Cindy and Mike Do the World!: Adventure in Andalusia continues!

Phew! If you ever go to Granada, you'll read that you absolutely HAVE TO see the Alhambra. We read this too, only about 3 days before we got there and you apparently need to buy tickets 3 months in advance in order to ensure you get in. No problem, I thought! I am a great googler. I will find a way to get us in. You can buy tickets at the door but they limit how many people enter per day and supposedly people line up at the crack of dawn, not knowing if they'll get in. A group tour is another way to get in (though you're stuck listening to some guide the whole time). Anyway, after MANY hours of googling, I finally found a company that had some space and tickets were secured. The only problem was, I still had to figure out what this Alhambra thing was...

We left Bubión and moved to a small town called Monachil, which was our base for Granada and for seeing this illustrious Alhambra, and is on the other side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There is a ski village on this side so we drove up to see it (skiers have been replaced by mountain bikers now). Our latest accommodation was inside part of an old church and super cute (thanks again airbnb!). Our friend Theresa joined us for this leg of the trip and upped the estrogen levels (I welcomed the increase and Mikie is used to hanging out with women since I'm always bringing my friends along).

We also went to Vejer de la Frontera (love this place) and checked out Costa de la Luz (long stretches of beach along the coast).

Living room - the active area of the church is right next door. Thankfully, the owners told us that the church bell is silent between 9pm-8am so it wouldn't be a repeat of the Call to Prayer experience in Istanbul.

Mikie became this juicing fanatic since we bought a bag of naranjas (oranges) on the side of the road for 2 euros and discovered there was a juicer in this place.

Theresa's room. Ours is up the stairs and thankfully, I didn't need too many pee pee breaks during the night since it was a long way down!

Where are all the skiers? Oh, it's May already!

Walking on a trail above Monachil

Here's a street in Granada. We were wondering if the covering is for rain or pigeon poop.

We saw women wearing beautiful hats everywhere.

Cathedral

They really take bachelor parties to a WHOLE NEW level here (yes, I've discovered CAPS). Groups of men were all dressed up and coordinated (not just the groom).

Another stag party

There's the Alhambra! Can't wait for our tour tomorrow. Still not completely sure what it is but I've heard it is a 'must see' attraction. That means we must see it.

The guy selling this tea told me this one is the best. I opted for rooibos chocolate.

Garden path in Alhambra

Yep, we are looking pretty touristy. We were in a big group of people with a guide who looked like he just rolled out of bed (and not in a good way). He was doing the tour in English and Spanish and gave out headphones so that we could hear him since he had a microphone. I swear, I heard more from his random cell phone conversations through those headphones than about the Alhambra (it just kept ringing!). But at least we got in. WE won. Am I ever going to figure out what this is?

Ah, I see. It was a palace and fortress complex. It has Arab origins dating back to the 9th century with more of the construction being done during the 11th century. The Moors (Muslims from North Africa) reigned in this area but the Alhambra was taken over by the Catholics during the capture of Granada in 1492. It later fell into disrepair. I may have learned this later (not from the tour). Like much later.

Interesting ceiling

Great views from here

Vejer de la Frontera - this just might be my favourite town in Spain so far. Adorable!

We stayed here for 2 nights and it was lovely.

It was almost midnight (and we had just finished dinner, as per the usual custom of eating late in Spain) and these cars drove through the streets, cheering and waving these flags around. We cheered too... only after did we realize that an election had just happened and we had been rooting for some random political party (we thought this was football related at first).

Another cute place courtesy of airbnb. It's been working well in Spain.

Mike and Theresa are nerds. ;) They got super excited about these solar panels.

Checked out a beach along Costa de la Luz. It was a bit windy but we hung out for a while since we found a sheltered spot. People are not shy here, that's for sure.

Chicken tagine... this restaurant had some of the best food we've had so far in Spain and there was a Moroccan twist to their dishes (due to Spain's proximity to Morocco, we thought it would be cool to try this). The restaurant is called El Jardin del Califa (it's in Vejer de la Frontera).