OLIVE TOUR

Malaga is a port city. It seems to include so many contradictions! Quiet narrow streets flow into crowded squares. A theater from the Roman age stands next to XI and XIV century fortresses. The Renaissance peacefully co-exists with Moor heritage. The Cathedral, the Genoa Fountain at Plaza de la Constitucion, Sacred Heart Church, Episcopal Palace, the bull-fighting arena La Malagueta, the botanical garden, the fishermen’s district — one can walk around Malaga endlessly! You want to breathe all of this city in — so you can forever keep its smell of sea salt, jasmine, and coffee (the city has its special classification for this drink!). When you leave Malaga, you promise yourself to return and live there — even permanently, perhaps.

Royal Hawk Nest — this is what Baeza was once called. The town can boast a rich and varied history. The Romans, Moors, knights of Castile — the town once thrived, was then totally destroyed and rose again from ruins. Situated here are: the most beautiful palace of Andalusia, Jabalquinto, with its grotesque Gothic facade; Andalusia’s oldest university, in Renaissance style and still partially active; and Santa Cruz Church in Romanesque style, rare in Spain. It is for a reason that the town is called Úbeda’s sister and was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

On the central square of the town of Úbeda, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the church Santa Maria de los Reales Alcazares neighbors the brilliant Renaissance-style Palacio de las Cadenas and the chapel Sacra Capilla del Salvador, in Plateresque style. This incredible cultural and architectural fusion is indeed picturesque. Here, time has its own rules. The town seems to have frozen in another era — but as you dive into its streets, you discover that life here is bustling ! For example, in the splendid privately-owned Fine Arts Museum, located in a former palace, weekly flamenco shows are held —rumor says, these could be the best in all of Spain. Palaces, mansions, even the hospital building, the Andalusian Escorial — everything in Úbeda generates admiration. On top of that, the views of the Sierra Mágina peaks or the Valle Medio del Guadalquivir Valley makes one hold their breath.