Although I love jamón…

I don’t think I ever want to hear the words “jamón ibérico” ever again. I love the idea of jamón marking a christian home or restaurant, but literally every christian restaurant makes it clear that they sell jamón. It’s kind of exhausting.

In the time that moors ruled Spain there was tons of pigs but no one was eating them because they were muslim. So when the christian’s took over, just like they did with the towns and mosques left behind, they took all the pigs left behind. Now you can probably see how it was a christian thing to put a raw pig leg in front of your doorpost.

It just got to be too much in my opinion though. So next time you listen to Rick Steves raving about jamón, take it with a grain of salt. (Pun kinda intended) 😉

Overrated

If you’re planning a trip to Spain then you will invariably come across written or verbal recommendations regarding the need for you to experience the Churros and Chocolate phenomenon. Everyone has their own opinion on where to find the best and why their favorite cafe is the best. Indeed no Spain guidebook is complete without pointing out the location and operating hours for the Churrerías in whatever city you find yourself. Not that you need a guidebook though since you can find this little delicacy on nearly any street corner.

Whatever. Let’s get real.

What we’re talking about here is nothing more than a deep fried and sugar coated donut stick that’s served alongside a cup of hot chocolate that has the consistency of pudding. You’re meant to dunk the donut into the chocolate before taking a bite, (which leaves you with the rest of the stick that you can’t dunk without double dipping and grossing out the rest of your party).

Besides, the nutritional value and caloric intake have to be off the charts, making you wonder if the experience is worth the 5 additional miles you’re going to have to run the next day.

I can do without bread and have mostly eliminated it from my diet so there’s really no place for fried bread on my dessert plate. And while the hot chocolate is sweetly satisfying, there are enough simple recipes found online which you can easily make at home and pair with something more nutritionally redeeming, like fresh fruit.

So I suggest skipping over the Churros and Chocolate recommendations and ordering something else from the dessert menu, like a good selection of marzipan, some baclava or (my personal favorite dessert), a nice plate of assorted cheeses. 😂🧀

Worth the wait. Especially since it’s free!

Every weeknight from 6pm to 8pm entrance to the famous Prado museum is free!

The problem is the word has gotten out from the whole world now knows about it. The line wraps around the building and down the boulevard.

But I’m not complaining because I’m in Madrid, the weather is gorgeous and the masterpieces inside the museum are priceless.

I’m told that we’re 30 minutes from the entrance at this point and the line is moving so it’s only a matter of time before Matthew gets to be the first of his siblings to visit the world famous collection that includes masterpieces from Goya, Velasquez, El Greco and so many others.

Like this classic…

Some things are just worth the wait. And besides it gave me just enough time to write this blog post. 😂

Olive you!

I love olives. I think I could probably survive for days on a steady diet of olives, fresh bread and some good wine. 😂

So what better part of the world is there for an olive lover than Southern Spain?

I can’t remember the exact statistics but something like 40% of the world’s olive production comes from Spain, and within Spain, 70% of production is in the Andalusia Region. Olives are everywhere and usually part of every meals appetizer. They are as ubiquitous in Spanish cuisine as tortilla chips and salsa are in Tex-Mex cuisine (only better for your health).

As we travel through the country by rail, the evidence of production is abundant and overwhelming. Olive orchards (farms?) are literally everywhere and are visible for miles and miles as far as the eye can see across Andalusia.

And as for olive prices?

Let me put it this way…

First, take a look at the amount and variety available from this vendor in Tangier’s Medina market last Saturday.

Despite the language barrier I knew that I couldn’t walk away without buying at least something. So, without knowing how much I was buying I motioned to him that I wanted 20 dirham (about $2 USD) worth of the green olives seasoned with garlic.

He proceeded fill up half a small shopping bag that turned out to be about the size of two quart sized ziplock bags! It was so many that I wasn’t sure how we were going to finish them before our departure the following morning.

Luckily, Spain has no issues with people bringing in foreign olives, so we’ve been snacking on them all week (today is Wednesday, four days later) and still have some remaining as we pull into Madrid, where I have a feeling they will be much more expensive! 😂

And by the way, these might just be the best tasting olives I’ve ever enjoyed. Maybe we should save some of those olive pits for planting when we get back home. We’ll have to see what customs has to say about that. 🙄

Getting back on track

We’re riding the rails again this morning making our way from Granada to Madrid on the high speed train.

Since we had a little extra time before departure we decided to make it a short walk through the streets of Granada in the brisk cool morning rather than Uber or taxi.

Its a small and quiet train station and we managed to enjoy a light and leisurely breakfast while we awaited arrival of our train.

We also managed to take a few photos for my son-in-law who is giving a grad school class presentation on this very day back home in Colorado. The class is about mass transit systems and today’s presentation is about the Spanish Renfe train system - the same train system that we happen to be riding today! What are the odds?

As an added bonus, I was reminded this morning on our walk that the famous Prado Museum is open tonight for free so I’m excited to take Matthew there tonight for a quick tour of some of world’s greatest masterpieces! I’m pretty sure that you’ll be hearing more about that in a future blog post. 😉

Painstaking work

Although we’ve touched upon the subject of the Alhambra (which we toured yesterday) I’ve really not taken the time to cover our visit in any great detail yet. Part of this is simply due to time constraints (actually living the experiences as opposed to just writing about them) and part of this is because so much information about the Alhambra is already easily accessible and available.

That said, the Alhambra really lives up to its hype. It’s one of the modern day wonders from antiquity and deserves to be remembered on your travel bucket list.

It will be far more appreciated and meaningful if you freshen up on the history of this region and can place the fortress in its historical context. Some of the very same geopolitical issues that challenge us today were in existence 700 years ago; and for the very same reasons. So it’s fascinating to walk through the very same buildings and gardens that were once the domain of the nobility that have long since been banished, and to think about what we can learn from the past so that we don’t make the same mistakes.

But all of that isn’t what I intended to focus on… 😂

What I found thought provoking was the understanding and appreciation for the amount of restoration work that has been ongoing for nearly 100 years, and will likely remain ongoing for perpetuity.

To illustrate, take a close look at this photo, comparing the images on the left to the right.

You can begin to see how much work has gone into restoring the grounds to get them into their modern day condition.

When the Moors surrendered these grounds during the Reconquista, it is said that they only had a few conditions, one of which was that the Alhambra not be destroyed. Such was their devotion to these palaces.

It’s tempting to think that the fortress simply remained beautiful for hundreds of years. But the fact is that time and the elements ravaged everything, so it’s taken a century to get back into it’s present condition and there’s still much more work to do!

To make matters even more difficult, there are now literally hundreds of thousands of visitors wandering the grounds every year which can only be accelerating the aging process.

So I’m thankful and impressed by the armies of archaeologists, restoration and groundskeeping teams that are dedicated to keeping this important world heritage site alive and well.

Another Cathedral?? It never gets old.

You might think that being in yet another city with yet another several hundred year old Cathedral might get tiresome and boring. You might ask yourself “What’s the big deal? Seen one, then you’ve seen them all.”.

You might think that, but not us.

In fact, upon our arrival in Granada on Sunday evening, our first destination was the Cathedral so that we wouldn’t miss Sunday Mass. or so we thought.

We arrived just in time for the last (8pm) service. Even so, there was some confusion about Mass times up to the last minute because the official Cathedral website didn’t list an 8pm Mass, and yet there we were, attending the last Mass of the day in the beautiful Cathedral, or so we thought.

Looking back to Sunday evening the main doors were closed and the sign showed no listing for 8pm. So we just kept walking around the huge Renaissance building until we arrived at an open door with signs indicating that late service, so we just rushed right in.

Fast forward to today, Tuesday, when we learned that the “second door Cathedral”, was, in fact, not the Cathedral but merely another church that happens to adjoin the Cathedral. Think of it was an adjoining chapel, if that helps. Nonetheless, this smaller “chapel” would pass for one of the grandest and most elegant in the country if it was located in any US city. But here in Granada, it’s status is relegated to being “just” a chapel in its own city.

Such is the nature of Cathedrals in Europe, and most especially in Spain. The Cathedrals are usually constructed over the remains of Mosques which were torn down after the Reconquista and they remain today the geographic and economic centers of the city.

And yes, they are grand structures and architectural marvels containing tens of thousands of precious artifacts, sculptures, paintings and countless objects of religious significance. Which is why I never get tired of attending Mass when possible or at least taking advantage of being able to tour these awe inspiring wonders.

So this morning, when we thought we had all this figured out, we rushed over for 9am daily Mass - this time at the real Cathedral.

Which is why I was surprised to be greeted by the security guard who informed me that Mass was at 11am, at the “other” church. I questioned him and again explained that we were there for Mass (not just tourists). This time he understood, granted us entrance but directed us against photography during Mass (as if that needed to be said).

Besides, we had an afternoon tour already planned during which we could take all the photos that we wanted.

Upon entering it was immediately apparent how much more grand and dominating the real Cathedral was versus the adjoining chapel.

We concluded Mass and then returned this afternoon for the tour. Places like this never get old.

There’s something new to learn or experience and it’s actually quite a privilege to be able to worship in such wonderful and historically significant spaces dating back centuries to the days of Isabel and Ferdinand.

The post with only pictures

There are many hidden faces in our Granada Airbnb.

The post with no pictures

Up until now we’ve included a few photos with each blog post. As you might imagine, we now have hundreds of photos and are going to have to find some time to post them on a photo sharing site apart from this blog. More on that later…

But this blog post will be uniquely without photos for a good reason. They didn’t allow mobile phones, cameras or even watches into this venue. So you’re going to have to close your eyes and imagine as you continue reading.

Yesterday evening we enjoyed a relaxing experience at a local Arab Bathhouse. And I must say that after more than a week of transcontinental trekking, it was a well deserved break.

The experience began by changing into swimwear and slipping on a pair of funny little non slip booties before entering into the appropriately dimmed bathhouse with instrumental Arab music playing in the background.

First stop was a short back massage - which much needed after carrying a backpack everywhere for over a week.

We then entered into a space containing seven different pools of water at different temperatures, ranging from refreshing hot to bone chilling cold. The idea was to move from pool to pool and to just relax.

Then we found the eucalyptus sauna, and that was a game changer! Now we had the opportunity to become engulfed in what felt like a Halls cough drop (in a good way). Deep breathes cleared not only our nose, but our lungs and minds as well. And of course, the sweat naturally cleansed our skin as well.

The game became to see who could take the coldest shower and plunge upon leaving the sauna. The alternating cycles of heat and cold were amazing refreshing.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, there was a side room where you could pour yourself a piping hot glass of mint tea before plunging into the next pool. Actually there was also a lemon raibos tea. Both were delicious and I will need to find a way to recreate them at home.

All tolled, they gave us about 90 minutes for our cleaning after which we walked back through the streets of Granada in flip flops and feeling rejuvenated.

They say that a perfect day in Granada has to include an Arab Bathhouse and we’re going to have to agree!

No place for wimps!

In order to get great photos like this

and this…

and so many so many other great views, it usually requires a lot of these…

When we started our walk to the Alhambra early yesterday morning, the weather was cool and we were heading downhill in our to cross a bridge over the river. But even something as simple as “walking down the (wet, cobblestone) street” can be treacherous.

Upon crossing the river, however, the journey took a decided turn in an uphill direction! Gone was the cool morning as sweat began forming as we paused to catch our breath.

As we reached the summit of the hill and arrived at our destination it occurred to me again how very much in shape one has to be in order to take on an expedition such as we have done. Regardless of what city, country or continent we have visited there have been a few consistent facts. There’s going to be a lot of walking and there are going to be a lot of hills and/or stairs to climb. Whether it’s the Giralda tower in Seville, the Medina in Tangier or the Alhambra in Granada you can’t make those happen without a considerable workout. But that’s part of daily life in most of Europe. Instead of driving to the grocery store (which nobody here does) they walk - every day.

And take a look at this guy about to ascend to the highest point in the Alhambra complex - on crutches!

I remember when preparing for the trip a couple of weeks ago that I was concerned about losing my 50+ day streak of walking at least 10,000 steps (5 miles) a day while in Europe. Yesterday morning, prior to leaving the Alhambra, my watch alerted me that my streak remains in tact.

In fact by the end of the day yesterday, we had accumulated over 12.5 miles!

I think that we can all learn a few lessons about health and staying active from of European friends.

Greatest hits

Yesterday we spent close to 8 hours with a private guide encountering Tangier’s “greatest hits”. The day was both educational and exhausting! There’s no way to tell you everything that we did and encountered, so I’ll just have to summarize.

But first let me say that our guide, Rasheed, was fantastic. He’s a local resident who knows everything about Moroccan history and culture and did his best to enlighten us.

For example, did you know that the first country to recognize the independence of the United States was Morocco. In 1777, Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah publicly acknowledged the sovereignty of the newly formed nation. This recognition pre-dated the formal treaties signed with other European powers.

Such was the in depth level of knowledge that Rasheed shared with us as we drove all over, in and around the city.

We began the day by touring the “new city”, famous for its Mediterranean views and home to the wealthy elite as well as world class hotel chains.

Then it was time to head out of town, past king’s palaces (from several different countries) to national parks with scenic overlooks and stories of famous writers, poets, politicians and actors who all had connections to Tangier. Included in this list of notables are James Bond (Spectre) and the 1975 film The Wind and the Lion.

From there our next stop was the famous Cap Spartrl (see previous blog post).

Next up was an opportunity to visit with some of the camels that wander the country roads.

After that we visited Hercules caves, where legend says that he plotted to steal some golden apples. Incidentally, Hercules is also credited with separating the European and African continents. This is also where we encountered a monkey.

We followed that up with a walking tour of the Kasbah and the Medina market, which is actually the area where we were staying but had somehow missed so much detail when walking through by ourselves. There are some really lovely little boutique hotels (like The Kasbah Blanca) that I never would have imagined existed within the maze of streets that make up the Kasbah and Medina.

We were introduced to a nice terrace restaurant where we enjoyed, among other dishes, a tasty seven Moroccan salad platter.

On the downside, we were also introduced to the (not so attractive) meat and seafood markets that have been in place for hundreds of years and which exude an extraordinarily unpleasant aroma.

In addition, you always have to be on the lookout for pick pockets, scammers and kids riding motorcycles through the maze of narrow market alleyways.

In all fairness however, we sampled, enjoyed and eventually bought fresh fruit, bread and of course, olives from some of the vendors. Take a look at all those olives! And that’s just from one vendor!

And here’s a man cooking some sort of chick pea dish that was very popular on the streets.

It was yet another full day that left us exhausted but satisfied that we had covered a lot of ground.

Eye in the sky!

It’s been another long travel day this Sunday. We’ve literally travelled by private driver, plane, Cercanía (local commuter rail), high speed rail and (later) Uber.

We were up early and on time to Tangier airport only to have our flight delayed by two hours, meaning that we would not be able to arrive in Malaga in time for 2pm Mass.

Matthew used his recent flying experience to quickly get online and determine that our plane had not even left from its previous location. He was then able to track our planes movements so the he had better updates than the airport gate agents!

Fortunately, the inbound flight was only an hour long, so the total amount of our delay did not pose any threat to our connecting train in Malaga. Upon its arrival, however, it was one of those small regional planes with propellers that doesn’t pull up to the terminal so you end up having to walk a quarter of a mile out on the runway with all your bags and climb a set of stairs in the late morning heat to get into the plane. But we made it. And for the duration of our short one hour flight back to Spain I learned how to use the compass and level on my phone as make shift aeronautical gauges.

All that had us touching down in Malaga about 1:30pm. So we were awake for 7 hours to make the progress of a one hour flight! Oh well, that’s what travel days are for, I suppose.

As for our arrival back into “civilization”, the improvements were immediately noticeable in the quality and modernity of the airport, including seamlessly integrating with the rail lines to get us main city train station.

And what a nice train station it is! Malaga gets the award for best train station so far. It was more like a shopping mall with trains than a train station with shops. Which was a good thing since we needed to kill a few hours before the next leg of the journey, which we’re now onboard and enjoying the scenery.

And instead of Mass in Malaga this afternoon, it looks like we’ll be able to make it to the 8pm in Granada!