The Alhambra. It will be one of the great joys in my life to remember walking past a line of what must have been 500 people and directly in with our reserved tickets. Suckers. Once inside however... well, I can only say that royalty has always lived here. So beautiful is this area, that it was the last bastion of Moorish influence in Spain for nearly 500 years... and yet when it finally fell, the Spanish did not destroy it... they moved in. The tiles, the intricate artwork, the columns and the use of water so important in Moorish culture makes this area truly something that must be seen to be believed. I have seen the works of many famous architects and artists on this trip, we have visited churches and monuments that both humbled us and put us in awe. The Alhambra stands atop them all as the pinnacle of beauty. It is huge, it is magnificent, it's a damn city. You. Must. See. It. Seriously, you simply haven't lived until you have.
After the Alhambra, somewhere around 3pm in the afternoon we decided.. well, we have a car and we're near the Sierra Nevada... why not!? So off we went, for 3 days of exploration that will take some effort to explain. The countryside of Spain is decidedly different from anything Canadian, its not just the views which are spectacular, nor is it the charming villages. 'It' is driving roads and paths that aren't constructed to ease travel, they are constructed because it happens to be where people have always walked. 'It' is knowing that the beauty here is endless, and that each view you see will be repeated. It is an endless song rising to a charming crescendo, leaving you breathless, then starting over again. The Sierra Nevada took us 7 hours, but we drove every possible road within it and never once thought of taking a break... this is after 6 hours of walking the Alhambra mind you.
The next day, we promptly awoke at the crack of noon and instead of taking it easy said... 'Hey, lets go for another car ride...' Map in hand, off we went again to explore the mountain range below the Sierra Nevadas and above the Spanish coastline in a region called the Alpujarra (I think). Completely and utterly different. Now we experience roads framed with golden flowers, themselves accented with the bright red poppies growing in the area. Fields of endless flowing grass shock you with greens while the sky provides the sparkling blue that completes the picture. While yesterday felt like an endless song, this drive is the inspiration for a painting. Every color is vibrant, the mountain air is crisp and the sun shines brightly.
We drove and drove, and suddenly we are halfway across the country. Our little map says that a nearby town is worth stopping at, so we take a break and go to check it out. Now, here we are... two Canadian tourists WAAAY off the beaten path in a little village with a grand total of 14 people. Through a series of random circumstances we end up seated on the patio of a charming pair of stained glass artisans, one from Holland and the other from Indonesia - both speak perfect english. They feed us tapas, wine and interesting conversation. So interesting infact that by the time we considered leaving it was going to be far to dark to drive back through what amounts to a single lane mountain pass with no guard rails and cliffs on either side.
Turns out one of the people in the Village had a whole extra house they weren't using, and damn near insisted we stay in it. As far as I'm concerned, we win at travelling. Probably the most amusing part of this, was that in this little town of 15 people we got to stay in a 4 bedroom mansion overlooking the ruins of an old castle and the lush green valley below it. Far better than any place we have stayed at thus far, it even had a TV + DVD player (We watched City of God, good movie.)
The next day, we wake up again somewhere around noon and hop back into the car. Back to Granada? Nah! We hit the very south of Spain, drive alone the coast and spent some time on a beach before making our way back inland to pass through the only other mountain range left and completely past the city in which we are 'staying'. What an adventure! The countryside here is bliss, the roads are a joy to drive and the poor little rental car is definitely not 'new' anymore. We drove that puppy everywhere, through Olive groves to watch sunsets, up and down mountain ranges and for a solid 1500 KM. I think its safe to say, that while we missed much of Granada, I don't think any tourist has seen quite as much of the surrounding region as we have in a mere 2 days.
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