Itinerary+Murphy

Our group will consist of 4 people total. Each of these people is around 20 years old, and are interested in exploring both cultural activities (anything from momuments to music to museums to national parks) along with a little bit of nightlife. We are especially keen on wildlife, and plan to incorporate that into our trip. These 4 people are very open to exploring whatever they can. Our plan is to tak a trip through Andalucia, traveling from Sevilla, to the Parque Nacional de Doñana, to Málaga, to Granada, to the Alpujarras, and finally to Valencia. Since we are young, we are going to try to travel as cheaply as possible while still doing as much things as we can. We plan on staying mostly in fun, cheap hostels, and going to the super markets to buy the majority of our food. We also plan on taking a bus to and from each destination, which will be much cheaper and convenient than flying in a plane.

1st Day We arrive early in the morning in Sevilla, around 10 a.m. We cannot check into our hostel until later, but we drop our bags off there and head out. The first thing we go to see is the cathedral and the Giralda. Sevilla´s cathdral is amaing, third of the biggest in the entire world and is created mostly using Renaissance style of work. It will be a bit of a hike up the Gilarda, but well worth the views. We then go out for some tapas for lunch, and head off to the Alcazar. We spend about 3 hours wandering through this magical palace, a place very similar in sheer presence and beauty to the Alhambra. To finish the night off, we head over to check out the Toro de Oro, which used to be an Islamic watchtower, and take in the sunset while sitting next to the Guadalquivir river. What a first day.

2nd We take a bus at 9 a.m. and arrive in Doñana National Park in less than 2 hours. This park has been classified as a World Heritage site, and is most likely Spain´s most important wildlife reservation. We to decide to take a half day hike in Doñana, and we get an English speaking guide to show us through the park. going thorugh the wetlands that encompass this park. We see all kinds of different birds, including flamencos and storks. We then spend a bit of time on the beach, and even get to ride horses as we enjoy the sun and the waves. We also pass by the woodland area, and come across some deer and horses. When we are done hiking, we head over to El Rocío, a small village near the park. We spend the rest of the day walking around the city, then head over to our campground called Camping La Aldea, where we spend the rest of the night in small tents we bought the day before.

3rd We wake up early in the morning and take a long bus ride to Malaga. We get there right around mid day, and decide to head to the Alcazaba. This huge place was the palace-fortress of Málaga´s Muslim governers dating all the way back to the 12th century. There are some great views of the harbour from here. Being the home of Picasso himself, we decide to head to the Picasso Museum, where we find over 200 pieces of work from the main man himself. These places take up about half of our day, but we decide to take a bus to Nerja, one of the beaches on the southeastern corner of Málaga, and a part of the famous Costa del Sol. We check out the Balcón de Europa, which offers spectacular views of some of the beaches in Nerja. We then select a nice beach to relax on, soaking in what little sun we have left in the day. We find a small little hostel to spend the rest of the night in, and are excited for the next day.

4th We hop on yet another bus, this time heading over to Granada. Having booked our ticket in advance, we head straight to the Alhambra. This is an amazing fortress, and is the most visited monument in all of Spain. We spend a long time walking through the Palacio Nazaríes, an architectural gem of the Alhambra. We also spend a long time walking through the Generalife, where the gardens of the Alhambra are found. After all this walking, we head over to a teteria, and smoke some hookah while enjoying some delicious tea. We then decide to treat ourselves to the Arabic baths, where we relax for around 2 hours, soaking in the baths and then receiving a well deserved massage in the end. We head out and about to enjoy some free tapas, something unique to Granada. We grab a few drinks and a few tapas and end up at a flamenco bar up in the Albayzin, where we watch flamenco dancers dance the night away, and then head back to our hostel.

5th Not far from the city of Granada lies the Sierra Nevada moutain range. We decide to spend this day hiking through the Alpujarras, which lie on the other side of the massive Sierra Nevada´s. This area is surrounded by huge mountains with tiny white villages hidden throughout the land. We pack up some food from a local grocery store, and head out. We start at Capileria, and during the rest of the day end up at Bubión and Pampaneira. Each of these small villages is home to 16th century Mudéjar churches, and we take a bit of time wondering through each of them. We also get to catch a glimpse of the highest peak in all of mainland Spain: Mulhacén (3479m) All in all, it takes us about 8 total hour to walk all around this area, and we are exhausted. Our final destination is Pampaneira, where we sleep at a quiant hostel called the Hostal Pampaneira.

6th We find a cheap flight from Granada´s airport to Valencia, and take it. We arrive in the afternoon in the city of Valencia, and take a bus down to Parque Natural de la Albufera. This is the perfect place to see more wildlife, which we a big fans of. We spend the whole afternoon walking around the park, right up until sunset. We take a little boat out to the lagoon and watch as the sun floats slowly to the ground. We then head to a small village called El Palmar. This area is known as the birthplace of the well-known spanish dish paella, and what a great place to try the dish out. We stop at a locally owned restaurant in this small village and stuff ourselves with fresh seafood paella. We take a night bus back to the city of Valencia, where we spend a quiet night in our hostel

7th We wake up early and head over to the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. This aesthetically stunning place is home to three different attractions: the Hemisféric (an amaxing mixture of a planetarium, IMAX, and laser show), the Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe (an interactive science museum), and the Oceanográfic (huge collection of world class aquariums). We spend hours walking through the wonders of these places. We grab some quick food, then head over to the Museo de Bellas Artes. This museum is home to pieces of work done by such greats as El Greco, Goya, Velázquez, Murillo, Ribalta, and Sorolla. This is one of the best museums in all of Spain. We then decide to check out some the city´s plazas, including the Plaza de la Virgen and the Plaza del Mercado, which contains a cool market where we grab some goodies. We take a short nap, and prepare ourselves for the extravagent nightlife of Valencia. We grab some drinks, then head over to Bananas, one of the best discos in all of Valencia. This place packs in thousands of people every weekend, and plays a variety of house and techno music. We dance the night away, all the way until 8 a.m. (which is the time our flight leaves back to home). What a journey we went on this week!