If you travel, you have a tendency to think that once you've been to a country you have a sense of it, and that may be true in the broadest sense. Japan is orderly and polite, Norway structured and reserved, Mexico laid back and friendly. But that, of course, is just scratching the surface, and variations abound. It's no different closer to home: we assume that the rest of the world knows that New York is different from Dallas from Kansas City. Once in Sweden we asked a bunch of pensioners we encountered if they had ever been to our country. Their reply: "Yes, we have been to Las Vegas." Alas, we informed them, they had not actually been to the United States.
And so with the same arrogance, we thought we had a sense of Spain based our experience in Madrid and Barcelona. Wonderful cities, we thought we "got" the people, the art, the architecture and the vibe of the entire country. In truth it was very limited to where we had been. Indeed, when our youngest took a trip to Basque country in the north, he related that the unique attributes of that region were very different from the places we had been. And a most recent jaunt to Andalusia added to the realization that Spain is actually closer to three countries (at least!) than one.
You see it not just in the buildings but in the art, place names and even the language. While the entire country is deeply Catholic, Andalusia has an Islamic imprint that hasn't been erased. It is most obvious in the architecture. The 8 provinces that make up this autonomous region in the south were heavily influenced by the conquering Moors, and the infrastructure reflects that. Their dominance over the region for 800 years left an indelible mark, in arches and plaster work, in tiling, gardens and fountains. Many a church is built upon or blended with the mosque that was there before. Likewise, it's on display in the palaces and mansions that were later appropriated by kings, queens and noblemen.
The food is also reflective of this heritage. Heavily influenced by a Mediterranean mindset, olive oil is more prevalent than butter, while almond and citrus are the dominant flavors of sweets. Andalusia gave the world the cold tomato-based soups of gazpacho and salmorejo, both spiked with the taste of sherry that comes from Jerez and surrounds. Thankfully, however, their taste in alcohol goes beyond sherry to the northern staples of Tempranillo and Rioja wine, available for a song at every bar.
While the siesta is Spanish in origin, Andalusia seems to practice not just the letter of the law but the spirit as well. Perhaps because it is the hottest and driest region in continental Europe, the people there seem more relaxed than their northern countrymen. That means lots of outdoor mingling and long lunches with plentiful tapas, small portions of this and that to share. Indeed, Granada is one of the few Spanish cities where every drink order in a bar gets you a plate of nibbles for free.
There are other local eccentricities that accentuate the provincial distinction. The region is the home of bullfighting and flamenco, activities which (whatever your view) influence art, clothing and overall style. Moroccan spices and flavors are abundant, with both mint tea and coffee jostling for equal footing. And breakfast is the simple tostadas, grilled crusty bread spread with grated tomato, olive oil, garlic and salt: add a cup of café con leche, and you are set till lunch.
While Andalusia has many unique characteristics, one it does share with the rest of Spain is dinner time: most restaurants don't even open until 800PM. Go at 8:15 or 8:30PM, and it marks you as a tourist. More than once we were finishing dinner at 10:00PM or later when a group of locals walked in and were just getting started. Seems like a great lifestyle, as long as you don't have to get up for work in the morning.
When we travel try and immerse ourselves as much as possible. We stay in apartments in residential areas, chat with whomever will chat with us, and walk as much as possible to soak in the neighborhoods. This trip was no different, and it enabled us to gain a small understanding of a region we knew little about. As the locals say, "Gracias, mi arma" (Thank you, my soul).
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You can see some pics from the trip here. This column appears weekly via email and online on Substack and Blogspot as well as Facebook, LinkedIn and X.
