Ralph and Karen's Tours

The further we head south, the more ruggedly beautiful the landscape becomes. 

Flat lands become hilly countryside with mountains looming in the distance.

Olive trees as far as the eye can see. Millions and millions of them.

The small town of Jaen is considered the heart of the Olive business in Spain, with over 60 million trees in its immediate surrounds.

How do they harvest them?

60% of the Worlds Extra Virgin Olive oil comes from this district, and over 40 different varieties of olive are grown. Blows your mind.

I can’t over estimate how many olive groves are in the stretch of land south of Seville.

Today our final destination is Granada, also our final stop on this two week road trip. 

But first a detour – to the insanely beautiful village of Ronda which sits preached precariously above a huge gorge called El Tajo, with the township clinging to the steep cliff faces 120m above the valley floor.

The township is bursting with energy, heavy with the influx of day tripper just like us who flock here to view this insane sight of living on the edge.

As expected, hundreds of bars, taverns, restaurants and shops of all description hidden away in tiny cobbled laneways. Makes for a super day out.

Just away from the Centro, is one of Spain’s oldest and longest operating bull rings – the Plaza de Toros de Ronda is often regarded as the birthplace of “Modern Bullfighting”

Built entirely of concrete with natural timber beams holding up the roof of the stands, it is currently undergoing renovations but you can see the grandeur of the place.

Love or loathe the idea of Bull Fighting, it’s hard to ignore the importance of this in the history of Europe with the first known Bull fights taking place as far back as 2000BC in Crete, Greece according to frescos uncovered in the town of Knossos.

It became mainstream in Spain – and here in Ronda – in the 1700s and in dozens of towns across the country side there is an active Bull Fight Ring and events held every single week.

Ronda could easily have deserved at least an overnight stay but our time is limited and so we push through – after a fab quick lunch in the village.

Back on the road now heading south east to the amazing town of Granada.

The scenery is very very similar to Southern California, with the Sierra Nevada mountain range overseeing this gorgeous part of the world.

It is also apparent with the names of the towns – Los Angeles, Laguna, San Francisco, Vegas, San Jose, Camarillo – all echoing the SoCal names.

There’s still quite a bit of snow on the top of the Sierra Nevada ranges, where a popular ski field operates from November to April and is only 40 minutes from Granada.

Again our accommodation apartment was in the pedestrian only area of the Old Town or Centro in an intriguing plaza called Plaza Bim Rambla. We parked again in a public car park 5 minutes walk away and we were stunned at how good the apartment was and its brilliant location.

The building is 370 years old ! And the apartment is just gorgeous.

At night the plaza becomes even more beautiful, ringed with tapas bars and the like.

Granada has an overwhelming gastronomic culture and the choice of places to eat and or drink is likewise overwhelming.

We asked advice from our apartment owner and he very thankfully directed us to a very small, out of the way bar called Tocateja which could be my favourite of the trip so far.

Located In a tiny laneway you could almost walk past the place. Room on the laneway for three tables and inside maybe 6 more – the waiter was amazing and found us a spot inside at the window. Perfect.

This is where it got funky … we didn’t k ow this but apparently it’s a Granadan tradition that for every drink you buy they give you a free taps dish. What? Surely not.

Sure enough – first drink = gyoza (see picture above with the drinks)

Second drink = Spanish potato omelette

Third drink = guacamole and home made tortillas (I was so busy eating I forgot the photo)

Fourth drink = vegetable wraps

Yeah, we stayed for a while 😬. The atmosphere was amazing – electric and buzzing but at the same time warm and hospitable.

Now – I should mention we didn’t know about this free food thing. And had ordered some tapas when we arrived. Rookie error.

Iberian Ham croquettes and another different patatas bravas.

Lucky it’s all single serve portions. But still, we waddled back to the apartment fully sated and thrills at this most wonderful experience.

While The Alhambra is often the primary reason people visit Granada – and this is what drew us here (more on our visit below) – there is so much more to the region to see and do

Our tickets to Alhambra were for the afternoon so we were free to explore some of the most fascinating sites beforehand.

Granada was first settled in the 7th Century BC and over time has been entrusted to various era and rule. Initially Iberian, then Roman, then Islamic and finally Christian. Consequently the cultural mix is enthralling.

The Albaicin neighbourhood is a perfect example. Set up on the steep hillside outside of the main township, it dates back to the 13th Century of the Nasrid era of Islam occupation and survives today as a thriving area of beauty with unsurpassed views of Granada and The Alhambra.

Such a delight to wander aimlessly through the village back streets getting lost. getting to The Albaicin is a very steep walk or a very steep drive in a very tiny bus. Good option.

What a brilliant start to the day.

It was now time to make our way to The Alhambra for our quite strict time stamped entry to the palaces.

The Alhambra was first created in the 9th Century as a military citadel, and in the 13th century was expanded by the Nasrid era into what is now the most magnificent series of palaces on the same site. It became the most symbolic example of Islamic architecture anywhere in Europe.

The space is comprised of a number of sections which can be explored quite easily. The Generalife is primarily the gardens and living spaces

Photos just don’t do it justice.

After browsing this relaxing garden for an hour or so it was time to head to the Nasrid Palace to be blown away.

Enough photos ! The place is surreal and no wonder it is the most touristed site in all of Spain.

We spent about three hours in total exploring the entire Alhambra and could have spent some more time if we really wanted to dig deeper. But our visit was complete.

A long day ended with a short bus trip back down the steep narrow roads to the Granada Old Town for drinks, dinner and a well deserved early night in the awesome apartment after a lovely stroll around the gorgeous plazas in the neighbourhood.

With a gelato ☺️

So that ends the road trip part of our journey. Tomorrow we have a drive of about 4 hours north through what looks like being some stunning scenery back to Madrid for a night before joining our River Cruise to Porto, Portugal.

Two weeks on the road in southern Spain? Realistically we probably should have found an extra week somehow because everywhere we visited we found somewhere else interesting and beautiful to explore. But the two weeks have been superb.

1300kms driven, a train and a bus ride and approximately 22,000 individual tapas dishes, countless beers, vermouth, wine and sangria. And honestly not one bad meal.

Spain – you’ve been great.