Alhambra and Sangria – bad combination. But somehow, we still have pleasant memories of Granada.

We took our time getting down to Granada. We stopped in the town of Almargo in
the middle of no where Spain and stayed a night in one of the nicest and most
interesting hotel’s I’ve stayed in all my life.  The Spanish government has
taken many of their national buildings and historical sites and turned them into
5 star hotels. And the good news is that while you are staying at some
interesting, exotic place like a 12th century castle and being treated to
luxurious surroundings, you’re paying a relatively low rate.

The Parador where we stayed was a 16th century convent beautifully re-done with
the best buffet breakfast I’ve had in the all of Europe. And the town of
Almargo, while nothing unique or special probably offered us our most authentic
night in Spain. After dinner, we sat in the town center with what appeared to be
everyone in town. By the numbers of people and children in attendance, you’d
think it was a Friday night instead of a Sunday night. Everyone in town was out
having a chat with their neighbors, taking in the cool evening air and settling
down from the heat of the day. As we wandered back to our hotel at around
midnight families were out in front of their houses sitting (the kids were
sleeping) in chairs just enjoying the cool of the evening.

Granada also showed us another side of Spain. The strong Muslim influence on the
Southern part of Spain is obvious in the architecture, the neighborhoods, the
culture and of course the history of this region. Most prominently is the
Alhambra – originally a military fortress on a rocky hill side, this beautiful
palace became the home of the Moor royalty in the 13th century. It’s Muslim
architecture is different from any other European castle that we’ve seen. We
also enjoyed the old Islamic neighborhoods….wandering the side streets and
discovering back alleyways that have been in existence for centuries was quite
the adventure!