Moorish Spain Part 3

And, so the final stop of our holiday: Granada.

Bit of a shock to the system to drive straight into the heart of a buzzing, traffic-filled city. After a few minutes of panic, we jumped into a cab to escape the madness and headed for our next apartment. 

We were just opposite the Alhambra, in the old part of the city. Instantly we felt we had our bearings again. After a nice afternoon nap, we went and had a nice evening stroll.

Now this is the view that everyone comes to see. Can't beat sitting with a glass of wine in hand and watching the sun go down here:

We could not get bored of this site. But after an hour or so the tummies started to rumble, so we headed in search of that Spanish classic: paella!

I'm a girl who likes to do her research, and luckily I found one of the best, most authentic places in town was right by our accommodation. 

The starters looked interesting:

Greg chose the black pudding and eggs (at my suggestion). It arrived in a wonderful pastry basket which was then wrecked into pieces by the waiter himself.




















I chose the chicken and cinnamon pastry. OMG, amazing! One to try at home.

Then came the paella itself. One word: NOM!

All the while we admired the view above us

The following day started in true Granada style.......churros breakfast!

This could only be followed up with a bit of exercise, so we went on a city tour.

A great mix of Islamic history, churches, bath houses, bazaars. Granada was the last place to fall back to the Catholics, after 800 years of Moorish rule. It seemed the happiest place with accepting both sides of its history, more so than Cordoba.

Today's lunch was a little startling. Here was a starter.

When you see a starter priced at 5.00 EUR you assume it is for one person. Not with 8 sardines and about 3 full sausages! Good though.

Following an afternoon nap we did some sightseeing of our own.

To the most impressive cathedral.

Then to an Islamic teahouse in the Kasbah.

That evening we had Alhambra tickets.

The place did not disappoint. The architecture was absolutely stunning. And at night the contrast of light and shadow made it more beautiful still. 

Enraptured, we headed back down the hill in silence. 

And found a good pub serving beer and tapas.

Our final day of the holiday meant we had to see the Alhambra in daylight. We retraced our steps (munching breakfast pastries on the way). The views of Albayzin, Sacromonte, and the cathedral were stunning. 

Until exploring in the daytime, we didn't realise that the Alhambra was not so much a palace/castle but more a settlement in its own right. Even now it has gardens, hotels, churches, shops as well as the ticketed sites. 

All incredible.

We headed for lunch (one small sausage sandwich and a tiny pionono between us both!) Another recipe to look up at home, and reflected on everything we had seen.

After a very chilled afternoon of reading and sleeping, we had one final blowout meal. We ditched Spanish in favour of Moroccan

I had chicken lemon and olive tagine. Greg plumped for lamb and apricot. Mopped up with lots of lovely flat bread.

And so, our holiday drew to a close. Our parting shot of Spain was rushing through the deserted streets at dawn heading for the airport.

So long Spain, never have I had quite such a tasty holiday from start to finish!

Moorish Spain Part 2

The next few days of our holiday were based at our cookery villa, up in the mountains and surrounded by olive plantations.

(this is the poor covered up dining table - did not get the weather for alfresco dining!)

They stretched for miles over the hills and mountains as far as you could see.

Cookery classes were each evening,  which gave us the days to strike off the tourist routes and check out the real Andalucia and its towns and villages.

We explored Priego de Cordoba.

The town centre was full of proud squares, fountains and civic buildings. 

By contrast, the old town was filled with flower lined alleyways, views over the mountains, churches and a castle.

The insides of the churches were very impressive

A fine way to spend a day building up an appetite!

Our poor little hire car was not well suited to the steep mountain roads though!

Our local village was called Iznajar. It is situated in a hill overlooking a big lake of clear blue waters. Utterly picturesque.

We climbed to the top to take in the view. Up there, we found a strange square dedicated to crochet.

Strange but pretty. Apparently a big thing with the locals as they even have their own blogging page. However as I don't speak Spanish I am none the wiser!



Our last local village trip was on our way to Granada: Montefrio. Another town on a hill that the region seems to go for.

It also had the biggest church dome I think I've ever seen! Modelled on the Pantheon in Rome.

Look at the railing and banner for sense of scale.

I liked our time in the countryside. Partly because getting out of town is nice anyway, but also getting off the main tourist trail, and discovering local bakeries and shops is good fun.

If only weather was a little hotter so we could have lazed by the pool or the lake. Ah well, not to be.

Coming next, Granada..............