Access to one of our vacation rentals.
It may have appeared to those who followed along with my recent travels that I was experiencing the trip of a lifetime. Several people even stated that in comments to my posts here on the blog and on Facebook. But honestly, “It wasn’t.” Sure, the trip was great in so many ways, but in my opinion I hope to never experience a trip of a lifetime. That’s because I intend to keep experiencing trips that are amazing and hopefully better. Plus, even though I tried to be honest about a few of the challenges that popped up during our 90 days of travel, lots of things happened along the way that were completely unexpected. Isn’t that how it is in life? What’s the saying, “No matter where you go, there you are.” And I’d add to that, “No matter how well you plan or hope, stuff happens!” So, in reflection I thought I’d mention a few thoughts that could benefit us all (me!) when “stuff happens” in our future—regardless of when or where they happen. And if you have a few practices that work for you, I hope you share them in the comments below.
Our final destination in Spain is Seville. There is a great deal written about how wonderful the city is in books and on the internet so I decided we should stay here for a week. I found another great apartment in a central location and after visiting Ronda we drove our car into town (only getting lost once or twice) and turned it into the rental agency. All good. Once settled in we headed out to explore. Surprisingly because it doesn’t get dark there until after 10:00 p.m., it seems pretty natural to wait until 7:00-8:00 to eat. That of course is still early for Spaniards who typically wait until 10:00 to eat, but it worked just fine for us. We relaxed the first day in town (did some laundry) and prepared for our tour of the Real Alcazar–The Royal Palace–the following day. 
One of the main reasons I wanted to visit Spain was to experience Andalucía in the Southern part of the country. For whatever reason I felt drawn to the culture and landscape. Past lives? Who knows? But after experiencing Barcelona we took the train to Cordoba before taking another train to Granada. The highlight there, at least in my opinion, is the Alhambra. This palace and former fortress is considered to be one of the most famous examples of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Islamic world. Plus, it contains notable examples of Spanish Renaissance design. Sitting boldly on a hill overlooking Granada, it is a must see when visiting. And I purposely selected a vacation rental that provided a view.