The Rain in Spain Fell on the Plain

... and also on the coast, and basically everywhere else....

Our whirlwind tour of Spain is over! I've been putting off writing my blog for a few weeks now, but seeing as we are now back in France, huddled in the back of the van sheltering from the rain that has been following us for the last week, I figure now would be a good time to get it done!. Caution: Its a long one.

Cooking in the rain isn't so much fun... (Chicken for dinner by the way)

Anyway, picking up from where I left off: after Madrid we headed south and into Andalusia, the gorgeous region with jems like Córdoba, Seville and Granada, the latter nestled at the bottom of the Sierra Nevada mountains (the second mountain range with this name that I have had the pleasure of visiting). Our travels then took us to the south east coast off Cabo de Gata and then following the east coast of Spain north to the small towns of Denia and Javea, then around to Valencia and Barcelona and Girona before finally heading back to France. Unfortunately we left the sunny skies behind in Granada and our plans for relaxing on the beach have largely been thwarted by inclement weather, including winds that were more likely to burn you than the sun ever was!

Creating a map of our route using a phone is surprisingly challenging...

We spent half a day in Córdoba, exploring the old Jewish Quarter and the exquisite 'Mezquita', originally a mosque built in 785AD with striking striped columns, and converted to a church in 1285.

Beautiful park lined with orange trees... Unfortunately not quite ripe

We then spent a day in the beautiful city of Seville where we admired the worlds largest Gothic cathedral (hosting the tomb of Christopher Columbus), the beautiful Plaza de Espania (built in 1929 for the World Fair - a lovely semi-circular building facing a plaza with canals and bridges, adorned with beautiful tiles), one of the oldest bull fighting arenas in Spain (Plaza del Toros de la Real Maestranza), and had a ginormous sangria followed by a siesta in the park.

Siesta time...

The tomb of Christopher Columbus 

View from the bell tower

From Seville we drove to Granada, first stopping at the quiet mountain village of Alhama de Granada, once (still?) famous for its thermal waters (that we never saw!), overlooking a lovely river gorge with the Sierra Nevada's in the background. We went for a walk through the gorge which is lined with evidence of the area's rich history, with ruins of old flour mills built along the stream, to basins carved into the stone where grandmothers would do their washing. I also saw a snake, right before I almost stepped on it! It was very unexpected and I didn't look back to take a picture (in fact I never knew I could jump so high). There is also a legend that in the 1500's a knight and his horse accidentally rode off the edge of the gorge, however his life was spared by an Angel on the proviso that he build a monument, or something along those lines... The story has it that you can still see the indent of the horse shoe on the rock where they landed.

A bit dubious about these horse shoe indents!

We spent three nights in Granada. We were very lucky that we were able to book tickets to the Alhambra through the camping ground, as they were sold out online until June! We even saw people being turned away at the entrance as tickets had sold out - they had to come back the following day to buy tickets.... The line starts at 5am!

The city itself is fantastic, brimming with culture, history, charm, and of course fantastic food. One our first evening in the city we explored The Albyzin area. It is a rabbit warren of narrow cobbled streets lined with stores selling leather goods and Turkish lamps; you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Turkey or Greece! Winding our way uphill, we were rewarded with a stunning view over the Alhambra. We decided to treat ourselves to dinner at a lovely restaurant where we could watch the sun set over the Alhambra from the same hill.

The Alhambra

The Alhambra was definitely the highlight of Granada; it is one of Spain's most important historical monuments and the last of the moorish kingdoms in the country (until around the 15th century). It is a fortified complex made up of three key areas; the Alcazaba (military fortress with towers dating back to the 11th-13th Century), the Nazrid Palaces (a series of Islamic palaces built between the 13th-15th centuries), and the Generalife (Palace Gardens). 

The Nazrid Palaces contain some of the most beautifully intricate masonry and stucco work found anywhere in the world. Each palace contains a series of courts, the most famous being the Court of the Lions and the Court of the Myrtles. It is truly a beautiful showcase of Spain's unique history, and very different to monuments that you typically see through the rest of Europe. Certainly worth seeing if you ever get the opportunity. 

Court of the Myrtles

Court of the Lions

After a busy afternoon we headed down the hill for some tapas and a flamenco show. We weren't sure what to expect from the flamenco, particularly when the introduction was a song performed by an old Spanish man with a guitar and an angry looking gypsy lady who sounded a bit like a cat being choked by a toddler. Thankfully the dancing was incredible, full of passion and energy (and sweat). We weren't expecting such intensity, it was truly impressive!

We also took a short hike in the Sierra Nevada's from a small village called Monachil, taking us through a gorge and back over the hills through fruit groves.

I'm conscious that this blog has already grown legs, so I'll keep the next bit brief.

At Cabo de Gata we visited two famous beaches, Playa de Monsul and Playa de Genoveses, where Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Lawrence of Arabia had been filmed, respectively.

Playa de Monsul where Indiana Jones was filmed (Sean Connery takes down a plane with an umbrella)

 The weather wasn't conducive to relaxing on the beach, so we carried on around to the small coastal village of Denia to relax for a couple of days. 

Denia

Playa de Granadella 

Next stop was Valencia, where again we were being rained on. We spent the day walking around the town, checked out the cathedral (which houses the only Holy Grail recognised by The Vatican), the largest aquarium in Europe (FYI, not worth the price... although Shaun was pretty excited about the walrus), picked the snails out of a traditional Paella (I did eat some of them), and watched a movie.

Valencia

People clambering over each other to touch the statue of The Virgin

The search for the Holy Grail is over, folks!

Our search for sunshine then led us up the coast to Barcelona, where we enjoyed retracing some of our steps around the Gothic Quarter and Barceloneta beach from our visit in 2015. The bombas at La Bombeta are still the bomb! We also joined the other old people at the camping ground for mojito and sangria making classes! Hey, I'm not going to turn my nose up at a free drink, and we'll be well versed in campervan touring for our retirement!

Markets in Barcelona

Enjoying Tapas

 Our last stop in Spain was the gorgeous town of Girona, apparently the spiritual capital of Catalonia. We happened to visit during their flower festival, Temps de Flors, and the city was lined with beautiful decorations and exhibits.

If you've made it to the bottom of this post, I salute you!

Catherine & Shaun