0:00:03 > 0:00:06I'm embarking on a new railway adventure
0:00:06 > 0:00:09that will take me across the heart of Europe.
0:00:11 > 0:00:12I will be using this,
0:00:12 > 0:00:16my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, dated 1913,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel
0:00:19 > 0:00:21for the British tourist.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25It told travellers where to go,
0:00:25 > 0:00:27what to see and how to navigate
0:00:27 > 0:00:31the thousands of miles of tracks criss-crossing the continent.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Now, a century later,
0:00:33 > 0:00:37I'm using my copy to reveal an era of great optimism and energy,
0:00:37 > 0:00:42when technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45I want to rediscover that lost Europe
0:00:45 > 0:00:46that in 1913 couldn't know
0:00:46 > 0:00:50that its way of life would shortly be swept aside
0:00:50 > 0:00:52by the advent of war.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15A train in Spain,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18and though I'm hundreds of miles from my London house,
0:01:18 > 0:01:22I feel at home here because my father was Spanish,
0:01:22 > 0:01:24because Spanish blood runs in these veins.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27And though I visit this country maybe once a month,
0:01:27 > 0:01:29every time I come here,
0:01:29 > 0:01:34I feel the excitement of being in a place where I feel that I belong.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40My family's Spanish roots are in Salamanca, in the north-west.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42My father came to Britain as a refugee
0:01:42 > 0:01:44at the end of the Spanish Civil War.
0:01:44 > 0:01:49I grew up in England with a love of Spain and the Spanish language.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Today, my journey starts in the capital.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55Madrid is the beating heart of modern-day Spain.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58I'll travel south-west to historic Cordoba,
0:01:58 > 0:02:00a city with ancient Moorish roots,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04before crossing the southern Spanish region of Andalusia to Seville
0:02:04 > 0:02:07and on to Jerez in the south-west.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10The hilltop town of Ronda will be my final inland stop,
0:02:10 > 0:02:14before I descend to the Costa Del Sol.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16My journey ends on the Rock of Gibraltar.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22On this journey, I explore the rich culture of Spain,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25which drew our 1913 Bradshaw's travellers
0:02:25 > 0:02:27in search of a taste of the exotic.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31'I meet my most unusual dance partner ever...'
0:02:31 > 0:02:33Gracias.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38'..immerse myself in Cordoba's fair...'
0:02:46 > 0:02:49'..Celebrate the ingenuity of British rail engineers.'
0:02:49 > 0:02:52180km through very difficult terrain,
0:02:52 > 0:02:57and they literally had to bevel out the tunnels from pure rock.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00'And find out the lengths that the British went to
0:03:00 > 0:03:02'to keep the Rock of Gibraltar.'
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Six men were prepared to entomb themselves
0:03:05 > 0:03:10literally inside the rock. It's a total James Bond story.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Oh! It's an absolutely perfectly designed lookout.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Madrid is the highest capital in Europe,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24surrounded by mountain ranges.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Before the railways, it was easier to move goods
0:03:26 > 0:03:31from Barcelona to South America than it was by road to Madrid.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34My Bradshaw's Guide, 1913, tells me
0:03:34 > 0:03:37that Madrid is "a fine, attractive city,
0:03:37 > 0:03:39"the capital of the kingdom of Spain,
0:03:39 > 0:03:45"built upon an eminence rising from a wide stretching plain."
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Think of the Iberian peninsula as a square,
0:03:48 > 0:03:50and Madrid is at the very centre,
0:03:50 > 0:03:52the perfect place for a visitor to begin
0:03:52 > 0:03:55an exploration of the Spanish regions.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Atocha Station.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10This fine structure of brick and iron and glass
0:04:10 > 0:04:13was built at the end of the 19th century.
0:04:13 > 0:04:14But with high-speed trains,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18it was necessary to have longer platforms and a wider space,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21and so they moved all the trains down the line,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24making out of the old station a conservatory,
0:04:24 > 0:04:28a railway terminus with a tropical touch.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39But Madrid has been drawing the world to it for hundreds of years.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41In the 16th and 17th centuries,
0:04:41 > 0:04:46it was the mighty nerve centre of the Spanish Empire.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49It's still the country's political heart today.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Back in the time of my Bradshaw's guide,
0:04:52 > 0:04:57Spain avoided the rivalries that would embroil Europe in war.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02It was distracted by its own economic and political troubles.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07I'm meeting Kirsty Hooper,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09reader in Hispanic Studies at Warwick University,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11to discover more.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13In the early years of the 20th century,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16- what sort of condition was Spain in? - Pretty poor.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19In 1898, Spain had lost its last Atlantic colonies
0:05:19 > 0:05:22to the United States as part of the Spanish-American War,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25which is known in Spain as El Desastre, or The Disaster.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27So while the British Empire was growing,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30and the most powerful empire on earth, the Spanish Empire was reduced
0:05:30 > 0:05:35to a tiny number of possessions, mostly on the north coast of Africa.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38As Spain's imperial fortunes fell,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41the British, still basking in their own colonial might,
0:05:41 > 0:05:45were keen to indulge in a bit of dynastic diplomacy.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49Britain's King Edward VII, connected by birth or marriage to most of
0:05:49 > 0:05:53Europe's royal families, understood the power of these royal alliances.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58In 1906, at the Real Monasterio de San Jeronimo,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02an event occurred which linked Britain firmly with Spain.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Behind the scenes, Edward had arranged for Queen Victoria's
0:06:05 > 0:06:0919-year-old granddaughter, Princess Victoria Eugenie,
0:06:09 > 0:06:10known as Ena,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13to marry the 20-year-old King Alfonso of Spain.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18How did people feel in Spain and Britain about this union?
0:06:18 > 0:06:21The establishments in both countries were not terribly happy
0:06:21 > 0:06:22when it was first announced.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Alfonso himself was very keen on the idea of a British bride
0:06:25 > 0:06:28and he'd worked his way through a couple of Queen Victoria's
0:06:28 > 0:06:30granddaughters before, in the previous year, who had,
0:06:30 > 0:06:33for whatever reason, turned him down until he ended up with Ena.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35But the Spanish aristocracy were not terribly happy
0:06:35 > 0:06:38because Ena wasn't Catholic. The British were rather surprised
0:06:38 > 0:06:41because she was very low-ranking, and they weren't sure about losing
0:06:41 > 0:06:44one of their princesses to the Catholic Church.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48Determined to see his glamorous niece on the Spanish throne,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52Edward allowed Ena to convert to Catholicism, her fiance's religion.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Well, it has the rich grandeur of a royal chapel.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00I'm thinking with an English princess and a Spanish king,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03- it must have been a big royal event. - It was enormous.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Really, it was one of the first global royal weddings.
0:07:07 > 0:07:08Although he didn't attend,
0:07:08 > 0:07:12the King saw off the royal party at London's Victoria Station.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15And they travelled down through France, Alphonso met them
0:07:15 > 0:07:18at the border and the royal train processed on to Madrid.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20But as the world watched,
0:07:20 > 0:07:23the wedding day celebrations turned to tragedy.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30Now, Bradshaw's says it was from a window on the top storey of number
0:07:30 > 0:07:3288, Calle Mayor,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36that the bomb was thrown at the carriage of the king and queen.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40And indeed this commemorates it. What an appalling incident.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42Who was it who did it?
0:07:42 > 0:07:45It was a young Catalan anarchist called Mateu Morral
0:07:45 > 0:07:48who had taken rooms up at the top of the building
0:07:48 > 0:07:50where you can see the rosettes.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54He believed that the social injustices in Spain were so great
0:07:54 > 0:07:57that only through an event designed to raise the consciousness
0:07:57 > 0:08:00of the public would he be able to really get his message across.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06The bomb was thrown, it was part of a bouquet, it was thrown,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09it bounced off the tram cables that lined the streets.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12So although it missed the royal carriage, it exploded,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15killing many horses and up to 30 people.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Bradshaw's is mentioning it as though it was a place that tourists
0:08:18 > 0:08:22- might want to come.- It was one of the most notorious events of its time
0:08:22 > 0:08:25and British people were very keen to see the place where their princess
0:08:25 > 0:08:28had been attacked, and so they added it to their itineraries.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30The king and queen were lucky to escape with their lives.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34But Mateu Morral shot himself rather than face arrest.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Today, over 100 years later,
0:08:37 > 0:08:41this tragic assassination attempt is still remembered locally.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42- Hola. Buenos dias.- Buenos dias.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Foto?
0:08:44 > 0:08:46What is that photograph of?
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- MAN SPEAKS SPANISH - It's an authentic photograph?
0:08:49 > 0:08:54It was taken just after it happened. It shows a dead horse here, there is
0:08:54 > 0:08:57a carriage here that must've been part of the royal procession.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01There's a little X that marks the window from which the bomb was thrown.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03MAN SPEAKS SPANISH
0:09:10 > 0:09:15He's saying that every year he goes out and he puts a bouquet
0:09:15 > 0:09:17on there in memory of the 25 people who were killed
0:09:17 > 0:09:20and the many who were injured.
0:09:20 > 0:09:21How long have you been here?
0:09:21 > 0:09:25MAN SPEAKS IN SPANISH
0:09:30 > 0:09:34He says he's been doing it ever since the monument was opened
0:09:34 > 0:09:36and he had to open the monument himself.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40He said no-one was coming along to do the ceremony
0:09:40 > 0:09:42so he went out there with a broom and a Spanish flag
0:09:42 > 0:09:45and he performed an opening ceremony on the monument.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48THEY CONVERSE IN SPANISH
0:09:48 > 0:09:49- Hasta luego.- Hasta luego.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Having made their royal pilgrimage, Bradshaw's travellers' spirits
0:09:57 > 0:09:59could have been lifted by the crowds
0:09:59 > 0:10:04and the noisy chatter of one of the city's most popular meeting places.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09This is the lovely Puerta del Sol at the very heart of Madrid.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13Bradshaw's tells me that the cafes in and around here
0:10:13 > 0:10:16may be used without question during the day
0:10:16 > 0:10:19but at night are not suitable for ladies.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24Especially those cafes where music is provided in the evening.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28Luckily, I'm male. And this is the midday sun, so I should be safe.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32But one tip - in Madrid, always look up.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35The architecture is wonderful, particularly these balconies
0:10:35 > 0:10:37with their marvellous wrought-iron work,
0:10:37 > 0:10:39so typical of Spain.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44Despite being the most reluctant European country to join
0:10:44 > 0:10:48the railway age, Spain proved very much a magnet
0:10:48 > 0:10:51for Bradshaw's 1913 railway tourists.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54One of the biggest draws would have been Madrid's stunning
0:10:54 > 0:10:56royal art collection.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Any young artist who came to the Prado Art Gallery
0:11:00 > 0:11:03around the beginning of the 20th century would have studied
0:11:03 > 0:11:08Diego Velazquez, the greatest genius of Spanish painting history.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12A man who made his fame and fortune with religious paintings
0:11:12 > 0:11:15and portraits of the royal family,
0:11:15 > 0:11:19but whose real greatness lay in the way that he captured light
0:11:19 > 0:11:23and the way that he portrayed ordinary people, workers,
0:11:23 > 0:11:25drunks, the lowest rungs of society.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Velazquez was at the height of his powers in the 17th century.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Early 20th-century travellers might have been more drawn to one of
0:11:47 > 0:11:51their era's most brilliant artists, who was also a devotee of Velazquez.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53I'm heading to his studio.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04This grand mansion was formerly the home of Joaquin Sorolla,
0:12:04 > 0:12:10and has changed little since he died in 1923. It now houses his works.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14I'm meeting the director of the museum, Consuelo Luca de Tena.
0:12:15 > 0:12:21He lived here for the last ten or more years of his life.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26- He had this house specially built for him.- It's absolutely magnificent.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31- I recognise these people. This is Victoria Eugenie, isn't it?- Yes.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33And King Alfonso XIII.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36- The king must have been a friend of Sorolla.- Yes.
0:12:36 > 0:12:42And this says, "To Don Joaquin Sorolla, I am supposing that
0:12:42 > 0:12:45"you're going to like the contrast of the light in this photograph."
0:12:45 > 0:12:47It's quite a nice little joke, isn't it?
0:12:47 > 0:12:51Sorolla portraited the king in the open air.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56The king is covered with spots of light that comes through
0:12:56 > 0:12:59the trees and it's very special.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Born in Valencia, Sorolla used the train to travel back to
0:13:02 > 0:13:06the coastal city to paint some of his finest work.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08This is a huge room.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11I imagine, with all the light here, this would be where the artist
0:13:11 > 0:13:13- was painting.- Yes.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17We have so many paintings that show how Sorolla depicted light.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20I mean, here, for example, these ladies on the beach -
0:13:20 > 0:13:22the intensity of the light on their clothing
0:13:22 > 0:13:26- and reflecting off the sea, this is quite typical.- Very typical.
0:13:26 > 0:13:32Sorolla was very fond of painting the beach, the light in the open air
0:13:32 > 0:13:37and particularly the light reflecting itself in the waters.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43In complete contrast is this poignant picture,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46painted in 1895, called The White Slave Trade.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52A group of young women travelling in a third-class railway carriage
0:13:52 > 0:13:55is being taken to the city to work as prostitutes.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03So, did Sorolla paint a lot of this kind of social realism?
0:14:03 > 0:14:05Not so many paintings.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10He disliked the insistence of some artists and writers
0:14:10 > 0:14:17of his time on the poor social conditions of Spain in that moment.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21He was a very optimistic man and very positive
0:14:21 > 0:14:26and thought that it was better to find the good part of things.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29How do you think we should remember Joaquin Sorolla?
0:14:29 > 0:14:35I think his paintings, many times, make us happy.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40He is very contagious in his optimistic feelings.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45Sorolla has left us a wonderful vision of the early 20th-century Spain,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48even if most of his scenes are rose-tinted.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Across the city, in the Retiro district of Madrid,
0:14:53 > 0:14:57is another building with royal connections.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01When guests arrived in 1906 for Alphonso and Eugenie's wedding,
0:15:01 > 0:15:05they discovered that they had nowhere suitable to stay.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Afterwards, the couple honeymooned in the Ritz in Paris.
0:15:09 > 0:15:10And they liked it so much,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13they decided to commission one for Madrid.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19While I'm in this magnificent hotel,
0:15:19 > 0:15:23I'm sneaking a view of the Royal Suite.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Edward VIII stayed here with Wallis Simpson
0:15:25 > 0:15:29and Prince Rainier with Princess Grace.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32And they enjoyed all this elegance and luxury.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34I'm going to enjoy the view that they had.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57No time to get used to this royal luxury, as today I'm heading
0:15:57 > 0:15:58south-west out of Madrid.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Early 20th-century visitors from Britain to the high central
0:16:05 > 0:16:09plain of Spain would have found their fair share of strange noises
0:16:09 > 0:16:13and smells, but at least Madrid, with its royal family
0:16:13 > 0:16:16and its works of art was familiar enough.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20Those visitors might have needed a fortifying breakfast of omelette
0:16:20 > 0:16:24and ham and cheese before venturing south over the mountains to
0:16:24 > 0:16:28somewhere altogether more exotic, with its Islamic history,
0:16:28 > 0:16:33its gypsies, its bullfighting, its crimes of passion
0:16:33 > 0:16:36and other thoroughly un-British activities.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48I'm taking Spain's high-speed train from Madrid, the Ave,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51and travelling about 400km to Cordoba.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Bradshaw's has warnings for the British traveller.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07First-class carriages are tolerably comfortable.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11Second-class carriages are wanting in comfort.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Third-class carriages are unsuitable for British travellers.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Railway speed is slow, rarely more than 15mph.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23Well, since today there is a club class and a preferential class
0:17:23 > 0:17:26and I'm in tourist class, you could say that I'm in third,
0:17:26 > 0:17:31but now the speed is more like 170mph on the high-speed trains
0:17:31 > 0:17:35that were introduced in Spain more than 20 years ago.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50But I remember the really slow Spanish trains.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53When I was eight, I travelled to meet my Spanish family
0:17:53 > 0:17:57and the trains felt not a lot faster than in Bradshaw's day.
0:17:57 > 0:18:03The seats were wooden and extremely uncomfortable. But it WAS exciting.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10- Hello.- Hello, how are you?- Do you mind if I join you for a moment?
0:18:10 > 0:18:12- Not at all, it's a pleasure. - How do you do?
0:18:12 > 0:18:14Do you regularly use this train?
0:18:14 > 0:18:18Regularly, yes, to go to Seville, to Barcelona.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22It's a big, big difference with the past.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25How is it that Spain has made such a big change?
0:18:25 > 0:18:31I think it's our generation who has started after Franco's
0:18:31 > 0:18:37death, I think the political transition has created common ground
0:18:37 > 0:18:40to grow together.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44Well, my guidebook from 1913 tells me
0:18:44 > 0:18:48that third class is not suitable for British travellers.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52- Do you think this is suitable for British travellers?- I think so.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57I am a chairman of a company in Spain with 6,000 people working in it.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Precisely today we go to our shareholder meeting.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05- And all the board, we are in tourist. - You're all going tourist class.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09Because we are in times, we need to save money and secondly,
0:19:09 > 0:19:14I'm not seeing any difference between first, second and tourist.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26Travelling at this speed, in an hour and a half, we go to a different
0:19:26 > 0:19:30climate, to a different people, with a different take on life.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35We swap the austerity of Castile for the exuberance of Andalusia,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38people who bear the influences of centuries of Islamic
0:19:38 > 0:19:42rule during the Middle Ages and of Gypsy culture.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45And in their singing, their dancing and their bullfighting,
0:19:45 > 0:19:50they are fired by an inner spirit known as duende, which
0:19:50 > 0:19:53drives them to poetry and passion.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07Cordoba's period of greatest glory began in the eighth century
0:20:07 > 0:20:09after the Moorish conquest.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11With 300 mosques,
0:20:11 > 0:20:15it became the greatest Islamic centre in the Western world.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Ever since Roman times, it's had a unique position
0:20:23 > 0:20:26as the crossroads of Spain, because of its bridge.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31Situated on the mighty Guadalquivir River, Jews from the east
0:20:31 > 0:20:34and Arabs from the south were funnelled through
0:20:34 > 0:20:36the city by this natural geographical divide.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46I find this really very moving.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50I am walking across a Roman bridge that has spanned
0:20:50 > 0:20:54this river for 2,000 years and is still doing its job today.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59And I can now see the perimeter of the Islamic mosque,
0:20:59 > 0:21:01one of the great mosques of the world -
0:21:01 > 0:21:04and then imprinted in the middle of it
0:21:04 > 0:21:06is a Catholic cathedral.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10The three cultures mixed in one moment.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16With its towering walls, the Great Mosque, dating back 13 centuries -
0:21:16 > 0:21:19is a masterpiece of granite, jasper and marble.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26I wouldn't feel comfortable speaking inside the cathedral, so let me say some thing now.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30It was originally a mosque, begun in the eighth century,
0:21:30 > 0:21:32and the Muslim architects used pillars
0:21:32 > 0:21:36and columns that has been recycled from the Roman and Christian
0:21:36 > 0:21:39civilisations and they support arches so that as you're
0:21:39 > 0:21:42moving around inside, sometimes it's as though you're moving
0:21:42 > 0:21:45through an avenue of trees, but also as you look to left and right,
0:21:45 > 0:21:49it's as though you're in a forest, you're not quite sure where you are.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52That simple device of pillars and arches is repeated again
0:21:52 > 0:21:55and again on a grand scale.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59But it also provides a feeling of spirituality.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06And embedded in its centre, this remarkable
0:22:06 > 0:22:11Gothic Catholic Cathedral edifice, added in the 16th century.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Cordoba is a living expression of the different cultures that
0:22:17 > 0:22:19have existed here.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32I've met up with local guide Isabel Martinez to learn about this
0:22:32 > 0:22:37remarkable city's more recent Christian culture.
0:22:37 > 0:22:38You're curious.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41I am very sure that you will be enlightened, what you will see.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46In 1570, King Philip II ordered
0:22:46 > 0:22:48the building of the Royal stables.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53His ambition was to create a pure Spanish thoroughbred,
0:22:53 > 0:22:55the Andalusian horse.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Today, the Royal stables are home to an intriguing equestrian display.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13FLAMENCO MUSIC
0:23:24 > 0:23:26This is the most extraordinary sight -
0:23:26 > 0:23:28a horse dancing with a woman.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31I told you that it will be a very big surprise!
0:23:31 > 0:23:34This is something very special here from Cordoba,
0:23:34 > 0:23:38combining the horse dancing, of our famous Andalusian horses
0:23:38 > 0:23:40together with the famous flamenco dancers.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42This building is obviously very, very historic.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46It's a beautiful royal stable of the 16th century.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50- What sort of horse is that?- It's the Pura Raza Espanola as we call it -
0:23:50 > 0:23:55the pure Spanish race, the Andalusian horse.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59It's a very noble animal, very intelligent
0:23:59 > 0:24:01and it was very admired in all of Europe.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05In fact, during the 16th and 17th centuries, the pure-breed
0:24:05 > 0:24:09Andalusian horses were THE horses of the British court.
0:24:09 > 0:24:10Is flamenco gypsy?
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Flamenco is a melting pot which received
0:24:13 > 0:24:17influences from very different countries and cultures.
0:24:17 > 0:24:23You will recognise Indian movements if you look at the hands, her hips...
0:24:23 > 0:24:25- Oh, yes. - ..and very passionate.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28It's something you want to express with your body language.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33APPLAUSE
0:24:34 > 0:24:39Congratulations. What's it like to dance with a horse?
0:24:39 > 0:24:41REPEATS IN SPANISH
0:24:41 > 0:24:43SHE REPLIES IN SPANISH
0:24:48 > 0:24:50So she says it's a very, very beautiful dance
0:24:50 > 0:24:54and she's kind of absorbing from the horse the elegance
0:24:54 > 0:24:57of the Andalusian horse, those beautiful, beautiful movements.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59- ASKS FIRST IN SPANISH:- Would you like to show me how to do it?
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Si, claro.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05IN SPANISH
0:25:09 > 0:25:11IN SPANISH
0:25:14 > 0:25:17I have to go very, very slowly, she says.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21This is definitely a first for me.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Look at the way the horse dances.
0:25:23 > 0:25:24Absolutely fantastic!
0:25:30 > 0:25:32Gracias!
0:25:34 > 0:25:37What a lovely dancing partner!
0:25:37 > 0:25:38Thank you so much.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41I really enjoyed that. Thank you.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48As the heat of the day begins to cool,
0:25:48 > 0:25:53I feel the duende calling me to the Andalusian city's nightlife.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59Every town and village in Spain has its feria, or fair.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02In some ways, they're like British funfairs -
0:26:02 > 0:26:04you've got Ferris wheels and terrifying rides,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08but the special thing about Spain is that the ladies in particular
0:26:08 > 0:26:11get dressed up and people ride on horses
0:26:11 > 0:26:15and there's flamenco dancing... Oh, and did I mention booze?
0:26:21 > 0:26:24I'm pretty sure that Cordoba's feria would have surprised
0:26:24 > 0:26:27and transfixed Bradshaw's 1913 travellers.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32- Hola!- ALL:- Hola!
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Buenas tardes. Are you having a nice time?
0:26:37 > 0:26:39THEY CONVERSE IN SPANISH
0:26:42 > 0:26:45HE SPEAKS IN SPANISH
0:26:45 > 0:26:47I'm saying they're very young -
0:26:47 > 0:26:49is the enthusiasm for the ferias growing with the young people?
0:26:49 > 0:26:51SHE REPLIES IN SPANISH
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Whether you're young, whether you're old, we all enjoy the fair.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56SHE REPLIES IN SPANISH
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Ah, that's what special!
0:26:58 > 0:27:01The Cordoba girls are what are special!
0:27:06 > 0:27:08IN SPANISH
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Let's see if we can get...
0:27:13 > 0:27:16THEY SING AND CLAP
0:27:29 > 0:27:30THEY CHEER
0:27:30 > 0:27:32Estupendo!
0:27:37 > 0:27:41What I LOVE about the Spanish feria is the energy, the passion
0:27:41 > 0:27:43and the zest for life.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58On the second part of my journey, I'll find out why
0:27:58 > 0:28:03a tobacco factory in Seville became an Edwardian tourist attraction.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Discover in Jerez how we've been getting
0:28:06 > 0:28:08a British tradition so wrong.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12- How do we drink sherry? - Well, in England, very badly.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16And find out the lengths that the British went to to keep the Rock of Gibraltar.
0:28:16 > 0:28:21Six men we prepared to entomb themselves literally inside the Rock.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24It's a total James Bond story.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28Oh! It's an absolutely perfectly designed lookout.