Spain from Granada, Valencia, Barcelona and Madrid

We arrived in Granada via Rail and thought since we were now very good walkers, why not walk to the hotel that was providing us with our car rental. After an hour of dragging our luggage *thank heavans we packed light*! We drove the hour long drive to Itrabo-about 10 minute drive from the coast and Salobrena.

We found out after our 6 days that the owners, Debbie and Peter are selling the place. Such a shame as Peter was an amazing host and they have put a lot of work into making their clients stay informative and very comfortable. Peters cooking is really amazing-and has no formal cooking training!
Our stay in Itrabo included a scenic drive to the Tejar Nationales park where we hiked for a couple hours to a canyon that over the years has produced these pools where you can jump in after the dusty hike.
In October, the water was a bit too cold for me, but Tim took the opportunity.

We also drove to Salobrena and Almunecar to take in the scenic shore line. The beaches here are mostly rock. Round flat smooth rocks which keeps the seawater from stirring up silt. Amazingly clear. From some of the hills on a clear day you can see the coast forever in both directions.


We carried on to Nerja, to see the famous caverns there. A total tourist trap-but I recommend it anyway because it really is something to see.
Very much like the Caverns in Virginia, but the ceiling on these is so much higher. It was dizzy-ing to see those stalagtites pointing down toward you. I would want to be there in the event of an earthquake...yikes! I took some pictures, but no flash is allowed in most parts (which many of the tourists disrespected).
Driving back to the Bed & Breakfast, we took the coastal route, through Maro, where there are old towers that dot the hillsides overlooking the sea. Many stops along the route enable you to venture down the steep hills to the ocean where you can swim. The coast here is not as rocky, but the water is amazing. Even I had to check it out-though it took 30 minutes of wading to slowly adjust to the temperature. There are a few Nudist "Naturist" beaches here-which we also happened upon. We must have been a sight to see-pasty white and partially clothed..... One of the highlights was the unexpected Aquaduct that can be seen best from the coastal highway. It'll pop out of nowhere-and don't blink or you'll miss it!

Later that night we spoke with the others staying at the B&B and shared our stories of the day. We planned on all dining together that night, with Peter doing the cooking. It was such a great night, eating and drinking and talking with the two other couples. They were from the U.K. and we laughed until 11PM.
The next morning at breakfast we said our goodbyes to everyone and prepared for our road trip back to Granada and then on to Valencia via the Coastal roads.
The city of Granada is much larger than I thought. We went straight to the Alhambra and toured through.

It's important that you note on your ticket, which time you must the visit of the Palace.

We waited in line for an hour and half to get tickets, only to find out we had to wait 5 hours until we could visit the Palace. Instead we explored the old fortress and the grounds and forfeited our views of the Palace as we wanted to avoid driving at night.
We drove for a long time along the coast, hitting places like Alicante (which stunk like sulfur!) Perhaps it's different at the edge of the water-but I've never smelled anything so bad for so long. It's a big city and I was happy to be through it! Benidorm, Denia and then we had to stop. It was midnight and the hectic driving had to come to an end. We pulled over and tried to catch some zzz's. and continued on to Valencia to turn in our car at the airport. The highway signage in Spain is different in Spain, in that directions are extremely vague. Airport signs would appear, then disappear altogether, making you second guess and veer off. I don't know how we got there to tell you the truth. If you drive in Spain, it's best if you have a really good road map---our highway maps did nothing for us.
Valencia is a great little city.

We stayed outside of the historic city center, which was quiet but next to the City of Arts and Sciences. A very short bus ride took us to the center where walking is super easy with little paella and tapa places everywhere.
Lots of interesting architecture and the big Market there is as colorful as any in Spain. We went to the IVAM there to catch some local modern and contemporary art.
Of course, the City of Arts and Sciences is a place to see for the space-age looking buildings. It's probably hopping with people in the summer months, as it was quiet by now and staff were beginning to do some clean up of the surrounding reflecting pools. There was alot of construction happening in that end of town and it looked like they were expanding the facility. The pricing for the entry were surprisingly low (7 Euros) but the Hemispheric building (at a whopping 20 Euros) was the place we wanted to explore. However-it had closed for the day.
On to Barcelona by train.
We stayed in the Gracia area of town-which was a quick metro ride away from the center of things, which seems to be La Ramblas. The Gracia hotel that we stayed at (the "Silken St. Gervasi") was a nice 25 minute walk to the Gaudi Cathedral and then a 45 minute walk to the Park Gruell where more of his earlier work was constructed at the turn of the century.
The Cathedral is still under construction and will be quite a site to see when complete. It was brilliant to learn all about Gaudi's intentions in the use of materials and his inspiration behind his art. It was breathtaking-even with the pushy crowds.
The 10 Euro ticket was nice too, though you need to pay more and wait in excruciating line-ups for the elevator to the top. We passed on the line-up.
Later that night, we walked through La Ramblas and checked out the restaurants.
So many catering to tourist, but we found one north of the main square called Taller de Tapas (check out tallerdetapas.com) Fantastic food and a great place to talk with nearby tables. We met several people from canada and the U.S who wee travelling or on business. We were there for about 3 hours, eating, drinking and talking late into the evening.
There were pictures of Scarlett Johansson having tapa's on their terrace---I suspect from from her visit during the filming of "Vicky, Christina Barcelona".

We took the fast train to Madrid because it was a holiday and we were late booking a train ticket. I was happy though as the train takes about 6 and a half hours versus the Ave train at 2 3/4 hours. We took a couple of trains/metro to the Astoria Hostel where we were staying. We were placed in a 5th floor room and we were a bit disapointed with it. Tim was sick with what I had had in Istanbul. I mentioned that the TV was not working in our room and without any effort at all she upgraded us for the next day. The room we got was on the 4th floor and was the best hotel room we had stayed at this whole trip with a living room, french doors that opened to the building courtyard and a super comfy bed. They also had free internet which was a bonus. I thought that since this was a "hostel" it would be over run with backpackers etc....It seems "hostel" in Europe is simply a budget hotel. It is located in a central area near the Gran Via and the other major streets leading to the various shopping districs, tapa bars (there's more here than anywhere I had seen yet-but the food didn't seem as good...I think the smaller towns take more pride in the quality of their cooking).
We woke the next morning and walked to the Parade route through the center of town for Spain's National Day. Lots of military marching, tanks...that sort of thing. Madrid is a very proud city. Everything is MUCHO GRANDE.
That night we headed to a Tapa bar that we found the day before and hunkered down for a few hours of more food, spanish wine and cervezas. This is day 30 and we are tired but exhilarated.

The next day our flight to the UK left in the early evening. The Hostel Astoria parked our bags in an empty room "for as long as you want" and we toured again through the city, checking out some local parks.

Off we go to the UK to catch our flight home to Seattle, then to Vancouver, Canada. We were looking forward to our own bed, playing with our doggie and doing laundry using a machine. Traveling doesn't only provide an outlet for learning and cultural exploration, it reiterates how important your own environment is. There are some things so easily taken for granted and some things that I wish I could implement here from the fantastic country that Spain is.
Progressive in Wind and solar power, an extremely efficient public service structure and an intimate-almost sacred, proud connection to the countries past and their own families. Despite it's current economical condition, the people here seem very content with enjoying life to it's fullest---working long hours, but never compromising their vibrant social lives. Cafe's and tapa bars, parades and celebrations-there is always something to go to, to experience, to be a part of and to share.