Being in southern Spain, one is going to see a ton of amazing structures left by the Moors. And it’s at the top on everyone’s list.

Fortunately, on the advice of friends who’d visited before, we booked tickets to the Alhambra in Granada weeks before Troy left for Spain. Unfortunately, we randomly chose a day that seemed to work (they have a very rigid timed entry to the palaces and you must choose a day and time when you book) and it was literally the only day in Troy’s 9 days here that rained. Heavily. And it’s colder in Granada (high 40s during the day). And btw, it rained all over southern Spain. And was very windy. A weird, cold, lousy weather day in a week otherwise full of sunshine and 60s. Oh well. So we got wet. And cold. And sadly didn’t want to linger in the amazing gardens. But we persevered and I believe saw it all.

We started at the summer palace, Generalife, which sits above the Alhambra and has pools, roses, pathways and overall beautiful gardens and courtyards. The whole watering system was impressive and they built a bunch of paths for the water to flow into the many pools as well as provide water for the palaces.

Generalife has great views over the Nasrid Palaces and grounds as well as the town below. Sadly since we were wet and cold, we didn’t loiter in any gardens but we did walk through them all.

And it was amazing. And perhaps not surprisingly given the weather, not terribly crowded. Granada, we found out, was the last Spanish city to be reconquered by the Christian forces in 1492 — by Isabella and Fernando. And when they finally forced out the last sultan (300 years after the Christians reconquered Córdoba), they wisely decided to leave much of it alone. These are the gardens that were associated with the Palacio de Yusuf III, which have been terraced (maybe beyond his tenure). The Christian kings/queens added a chapel and church or two (of course), along with their shields and Spanish paraphernalia. In fact, Charles V built his own palace next to the original ones, knocking down a few buildings (but overall leaving the palaces and main gardens intact). It’s got a renaissance look to it which stands out in the Alhambra.

It’s actually square on the outside and has this big rounded courtyard inside. At one point we were so wet and cold (and still awaiting our timed entry to the main palace), we took refuge in their two museums that are housed here. It was blissfully warm! And interesting. Though on a beautiful day I’m not sure we would have ventured inside. They had artwork (Christian mostly) and artifacts (Arab mostly) from the region.

Miraculously just as we were supposed to go into the Nasrid Palaces the sun came out. It was still cold and of course the ground was wet but at least it wasn’t raining. I took these, of the Alcazaba and town below, while we were waiting in line. The palaces are famous for the interiors (and have more gardens as well with cooler fountains). The workmanship in every room was astounding. I had no idea you could carve up plaster (or wood or marble) that way and this was mostly in the 1100-1400s.

I honestly don’t know if you can appreciate any of the detail in these photos. I encourage you to look at them blown up because they’re really intense. There’s writing from the Quran all throughout and stalactites from the ceilings and stars everywhere. It was stunning workmanship.

Then there’s the engineering feats like the aforementioned watersystems. And they did columns and archways out the wazoo.

We also went to their Alcazaba (fortress or citadel) although had to be fortified with some warm beverage first (espresso for Troy and the richest most syrupy hot chocolate I’ve ever had. Really hit the spot.) Another blissful warm moment in a very nice — and pricey but worth it– cafe. I believe at one point we each fell asleep.

But just to finish. The Alcazaba was cool though nothing ornate like the palaces. But it offered great views of Granada and the surrounding Sierra Nevada.

(And yes, that’s Troy in the blue hand-me-down windbreaker from Luca … she brought me an old ski jacket so I hopefully won’t keep getting wet in rainstorms.)

We didn’t linger in town though Granada is supposed to have a great vibe. We just felt too cold. But by the time we got back to Malaga (about 1.75 hours’ drive), we were ready to have a dinner out. And try more vermouth —a very popular and tasty aperitif — and tapas.

Oh in both Córdoba and Malaga we tried some of their famous sweet wines. Pedro Ximinez, pajarete, and moscatel. As well as a “dry” wine for good measure. The aforementioned vermouth. And cervezas. The sweet wines were good though almost syrupy (and perhaps not as life-changing as my host suggested it would be). In Malaga, we went to a funny little place that is very popular with locals. We’re still not sure what merits a bell-ringing but it was inexpensive and cute. They write your orders in chalk on the bar in front of you and keep pouring as long as you ask. People were taking home bottles that they filled from the casks.

Regardless, the next day we were up for more adventures. We decided to take the ferry from Tarifa, Spain to Tangier, Morocco. It’s a 2-hour drive to Tarifa and then an hour ferry ride (should be less but they leave late — and we had a pretty choppy ride out). I wouldn’t have visited on my own and Troy and I were interested in visiting Northern Africa, even if for only a half day.

The guidebooks warn you about constantly being hassled and Rick Steves recommends getting a private guide rather than wandering through the streets on your own. We had to escape a few would-be guides right at the port, but ended up with a polite and very tenacious young man (all of 17 — we were there Friday which is their sabbath so he was off school). It was not intended but he was helpful and respectful and wasn’t creepy like some of the others so we finally just accepted his guidance. And of course gave him a small tip. And also ate in the restaurant he suggested and yes, bought rugs (!) in the place he suggested — so we hope he will get more money for his kickback/referral. He spent all day with us.

I have to say, I think it was helpful to have a guide because in wandering the labyrinthine streets where we generally saw few women and lots of men, I think he offered some level of protection against harassment. And hey, if Mr Steves thinks it’s really useful I guess I won’t disagree. (Troy had brought his Spain 2018 book and while a few things changed he actually saved us some hassles and money in getting around Córdoba,Tarifa, and Granada.) And it was handy having someone to take our picture together!

So it was a bit of a cramp on our style to have a guide and they definitely all steer you into places to buy things. And we didn’t think we’d have time to see the famous “Hercules” caves that are outside the town, so we missed it. But all in all an interesting visit. And I liked our kid (we also met his brother). If you’re visiting Morocco and need a guide, I can recommend him!

As far as the architecture, since we had just been at the Alhambra the day before, even in the bad weather it was stunning compared to the buildings we saw in Tangier. But the vibe is different — hustling and bustling— and the views back to Spain are lovely and we had gorgeous weather.

We got back pretty late and exhausted but thankfully are both happy eating cheese, olives and bread (and ham for me) for dinner in the apartment. Plus we had a large Moroccan lunch. And we knew that for Troy’s final day we’d take it easy as we needed to leave the apartment at 5 am to be sure she got to the airport for her flights.

So Saturday was chill. We wandered the old town area without consulting a map or gps. And either noticed a lot more or actually took side streets we hadn’t seen before.

It was lovely to wander. Mostly pedestrian only streets. Great weather. A long lunch of sangria and tapas at a streetside table.

People watching. We hit one last museum, Carmen Thyssen, which features mostly Andalusian artists over the years — and were OK. I mostly found it interesting to see what the cities and clothes looked like in the 1800-1900s. And a few pieces were really nice. But they had a special exhibit on Matisse’s Jazz series, which I loved. And the building itself is an old palácio which was pretty.

And after, we did more random wandering but it was 630 (just past sunset) and MOBBED. Apparently every night around Christmas they do some kind of light show of these lights …

And people of all ages come out to saunter through that plaza to see it. We missed the show (again) but caught the crowds. From children in strollers through folks in their 70s, everyone was trying to squish through what are normally wide streets and generous sized plazas. I’m surprised more people don’t lose each other but I saw a lot of parents holding their children’s hoods and older people walking in a chain holding onto each other’s shoulders in front of them. You definitely had to walk in a line — no holding hands and walking astride!

Seriously crowded. We fought our way through and decided to take a (vermouth) break at an outdoor table just to get out of it. It was 730 and I swear large groups were just standing around chatting in the middle of an intersection — or were monopolizing the first few tavernas we tried to stop in at. In any case, more people watching and just enjoying the southern Spanish way of life. Definitely people love to be outside here. Or maybe it’s this unusually warm and sunny weather.

But back to serendipity. Our Malaga guide had told us to try to see some thrones — massive, heavy litters (well, think larger and kind of like a homecoming parade float but with people carrying it instead of cars) with religious effigies on top. They’re maintained by brotherhoods and used in parades during Easter Holy Week. A big deal in Malaga. Hundreds of men (only) are needed to jointly carry a single throne. There are a few brotherhoods near where we were sitting in the sun (at the Roman ruins) but we could not figure out when they were open. We even asked at an information booth literally in the same plaza and the woman was of no help.

Anyway we figured it was one Malagan thing we’d miss. But when we got to our apartment, we could see a ton of people down the street and hear a marching band. So we went to investigate.

We had to google (well Troy did as the news was in Spanish) when we got back but turns out it was a procession to commemorate a 50th anniversary of something to do with Mary and the Trinity (Trinidad in Spanish). And there was a throne with Mary on it. And some crosses and lots of candles.

They were out there a long time and not moving. (And btw this was about the level of packed people we’d been facing in the center after the light show.) They were in the plaza we normally drive through whenever we return to town so it’s a really good thing we didn’t go out for the day. It was 8:30, around when we usually return and I don’t know how we’d have gotten to our place with that procession going on!

We were excited to see a version of the thrones. And I actually returned to the ruins today to sit in the sun again (and write this blog) and the brotherhoods were open. So I also saw a few up close.

They are indeed huge and heavy. But apparently this time of year the brotherhoods are more focused on exhibiting “Belen” (I think — I’ve lost my translator) instead of the thrones. They’re pretty cool too if you’re into nativity scenes. Or doll houses.

And more serendipity. I sat in the seats of the old Roman theatre and some group of children actually did a tiny play of some sort. I’m sure it’s related to the nativity but I mostly saw Romans and horsemen. And mostly it was their costumes that were cute as they pretty much sat down themselves. Quite the day. I think that’s it for Malaga and the Troy part of my Andalusian trip. We got Troy off on time this morning (despite my making several wrong turns as it was 5 am and I was fuzzy headed). And I’ve already heard she made it to Gatwick for her layover.

I’m headed to other areas of Andalusia— and a bit of Britain though I’m not sure I’ll enjoy it (more cliffs, climbing, and aggressive large monkeys). We will see how I do on the Rock of Gibraltar but I heard there are other sights to see there. And other Spanish places to visit in the next week.