14th October - Torremolinos to Granada

Well a bit of a drive this morning to get from the Costa Del Sol to Granada (pomegranate) where we had a short tour of the city centre before an afternoon guided tour of the Ahlambra which was truly stunning. A Moorish stronghold from the 12th Century (the final place where the Moors held out against Isabelle and Fernando in 1492. Apparently the castle was seiged for 7 years before the Moors surrendered. Apparently the last Sultan cried when we he surrendered and Isabelle said you something like "you cry like a woman but you failed to defend like a man".

Apparently in the throne room of this incredible castle is where Isabelle saw Christopher Columbus and gave him permission for the expedition to discover America although he thought he was looking for the Indies.



So off to an organised dinner tonight then off to Valencia tomorrow before heading into our final city of the tour Barcelona.

Eric: To expand on Collie's comments above, the detail in Alhambra is just breathtaking. Built in the  Mudéjar style and showcasing Muslim art style with European influences, this fortress stands as one of the final bastions of Moorish occupation in Spain. This was one of the most impressive structures we have seen; the scale of the walls, the functional gardens and courtyards, flowing water throughout and the nature inspired carvings with Arabic script and geometric patterns adorning majority of the walls within the palace:

 PEW! pew! pew!