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Tuesday, November 15, 2011The Alhambra
I've always had a bit of an issue with Spain. Of course, there is also a ton of history in Spain and this week, Nico and I turned our back on the tacky coast and headed off to Granada. It's quite a long drive from La Zenia through to Granada, over 300km. What surprised me was the changing geography. Around Alicante it's pretty flat and very dead looking. Even in the fruit growing areas everything is dusty and baron apart from the actual citrus trees. Leaving the coast and heading in land it's completely different. Stunning mountains and gorges and the thing I crave most... greenery. One minute I was looking at something like Drumheller in Canada, the next Nevada in USA then a smattering of South Oxfordshire and then the Alps. Once we arrived in Granada and checked in to the hotel, we climbed up to the Alhambra. The guide book says 'if you see one thing in Spain, then this is it' and I'm tempted to agree. Once you got through the agro of the limited tickets etc a walk around the complex is really breath taking. The main The Nasrid Palace is beautiful and the planting stunning. Even on a damp and dreary day, it was very atmospheric. The cooler weather probably helped as it wasn't over run with tourists. Having walked around Angkor Wat and plenty of ancient places around Europe, it stands up very well. It could have done with a lot more interpretation though. You had to buy an audio guide to get much sense of the locations... I'm a cheap skate, so just made it up as I went. The rain really put the mockers on everything towards the end of the afternoon, so we headed back down the hill to the Hotel and then out for food. Granada seems to be the place for free Tapas. Every bar we went to gave us a plate with our drinks. TBC... Sunday, November 13, 2011Bottle tops
Spain 2011, a set on Flickr. It's November, so I am on my annual pilgrimage to Spain for Nico's birthday.
One thing that disturbed me a little though was the state of the beach. I know you don't expect things to be pristine, but within the flotsam and jetsam lining the sand it was amazing to see how much plastic was caught up in it. Lots of little things like bottle tops and plastic string. Really not good. Labels: Breaks, environment, rant, Spain Monday, October 17, 2011Lovely
It's been a busy weekend and a long one. Thursday involved catching up with a friend and then a few (to many) pints in a bar to which I've managed to avoid for nearly ten years! I should have stuck to my guns, but you never learn these lessons do you.
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Friday started tenderly and after lunchtime! In the evening a friend invited me to Guest night at Summerville College. I've not been in there before. They have some fantastic new accommodation for the students. Very swish. They also have the Margaret Thatcher conference centre - it seemed to have a certain chill about it! The food for dinner was lovely. If only I was a fellow of an Oxford college. I'd be very fat! The rest of the weekend was spent in Kent. Taking the new High Speed service (again swish!) and staying with friends of James. Lovely. We finally decided to change our Facebook profiles to 'In a relationship' which created a storm! Who needs marriage anymore... When the world and his brother all click 'like' on your relationship, do you really need to show any further sign of commitment?
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