Baeza
Continuing on with my Parador trip in Spain last Fall, I was excited that we’d be heading to Úbeda on the day following the day trip in Frigiliana. I’d been to Úbeda before, on a road trip in 2018, and had found it to be fascinating. Even thought I’d been driving myself on that earlier trip, I had somehow missed that Úbeda had a sort of twin sister city less than 6 miles (9k) away — Baeza. Both are UNESCO World Hertige Sites due to their well preserved Spanish Renaissance architecture.
So, after a tour of an olive oil factory I found myself in Baeza.
Vehicles as large as what we were traveling in were not allowed in the old town. In fact, I’m not sure any but the most necessary vehicles were allowed. Instead, we had a short walk to our lunch destination passing many examples of Baeza’s architectural wonders along the way.
Baeza had a similar feel to what I had remembered enjoying about Úbeda. The architecture was monumental and regal. Wandering the narrow streets surrounded by nothing buy ancient stone really transports one to a past time. These kinds of places are among my favorite to photograph.
Above: The Romanesque Santa Cruz Church
Above: Jabalquinto Palace
We had lunch at Bar Pacos. It was a great little place, tucked into the historic architecture of the old town. At one point I asked to be directed to the restroom, which must have been misunderstood as I was taken on a short tour of the attached hotel and its pool area instead. I didn’t regret the misdirect one bit as the hotel turned out to be beautiful and definitely a place I would seek out for a future visit. It was the Hotel Puerta de la Luna. The pool area is what you see here in this last photo from Baeza.
In travel, there are really no mistakes or misunderstandings. Anything seen as such will likely turn into an adventure and/or discovery.
Úbeda
After that quick tour of Baeza, it was time to move on to her sister city — Úbeda. We’d be staying in the Parador here, which is located just to the left of the chapel shown in this first photo. It’s really one of my favorite Paradores, especially for its location on this plaza. So much is walkable from here, as would be reinforced by our walking tour that we took immediately after checking in. I’ll write more about Úbeda in the future but, for now, will just share a few images for comparison with what we saw in Baeza. On any future visits, I doubt I will ever visit one of these cities without visiting the other. Both have their charms.
