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Showing posts from November, 2016

Memories from Jaén, Spain: Andalucía’s Most Underrated City

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Of the eight provincial capitals in Spain’s southernmost region of Andalucía, Jaén too often gets short shrift in favor of historic cities that overwhelm you with their monuments— Sevilla with its gigantic Gothic cathedral, Córdoba with what remains of the Great Mosque, and Granada with the country’s crown jewel, the Alhambra palace—or in favor of coastal cities that entice you with their beaches and fresh seafood— Málaga , which needs no introduction, Cádiz, Europe’s oldest city, Almería , secluded away behind deserts and mountain ranges, and Huelva, where Columbus set off for the Americas. Jaén cathedral I ponder this as I grow more and more impatient with the intercity bus I’m on…and more and more nauseated. The air coming from the A/C vents smells like a dirty bathroom, the advertised on-board WiFi has ground to a halt, and that hot summer sun is really bearing down on the windows. I’m reminded of the bad first experience I had with Jaén (pronounced “khah-EN” [xaˈen])