Andalusia – an awesome destination
Andalusia here I come. My heart lifts as it always does when I embark on a new trip. The blast of hairdryer heat as I exit the plane in Malaga for the TBEX (Travel Bloggers Exchange) conference never disappoints. I am in Marbella for the Europe 2022 TBEX conference, in the gorgeous Spanish province of Andalusia.
Hundreds of travel content creators from all over Europe and the US converge on the Palacio de Congresos, able to meet for the first time in over two years.
The conference was meant to be in Catania, in Sicily in March of 2020. A certain pandemic put paid to that event which suffered a forced cancellation at the last minute. It is with a great deal of relief and pleasure that delegates are able to meet, learn from each other and socialise at last in such a lovely environment.
Marbella – five star Andalusia
Marbella is a well known luxury destination on the Costa Del Sol. The Sierra Blanca Mountains are the backdrop to 27 km of sandy Mediterranean beaches, villas, hotels and golf courses. Here the rich and famous party on the golden mile of prestigious nightclubs and huge coastal estates leading to the Peurto Banus marina. The marina is filled with luxury yachts, upmarket boutiques and bars. This is not a budget destination.
I didn’t have much time to explore Marbella as I was speaking at the conference and was rehearsing my talk. However, I have it on good authority that the old town is very lovely and while we were there, a fiesta was in full swing which some delegates make the most of. There was even a firework display. The Spanish do love their fireworks.
This is my first TBEX conference and I absolutely love it. Talk about finding your tribe. Everyone attending was skilled at either writing, photography, digital content platforms, working with brands or all of these at once! I learn so much from and am inspired by such experienced travel professionals.
Where is Andalusia?
Andalusia is the most Southern autonomous province of Spain and is a huge tourist destination. Under Moorish rule from the 8th-15th centuries it features many buildings with beautiful Islamic architecture in iconic cities like Seville, Granada and Cordoba.
I was lucky enough to go on a Pre Bex tour to the city of Ronda, another very famous destination for tourism.
Ronda sits at the top of a mountain, along a very windy road. I usually feel sick on such journeys as I am a poor coach passenger, but our driver was very steady and I so I am just about OK as we reach the bus station.
The town is set dramatically above a deep gorge (El Tajo.) The gorge separates the city’s 15th century new town from its old town dating back to Moorish rule. Views out over the valley are pretty spectacular from just about anywhere.
Ronda is known to be the birthplace of bull fighting – not something I support by the way, but it is a big part of Spanish culture. It does however have a magnificent bull fighting arena built in 1785, which can host 5,000 spectators. It is the oldest bullring in the world.
After our town tour, we head out to a local vineyard for lunch. Our venue is the Bodega Joaquin Fernandez. This is a fairly new winery set high on a beautiful sloping hill covered in vines. They specialise in organic red wines and we do some wine tasting of an excellent selection before we tuck into fresh salads, bread and paella.
The last night party
The end of the conference arrives and we reach the final celebratory party! Everyone is at the Cortijo de Cortes, a fine Andalusian property, surrounding a beautiful tiled courtyard. We are greeted with sangria, Spanish sherry and finely sliced ‘jamon serano’ a famous cured ham produced in the Granada area. A ham cutter is on hand to show how to slice the precious meet with precision.
Above the beautiful villas is an arena where we watch elegant Andalusian horses pirouetting in the sand, dancing to rousing Spanish music. Later we watch a very lively flamenco show and some of the audience join in with gusto! The rest are of course taking pictures and videos!
Priego de Cordoba
Part of the full TBEX experience are the post TBEX FAM (familiarisation) trips. Our hosts, the Andalusian Tourist Board are making the most of this influx of travel writers and content creators. They excel themselves with some amazing opportunities to see different parts of the Andalusia region. Granada, Jerez, Heulva, Seville, Ubeda and Baeza are all on offer. I choose Cordoba and a group of seven of us set off for this destination. Before we reach Cordoba itself we stop at the mountain town of Priego de Cordoba.
Priego De Cordoba is part of a Natural Park with its high limestone peaks. Olive groves cover the slopes around the town. Growing and picking olives to make high quality olive oil is the main agricultural activity here.
Preigo de Cordoba is a beautiful town full of monuments and sculptures. Baroque architecture and churches are a stand out feature of the place. The centre is also full of gardens and cooling fountains which are very welcome in this hot dry climate.
We climb the steps to the top of the ancient castle to look out over the impressive landscape. Priego de Cordoba was likely a Roman town centuries ago. It was a town of significance in days gone by and so Preigo de Cordoba has more important monuments than any other town or village in the province.
Flower filled streets
The white washed streets are delightful, covered in beautiful ceramic pots spilling with red geraniums. I am a huge fan of ceramics and Spanish ceramics with their glorious rustic patterns and colours are some of my favourites. I manage to shop for an acid green jug in passing, despite already having a house full of ceramics from all over the world. There is no resisting them!
Olive Oil tasting
We have probably all been wine tasting. I know I have done a lot of this activity all over the world, but Olive Oil tasting is new to me. We taste different oils in small glass vials with a printed menu of tastes to match them to. Indeed I do taste apples, herbs, green salad and something more bitter as we savour each more complex oil. These fine virgin cold pressed oils are used to flavour salads, vegetables all kinds of cooked dishes and even the odd dessert!
Our lunch here was exceptional. Gazpacho, the famous Spanish cold tomato soup followed Cod with black garlic sauce. Next is the best baked cheesecake I have ever tasted in my life! These are some of my Priego de Cordoba memories.
Preigo de Cordoba was an unexpected stop for us, and is a quite delightful and rather serene mountain town. I can imagine seeing out our dreadful British winter here. I am sitting in an apartment, writing and watering my geraniums in the year round Spanish sunshine. Meet me there..
More about Andalusia
Granada – the Alhambra and where to stay
1 thought on “Explore Andalusia with TBEX”
A good introduction to the Andalusia region. Looks like a great location to soak up history.
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