A Place Both Wonderful and Strange – Tash & Ricki's Career Break Travels

Still further behind on my blog entries than I would like. At least I was able to use a 3 hour train journey to write this one up. The last paragraphs were a race to beat the onset of queasiness I could feel, so hope you enjoy!

Granada saw us take our second overnight trip of the year. Originally we were intending to make it a day trip. Strangely though, despite Málaga and Granada being two cities, the train options between the two were more limited than we anticipated. The earliest we could get to Granada was around 10.45 and the latest we could leave was a measly 18.30.

Admittedly the main driver for visiting Granada was to visit the Alhambra, and that would have allowed us enough time to do so. After getting around the city and stopping for lunch, it really wouldn’t allow for much else though. It always seems a bit wasteful to me to visit somewhere just for a single attraction. Again finding a hotel room for less than €20 each convinced us we might as well extend the stay.

You might have already noticed a theme developing with my Spanish blog posts. Typical points of interest usually incorporate a cathedral and a fortress. Afraid I’m not going to break pattern just yet! 

I’ll skip over the detail of our first port of call, the Catedral de Granada, which we largely included simply as a means of killing time until an early lunch. Sadly I don’t think Ricki appreciated my rendition of Ave Maria upon seeing those words inscribed above one of the doors…

As already mentioned, our afternoon was going to be dedicated to the Alhambra. This hilltop site is a stunning medieval palace and fortress complex that showcases the pinnacle of Islamic architecture in Spain. Constructed during the Nasrid dynasty in the 13th century, the Alhambra is renowned for its intricate geometric patterns, delicate stucco work, and beautiful gardens, making it a UNESCO World Heritage site and a symbol of Moorish cultural heritage. 

The Alhambra comes in at a very respectable number 9 in the Lonely Planet Top 500. Whilst even I was a little fortress-ed out by this point, I knew with those credentials it would be worth fitting one more in.

We had certainly saved the best for last, and it’s probably best we didn’t see the Alhambra before any others. Not to take away from the beauty and interest of the sites we have seen so far, the Alhambra is simply incredible. For a start, it had the beautiful back drop of the Sierra Nevada’s snow capped mountains, an enjoyable contrast against the sunny day we were enjoying.¹

Then there are the buildings themselves. In order to prevent overcrowding at the jewel in the Alhambra’s crown, visitors have a timed entrance to the 14th century Nasrid Palaces. These are the royal quarters and reception halls at the heart of the complex. The interiors are amazing, with the most ornate detailing. It is hard to believe their age given how well preserved they are.

Unsurprisingly, the fortress element of the complex, the Alcazaba had fantastic views over Granada.

The main elements of the Alhambra are finished up with the Generalife. Of all Spanish words, this is the one I struggle most to pronounce correctly. I think it should be something like “jzen-ah-rah-lee-fay”. However I default to “General Life” which sounds more like an insurance company. 

Thankfully this is a much more pleasant alternative. The Generalife was intended as a leisure area for the Granadan kings, combining lush gardens with water features. They will be particularly attractive as the year progresses and more flowers come into bloom.

I think the sunsets in Granada would be worth hanging around at the Alhambra, and other vantage points, for, but our evening plans dictated otherwise.

After a quick pitstop to check into our hotel, we were almost straight back out to catch an evening flamenco performance. I was ever so slightly concerned about nodding off during the show. It had felt like a full on day, and the step counters confirmed that we were on course to beat our hike from two days prior.

I needn’t have worried. There is not a chance of being able to doze off during flamenco.

It is such an intense art form. It began simply with the guitarist and singer. I’ll confess, I started to wonder how I was going to last the hour without laughing – which would be particularly awkward given we were in the front row. Flamenco often expresses melancholy and sadness. If the singer hadn’t been so tuneful, her delivery – the volume, the facial expressions – could have been confused for a gastrointestinal emergency. And Ricki calls me a ham! 

Once she mellowed out though and the dancing began, it was mesmerising. For anyone reading this who watches Strictly Come Dancing, you can see the Paso Doble relationship, but try adding to that some tap dancing on steroids. The movement was so flamboyant at times that I half expected to see pyrotechnics from the dancer’s fingers. Keeping the facade of the performance on from start to finish meant the dancers would storm off the stage dramatically at various points. The performance space formed the ground floor of a restaurant and what became apparent half way through was that the backstage area was in fact a kitchen. It was quite amusing to catch the startled expressions of chefs as the flamenco dancers flounced in periodically. 

We had originally been unsure about whether to bother going to a flamenco show, but were so glad we did. It is so passionate and skillful, and unlike anything we have seen before. We had gone to the best reviewed venue in Granada, but it is also the only one with a stage. If/when we come back to Spain, I would love to see a performance in the traditional taverna setting. If you like song and dance, I’d recommend it – just maybe not if you have a headache!

The next day I was very keen to see something that wasn’t a fortress or cathedral, so we made our way upwards into the Sacramonte barrio (neighbourhood). This is where traditional cave dwellings are still located, and some have been converted into a museum. 

Pleasingly for us, especially given the size of the dwellings, we had the place almost to ourselves for much of our visit. But considering the sheer number of people at the Alhambra the day before, it made me a little sad that so many people are coming in by the bus load, doing as we had originally planned, and leaving Granada with only the Alhambra checked off. I’m sure we have done the same thing ourselves and missed some gems elsewhere though.

Speaking of the Alhambra, the cave museum felt like a two for the price of one attraction, with some great views towards the monument.

Of course we also enjoyed the insight into the historic way of life for some people. In fact, cave dwellings are still available for occupation, and Ricki has already been looking for a future home for us!

Time for lunch and it was just as well we had plenty of time to kill. It turned out our paella was being made in the proper Spanish way, at a….leisurely…pace.

It was delicious though and a great choice for sustaining us the rest of the afternoon and our journey back to Málaga. Plus the hour wait gave us time to chill out and enjoy the atmosphere of the busy little square which the restaurant was situated in.

We made our way back into town through the picturesque Albaicín barrio.

We had already enjoyed many good views of the Alhambra, but the best really had to be here at the Mirador de San Nicolás, where it could be viewed against those mountains again in all its majesty. 

There was time to fit in one more sight before our train home. I had resisted Ricki’s suggestion of the Basílica de San Juan de Dios on our first day given the church fatigue, but it was close to the station and the photos online were pretty intriguing. 

The Basílica really was something else. I think even people who aren’t particularly interested in religious sites would have their interest piqued by this one. We have visited a lot of cathedrals and churches over the years and seen a lot of ostentatious Catholic design. But the Basílica de San Juan de Dios takes it to a different level. It is so extra. The gilting, the frescoes, the reliquaries – the photos just don’t capture the splendor of it.

All topped off with some modern excess, in the form of a VR headset. I’m not entirely sure why you need a VR headset to tour a building when you are already physically in it. But the ceiling flyovers are a different perspective, and admittedly I did enjoy pretending to be a holy spirit.

I really enjoyed Granada as a whole, and am very glad we extended the trip into an overnight. In fact, it was one of my favourite visits of our entire Spanish leg, and I would actually pick a return visit there over Seville. Maybe it was the splendor of the Alhambra, together with the varying characteristics of the different neighborhoods. Or perhaps I’m just a sucker for hilly cities after living in Edinburgh for 6 years. Whatever the reason, it definitely felt like we finished off our Andalucían excursions on a high!

1. On a light note, with temperatures in the mid-twenties, it was really hard to believe we were still in January and not on an early summer holiday. Some locals are concerned about the climate this year though, and I completely understand why. At the time of our visit, Granada was 13°c warmer than the usual average for this time of year. ↩︎