Granada, Spain

I swear, it's feast or famine with me.  Until  my deployment to Afghanistan a couple of years ago, I hadn't been out of the country in 4 years.  There were times in my life (employed by US Olympic Committee and the US Navy) where I was routinely out of the country more than I was in it! Even though my international travel has slowed quite a bit in recent years, I've somehow managed to make it to Europe twice in the last few months.   A few days after all the promotion party shenanigans, I hastily rummaged through my pockets for left over Euros from my trip in May, packed a bag and then flew out to Spain.

I was asked to fill in and do some work with a sports team during a competition in Spain, so I cleared my schedule for a week for the opportunity to stay current in my chosen field.  Since this is a travel blog and not a work blog, I won't go into detail about my work  there, but I will share with you the little sightseeing excursion that I did manage to sneak into my schedule.

I was stationed in Rota, Spain in the mid-nineties, so I'm no stranger to the southern region of the country known as Andalusia.  The region spans from the Atlantic ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.  During my three years there with the Navy, I experienced so many quintessentially Spanish events. I ran with the bulls in Vejer on Easter Sunday.  Well, truth be told, I jumped up and hung from the bars on the windows of the establishment  in which I was standing in front while enjoying  a cerveza and let the bull run beneath me.  I rock climbed in Tarifa on a cliff so high that  I could see Morocco from it.  I went camping in Malaga and saw bullfights in Puerto de Santa Maria.  I drank sherry  and attempted to Flaminco dance at a feria in Jerez.  But one of the most memorable experiences was tapa-hopping and visiting the Alhambra in Granada with my mom when she came out on a vacation.

So, when I found myself with a couple of free hours on my last day in Granada  a couple of weeks ago, I caught a cab and went to re-explore the Alhambra.  It was still the majestic piece of architecture I remembered from over a decade ago.

According to its website, the Alhambra was so called because of its reddish walls (Arabic meaning "red castle").  The fortress, dating back to the 9th century, sits strategically atop a hill overlooking the whole city and meadow below it.  The Arabic influence on the current buildings built by the Moors in the 11th through 14th centuries is evident in the exorbitant stonework and tile throughout the palace.  The intricate carvings cover so much area that it's almost dizzying.  The gardens and pools are still immaculately manicured and overlook the picturesque countryside and town.  Though my time was limited, it was worth rushing to spend a couple of hours there after the tourists had thinned.

 Now that I'm back in San Antonio, my time has been consumed with teaching and trying to catch up from all the events of the last few months.  The weather has been great though, so I'm sure there are some adventures waiting to happen :-)