6 – 8 January 2014 – Ubeda & Baeza, Andalucía, Spain

Situated in the province of Jaén, the twin towns of Ubeda and Baeza are famous for their Spanish Renaissance style churches, palaces and mansions.  They are two of the few towns in Andalucía where you can see stunning architecture not built by the Moors.

Aside from its architecture, Ubeda is home to several pottery workshops.

The green and blue glazed pottery typical to the region

Ubeda’s cultural centre, the Hospital of Santiago

It houses a beautiful courtyard

…and a small chapel

Behind Ubeda’s whitewashed houses we found the Plaza de Vazquez de Molina

9 kilometres away from Ubeda, the smaller Baeza also housed some beautiful churches and buildings.

Arco de Villalar & Puerta de Jaén

The ceiling inside the Palacio de los Salcedo – now a luxury hotel

Plaza del Populo, also called the Plaza de los Leones due to its central fountain

The Casa del Populo, now the Tourist Office

The Palacio de Jabalquinto

Inside we found a magnificent marble staircase

..and a courtyard with marble columns and arches

Fuente de Santa Maria

Both Ubeda and Baeza were surrounded by olive plantations.  Jaén is the largest producer of olive oil in Spain and also world-wide, producing 10% of the worlds olives. The province of Jaén alone produces more than the second largest producer country, Italy.