Granada is an Andalucian treasure and enraptures you in ways that are difficult to describe. My last post on Granada was about the fantastic Alhambra Palace. Come along as we continue our explorations of this fabulous city. Anthony Bourdain once said: “Ah, the storybook kingdom of Granada. One of the oldest, most complex, magically surreal places in Spain. And one of the most beautiful. Granada is tucked against the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Andalucia in southern Spain. It’s not Barcelona. It’s not like San Sebastian. It ain’t Madrid. Any reasonable, sentient person who looks at Spain, comes to Spain, eats in Spain, drinks in Spain, they’re going to fall in love. Otherwise, there’s something deeply wrong with you.”

Strolling down the steep, rough cobbled lanes from our hotel next to the Alhambra we entered the “Realejo” neighborhood of Granada. This was the area where the Jewish population was vibrant between the 11th and 15th centuries.

The “Cuesta Del Realejo” descends toward the central part of the city.

This is the early 16th-century “pillar” at the bottom of the Cuesta Del Realejo which provided drinking water for the neighborhood.

On our way to dinner, Marla and I walked into the Hotel Alhambra Palace, which was built in 1910. It is Spain’s oldest 5-Star hotel. It is a nice place to enjoy cocktails at sunset in their bar as the views are wonderful.

Dinner was at the “Restaurante Mirador Carmen San Miguel”, high up on the slopes of the Alhambra. Reserving a table on their terrace overlooking the ancient rooftops of the Realejo neighborhood is a must!

We watched an evolving sunset with a very nice glass of Cava.

The sunset took our breath away!

We started with a unique local olive oil tasting with rustic bread and then grilled vegetables. All were wonderful.

The piece de resistance was a fabulous grilled veal chop to share. It was cut into strips that you heat up over course rock salt on the tabletop grill.

This is one happy girl. “Honey,…you can’t eat the bone!”

After our dessert we walked back to our hotel passing the Hotel Alhambra Palace.

Our hotel is named after the famous American writer, Washington Irving. The floor has quotes about Granada from well-known writers.

We found this interesting monument to the writer Angel Ganivet on the path down the hill from the Alhambra.

We walked down toward the ancient “Gate of the Pomegranates” or Puerta de las Granadas.

The area around the Cathedral is a bustling commercial area full of restaurants and interesting shops. This is the fountain in the Plaza Isabel la Catolica.

The Royal Chapel of Granada was built between 1506 and 1521. It is the final resting place of the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile.

On our final night in Granada, we walked to dinner via the Calle Santa Ana next to the Rio Darro river. The Church of Santa Ana rises above us.

To the right is the Hammam de la Andalus, originally a 13th-century Arab bath which is still in use today.

Heading down toward the river.

The Puente Espinosa crosses the river to the Carrera del Darro.

The “Google Maps” in my head told me, “the restaurant is just a few blocks up the street.” We are in the ancient Medieval Moorish area called, “Albaicin.” It is full of beautiful tiny lanes.

This is the massive door of the 16th “Convento de Santa Catalina de Zafra.”

We booked an outside table at the “Ruta del Azafran” with fabulous views of the Alhambra above us.

We both chose the “tasting menu.” I asked the waiter if we chose one item from each category and he replied, “no, you get everything!” This was the dessert! It had 10 separate types of dessert and each tasted wonderful!

What a way to finish our visit to magnificent Granada! I would have loved a longer stay which we all feel on trips like this. All I can say is,…”Granada…I love you!” Tomorrow we travel to Marbella on the Costa del Sol. I think we all could use a little beach time!

Photos: Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission.