Living in the Moment

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Well Folks, I´m fininshing up my time here in Granada. So far, out of all of Andalucia, Granada has been my favorite. Today, I spent the entire time up at the Alhambra, which consists of the Alcazaba and the Palace of the Nazaries. These are probably the most important monuments in the entire region. the Palace is worth the hike up the mountain alone. So beautiful is the court of lions. It is about 10 degrees cooler there too because of all the water around the place.
Next day....I have found that the best way to see cities and how they actually works is by foot. Wandering around this great city is the best way of finding those small wonders that is not listed in any tour book. There are many street vendors who come and peddle their goods at the various cafes. I was sitting one afternoon, enjoying coffee, and a line of peddlers came through. I noticed that they all took the same road onto their next destination. I paid for my coffee and headed that way. I ended up at the plaza de campo. A small intimate plaza that consisted of restaurants that surrounded the square with a playground. But what was spectactular about the plaza is the veiw. High on the side of the mountain, next to the Alhambra was the Palace Alhambra Hotel. This hotel is stunning to look at even from the distance of the plaza. I walked by it while exploring the Alhambra the other day, but from this vantage. Wow!
Well, I´m just getting over my first travel cold. Never get ill on a weekend here in Spain-everything closes on Saturday afternoon and don´t open until Monday morning, including the farmacias. I figured I would just tough it out and suffer, then I spotted a 24-7 near the tourist zone....Thank goodness for Bayer complex relief.
I´m off to Valencia next...I have a 7 hour bus ride to take. Yippee! I´m hoping by taking it at night, it would be better...I try to be the optimist. Su Amiga, Christine

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