Over the hills and far away....

11th October 2014

Herons and kingfishers kept us company at breakfast this morning! Then it was time to pack up and make our way northwards towards the sea...but not before we had climbed a mountain or two and had to endure the no brake experience all the way down...it was rather worrying I have to say. But, the views were awesome....

 

 

We crossed the Cordillera Cantabrica....up and down...holding our breath as the brakes screeched, but also being blown away by the views...

 

Down we go....

 

Finally we reached the sea..more specifically a town called Gijon...

 

More beautiful historical buildings...in rather a bad state of repair

We wandered along the sea front, ate lunch in the park, mooched the back streets and then hopped back into Bluebelle to make our way towards Villaviciosa where we were hoping to stop for the night...after stocking up with a few provisions. Unfortunately for us, Villaviciosa hid it's supermarkets and we spent a good 20 minutes or so just driving round and round trying to locate it!!!

 

We settled in a place called El Punta, right on the river with a view across to Selorio....these pictures don't really convey it that well, but it was a really beautiful place.

 

The water here is so clear...totally unexpected.

Cape Trafalgar

September 22nd 2014

[caption id="attachment_2600" align="aligncenter" width="640"] This morning we set out to walk along the beach to the lighthouse at Cape Trafalgar....[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2601" align="aligncenter" width="640"] This looks like a great way to traverse the beach...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2602" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Looking back along the beach from the lighthouse[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2603" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Enjoying the waves...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2604" align="aligncenter" width="640"] I wish we could add sound to this picture...it was fantastic....[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2605" align="aligncenter" width="427"] Believe it or not, it was looking like rain ahead and we just happened on this beach bar that was open.....well...we had walked a LONG way![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2606" align="aligncenter" width="640"] You'll have to believe me when I say that the birds are a flock of flamingoes....[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2607" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Flamingoes lighting up a dark stormy sky...just like a string of fairy lights![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2597" align="aligncenter" width="640"] We spent a long day driving, getting some miles under our belts....there still seems to be so much to do and so little time!!! We found this empty 1000 space car park next to the beach just outside of Cadiz, to stay in for the night....[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2598" align="aligncenter" width="640"] ...only to have this camper turn up, in the empty 1000 space car park...and camp 2' away from us!!!!![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2599" align="aligncenter" width="640"] But...we had the most awesome sunset![/caption]

The Alhambra

September 18th 2014

Everywhere we go we are told that we have to be so careful where we park…especially in the cities, which is why we decided to pay for a campsite last night. However, it has been suggested that, as we are visiting the Alhambra today, we drive the few miles into the city and park in the designated car parks….there are lanky of spaces, security cameras and lots of activity all the time so we should be fairly safe.

Once we were parked, and had collected our tickets for later, we took a stroll through the  streets of Granada…stopping for coffee and toast on the way.

[caption id="attachment_2539" align="aligncenter" width="427"] Love this strange little attachment to the roof of this house...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2540" align="aligncenter" width="427"] Lovely narrow 'hallway' streets...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2541" align="aligncenter" width="427"] This house obviously used to look incredibly grand once…but has now been left to rot and decay and has been taken over by squatters...[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_2543" align="aligncenter" width="427"] We saw several of these workshops where traditional Spanish guitars were still being handmade….just fantastic![/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_2544" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Love the colours in this wall….[/caption]

 

The Alhambra is set up on a hill overlooking the city of Granada…it is quite an impressive place and a definite must visit if you come to the city. It is incredibly busy…6000 tickets are sold everyday, mostly on the internet, and if you cannot get one on the web, you have to get there by 6am to queue for one of the few remaining tickets. Entry is timed…you either have a morning or afternoon slot and within that you then have an allotted time to visit the main castle buildings. We were very lucky to be able to get the last two remaining tickets for entry to the grounds and castle at 2pm …we arranged this through the campsite last night!

If you are interested in the history of the Alhambra take a look at this site… http://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/historicalintroduction.asp

For now..we are going to take you on a photographic tour…to whet your appetite….

[caption id="attachment_2545" align="aligncenter" width="427"] The carving in the stone was just amazing…..[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2576" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The General life area…. Generalife It occupied the slopes of the Hill of the Sun (Cerro del Sol), from which there is a complete view over the city and the valleys of the rivers Genil and Darro. There are different interpretations of the meaning of its name: the Governor's Garden, the Architect's (alarife) Garden, the Vegetable Garden of the Gypsy Festivity Organiser, etc. The Generalife became a leisure place for the kings of Granada when they wanted to get away from the official affairs of the palace.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2575" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Views from the General life towards the castle[/caption]





[caption id="attachment_2572" align="aligncenter" width="427"] General life gardens[/caption]









[caption id="attachment_2567" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Looking towards Generalife[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_2565" align="aligncenter" width="427"] The bell on the watchtower[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2564" align="aligncenter" width="427"] Looking out across the city...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2563" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The cathedral...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2562" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Granada sprawling out below...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2561" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The watchtower[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2560" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The watchtower[/caption]





[caption id="attachment_2557" align="aligncenter" width="427"] There were many beautiful open courtyards within the palace[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2556" align="aligncenter" width="427"] Flooring...[/caption]





















 



Go see it…..you won't be disappointed…...