Granada, Spain

Spanish Trip Family Blog

Granada, Spain

The Narrow, walled city.

Granada was just a short, two hour drive,from Barcelona. Traveling through the Spanish countryside was very rewarding as we laid eyes on the rolling hills, the olive groves, the farm animals and the white villages.

[Driving Side Note]: We have noticed how courteous the drivers are here who always give plenty of space, wide berths for cyclists, who move over immediately to the right to allow passing and who never run yellow or red lights. It is such a refreshing experience to drive amidst other drivers who are patient and looking out for your best interest.

We arrived in Granada around 8 at night and it was very challenging circumstances for navigation. Luckily, with Leslie as chief copilot and navigator extraordinaire we executed the rapid succession of turns on very narrow, cobblestone streets with only a few mishaps.  The streets are so narrow that there are sometimes only 1-2" of space on either side of the car.

Granada is an ancient city originally inhabited by the Moorish people who were of Arabic descent.  The Moors and Nasrid peoples built the amazing Alhambra palace and maintained control of Granada  for 250 years until 1485 when the Catholics conquered the town and Queen Isabell moved into the new town she loved an took over the palace.  She soon divided the city, isolating the Arabic people to the ancient region known as the Albayzin and pushed the Jewish people to Realejo.  

With a combination of Moorish ancestry, Jewish, Catholic, Gypsy and Spanish influences Granada is a rich environment that has much to offer travelers who dare to explore this unique city.  Gypsy influences have made Granada the focal point of Flamenco style music, dance and dress.  There are a number of guitar specialty shops and schools that develop Flamenco-style skills early on for those who embrace the challenge of this fast strumming guitar and quick stepping dance.

On the last day, we hiked up to Sacramonte "Sacred Mountain" which is a region where the Gypsies inhabited and where they built expansive and unique cave enclaves into the hillsides.  We toured the area where they still inhabit to this day.  The gypsies had caves for all aspects of their lives including clothesmaking, blacksmithing, gardening, cooking, sleeping, potterymaking, and storage of animals.

The streets of Granada were very lively with artisans, cafes, pasterlerias (bakeries) bars, Arabic tea houses and lots and lots of restaurants.  The narrow passageways and catacomb-like mazework of streets helps getting lost much easier.  But then again, when we're lost we sometimes find the best gems while traveling.  

The Palace of Alhambra from our Air BnB window.

Door knocker on Alhambra Palace Walls

Wheels of cannon guarding Alhambra fortress

Scalloped Portico

Fancy Rock work of Alhambra Grounds

Amazing Flamenco show which is an indigenous dance in Granada.

Hey, Kahlo found his name in an art studio.

Garden wall in Alhambra

Walking toward the gypsy caves near Sacramonte

Posing with Leslie in Gypsy cave museum.

Gypsy cave doorway

Gypsy cave entrance

Granada, the walled city.

Walking the streets of Granada in afternoon light.

Walled city at night

Montserrat Monastery, Barcelona

Montserra Monastery
Barcelona, Spain

On Kahlo's birthday, 1/02/19 we decided to take a day trip out of Spain to Montserrat, a monastery high up in the mountains. This worked out perfectly because Kahlo needed to get a big riding day, so he left early and we decided to meet him on top of the mountain which was over an hour away by car.

The road climbed up and up with steep switchbacks and ice collecting on the asphalt in the shady spots. To say the least, we were very nervous for him. The situation was made much worse because he was not at the top at our meeting time and then we waited for over an hour afterwards wondering and worrying with no way to contact him. We kept getting word from other travelers that "yes" they saw cyclists climbing up the mountain. Unfortunately, each rider that crested the peak was not Kahlo. 

By now, Leslie was pacing and I was staying near the car on lookout. What seems like an eternity passed by and then a couple who had just arrived gave us a near perfect match of Kahlo and said he was 5 minutes from the summit. With the whole family out looking now, we had text confirmation that he had arrived and then I saw him round the last bend...what a relief!

After Kahlo changed out of his riding gear, we loaded the backpack and started on our trip up Montserrat. 

We bought tickets to ride the Funicular which is a rail car that travels up a near vertical hillside. Once at the top, the views were spectacular of the surrounding countryside. We then started our hike which was only about 3-4 miles with some steep, rocky ascents. Nestled in the rocks underneath cliff hanging were remnant hermitages (prayer and meditation spaces) of long ago. A few more hundred feet of climbing and we topped out at the summit with 360 degree views of Barcelona and the Mediterranean Sea. The delayed departure of our hike resulted in us reaching the summit at a time of day with the perfect lighting. Even though the day started out as a stressful and worrisome one, it ended as a peaceful one with a moment to contemplate our incredible experiences as a family.

Funicular ride with Leslie

Funicular Track showing climb up to base of hike.

Mi esposa tan bonita

The hike up to Montserrat Peak with views.

The Montserrat Monastery

Leslie at top of Funicular railway

Boys and Leslie near the summit

Leslie and I at the summit of Montserrat

Pathway leading to remnant hermitage

View of hermitage ruin site.

Monastery campus

Monastery archway near the cathedral

Barcelona, Blog Post 2: Barcelona Waterfront, Historic Downtown and Parc Guell.

Barcelona, Spain
Blog Post 2
The Barcelona Waterfront, Historic Barcelona and Parc Guell.

Dialecto especial de Espana:
"Valle" (pron: valet) = Got it.  I know. True that. Right on.
"Joder Tio" (pron: Ho-There Tee-O) = when something is F-ing cool.
"Es la cana" (pron. can-ya) = when something or someone is awesome.

When day 2 came around we were a lot more rested. Early on New Years Day, Kahlo cracked open the bike case and assembled his road bike in anticipation of riding the next day. Kahlo took off on his first road ride in Spain and the rest of us bought 2-day passes and hopped on the metro for a tour around the nearby sights. We went to the plaza de Espana, and the waterfront so we could check out the historic region of Barcelona while Micah went running.

Bodhi found himself a sweet Louis Vuitton knock-off belt from a vendor that only 2 days out was already falling apart.  Hard lesson learned, buddy!

Kahlo's first ride in Spain.

Kahlo assembling his bike at about 1:00 am, New Years Day.

Bodhi refusing me of taking his picture on the metro.  Notice the lights above his head that shows the rider what station is coming up next.  This was very helpful for us.

Leslie and Micah on the Metro holding on tight.

The view of Plaza Espana from the top of the Futbol Arena.

Passenger walkway and 360 degree viewpoint atop the FC Barcelona Futbol Arena.

Waterfront in Barcelona.

Paseo in Historic Barcelona reminiscent of Daigon Alley in Harry Potter.

Later on in the day, we met up with Kahlo back at the apartment to walk towards Parc Guell which is the collaboration of entrepreneur Eusebi Guell and artist Antoni Gaudi.  Architect Antoni Gaudi was commissioned by Guell to build him a house in the hills above Barcelona.  Walking around the property, you get the impression that Dr. Seuss got into the head of Gaudi in the late 19th century.  The architectural lines, unique design and mosaic tile work make Gaudi's work stand out in a mundane world.  If you didn't know better, one would think Gaudi was influenced by psychoactive drugs.  Like everything else in the world, my lousy pictures cannot do justice to Gaudi's craft and detailed eye.  Anyways, check out some of the architecture that we laid eyes on:

Tile wall

Stony Columns creating a cave-like effect.

Stony Columns and Railing

One of Eusebi Guell's homes built by Antonio Gaudi.

Ceiling and tile detail with columns.

Reptilian tile mosaic

Intricate tile mosaic wall

Barcelona, Spain. Our first destination.

Barcelona, Spain
Our First Destination
December 30th, 2018

Our flight into Spain was easy but the 10 hour flight challenged us from getting a numb butt and legs.  There were lots of choices for in-flight movies.  While my headphones were broken it wasn't anything that I couldn't order from our flight inservice...only 3 Euros.

We lucked out on the Peugeot car rental. It was a diesel minivan that held Kahlo's bike box and all of our luggage perfectly.  Luckily we all drive manual, because that is all they offered.  With Leslie as my chief navigator, we negotiated our drive to Barcelona without too much difficulty.  Now finding our actual Air BNB apartment and parking in Barcelona...that is a totally different story.  After rounding the block 5x or so looking for our meet-up person we finally decided to drop off Leslie and let her find it on foot.

Heavily jet-lagged, we got our belongings to the 5th floor of our Air BnB, dropped them and then took a little nap to get equalized.  Once we woke up, we were in view of one of the great and iconic Barcelona landmarks...La Familia Sagrada!  This basilica is the amazing work of Antoni Gaudis.  Through stone and glass he tells the story of Jesus in a way that you could only imagine in dreams.  His masterpiece, which has been continued since his death is one that must be experienced in person and pictures can in no way do justice to his creation.  The light that emanates from the interior is ethereal like the most magnificent sunset you could ever imagine laying eyes on.  Experiencing Gaudis masterpiece on the first day in Spain was a great kickoff to this trip.

After walking around the plaza, we were hungry and sought out a place that served Tapas and Paella.  It is not difficult to find as these two culinary delights are the mainstay for Spanish cuisine.  Both tapas and Paella are regional and the Barcelona version of these dishes were very tasty.  Tapas are small bites that are best shared and paella can be shared with as many people as needed.  Restaurants have a wide variety of pan sizes to accommodate one to ten people in size.  Most paella dishes are focused around seafood as the main protein but you can get sausage, ham, and veggies to meet your desire.

Since we arrived on New Years eve, the plan was to take the metro down to Plaza Espana.  The family was not motivated to go out but I was able to rally Kahlo to go with me.  We got down to the metro station, bought our 2-day passes but we ended up sitting on the train waiting for it to depart for so long that we abandoned it all together and just went back up to street level to participate in the local events.  We settled on a sidewalk cafe where I ordered Kahlo and I a rum and coke (Cuba Libre) to celebrate the last day of 2018.  (Drinking age in Spain is only 16 years old).  We watched some fireworks and saw groups of people ringing in the new year.  As the events slowly died down, Kahlo and I headed back to our apartment to recharge for the days activities to come.

Happy New Years to you all and may 2019 be a new opportunity for us all to bring lots of love, joy, success and happiness to the people we love most in our lives.  We love you!

Paella dish

Selection of tapas.  Crochettes de championes is a favorite!

La Sagrada Familia with cranes finishing the many towers. 

La Sagrada Familia model showing completed towers with Micah in reflection.

The entrance with elaborate stone work.

Closeup of entry way stone work.

Depiction of the birth of Jesus.

Video showing 365 degree view.

Afternoon light passing through the stained glass.

The dramatic support towers that resemble tree trunks.

Night view on New Years with Kahlo. Eyes closed, as usual.

Ceiling of the basilica resembling the sun penetrating a forest canopy.