Tag: #VermazenVagabonds

Granada and the Alhambra

This morning we found a place for coffee near our hotel.

Tomato on toast with fresh orange juice and coffee

About 10 AM we went up to the Alhambra. It sits with a commanding view of the surrounding city and country. We have been there a few times so we did not take the tour. Our friends did take the tour and took some fantastic pictures.

Patio de Arrayanes in the Palacios Nazaríes
Jardines de San Francisco in the Alhambra

We explored the parts of the Alhambra that don’t require a ticket.

Puerta de la Justicia

In the Carlos V palace they currently have a temporary exhibition – Zirid Granada and the Berber Universe. It was fascinating. The introduction to the exhibition says:

The Berber (or Imazighen, as they prefer to be known) are the group of peoples who since ancient times occupied almost all of North Africa, from the Siwa oasis (west of Egypt) to the Atlantic Ocean

The Carlos V palace also houses the equally interesting Alhambra Museum. After Spending quite a bit of time in each Museum we explored a bit more then went to the terrace bar of the Alhambra Parador and had coffee. The terrace is in a beautiful peaceful spot in the middle of the Alhambra.

Duke on the Alhambra Parador terrace

After we left the Alhambra we had lunch.

We needed to buy playing cards. I learned something new. There are two kinds of playing cards sold here, Spanish cards and poker cards. It took us a while to find a place that had poker cards for sale. After a bit of rest we played cards on our hotel room balcony.

Getting ready to play cards

When We were in Granada in February of 2018 we had a wonderful steak dinner at Negro Carbón restaurant. We enjoyed it so much that Duke made a reservation in advance so that we could go there to night. It was as good as last time.

Almagro to Granada

Today we drove from Almagro to Granada and explored some of the back roads along the way.

The first stork of our trip

We saw thousands of olive trees and stopped for a picnic lunch next to an olive grove.

Picnic lunch by the side of the road

After lunch we were a bit farther down the road and found a dirt road up to a hilltop with a great view.

Castle surrounded by olive groves.

We found our way to our hotel in central Granada and after a bit of a rest went out for tapas and beer for dinner.

Tapas and beer in Granada

Valencia to Almagro

Here is the link to my video with a few of the sites we saw in Barcelona and Valencia.

This morning we picked up a rental car in Valencia and drove 210 miles west to Almagro in the Spanish region of La Mancha. One of the highlights of our day was when we stopped at a grocery store in a small town to buy some picnic food for tomorrow. The staff behind the meat and deli counter were super friendly. They gave us cheese and ham to sample and showed us a few of the many things they stock.

Pig face that you can buy in the meat section.

The young woman behind the counter is a expert ham carver. She has competed in competitions and won many awards. She showed us her album.

La jamonera

The Parador we are staying at in Almagro is a former Franciscan convent that was originally built in 1603. It was expanded in the 17th and 18th centuries but was in ruins when in 1977 they began the work to make it a Parador. The reconstruction took seven years.

The entrance to the Parador de Almagro
The Patio del Agua
One of our rooms

We spent quite a bit of time exploring after we arrived. We had our welcome drinks in the former wine cellar.

Welcome drinks next to old wine vats

We had a delicious dinner in the Parador restaurant. We had steak for our main course and various yummy deserts.

Fried artichokes to start.

Barcelona to Valencia

This morning after breakfast we visited Barcelona Cathedral. They started building the Cathedral in 1298 and provisionally finished it in 1450.

Inside Barcelona Cathedral

Our train to Valencia left at noon so our visit to the Barcelona Museum had to be short. The Museum tells the history of Barcelona since prehistoric times. The archaeological ruins in the basement of the museum are really fascinating. There are the remains of Roman building from around 300 AD. On top of them are the remains of a Chapel from around 600 AD. As you walk through the ruins more and more recent buildings are revealed.

The Archaeological Ruins below the Barcelona Museum

Our train to Valencia took about three and a half hours. It was a smooth and uneventful ride.

Our train to Valencia

Valencia is a beautiful city. We spent a couple of hours walking around and admiring the squares and the buildings.

Marion and Duke In Valencia

We had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant near our hotel.

Beet hummus and breadsticks
Spanish ham and rosemary crusted cheese
Covina fish with a peppermint sauce.

Barcelona

This morning we took the metro out to the airport to meet our friendS Rick and Elaine who will be traveling with us for the next two weeks. After they checked into the hotel we went exploring. First we went to the cafeteria at the top of the Corte Inglés department store on Plaza Catalan. for coffee and pastries.

Having coffee in the Corte Inglés department store on Plaza Catalan

Next we strolled down Las Ramblas.

Las Ramblas

We stopped to rest our feet and people watch for a while. While we were sitting there we saw a seagull kill and start eating a pigeon. It was gory!

A break on Las Ramblas

Next we went to the top of the Columbus Monument overlooking the harbor.

The Columbus Monument
The view from the top of the Columbus Monument.

Next we Walked through the Gothic Quarter on our way back to our hotel.

A street in the Gothic Quarter

For dinner we went to a restaurant called Raó. The atmosphere was great. The people were friendly and the food was wonderful. We had several small plates each of which we shared.

Octopus in a paprika sauce.