SpainGranada

Late afternoon we departed for Granada. We were expecting a smallish town, not unlike Ronda, for some reason. But found instead, a good sized city and we were looking for one very small hotel. Granada was a unique town because they have no street signs, not anywhere. They will have an occasional arrow with a destination on it but if you are trying to use a city map it is hopeless. Although we drove around in a few circles, the Wes and Scooter team would eventually find success. Success meant getting somewhere close to our destination, dropping the car in a garage and going the rest on foot. The hotel we selected from the guidebook was located in a pedestrian only zone and once again after looking at the room we didn't like it, the hotel clerk did give us a hard time for making a reservation then walking out. Oh well, it was tough to down grade after staying in the Parador. We settled on a 3-star business hotel, Hotel Navas (8,000 ptas). After a short siesta we were ready to go out. Bodega Castoneda located just off the main square, Plaza Nueva was our destination. It was a good choice serving food we understood-salads, baked potatoes, salmon, cheeses, etc. with good wine and especially good service. Do you know why most women like to graze and most men like to feed?

At this point we had visited plenty of cathedrals, alcazars, palacios, alcazabas, etc. so in Granada we would hit only the top sites which include one of the top sights in all of Europe (so they claim) attracting up to 8,000 visitors per day, the Alhambra and its environs. The Alhambra is a huge place complete with a fort, a couple of palaces and a summer retreat from the palaces. With an abundant water supply in the area the Moors built an elaborate network of water fountains in the summer retreat. The place is filled with gardens and fountains shooting water in all directions using the natural water pressure from the redirected streams. As you walk down a couple of staircases the railings are actually troughs carrying water to the fountains below. Not a bad place for a summer retreat and a picnic in the gardens.

Granada was a regional capital for centuries, until it was the last Moorish territory in 1492. The Alhambra is mostly a Moorish palace, an old fort, a renaissance palace and Generalife gardens. It is well worth a few hours especially it you can avoid the crowds. Enjoyed a great day wondering around and getting lost. The souvenir shopping experience has been uneventful and Shannon can not avoid any longer her duty to bring back souvenirs for friends and family. I quickly volunteered my services as an assistant shopper knowing I would get the same buyers satisfaction out of the purchases without spending any money. The boys headed for cover and picked a cafe for us to rendezvous when the girls were done. It didn't take long for Shannon to load up and once we were together again, we departed for a two hour drive to the Costa del Sol (Spain's southern coast).

Shannon and Wes were leaving tomorrow from the Malaga Airport and we decided to spend the night in Torremolinos because it is on the Mediterranean and only minutes from the airport. One last night on the Costa del Sol. We arrived just after sunset on the strip, the strip is a hotel-after-beach junk shop-after seafood resturant-row. We, of course, did not like the first hotel we checked out, the second one was full and the third was cheap with a good location and we were running out of options. Hostel Guadalupe for 3,500ptas it would be. Freshened up then out the door in search of seafood. Found one and proceeded to spend all the money we had saved on our inexpensive room. Not quite ready to end the evening we found the "Why Not bar" and partied with a bunch of Danes drinking Red Bull and vodka shots in celebration of someone's 50th birthday. During the summer this place rocks with a Spring Break party crowd. During the Fall and Winter months it is the retired generation getting away from the cold weather of the north. Still not ready to settle in for the night we went back to the room and woke up the neighbors.


Tomorrow it would be just Scooter and I again.

We opted to stay in our unglamorous, good location, cheap digs hostel. The landlord offered us a larger room since we would be hanging out for a couple more days. After 10 days of full on vacationing we had to get down to work--internet update, laundry, budgeting, planning, and onward transport. We didn't really know where we wanted to go next--it is the most wonderful problem in the world to have. We are thinking Portugal, but first we will spend a few days on the coast writing and typing.

The Costa del Sol is really weird. It is known as Europe's playground but I would have to include the US in that too. The weather is not beach weather but still the town is jammed with cheap package tour crowds. We really cannot believe the amount of tacky tourism we are witnessing. The main activity seems to be strolling down the pedestrian shopping.