Granada

Seated majestically on a hill overlooking a beautiful Andalusian valley, the Alhambra ís a sight I will not soon forget.

I won't forget the city of Granada, either. It straddles the hills around and across from the Alhambra and bathes decadently in the Andalusian sun. Its stone alley ways are filled with young college students and hippies, with dogs wandering around and guitars playing down long narrow streets. We even heard a clarinet being played very, very well behind a shuttered second-storey window.

After a relatively brief bus ride from Málaga, we rolled into town in the late afternoon. The air was warm and the shadows getting longer and more interesting as the sun slowly made its way to the horizon. We walked up and up, making our way to the view where the above picture was taken, then on to the Albayzin, the surviving Arabic part of town.

We stayed at the view area for a long time, watching the changing light as it washed over the ancient wonder across the hill. This spectacle, of course, made us hungry.

A couple of platters of grilled seafood and una caña (a glass of beer) and we were sitting pretty. This we enjoyed at Cafe Bar El Ladrillo, in a quiet little square in the Albayzin. It was early on a weeknight and we had the place mostly to ourselves. So we sat in the courtyard and gorged on whole fish and shrimp, sucking the lovely juices out of their heads. It seemed to be a family-run place, with nephews coming and going and our hardworking hostess/server as sweet as could be.

During our stay in Marbella, the Duke of Marbella had taught us about the chupito - a small, small glass of local liquor to be taken as a digestive. In Granada that liquor is made from Manzana Verde and we received a complimentary chupito upon finishing our meal. It was lovely - kind of like a green apple Jolly Rancher only better, and with a kick.

This mellow evening was just the thing to fortify us for the next day and our visit to the Alhambra - a topic that deserves its own post.