Points South

I was getting restless hanging out in Alcala with not much to do.  My attempt to take a canyoning guide course in Switzerland fell through, so I decided to pack my bag and head south.  I jumped on a bus and headed to Granada.  It was kind of a random choice but I knew that I wanted to go to Granada before I left, so I figured it was a good place to start.  I ended up staying three days and had a fantastic time.  I'm definitely going back to spend more time there before I leave.  The city just has a much cooler feel to it than either Barcelona or Madrid.  There's so much history, and it's much smaller and more relaxed.  My hostel was across the street from the Alhambra.  Here's the view from the terrace (where I enjoyed many beers and the company of many fine people):

Of course I coughed up the money to enter the Alhambra.  How could I not?  These pictures in no way do it justice.  The amount of work and detail put into the palace are truly incredible.

Here's one with me in it just to prove that I'm actually here and not just finding random pictures from the internet ;-)

I'm now in Tarifa, which is the southernmost point in Europe.  It's also a mecca for kite surfers.  Everybody tells me that I have to go to Morocco, but unfortunately I don't have the time to do it properly right now as I'm headed to Asturias (on the opposite side of the country) to visit family.  But I'll come back in a couple weeks and make it happen.

Some photos from Madrid...finally.

I have been lax in my updating duties.  I repent.  Here are a few photos I have taken during my recent wanderings around the city.

Barca con mi padre...

After spending a few days around Barcelona by myself, I was excited for my dad to arrive.  We spent the first evening wandering around the neighborhood where our hostel was located.  The sky was gorgeous.

The next day we rented scooters and cruised all over town.  Of course we broke the rules and took the scooters outside of the downtown area.  I'm guessing few people who've rented scooters have put on as many kilometers as we did that day.  A view from the mountains overlooking the airport.

After our scooter endeavor we were ready to get out of the city.  We rented a car and headed for the mountains, but first a stop along the Costa Brava.

And a stop in the town of Girona, which has a beautiful medieval center.

Then we climbed up into the Pyrenees, eventually crossing the border into France, and then climbing up over the pass into the tiny country of Andorra.  The whole climb up over the pass was socked in with fog, so it was quite a suprise to come over the top to this winter wonderland.

We spent the night in the town of Andorra La Vella, which is the capital, and really the only city.  It's situated in a deep canyon, really a beautiful setting.

After spending the morning walking around town it was time to head back to Barcelona.  The Pyrenees have a lot of beautiful limestone that is just begging to be climbed.  Here's a small taste.  The face on the left is probably 1500 feet high.

The other highlight of the drive back was Montserrat.  This serrated ridgeline appears out of nowhere, rising up out of the surrounding plains.  There's an ancient monastery perched on the side of the mountain, which adds to the surreal aspect of the place.

We made it back to the city in time to get dinner and pass out.  The next day we packed up and headed to the airport for a flight to Madrid.  More lugging baggage through public transportation, woohoo.  Finally we arrived at my apartment, got a quick tour of my new neighborhood, and settled in.  I'm looking forward to getting to know the place.