Sarlat, France

Excuse the cliché, but Sarlat is a rare diamond. I remember reading Michael Crichton’s Timeline, which was set in France’s Dordogne Valley. I had read about Medieval castles perched on hills overlooking the Dordogne River and was eager to check out this part of France. Sarlat is the area’s largest town.

I spent the afternoon on a relaxing walk throughout the Medieval center of the town. The cathedral, unlike most of the ones I have seen, is not Gothic. Instead, it was built from tan stone with a gray turret. The other buildings in Sarlat were mostly built with tan stones and brown or gray roofs. The shutters, which range in color, was my favorite part.

I also got a chance to visit the interior of some of these Medieval buildings. This is because many of them have become art galleries. Thus, I got to enjoy contemporary art while also admiring architecture. The most intriguing aspect of these buildings was the spiral staircase.

I was quite disappointed to find out that Sarlat is actually not by the Dordogne River and that one needed a car to fully explore the chateau, caves and ruins in the area. However, with most of the places I have visited, there is always a next time. The first visit is merely to sample the “icing on the cake”.

Bordeaux, France

I decided to visit Bordeaux as a base to explore the surrounding wine region, which reportedly produces some of the best vin in the world. I didn’t think much of the city before visiting, but once again, I have found a tourist jewel.

Besides its typical French classical architecture, Bordeaux is blessed with a riverbank that was crowded on this hot, spring day. My highlight of the day was attending an arts festival. The festival consisted of exhibitions (art, photography), concerts and improvisational theater. My favorite was the improv as the teens who performed it were quite amusing (thanks to Mathieu for the translation!).

What is amazing about Bordeaux (and every European city/town I have visited so far) is the multitude of cultural events available to the public. There is some movie, exhibit, concert or fair going on everyday and Bordeaux isn’t even a large city!

San Sebastian, Spain

San Sebastian is one of my favorite cities in Spain and I will definitely come back! This city in the Basque country of Spain is blessed with incredible landscapes. Since it rains so often in northern Spain, the region is extremely verdant. My CouchSurfing host Vincent took me to the beach in bordering France and also drove me up the surrounding mountains for a panoramic view of the bay.

Another thing San Sebastian is known for is its creative and artistic pintxos or tapas. We hit a couple of tapas bars in the center of town and ate some pretty amazing creations! In fact, the food was so beautiful to the eye that I didn’t want to destroy it by munching on it!

Barcelona, Spain

I have to say I didn’t have high expectations of Barcelona (mainly because I hadn’t read too much about it) but boy did I have a hard time leaving! This city is often viewed as the stylish, modern and chic place in Spain. No wonder why there were hordes of tourists everywhere! My favorite part of Barcelona is the non-traditional architecture.

The architecture I’m implying is the late 19th to early 20th century style known as Modernism. The most famous Modernist is Antonin Gaudi. Gaudi’s and other modernists’ works are all over Barcelona (there’s even a map to show the places) and it was impossible to visit them all.

Highlights of Gaudi’s works include the unfinished church La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. I especially enjoyed Park Guell because in addition to the famous curvy seating area, there were sweeping views of Barcelona and the Mediterranean. The L’Eixample district contains many Modernist works, including Gaudi’s famed La Pedrera and Casa Batllo.

Cuenca, Spain

Cuenca, a UNESCO world heritage site, is located three hours by train from Valencia. I decided to visit this small town to view the famous casas colgadas or hanging houses. These structures are perched high on a hill overlooking a valley. In fact Cuenca’s old town is entirely on a hill. The views down into the valley were phenomenal.

Valencia, Spain

Valencia, Spain’s third-largest city, is known for paella (Spanish fried rice) and for hosting the America’s Cup (sailing event). A couple of highlights from my experience here:

First, I really enjoyed visiting the Centro Cultural Bancaja, a free museum sponsored by a bank. In Spain, several banks have foundations which have museums with temporary exhibitions year-round. These exhibitions cover art and science. In this particular institution I visited, there were two excellent exhibitions. The first was Joan Miro’s representation of the female figure. Miro’s art is entertaining as it is similar to children’s art, with scribbles everywhere. The second and my favorite of the two is an exhibition on China, which covered Chinese cities, characters, feng shui, architecture, family and environment.

I also enjoyed visiting the futuristic-looking City of Arts and Sciences. I did not expect Valencia to be at the forefront of architecture. This park contains several notable buildings, the whale-shaped Palace of Arts, the Calatrava-designed bridge, The Hemisphere, The Oceanarium and the Museum of Science.

Lastly, I had to try paella, as this is what Valencia is most famous for. I ate paella Valenciana (chicken) at a bar where they were serving it as a tapas that came with a drink. Delicious!

Granada, Spain

I had decided to visit the southern region of Spain known as Andalucia because of its Moorish past. Being a huge architecture fan, I knew that gorgeous Islamic tiles, arches and carvings would be present in cities across Andalucia. Nowhere is this more apparent that in Granada’s La Alhambra, perhaps the most magnificent building in Spain. Not having bought a ticket in advance and mindful of its popularity, I decided to start queing one hour before the ticket office opens in the hopes of visiting this temple of architecture. Nothing was going to stop me from entering the palace I had always dreamed of visiting ever since I first saw it in a high school geometry textbook!

I ended up sleeping in for one hour and thus did not get to the ticket office until 8:45am (office opens at 8am) and thus was panicking that I wouldn't be able to get a ticket. Luckily, I got one for the afternoon session.

The morning was spent wandering around the Moorish district of Albaicin. The white buildings with brown roofs and inner courtyards are all typical of what is found in Morocco. There was just a few examples of tilework but overall, the architecture was not colorful. The highlight of visiting Albaicin is the excellent views of the Alhambra from its upper reaches.

I spent 4 hours in the Alhambra and still felt like that wasn't enough! The Alhambra consists of the Generalife gardens, the Alcazaba (fortress), the Nazirid Palace (main one) and the Palace of Carlos V. The first 3 each provided a different type of highlight.

The Generalife garden contains a myriad of flowers in all shades and colors. This, coupled with fountains and trees, produced a very relaxing ambience. The Alcazaba, on the other hand, is known for the views of Albaicin and rest of Granda from its two towers. Lastly, perhaps the ultimate highlight is a visit to the Nazirid Palace, home of the sultans back in the day. There, intricate carvings, graceful arches, pristine courtyards abound. Words cannot describe the details of the carvings. The Alhambra, with its unique architecture and peaceful gardens is probably the most amazing building in the world!