Best of Spain Day 11
Best of Spain
Day 11 – September 14, 2004 - Granada to Costa del Sol
We had another early wake-up call and nice breakfast. When we returned to our rooms after breakfast we saw that our luggage was still outside our rooms.
The luggage porter was late and this was the one day we had no flexibility. We were scheduled to be at the Alhambra at 8:30 and with Francisco driving we made it.
The Alhambra, an ancient Moorish palace built in 1250 was very impressive as the sun came up. Spain is on the far western edge of the time zone and are on daylight savings time so we have daylight until almost 9:30 and it is dark until 7:30 AM.
The Alhambra was the last stronghold of the Moors before they were expelled in 1492. The view from all the windows is very impressive. The palace and the fortress was built for the Sultan.
But in 1600's, King Charles IV built the main palace and wanted Granada to be the capital of Spain. Phillip II said this area was too far south and too Moorish so he established Madrid as the capital. So this palace was only finished in 1948.
The patio in the center of the plaza inside the castle is an acoustic wonder and many concerts and operas are performed here. In each courtyard there is a fountain as water was considered the #1 decoration. It is used for air conditioning, music, mirrors, beauty, and cleaning the body before prayers five times a day.
The bushes are of myrtle and rosemary and provide the perfume for the air. The throne room is the most well kept and original. All of this room’s tiles, plaster decorations, and the 20 meter ceiling of cedar from Lebanon, ivory, alabaster and mother of pearl show the 7 levels of Muslim paradise.
The W - Allah - are found throughout and there are 99 ways to praise him. W is good, W is great, W gives strength, etc. Our tour guide Francisco was very well versed on the history and Muslim tales and injected humor very well.
We were able to spend 30 more minutes in the Generalife Gardens where we saw the fountains, beautiful manicured evergreens, and flowers with the city below us.
At 11:30 we met at the bus, said goodbye to our local guide, saw the line to get into the Alhambra (150 yards long) and headed southwest to the coast.
We stopped at a roadside café and had a bocadillo de jamom y queso (ham and cheese sandwich) patata fritas (potato chips) and dos Fantas de limon (lemon Fantas). We ate in a patio overlooking the countryside of olive and almond trees. There are more here than we have seen anywhere.
At 4:45 we left for our late afternoon excursion and dinner. First it was an excursion to Mijas. This small, hill top village is one of the most charming and typical of Andalusia.
Perched high up, it offers splendid views of the coastline. Its quaint, narrow streets with white-washed houses, its unusual donkey taxi service and unique square bullring are only some of its attractions.
It was super to go up to the top of the mountain (3,000 feet) and be able to walk around the village, talk to people, see the sights and take pictures. We got back on the bus and made the trek down the mountain side marveling at how Francisco maneuvered the bus around all the sharp corners and bends.
We went all the way to the Costa del Sol (just a few blocks from our hotel), with a special fish dinner in the oldest part of Torremolinos at the La Jabega Restaurant. The dinner was fabulous! All kinds of fish and seafood. I had the paella and Gennie had the sea bass for the main meal. Our table of 10 consumed 12 bottles of wine and one did not drink!!!
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