11-17 Apr: Granada/Alhambra - Cordoba

Hi All,

11 Apr (Fri)- after a hearty buffet breakfast we left for Granada and our appointment at the Alhambra. Finding the hotel was a real experience - we were in the heart of the old town, Albaicin, and the streets are narrow and winding. I was trying to navigate while Kiyomi was trying to drive. Believe me, we were glad when we arrived at the Hotel Santa Isabel. It was moorish style, with an atrium open to the sky, and rooms off the open center.

12 Apr (Sat)- our reservations for the Alhambra were for 10:30 to enter the Palace, but we could tour the grounds from 8:30 to 2, so we got an early start, taking the #32 bus from right in front of the hotel to right to the Alhambra for just a euro - thankfully we didn't have to drive! The Alhambra was definitely a highlight of our trip - beautiful gardens and palaces, a cool morning with clear blue sky, perfect visiting weather. After walking all around the grounds, we had lunch at the San Miguel restaurant: a delicious artichoke/shrimp dish and glazed roast suckling pig that was wonderful. Walking around Granada, we stopped by a mercado to pick up wine, cheese, lettuce, tomato and cucumber for dinner at the hotel. The Spanish meals are very light on greens, heavy on starch and meat.

13 Apr (Sun)- spent the day walking around the old town, over to the Alhambra to look around the outside, then along the river that separates the old town from the Alhambra, stopping by for a beer in the plaza, listening to a guitarist play very nice music.

14 Apr (Mon)- on to Cordoba, where we had a nice drive through country dominated by olive orchards - mile after mile of olive trees. Finding our Hotel Los Omeya was a particular challenge. The GPS got totally confused by the many one-way streets, and blocked-off to thru traffic streets, and alleys almost too narrow for a car. We finally made it though, and found it in the center of the tourist interest area, just a few meters from the famous Mezquito and the Alcazar. We had tapas for dinner: pork meatballs and chicken in chili sauce, and draft beer. We found the draft beer to be a good bargain, 1-2 euros and good tasting.

15 Apr (Tue)- vistited the Mezquito and Alcazar. The gardens were really impressive and nice. We took many photos (uploaded to hutchings.smugmug.com). Supper at Puerta Sevilla Restaurant featured artichoke/shrimp, eel on toast with avocado sauce, octopus/potato and pig knuckles. We were stuffed when we finished.

16 Apr (Wed)- visited the Botannical Garden, an educational collection of plants from all over the world, plus a history of the agriculture of Spain. after a great lunch at Taberna Rincon de las Beatillas: potato salad, deep fried eggplant, croquettes, deep fried suckling pig and beer, we went to the Patios of the Viana Palace, a beautiful sequence of patios around the Palace. Wonderful little gardens, a joy to wander through. We took lots of photos, Kiyomi being inspired by the many new ideas.

17 Apr (Thu)- on to Westin La Quinta, mear Malaga.