JUNE 2015
On the move again although the SatNav stubbornly refused to recognise the address of the hotel in Granada, so it was set for somewhere in the vicinity and we’d worry about it once we got there. After a couple of hours on the road we stopped at the town of Antequera for lunch in a street-side bistro. The dude from the tourist information recommended a restaurant in the grounds of the bull-fighting ring and although we checked it out we opted against on the grounds that it was (a) a little formal and (b) completely empty; and that was (thankfully) as close as we would come to any bull-fighting. Mind you, the tourist information desk was in an underground car-park and was available only to users of the car-park, so it didn’t seem to be the most impartial referee.
On the spur of the moment we then decided to head off in search of El Torcal, a nature reserve in the Sierra del Torcal mountains renowned for its unusual landforms. And we nearly got there. But the dashboard was telling us we had just 20km of fuel left in the tank and it was by then 13km back to Antequera. I daresay the fuel gauge may be a bit conservative but I’d be buggered if I was getting stuck out there in the middle of nowhere in the scorching heat with no fuel – and therefore no air-con – so we were forced to turn back just a few kilometres short. Never mind, it was still a lovely drive through the mountains with some marvellous views, eagles soaring on the thermals and a few brief glimpses of a Spanish ibex atop a rocky outcrop.
Back in the refuelled car for another 100km on to Granada, and a near miss when I forgot to look left at a roundabout (sorry, mate), and managed to find the hotel using a combination of SatNav and Google maps. The Alhambra Palace hotel, the second of Shifty’s recommendations, is a rather grand old place on a hill overlooking the city with lovely views of the city, and the Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance. And the room even had a wee balcony from which to enjoy the view complete with an Alhambra beer in hand.
A taxi took us down the hill into town and up another hill to the Albaycin neighbourhood – and it’s a good job we did not attempt to walk it as is my usual wont. The taxi took us up to the San Nicolas viewpoint from which you get a view of the Alhambra across the gorge and the city down below. The Albaycin retains the narrow winding streets of its medieval Moorish past, streets that are so narrow that pedestrians are pinned up against the wall when a vehicle comes past. So we ambled our way back downhill for a while until we found a decent restaurant in a picture-perfect Spanish village square, and enjoyed a delicious dinner.
We spurned the choice of a minibus and walked further down the hill into the city centre. And then stopped off for a glass of rioja in a wonderfully unpretentious bar that made no concession whatsoever to trendiness and was therefore unspeakably trendy. The lights were old-fashioned, bright and garish; the staff were brusquely efficient bordering on rude; it was crowded and loud with chatter (no music); and the wine was cheap and deliciously full-bodied.
All that was left to do was retire to the hotel, and enjoy a soothing night-cap watching the lights of the city twinkle away below us.
I suspect it is actually enshrined in legislation to visit the Alhambra Palace when in Granada, so a minibus took us down the hill into town for another wander around with no particular aim, just enjoying the ramshackle disorder of the old town, and a brief glimpse of another gigantic cathedral. And then another minibus took us back up the hill in order to visit the Alhambra, an 11th century palace and fortress which I’m sure I read somewhere is the most visited monument in Spain (despite which, I had never even heard of it until last week).
It all starts in the Generalife – which I’d assumed was sponsored by an insurance company but is in fact a derivation of the Muslim term for “Garden of the Architect” – which was the summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid Emirs, the last Muslim dynasty in Spain ruling the Emirate of Granada from 1238 until 1492. The Generalife is a series of gardens and while I’m not usually fussed about gardens, these ones are rather lovely. Who knew a magnolia flower was that big eh? Next stop is the alcazaba or citadel, which is grand in scale but rather dull by comparison. And then it’s into the Palacios Nazaríes (Nasrid Palaces), for which visitor numbers are restricted and a specific time slot is allocated. And the only time slot we could get when I booked tickets about a week ago was 7pm, the last slot of the day.
But it’s worth the wait. The places are absolutely stunning, including a large number of rooms with incredibly detailed finishing, intricately patterned arabesques, marble columns, stalactite cupolas, ornamental works in stucco, brightly coloured azulejos, precious wood inlays and sculptures, complete with numerous fountains and water features. (And suffice it to say some plagiarism may have just taken place.) Created originally for military purposes, the Alhambra was an ‘alcazaba’ (fortress), an ‘alcázar’ (palace) and a small ‘medina’ (city), all in one – which helps to explain the contrasting features. Robust fortifications alongside ornate luxury and meditative spaces. Remarkably enough, it was neglected, looted and fell into disrepair until 1870 when it was declared a national monument, since when it has been protected, restored and even improved, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Definitely worth visiting – worth the wait, the cost, the heat, and all.
After another night in Alhambra Palace (the hotel that is, not the Alhambra) we were back in the Golf again, this time for the three hour drive from Granada to the town of Toledo, in central Spain, 70km south of Madrid. After checking into the Sercotel Pintor El Greco hotel, we immediately headed out to explore, although we seemed to have hit the heart of siesta time, and Toledo appears to like its siesta.
And I must confess I just don’t get this siesta stuff. Yes, it’s hot in the afternoon and a lie down may be welcome but other countries around the world are just as hot and they don’t all knock off for a snooze in the afternoon. Do all businesses in Spain do this? How do you compete in a global environment if you’re knocking off for a kip in the middle of the day? Do people go home from work? Easy enough if you live above the shop so to speak, but what if you live out in the burbs? And how do you physically tell your mind and body to shut down for a wee while in the afternoon? How do you sleep at night if you’ve slept half the day too?
Mind you, we did find ourselves becoming increasingly weary each afternoon. On the first day we belted about with all the bravado that says we don’t need an afternoon kip, we can cope with the heat. But as the week wore on, our reserves began to flag earlier and earlier each day, and restorative refreshment and rest was regularly required. Had we had been there any longer I may have become a siesta advocate.
But Toledo has a cathedral, and we like cathedrals. The Primate Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo, to give it its full name, is a Visigothic marvel with its huge bell tower overlooking Plaza del Ayuntamiento. According to Google, it is the “magnum opus” of the Gothic style in Spain. And it is indeed magnificent. An audio guide is included in the ticket price so this time we were well informed. Amongst other things there is artwork by Toledo’s favourite son El Greco, and an incredible skylight called El Transparente, cut very high up into the thick wall which allows light to shine on the tabernacle (whatever one of them is). Aside from its Christian cathedral Toledo is also replete with numerous synagogues and mosques, representative of it being known as the city of three cultures, where Christians, Jews and Muslims happily co-existed, and left their cultural imprint on the city’s architecture. It was also once the capital of Spain until 1560 when Philip II of Spain decided he wanted to live in Madrid instead.
The old city of Toledo is located on a mountaintop surrounded on three sides by a bend in the Tagus River, so we drove over to the opposite hillside for the view looking back onto the city in the lovely late afternoon light. Mind you it took us a wee bit of driving around before we found the right spot – the sign-posting was not of the highest order. Tut tut.
In the evening, we identified a potential spot for dinner courtesy of Trip Advisor, which required a fifteen minute walk through the winding streets of the old town. But we were either too early and things hadn’t yet got going, or Trip Advisor’s reviewers are out of their minds. It reminded me of the old Globe in the Central district of Hong Kong, or the Island Bar on Lamma Island (two of my favourite watering holes incidentally) – a few old neighbourhood drunks getting lashed and singing along to the jukebox; except there was no jukebox.
But there was another restaurant in a nearby square which seemed to be packed, entirely with locals, and they had one table left available, so Manuel’s your uncle. And the food, and the wine, and the service were all excellent. The waiter spoke good English, was very friendly and we followed his recommendations to the letter. Perhaps too much so. Maybe we had a little too much vino, or maybe it was the maze of winding streets, but we got comprehensively lost on the way home, taking twice as long to get home as it took us to get out.
Time to move on again. With hindsight we could have done with an extra day in Toledo – we missed the El Greco museum and the Alcazar. But as it was we were back into the car again for the one hour drive back to Madrid, made a little longer by a few wrong turns as we attempted to find the car hire place in the midst of the Madrid traffic. We’d done over 1,200 kilometres in the last seven days and overall I’d thoroughly enjoyed it, but those last few rather hairy minutes were no fun at all. But the car was successfully returned without a scratch.
Back to Catalonia Les Cortes for one more night, this time in a mere standard room; no upgrade, but it was still a lovely room. Had a wander round the shops for an hour or two and then took in a few refreshments. It was Madrid Pride that week so that night Madrid was very gay in every sense of the word. Many of the main roads were closed, there were large crowds around, many exotic and many minute costumes, and a general sense of something happening. You somehow felt that you should jump right in and enjoy the spectacle, but after Sue had taken a few photos we opted out and went back to the Mercado de San Miguel for a final fill of ham, chorizo, olives, oysters, seafood and yet another disappointing paella – well, I had to give it another go.
A restaurant on the nearby Cava de San Miguel proudly proclaimed that ‘Hemingway never ate here’, which amused me, given the amount of places across France and Spain which claim to have enjoyed his patronage. Or maybe he just didn’t eat there cos it was shite. Who knows? We headed back towards the hotel, had a few more drinks in a few more random bars around Plaza de Santa Ana, and finally called it a night.
On Sunday morning there was time for one last thing in Madrid, El Rastro, a sprawling open air flea market, spread across a number of streets and host to over 3,500 stalls. There’s a huge array of stuff on sale – birds and pets, paintings and art supplies, magazines and trading cards, rare and collectible books, funky clothing and accessories, everyday clothing, household goods and hardware, you name it, someone has it – but the antique and junk shops are by far the most interesting. After a few hours traipsing around there we eventually emerged with an old bellows-style camera and some dinner plates. Not much of a haul for a few hours shopping but the browsing was part of the fun.
And that was that for what had been a brilliant time in Spain. I loved every minute of it – the food, the wine, the tapas culture, the driving, the old towns, the history, the architecture, everything. Mind you, I love almost everywhere we go so it’s not much of a recommendation. Until the next time, adios.
Links:
Hotel Alhambra Palace Grenada: https://www.h-alhambrapalace.es/en/
Hotel Pintor El Greco Toledo: https://www.hotelpintorelgreco.com/en/
Catalonia Las Cortes Hotel Madrid: https://www.cataloniahotels.com/en/hotel/catalonia-las-cortes