) – We visited this stunning town for the
first time earlier this year. The old quarter with its beautiful
honey-coloured medieval buildings takes you on a journey back in time.
Barcelona – The first place I ever visited in Spain, back in 1971, as a student. We stayed in a cheap fonda on Las Ramblas
and I fell in love twice over – with the city and with a fellow
student. The latter love soon fizzled out, but my affection for
Barcelona remains.
Córdoba – This is the best of the big three Andalucían cities, as far as I’m concerned. La Mezquita
outstrips even the Alhambra in Granada and Sevilla’s cathedral. I’ve
been twice, with my first wife in 2001 and a second time with a
girlfriend circa 2006. I enjoyed the company and the city both times.
Cuenca (Cuenca) – The only possible rival to Ronda
for sheer location – sheer being the appropriate word! The town is split
by two gorges, compared to Ronda’s one, and is nothing short of
spectacular. Las Casas Colgadas (Hanging Houses) seem to defy gravity. I spent several happy days there with my first wife and son in 2003.
Guadalupe (Extremadura) – We stayed at the Parador,
formerly a medieval hospital, in 2002. High in the mountains, the town
has a religious or contemplative air, with the cathedral housing the
black Virgen de Guadalupe as the focal point. Breathtaking scenery all around.
Jaca (Huesca) – I spent a romantic fortnight here in
1998 whilst doing a two-week Spanish refresher course at the
university. In the foothills of the Pyrenees and near the Ardesa national park, the area offers fabulous scenery and a host of outdoor activities.
Madrid – I’ve been to the Spanish capital twice.
Didn’t much like it the first time back in the early 80s, but when I
attended a conference there in December 2003 I fell for the place.
Small, beautiful, atmospheric, lots to do. There is a saying in Spanish
“De Madrid al cielo”, which means much the same as the English
“See Naples and die!” I wouldn’t go quite that far, but it is a lovely
capital city, comparing favourably with London, Paris, Prague and
Vienna.
Ronda (Málaga) – This would be my number one, if
this list wasn’t alphabetical. I first visited Ronda in 2000 with my
first wife to celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary and we were
enamoured of the place we bought an apartment here the following year .
Two years later we bought a house to renovate. By 2005 we were divorced,
and I had retired, so I could spend more time in the town. During this
period I renovated another house in Ronda for a lady friend, organised a
wedding in the Palacio de Mondragón for her daughter
and got to know lots of Ronda folk, Spanish as well as foreign. I sold
my renovated house in May 2008, fell in love with someone new in Ronda
in September of that year and moved out full time on New Year’s Eve
2008. I’m now remarried and Frau W and I live happily in the campo just outside the town.
San Sebastián (Guipúzcoa) – This Basque city would
be my number two. After arriving in Barcelona back in 1971, we moved on
to San Sebastián to study at the University for three months. I loved
this elegant seaside resort so much, I stayed a further three months and
went back every summer for a good few years afterwards, working as a
tourist guide. When I visited again in 1998, 2004 and 2009 I wasn’t in
the least bit disappointed.
Toledo – This former capital of Spain is a beautiful
walled city which has been largely preserved intact. I’ve visited a
couple of times, though never stayed overnight, regrettably. El Greco
lived here, so his art is all over the place. The monuments are well
worth seeing and the atmosphere in the city is vibrant yet relaxed.
Also considered Cala San Vicente (Mallorca), Girona (Catalunya), Hondarribia (Guipúzcoa), La Gomera (Canaries) and Oviedo (Asturias)
