On to Granada

I chose Granada specifically based on the article that Lisa sent us on the 50 places that you must see before you die!  I think I am up to about 23 or so now – not too bad….

Terrace View

This was the most expensive hotel of my stay and it was worth every Euro!  I stayed at the Alhambra Palace Hotel which is at the very top of the hill adjacent to the Alhambra with an amazing view of Granada below.  I ate most lunches (or maybe those were brunches) and at least one breakfast on this amazing terrace. 


The Alhambra
Been There, Missed That!

Alas, I didn’t research this well enough since when I asked at reception about tickets to the Alhambra Palace, they informed me that they were booked up for 3 weeks in advance!  Had I known, I could have gotten up at 7am and stood in line for the small number of tickets that they hold back daily. However, it was too late for that, so I hoped that someone would cancel but no such luck.

So, I missed the Alhambra tour, but did get a chance to take a Granada old town tour which was fantastic.  My tour guide reminded me of Isabelle and was very accommodating of me.  There was one other US couple from New Mexico who spoke Spanish in addition to English.  Our guide, Christiana, would first speak in Spanish (for a long time) and then hang back and speak in English for me.  I got an abbreviated version, but really appreciated having what seemed to be a personal tour.  For this, I tipped her well, but it was also a point in time that reminded me that I need to be able to speak a second language.  I will look into an intensive course in 2018!

Capilla Real

Queen Isabella (Isabelle is named after her) and King Ferdinand led a 10 year reunification of Spanish lands which had been sold off during her brother Henry's rein.  Granada is a very special city because it was the last strong hold for the Arabs in Spain.  Both Isabella and Ferdinand are buried in the Capilla Real in Granada with children and grandchildren.

Local Libation
Ham Czar
Our tour took us to an open-air market where we could taste vermouth – a local fortified wine which was quite good.  You serve it over ice with Anise star and an orange or other fruit.  Really lovely.







I thought the professional prosciutto slicer (although he prefers to be called the Jamonzar) was especially interesting, but no free tastings.  Who knew they had such accouterments?

Moroccan Screen
Local Artist
Walking the city streets is always great fun.  They have artificial shade awnings here just like I have seen in other parts of Spain.  These streets had a Moroccan souk vibe as well.



While on the tour, Christiana mentioned the option of hiking (really walking up a steep hill) to an area where the gypsies live.  This sounded interesting and would give me an excuse to walk off some vermouth.  As it turns out, the area was true to what you would expect of a gypsy colony.  They live in caves and/or sheds in the nearby hills of Granada.  The original gypsies came from India and combined their own dance and song with the locals to create the Flamenco, making Andalusia the birthplace of Flamenco!


Presumably to avoid a drunk driving citation, a man literally rode up to a bar on his well behaved donkey.  The donkey happily waited on his master and posed for a few pictures while he was at it. I don't even think the rope is tied around the railing? You can see the gypsy village sort of built into the hillside.  From this high vantage point, I was able to capture the best photos of the Alhambra and the beautiful Spanish countryside around Granada.

Love the colors on this Spanish tiled roof!

I can't say much more about Granada, but it was certainly one of the highlights of the trip.  This will be a destination to return to (and book the Alhambra in advance) - maybe next summer?

Did I mention the sunsets on the terrace?

Popular posts from this blog

In the Beginning

We all like to dream, don't we?  What would you do if you retired tomorrow and had no serious obligations or requirements of your time?  Turns out Jeff and I are pretty like minded.  We like adventure and travel.  After working and traveling in Europe, we knew we could handle being with each other 24x7 in an isolated environment.  The first iteration was to drive our 1977 Land Rover 109 Series to South or Central America.  After I finally confirmed that, while that certainly sounded like an adventure, I probably needed a few more creature comforts;  Jeff suggested an Airstream! I'm not sure what shape this blog will take, but I will en devour to share all the ups and downs of our 14 month journey plus much of the planning that got us here. Thanks for following along, Emily & Jeff
Read more

Brookings and the Final Bits of Oregon

Image
I know I am repeating myself, but it must be said! Oregon is by far one of the most beautiful states I have visited! It just keeps getting better! The drive from Coos Bay to Brookings provided seemingly continuous jaw dropping views. My pictures truly do not do the scenery justice. Example of bad light on a beautiful beachscape Since we travel generally between 11:00AM and 3:00pm, the sun is never well placed. Taking this into consideration means that 50% of the time, I would have to shoot into the sun to get the most beautiful views. So, take what you see and double it and you start to understand the beauty that is everywhere on this coastline. Brookings is pretty much the most south western town in Oregon, close to the California border. We stopped for a great lunch on our drive down in Port Orford. It was a tiny little town but our restaurant had a great view and amazing menu. Of course I found bay view real estate for sale! This was not the first time that we half-...
Read more

Santa Barbara

Image
Jeff, Jay and Jay's birthday socks We left Santa Barbara after only 2 nights at what I would say is the worst RV camping spot we have had so far. We were warned of course, but there really was no other choice. We think our friends Nicole and Jess should build their RV/Tiny Home Resort in Santa Barbara now! They are pretty set on Oregon, so I doubt this will happen, but someone should open up this college town to some RV traffic. We were lucky enough to have Jay and Jody drive up from Long Beach to meet us there and we all enjoyed lunch and shopping along State Street, the main drag downtown. Several purchases were made at Lucky, a Clark family favorite. On the following day, Jeff and I got our exercise on the UCSB campus in order to check it out for Isabelle. This is one of her 3 top choices for grad school along with Tulane and Oregon. We sincerely hope she gets a good deal at UCSB because the area is just lovely. I have decided that we will come back next s...
Read more