Holiday part 1: Sabiote

A 590 km drive to the town of Sabiote for our first overnight stay. The hotel was in the far north-east corner of the town right next to the 13th century castle with some magnificent views.

We chose to stay in this hotel from a wide selection of "activities" which was a present from our good friends Carmen, Raúl and Ariadna for my birthday last August and a very good choice it was.

Manillas, the name of the hotel, are handcuffs although we didn't actually see any.

The hotel itself was a bit like a small Parador, the famous national chain of hotels throughout Spain which are usually in castles, monasteries or the like.

The room was very comfortable...

...and the building itself was very interesting...

...with a lovely central open area, just right for sitting and relaxing with that gin'n'tonic before evening meal.

But before that there was time to explore the castle next door...

...and the typical Andalusian views of the countryside dotted with olive trees.

The original castle was enlarged in the 16th century to what we see today...

...although the inside was plundered and destroyed by Napoleonic troops.

However, the outside of the castle is a splendid piece of architecture...

...bearing exquisite carvings of that period.

The town church dedicated to San Pedro is also of the 16th century and it too has ornate carvings even though they are a little weathered.

Inside the church a wedding was taking place and I couldn't resist taking a photo of the wedding car, a 1952 Citroën Traction Avant in very good condition.

Finally, back to the hotel for that G'n'T I mentioned earlier. A very good start to the holiday.