Spain--The South

We headed south to Valencia City which is on the Italian coast side in the middle of the country. They are famous for Palella which is a traditional rice dish with chicken or seafood. Megan and I took a bus out to the small village outside that is supposedly the origin of the dish for dinner. After a long beach trek and some circumventing a large gate we found ourselves trapped behind, we ate dinner at a nice little restaurant and caught the bus back to our hostel.

After Valencia, we wanted to find some warmth to the south and we visited a off-the-beaten -path summer town in the very southeast corner of Spain called Cabo de Gata (Cape of the cat). It much drier with cactus but right on the coast again. We spent one day and one night there hiking around the nearby cliffs, hills and beaches on foot and mountain bikes.

Then we moved on to Granada for a few days in the south center of the country with a strong Muslim history and surrounded by mountains. It is famous for a large palace called Alhambra built by the Muslims, taken over by the Christians and then left to disrepair from political struggle until it was re-romanticized by a famous author and restored. The walls, ceiling and floors were intricately designed with stone, plaster and wood in interesting mosaic patterns. Gardens and artwork on every surface with water flowing throughout. Water was a central theme in fountains and even on stairs which contrasted with the dry climate of the surrounding town. In the city and near our hostel, some of the streets were very narrow and filled with Moroccan type goods that were fun to look around in.