Yesterday was our second day in Granada and most of the day was spent with a local guide moving through the magnificent el Alhambra complex. All of our local guides have been excellent in their own way and this guide excelled at pacing us through this very crowded historic tourist attraction to minimize the crowds surrounding and maximizing our appreciation for the beauty and significance of our surroundings.
We enjoyed our included tapas lunch at a tapas bar. We've enjoyed the Spanish food and this meal,was an opportunity to try some new options that we would not have considered on our own. The thinly sliced and fried eggplant drizzled with molasses was excellent.
After a brief rest in the hotel we joined our tour guide for an optional walking tour of the city. It did not take long for me to realize that I was tired of walking and tired of being in a crowd and tired of listening to more information. Another couple joined us to leave early and we stopped for a felaful dinner and dessert of "churro she and chocolate" a classic Spanish treat. Fried bread dipped in thick chocolate is....good! And now that I have tried it I can leave the country having accomplished an important goal.
We spent the majority of today touring the city of Córdoba and the cathedral that was constructed around the magnificent mosque was built during the 800's at the peak of Muslim dominance n this part of the world. It's impossible to put into words the architectural, historical, and cultural experience of walking through this building. Once again, our local guide shared her passion for the significance of the building and her appreciation of the universal and spiritual meaning behind the events that allow us to witness this building today.
This afternoon our tour guide confirmed that the weather will be too windy to allow tours to cross the strait of Gilbralter to Morocco. We are disappointed, but she has arranged a tour bus take us through Gilbralter. Vallay has been excellent at managing all the details of our trip so far. She makes it look easy, and we appreciate the was she is enhancing the trip for all of us.
I will take the next hour to have a siesta on the bus ride and then try to publish this blog when I get to the hotel.
