Granada 2

I'm still here and following lots of your lovely blogs... just don't seem to have time to write much these days! Life is good, a little too good really so i can't complain. Before i tell you about my latest holiday, i promised to post photos of Granada, so here are some of one of my favourite places in the world, the Alhambra...

Being a bit of a novice with a digital camera, i managed to lose some stunning shots that i'd taken during the first couple of days of my stay. It goes without saying that i won't make that mistake again! Still, i know i'll be going back again next year so i'll just have to try recreating some of the shots i lost.

Granada really is a stunning city and if you ever get the chance to visit, i can assure you that you won't be disappointed.

My latest trip was to south west France where i had an equally lovely time, more on that to follow.

And i've still found time to cook and eat (they'll never replace food you know!) so will also be sharing more recipes soon!

Thank you for all your lovely comments while i've been away! :)

Granada

One of the reasons for my recent absence was a holiday to Spain. Many moons ago, I studied Spanish and had the joy of living in Granada in Andalucia for a year. During this time, I became fluent in Spanish, learnt to dance Sevillanas, visited the Alhambra on a weekly basis, became obsessed with Spanish food (tapas in particular), developed more than a liking for vino tinto and hence managed to put on at least a stone before coming home to finish my degree...

I hadn't been back to Granada for over 20 years and unfortunately had no imminent plans to, until getting back in touch with a very good friend last year. Suzanne and I went to the same school and college, and spent our year in Granada together. After nearly 20 years of no contact, last year we discovered we were living in the same town and a revisit to Granada was one of the first things we talked about. The holiday became a bit of a road trip, with six like-minded girls driving from Alicante to Granada for Las Cruces festival. Suzanne had booked fantastic apartments in the Albaicin, which had views of the Alhambra and the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. We revisited old haunts, enjoyed delicious tapas, danced Sevillanas and decided that we would definitely be back next year.

Whilst much of the juerga* has moved on, one of the mainstays of the traditional tapas scene is the Trastienda. This gorgeous place looks like typical shop from the front, with legs of ham hanging in front of the counter, but behind the scenes is the cutest little tapas bar with tiled walls and low tables. Nice to see it mentioned here. We enjoyed a plate of aged pata negra ham and some tapas, before heading here for lunch, where we had traditional Moroccan food and the most beautiful views of the Alhambra.

Photos to follow...

* juerga = the good time (ir de juerga = to go out on the town)