ESPANA - GRANADA & THE ALHAMBRA

The Alhambra perched on a hilltop with the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountain as a backdrop

American friends, Anita & Dick, who have made a complete relocation and now call Portugal home, invited me to join them and another couple touring Granada and Seville before my time in Europe is up.  Of course, I said yes!

Spain conjures up pictures of bullfighters and massive Moorish-influenced architecture; small plates of delicious delicacies (tapas); sangria and yummy vino Roja; flamenco dancers and Fado singers.  Our road trip included all of the above - and more.

It's a 7-hour drive from Ferragudo, Portugal to Granada, Spain.  We drove past seaside villages before turning north into rolling hills filled with vineyards and even larger olive groves.   We only got lost once before we found our huge, 2-story AirBnB (with the world's tiniest garage) in The Realejo, the old Jewish section of Granada.  Out our window and towering over us was the mighty and magnificent La Alhambra.  After enjoying a delightful Spanish dinner of paella and red wine, we all turned in early as we had an early morning appointment.

Arrangements had been made for the 5 of us to enjoy a private tour with our own guide of La Alhambra.  What a difference this made!  We could stop and stare in awe, ask as many questions as we wanted and take 100's of pictures without worrying about keeping up with a group of total strangers.  FYI - During high season daily admittance through the gates of La Alhambra is cut-off at 8,000. Low-season sees an average of 2000-3000 daily.  

Mario, our very handsome guide (a nice extra!) spoke perfect English.  I learned he had to study for 5 years to become a licensed Alhambra guide.  This is on top of him being a college-educated historian. He continues to constantly improve his vast knowledge of not only La Alhambra but also the history of Granada, where he is employed directly by their Board of Tourism.    

Photos can never do justice to this magnificent structure.  The history of this hill-top city that was ruled by the Moors and existed for so many years in harmony with all nationalities and religions was destroyed over the love of a woman and the simultaneous invasion of the Christians.  Click on this link for a brief history of this magnificent place.  I can only provide you with just a few of the 100's of photos I took that day.

     

           

         

 

 

 

                

The colorful tile and amazing plaster work, the gardens with their massive hedges, numerous reflecting pools, fountains and formal gardens add to the grandeur of The Alhambra, a World Heritage Site, which should be a 'must see' on any visit to Spain.

But certainly not to be missed, laying spread out beneath La Alhambra, nestled in a valley with the towering Sierra Nevada mountains as their backdrop, is one of the most beautiful cities I have visited - GRANADA.

I have found the best way to get to know any city and learn its history is from a knowledgeable local.  So I always take advantage of a 'free walking tour'.  These are offered by different companies in almost every large European city.  I went online to find that several companies were offering tours - all departing from the same place - just different colored t-shirts for their guides!

 I chose 'Feel The City Tours' and Anita and I met Miquel, a Basque now living and getting his Masters in Granada, for his 10 a.m., 2 1/2 hour walking tour of the city center.  Miquel was a wonderful guide, extremely knowledgeable and lots of fun.

We learned so much of the history of this city that saw the Romans and the Visigothic inhabiting the area as early as 5500 BC.  The Moors arrived and founded what is now the city of Granada beginning in 711 AD.  Civil wars and skirmishes ensued, along with the building of the hilltop city-town, palace-filled La Alhambra.
The Moors ruled fairly and evenly, allowing all ethnicities and religions to live together peacefully until 1492 when the last Morrish Emir surrendered the region to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.  By the
16th Century, the Christian-Catholics had converted all the mosques to churches, if not completely destroying them. This 'change/desegregation' can be seen in the total mix/mismatch of architecture throughout the city and La Alhambra.  The Castilian Crown rescinded the Alhambra Decree treaty and mandated that Granada's Muslims must convert or emigrate. Under the 1492 Alhambra Decree, Spain's Jewish population, unlike the Muslims, had already been forced to convert under threat of expulsion or even execution, becoming Marranos (meaning "pigs" in Spanish), or Catholics of Jewish descent. Many of the elite Muslim class subsequently emigrated to North Africa.

Following are just a few of the many photos I took this chilly but sunny day of the wondrous architecture we saw - including the massive Cathedral of Granada - which was built over the Nasrid Great Mosque of Granada.  We entered a small church with it's cloistered nuns sounding like angels singing while the sun shone through the stained glass illuminating the walls in a rainbow of colors; climbed twisted narrow streets with colorful flower boxes hanging on each window; strolled through the large, tiled squares filled with restaurants and people of all ages;  enjoyed the fabulous street art;  plus stopped at a small coffee cafe for a choice of very strong coffee or a glass of wine served with slices of fresh bread and olives.  Yum!

These 'free' tours cost you only what you wish to 'tip' your tour director at the end of the tour. ($10 is my usual norm.)  I'm sure Miquel earned a goodly sum from those who had the luck to be part of his outstanding tour this day.

             

                   

  

              

                  

I don't want to leave out another really spectacular place we visited -
The Carmen de San Miquel Restaurante located on top of the hill next to La Alhambra.  This lovely restaurant has a commanding view of the entire city of Granada and is well-known for serving suckling pig, cooked nightly in its kitchen.

      

Because we had planned an early morning departure for Seville, we didn't abide by Spain's normal dinner start time of 10 p.m.  By arriving at 6:30 p.m. and departing at 9:00 p.m., we had the entire restaurant and staff to ourselves.  It was an amazing meal (I had the lamb chop) and we shared an antipasto salad and a desert that was just indescribably delicious!

             


Early the next morning we bid farewell to Andalusia and Granada will full tummies and wonderful memories.  We all agreed that 3 days was not nearly enough time to spend in this city filled with glorious treasures of all kind.  But now it was time to head for our next stop - SEVILLA.

Until next time.........


PS:  Don't forget you can click on any photo to see it full-sized.

PORCHES & FARO

During December, in the middle of the holiday season, I took two one-day trips to visit the village of Porches, the home of Portuguese pottery, and Faro, where I found an ancient walled city within the largest city in the Algarve.

First was a visit to Porches, thanks to friend Dick and Anita and their rental car. Porches is one of those quintessential whitewashed villages (pop. 2000) with cobblestoned-streets, friendly people, and restaurants that are open only now and then. After exploring the village, we were directed to a typical Portuguese restaurant outside of the village for a delicious Plate de Dia for €8.50.  It included spinach soup, a nice salad of greens, fresh tomatoes, and onion, a choice of 3 entrees (I had chicken which came with the always-present boiled potatoes) your choice of a drink (coffee, beer or wine) and I think a desert.After filling our tummies, it was time to make use of their wonderful TomTom (a GPS device is a Must-Have in Europe!) and find the Nossa Senhora da Rocha Chapel and Fortress.

Perched on a crumbling cliff-point sticking straight out into the Atlantic, this small chapel, where an apparition of the Virgin Mary was supposedly seen by local children many 100's of years ago, it still draws pilgrims today.

This area was conquered by the Romans and then the Moors in the 13th century. As you can see, it is the perfect location for a castle to protect the area from whomever else tried to take this land.  In the 16th-century, a fortress was built on this point, along with the chapel.  The last remnants of the fortress are crumbling into the sea and the chapel may soon join them as this point is getting smaller and smaller each year and the edges are now fenced off to protect the visitors, something you never see in Europe.

The altar inside the chapel

The view from the end of the cliff - the color of the water was amazing!

It was now back into town to visit just a couple of the numerous potteries that line the roadway.  We visited a very traditional pottery which is carrying on the hand-painted old-style designs to more modern one which reminded me of Pottery Barn, to a really fun and funky sculpture garden, it was a great afternoon.

                       

I soooo identified with her!

Metal 'stork nest'

Kissing hippos

We completed our day with a visit to Jouk's Designer Sale, a wonderful, German woman who imports some of the best European designer clothes and jewelry and has a sale in her home twice a year.  Both Anita and I shopped a lot and enjoyed ourselves immensely - Anita even got her hair cut by the on-site hairdresser!  Dick was REALLY bored.

Faro, which is situated on the Formosa lagoon attracted human occupants from the Palaeolithic age until the end of pre-history. The first settlements date from the 4th century BC, during the period of Phoenician colonization of the western Mediterranean. At the time, the area was known as Ossonoba and was the most important urban centre of southern Portugal and commercial entrepot for agricultural products, fish and minerals. Between the 2nd and 8th century, the city was under the domain of the Roman and later Visigoths, before being conquered by the Moors in 713. From the 3rd century onwards and during the Visigothic period, it was the site of an Episcopal see of the Christian church.

Under the Moorish rule, the community grew and developed in economic importance with merchants, artisans and especially book-printing.  Samuel Gacon began printing the Pentateuco in Hebrew, the first book printed in Portugal in 1487. With it's large and mix-religious community, the city continued to flourish until the15th century when Manuel I ordered all of the Jews out of Portugal. The city went into a dark period but when Alphonso III regained rule. 

During the following years, the town became a prosperous position along the Algarve, due to its secure port and exploration of salt and produce. At the beginning of the Portuguese Age of Discovery, the town was positioned to be a commercial centre that it remains today.  (WinkipediA)

Armed with this knowledge, off I went to visit Faro with part of my Portuguese family, Joáo, Rosalina and Maria Joáo.  Joáo, who had lived in Faro for quite a few years when he was growing up, wanted me to see many of the churches and also stroll about inside the walled city that is still an active part of the city today.  Though breezy and not a sunny day, we enjoyed our time exploring and then getting terribly lost trying to drive out of the old city at the end of our visit. 

                     

 


This post concludes my month of holiday celebration and travels.  Next up - SPAIN!  Visits to Granada and Sevilla.  

Until next time....

CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS - PORTUGUESE STYLE!

It's often said that the holidays are exhausting.  All that visiting with relatives, worrying about what gifts to purchase for whom, traveling between houses, and then there is the preparation and consumption of all that food!

This being my first holiday spent in Portugal, I  was without any of my family members or friends from home.  It seemed as if I would be destined to wallow in loneliness, sadness and self-pity, kicking myself for ever leaving the comfy confines of my home and the loving arms of my family and friends. 

Turned out, I wasn't allowed to even consider being alone or sad for even a few minutes during the exceptionally long and event-filled celebration of  Christmas and New Year's - certainly not when included in every holiday meal and get-together hosted by 'my Portuguese family.' 

Meet the Family!

This photo was taken Christmas Eve at the home of my wonderful landlord Jorge, who is peaking behind the head of his beautiful wife Maria Joáo (teal sweater).  Seated in front are the avós, the grandparents, Joáo and Rosalina, parents of Maria Joáo and Manocas.  Hugging then is Matilde, daughter of Maria Joáo's sister Manocas, who is directly in the center.  The lovely young lady with her arm around her aunt is Jorge and Maria Joáo's daughter, Maria Ana.  The back row from left to right is Joáo, Jorge & Maria Joáo's son, who attends college in Lisbon.  Next is Henrique, who is studying medicine at the University of Madeira.  He  is the son of Manocas and the gentleman standing next to him, Luis, who is Jorge's brother!  Yes, sisters married brothers.  

The celebrations got started on the 5th of December when Ferragudo decked itself out for it's annual Christmas Market.  Music, food and fun filled the square for 3 days.  That weekend I attended a holiday dinner hosted by the Algarve Ex-Pat group and then joined some of  'the family' for a concert at the local church presented by a choir that sang hymns and carols in 7 different languages. Afterward, we returned to Jorge and Maria Joáo's for homemade hot chocolate and a traditional yellow sponge cake that you get with your fingers.  

The next week included a wonderful lunch on the beach at Club Nau with my good British friends and neighbors, Maureen and Pat Kelly, followed by a carol sing-along at the Episcopal church in Lagoa, which holds its services in a former Catholic convent built in the 1800's.

 

                     

With a day trip to Porches to see the beautiful pottery in the middle of this week (to be reported in a later blog post,) it was now time for the actual Christmas holidays!

I first have to share with you the misunderstanding that occurred.  I was under the impression that I was invited to Christmas Day dinner at Grandma & Grandpa's so on Christmas Eve I had a bowl of soup and 1/2 a sandwich and drank a glass of wine at about 6 p.m. I was settled down with the choice of a good mystery or watching another episode of Jessica Jones on Netflix.

 I was in sweats and a t-shirt and looking my normal, stay-at-home grubby self when there was a knock on the door.  There was Jorge asking if I were ready. Ready for what, I asked? Dinner and presents, he said.  Huh? I said.  A quick call to his daughter, the one who speaks perfect English, to have her explain that not only was I dining with the family tomorrow but had been invited for tonight as well.  We would be opening our presents, as is the custom, at the stroke of midnight.  Get in the car, says Jorge.  NO! I said -  and tell him to go home and I would follow in 20 minutes!

Off to the shower, hair, make-up, a nice outfit, scurrying up the hill to Jorge and Maria Joao's home for lot of wine, a huge dinner which began at 9 p.m. (you do remember I said I had eaten dinner at 6), numerous desserts and after-dinner drinks, gift-giving at midnight, home in bed by 1:30 a.m. and up the next morning to make deviled eggs and sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows for my contribution to the Christmas Day feast held at Grandma & Grandpas home - which started at 2 p.m - and included many more members of the family!

Here are just a few photos from those two events -

CHRISTMAS EVE 2015

 

 

  

CHRISTMAS DAY 2015

 

 

So you would think that now it was time to rest - and stop eating!  OH NO!  During the  week between Christmas and New Years was not only a big  dinner to celebrate Maria Joao's birthday, but also a day trip to Faro to explore the old city (in later blog post), a beautiful holiday service at a very modern Catholic church and convent for Carmelite nuns and then a delicious dinner at Luis and Manocas' beautiful flat in that city.

Then it was time to celebrate New Year's Eve with a big dinner with family and friends, head to the church on the highest hill in town to watch the fireworks explode over the river in Portimao while drinking champagne and eating 12 raisins (a wish for each month is made as you eat each raisin) and lastly, a New Year's Day luncheon.

 

 

 

My 12-raisen New Years Resolution - STOP EATING!!

But you know all about resolutions, don't you?  The Portuguese do not stop celebrating until January 5th, which is the birthday of The 3 Kings which requires....a large dinner with family and friends!  By this time, I just couldn't take one more photo of food - sorry.  Take my word when I say the cod was delicious, the desserts were sweet and the wine continued to flow!

It is now the 11th of January and I still need to share with you the beautiful photos of my visit to Porches and Faro but that will have to wait as I am off to SPAIN!  I was invited to join 2 American couples for a trip to Granada to tour the Alhambra and then to Seville.  I'll be gone for 7 days and I am really looking forward to what will be my last excursion of any distance before I depart Portugal on the 30th of January.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and wishing you nothing but joy and happiness in the New Year!

Unitl next time....