Carmona is south of Madrid - not far from Cordoba.

Try this link to locate Carmona
http://www3.mappy.com/

It was interesting to read aidance's take on Puente la Reina. It is one of the more heavily-traveled spots on the pilgrimage route to Santiago, so may seem oddto hear the unspoiled by tourism comment...nevertheless, it is still a small town, still has a great old quarter, and then the famous "puente". Worth a trip for history's sake: It is here that the caminos from St. Jean Pied-de-Port/Roncesvalles and Somport/Jaca converge to form one.

Now, I'm confused.

From the initial posting and from a map I found, I thought that there was a Carmona in Cantabria in addition to the village about 45 minutes from Sevilla.

Aidence, can you clarify? The village you described sounded lovely.

Wow...I was in Carmona a scant month ago. Yes, there is a Carmona in Cantabria. viamichelin.com brings it up, if you want to see a map.

Here's a photo from "El Diario Montañes:"
photo

It is a beautiful Cantabrian village, very small, with traditional stone houses and architecture. the setting is magnificent. the drive there, form Cabezon de la Sal, was beautiful. Great hiking around there as well.

I do not think there is a parador there, rather there is a posada (an inn) where we stopped for a cup of coffee.

Forgive me, but you all have so much knowledge and love of Spain to share, I just wonder if you all couldn't find a way to display it for all of us to share. I came across the "Travelog" section of the Conde Nast site, (most of them don't do it justice) but I know ya'll could. If pictures speak a thousand words...

Cooter is right. The Carmona we were in is that one. I can't imagine you could get there without a car. I'll bring pics to dinner--I need to print some more, they're all digital. I also need to put some up on a website.... See you LA folks at dinner.

Cooter - thank you for the correction. That's what this board is all about - learning something new about our fav place! You've just given me one more place to visit next trip.