and outdoor cafes seem to sprout along all major street and line the plazas.
Parks abound but instead of flower gardens – which are rarefountains can be seen everywhere in this dry desert landscape.
Rosemary is a lovely herb, great for roast lamb and baked vegetables. It’s big business in Spain – old ladies thrust a sprig into your hand for a “remembrance sensation”, which of course costs you a euro or two. Muna, ever the negotiator/bargainer
got caught and Allan paid dearly. In Grenada a rosemary turf war broke out, as the ever excitable Spanish “rosemary ladies” jostled and heckled each other for the prime tourist spots.
We have always wanted to see the influence of the Islamic (Moorish) civilization on southern Spain and so after spending a few days in Madrid, we headed off to Grenada and Cordoba. High on Allison’s list was to feast on Spanish cuisine – paella,
tapas and seafood – all were duly sampled.
Grenada is famous for the Alhambra – the Nasirid palace that stand on a high hill overlooking the city. It has red coloured walls (thus the name “al-Hambra” and the many halls, rooms, court yards with fountains are so beautifully embellished and engraved in brilliant geometric designs and coloured tiles; of course the ceilings have not been overlooked either!!! You leave the palace with your head spinning and a crick in the neck from looking up a lot and a feeling of awe and wonder at the genius of man’s craftsmanship and architecture which utilized arches to such magnificent effect. Make sure you book your ticket weeks in advance of visiting this amazing palace – you can do this on line.
Something we did not expect was snow on the Seirra Nevada - mountains outside Grenada – what a great backdrop for the middle of summer on one of the longest days. We stayed at a hotel that used to be a monastery and was fabulously transformed, with large patio balconies looking at the distant snow-capped mountain.
At Cordoba we not only saw Spanish flamenco dancing in an exquisite courtyard setting, but visited the famous Mezquita
This Cathedral started as a cathedral, was rebuilt around 785 AD as the 2nd largest mosque in the world (it took 200 years to complete the mosque; hard to believe till you see it!) and has been revamped as a cathedral again after the Spanish reclaimed Andalus in the 13th century. Even allowing for Muna’s possible bias, we are both agreed that the glory of this structure lies primarily in its Andalusian era with its series of arches, engravings, glorious geometric designs in the timbered ceilings, coloured tiles and beautiful calligraphic rendering of Qur’anic verses. Some of the latter Christian additions of glorious chapels, painted ceilings and engravings are also spectacular—truly, a unique blend of the best of both religious cultures.
Here is one example of the artwork in these beautiful plates
The old city is also home to Spanish Jews who have for many centuries lived here – La Synagoga is not much to look at from the outside (we did not have time to go inside) – here is the best shot.
As for the olives, a couple of hundred kilometers either side of Grenada was carpeted horizon to horizon with olive trees
amazingly they were perched on hills, on steep slopes as well as land that did not look like it could support vegetation – these are hardy plants. There were literally more than a billion trees (I did the sums while traveling on the bus to Cordoba).
Burger King had a big promotion on the new Indiana Jones movie and here is Harrison Ford, Spanish style!
Toledo took some effort and determination getting to – we waited for 15 minutes at a long queue at a ticket office in the main train station only to find out that we were in the wrong ticket office (Allan seriously not amused!). Another 50 minutes in a longer queue at the right ticket office to be told that the trains to Toledo were all full! So, we went by bus and then waited for another 15 minutes outside the bus station for a taxi (it was siesta time!). Off to the famous cathedral of Toledo dominating the skyline and it is indeed spectacular, with a large collection of el Greco paintings and other contemporary painters. Other buildings form backdrops to lovely plazas
Toledo is an amazing maze of narrow streets – the once famous Toledo steel is now mainly seen in swords and costumes from modern movies such as “Lord of the Rings”. I too could look like the dwarf Gimli rigged in the right outfit. Our daughter loved the craft shops—some of them had spectacular displays of various scenes from Lord of the Rings with all the characters and would not allow photography! Muna also enjoyed the lovely steel and gold plate work which was very beautiful.
We left feeling that Spain was the most livable country we had yet been to – it would be so easy to get used to the 2 to 5 pm siestas, the 9 to 10pm dining out in lovely cafes surrounded by wonderful architecture, the vivacity of the people, the lovely sound of the language and the very relaxed lifestyle. All this despite English being not widely spoken. And like magic, on the night we left it rained heavily – a summer blessing for such a parched country desperately short of water, and like Perth getting most of its rain in a few months during winter.
Then on to sunny London for a few days to meet up with our son-in-law, JJ and spend a few days sightseeing
and relaxing.
Rosemary is a lovely herb, great for roast lamb and baked vegetables. It’s big business in Spain – old ladies thrust a sprig into your hand for a “remembrance sensation”, which of course costs you a euro or two. Muna, ever the negotiator/bargainer
got caught and Allan paid dearly. In Grenada a rosemary turf war broke out, as the ever excitable Spanish “rosemary ladies” jostled and heckled each other for the prime tourist spots.
We have always wanted to see the influence of the Islamic (Moorish) civilization on southern Spain and so after spending a few days in Madrid, we headed off to Grenada and Cordoba. High on Allison’s list was to feast on Spanish cuisine – paella,
tapas and seafood – all were duly sampled. Grenada is famous for the Alhambra – the Nasirid palace that stand on a high hill overlooking the city. It has red coloured walls (thus the name “al-Hambra” and the many halls, rooms, court yards with fountains are so beautifully embellished and engraved in brilliant geometric designs and coloured tiles; of course the ceilings have not been overlooked either!!! You leave the palace with your head spinning and a crick in the neck from looking up a lot and a feeling of awe and wonder at the genius of man’s craftsmanship and architecture which utilized arches to such magnificent effect. Make sure you book your ticket weeks in advance of visiting this amazing palace – you can do this on line.
Something we did not expect was snow on the Seirra Nevada - mountains outside Grenada – what a great backdrop for the middle of summer on one of the longest days. We stayed at a hotel that used to be a monastery and was fabulously transformed, with large patio balconies looking at the distant snow-capped mountain.
At Cordoba we not only saw Spanish flamenco dancing in an exquisite courtyard setting, but visited the famous Mezquita
This Cathedral started as a cathedral, was rebuilt around 785 AD as the 2nd largest mosque in the world (it took 200 years to complete the mosque; hard to believe till you see it!) and has been revamped as a cathedral again after the Spanish reclaimed Andalus in the 13th century. Even allowing for Muna’s possible bias, we are both agreed that the glory of this structure lies primarily in its Andalusian era with its series of arches, engravings, glorious geometric designs in the timbered ceilings, coloured tiles and beautiful calligraphic rendering of Qur’anic verses. Some of the latter Christian additions of glorious chapels, painted ceilings and engravings are also spectacular—truly, a unique blend of the best of both religious cultures.Here is one example of the artwork in these beautiful plates
The old city is also home to Spanish Jews who have for many centuries lived here – La Synagoga is not much to look at from the outside (we did not have time to go inside) – here is the best shot.
As for the olives, a couple of hundred kilometers either side of Grenada was carpeted horizon to horizon with olive trees
amazingly they were perched on hills, on steep slopes as well as land that did not look like it could support vegetation – these are hardy plants. There were literally more than a billion trees (I did the sums while traveling on the bus to Cordoba).Burger King had a big promotion on the new Indiana Jones movie and here is Harrison Ford, Spanish style!
Toledo took some effort and determination getting to – we waited for 15 minutes at a long queue at a ticket office in the main train station only to find out that we were in the wrong ticket office (Allan seriously not amused!). Another 50 minutes in a longer queue at the right ticket office to be told that the trains to Toledo were all full! So, we went by bus and then waited for another 15 minutes outside the bus station for a taxi (it was siesta time!). Off to the famous cathedral of Toledo dominating the skyline and it is indeed spectacular, with a large collection of el Greco paintings and other contemporary painters. Other buildings form backdrops to lovely plazasToledo is an amazing maze of narrow streets – the once famous Toledo steel is now mainly seen in swords and costumes from modern movies such as “Lord of the Rings”. I too could look like the dwarf Gimli rigged in the right outfit. Our daughter loved the craft shops—some of them had spectacular displays of various scenes from Lord of the Rings with all the characters and would not allow photography! Muna also enjoyed the lovely steel and gold plate work which was very beautiful.We left feeling that Spain was the most livable country we had yet been to – it would be so easy to get used to the 2 to 5 pm siestas, the 9 to 10pm dining out in lovely cafes surrounded by wonderful architecture, the vivacity of the people, the lovely sound of the language and the very relaxed lifestyle. All this despite English being not widely spoken. And like magic, on the night we left it rained heavily – a summer blessing for such a parched country desperately short of water, and like Perth getting most of its rain in a few months during winter.
Then on to sunny London for a few days to meet up with our son-in-law, JJ and spend a few days sightseeing
and relaxing.
