2:31:00 PM
EXPLORING SPAIN (PART 2/3)
2:31:00 PMHello there! If you missed the first part of my Spain travels, you can read it right here and than continue reading second part. Ou...
Hello there!
If you missed the first part of my Spain travels, you can read it right here and than continue reading second part.
Our next location was situated in the mountains. And by mountains I mean the wonderful, beautiful, majestic and breathtaking Sierra Nevada (Gosh, I really fell in love with Sierra Nevada.)
We stayed at 2 200 metres above sea level in one of the white villages, or as they are called Pueblos Blancos. They all look exactly the same - same houses, same churches,...get lost in there is more than easy (and you don't even have to be drunk).
Anyway, Sierra Nevada really got me. I felt so small in there and all problems suddenly weren't important. And the night sky? I have never seen so many stars before. It was magical. There was just one tiny things that surprised us - the snow. We somehow didn't think about it...
If you missed the first part of my Spain travels, you can read it right here and than continue reading second part.
Our next location was situated in the mountains. And by mountains I mean the wonderful, beautiful, majestic and breathtaking Sierra Nevada (Gosh, I really fell in love with Sierra Nevada.)
We stayed at 2 200 metres above sea level in one of the white villages, or as they are called Pueblos Blancos. They all look exactly the same - same houses, same churches,...get lost in there is more than easy (and you don't even have to be drunk).
It was too late when we found out that the ski resort nearby is open every year until the end of May. But you know, life is all about learning :-)
Our next stop was (as you may have expected) Granada. A beautiful city located at the foot of Sierra Nevada.
The most famous place in Granada is Alhambra. However, as we found out, it's not that easy to get inside. First of all, only certain number of people can visit it everyday and the best solution is to buy tickets ahead. We didn't know this. We came to Alhambra and found out it's sold out, but you can buy tickets online and the biggest chance to buy them is at midnight. And eventually (after an hour of trying) we got lucky and bought two tickets.
The most famous place in Granada is Alhambra. However, as we found out, it's not that easy to get inside. First of all, only certain number of people can visit it everyday and the best solution is to buy tickets ahead. We didn't know this. We came to Alhambra and found out it's sold out, but you can buy tickets online and the biggest chance to buy them is at midnight. And eventually (after an hour of trying) we got lucky and bought two tickets.
Alhambra is a a huge complex of many buildings and gardens, and the most remarkable one is Palacios Nazaríes. We spent there most of the time and adored it.
Kate
Of course, other parts of Alhambra are amazing, too. This is for example Patio of the Palace of Charles V and at this patio we met 3 or maybe more kids in white clothes (boys in white suits and girls in white wedding dresses) and their parents and professional photographers. I assume that in Spain is popular to be a child model or something?
Even though Granada is a big city full of tourists and souvenir shops, I liked it. Alahambra is a place you should definitely visit before you die. The city is a mixture of arabic and european styles. And of course there is one other reason why I enjoyed my stay in Granada so much - you can enjoy the view at Sierra Nevada all day long and for a girl who grew up in Jizera mountains (in comparison to Sierra Nevada it's like living in lowlands), that's something terrific.
But let's take a break from places you have to visit and let's talk about food and drinks you have to try (my favourite topic). First of all: paella (rice dish with vegatables, chicken or sea food) which I had more times and it was wonderful.
If you are also a fan of Red Dwarf, I'm sure you know which soup I wanted to taste - yes, gazpacho! And I did try it and it tasted like a tomato salad - weird, but very tasty and refreshing. (For those of you who have no idea what is so special about this soup: it's served cold). And I also found out, that gazpacho has a partner, or should I say brother/sister? There exists a soup which is called salmorejo. It tastes similar and there are some differences in preparation, you add bread to salmorejo and it's often served with bread and of course, cold. To be honest, I didn't really see much differences between these two :-)
Another local thing you have to buy and taste is jamón - a dry cured ham which is fantastic and also chorizo - a fermented, cured, smoked sausage, typical for its red color from dried, smoked, red peppers. These two are perfect for a snack during the the day when you are on the road and got hungry. And yes, if you are wondering, we ate them everyday.
Another stop of our road trip through Spain was a lovely city famous for its unusual building and patio competitions,... but more about it in the next post.
Kate 
