After no sleep for Sheryl on the plane and all that busyness of the English Immersion program for me, our next few days included sleeping, chatting, eating, sunshine, swimming (in the indoor pool since it was a bit TOO chilly for the unheated outdoor pool with wind and overcast skies!!), then rinse and repeat....sleep, chat, eat, enjoy!! Finally once we had chatted ourselves silly and caught up a bit, it was time to explore a new corner of Spain!! Sheryl had the great idea of renting a car, so we meandered our way back to the airport (this time, we found the bus that left not far from the hotel - but only AFTER we went up and OVER the freeway on a walking overpass - yikes!!), then we took the train to the airport.... walked from one end of the airport to the other due to construction.... easy peasy.... Ugh!!
So here's something you might want to know about renting a car in Europe.... if you prepay the rental, you must also prepay the insurance at the same time, or they will charge you a LOT for insurance (over $600 for the insurance for a one-week rental.... in addition to the already prepaid rental days.... yikes!!!). After much discussion and pondering of options, we finally realized that it would be cheaper to NOT use the prepaid car and just start a brand new reservation with another company - less than $300 for the WHOLE thing (rental and insurance)!! Of course you KNOW I'll be contacting the prepaid rental company, but who knows how that will work out.... We'll see?!?! Oh well, I guess that will have to fall in "good information for future reference" category!!
After a few hours of navigating the transportation back to the airport and figuring out the car rental, we were on the road to Granada in a VERY tiny car (not quite as small as a Smart Car, but with about as much power)!! We had purchased tickets online (thank goodness!!) for The Alhambra because even though it's low season, they apparently sell out quickly! Sadly, because of our car rental "debacle" and time wasted, we almost missed our time slot and might not have been allowed into the Palace, except we asked a nice lady for directions on how to find the entrance, and she took pity on us!! If it hadn't been for this nice lady who followed us and told the other lady who was guarding the lines that she should let us in, we would have been denied entrance.... Whew!!! Thank goodness for kindness of strangers!!
Once we were in there, it was a lovely place to wander around and imagine what it must have been like during the Moorish times. (I put a bit of historical information at the end of this post for those who are interested in those details that I always think are so fascinating.... but might not always be interesting to others!!) There was a LOT of hiking up and down hills to and from the Palace (reminiscent of the climbing I did in Italy a couple years ago when exploring the Cinque Terre!!), so after a stop for Tapas in Granada, we both felt like we were DONE with sightseeing for awhile once we finally made it back to our hotel!!
Eventually, we followed the directions and realized it was funneling us into lines to go across the border between Spain and the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. We even had to wait for a plane to land because the runway crosses the lines of traffic heading across the border!! It's a tiny place with a tiny airport, but it's a very cool experience to go into the tip of Spain and suddenly be in Britain (sort of)!! The people speak both English and Spanish (or a mixture of Spanglish called Llanito!!), and they use the British pound instead of the Euro. We even had to get cash out of the ATM to pay for the parking, so we now have some British pounds that we can't really use in Spain (although I'm sure we'll figure out something)!!
For those (like me) who may need a quick briefing on the history of this interesting piece of land, here's the sum of what I've learned (basically the "gist" since I don't want to bore you with ALL the details!!)
First settled by the Moors in the Middle Ages and later ruled by Spain, the outpost of Gibraltar was ceded to the British in 1713. In later years, the land's strategic value increased with the opening of the Suez Canal, as it lay on the sea route between the UK and the British Empire east of Suez. Along with increased sea trade and travel through the Straight of Gibraltar, there was a significant increase in population to the outpost as people from Britain and all around the Mediterranean (Italian, Portuguese, Maltese, Jewish and French) took up residence in the town.
Layers of fortifications to protect this area include the remains of a 14th-century Moorish Castle and the 18th century Great Siege Tunnels - expanded in the Second World War when Gibraltar became a key base for the Royal Navy (playing an important role in the war because of its strategic location). During WWII, most of Gibraltar's civilian population was evacuated to London, parts of Morocco and Madeira, and to Gibraltar Camp in Jamaica.
In the 1950s, Franco renewed Spain's claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar and restricted movement between Gibraltar and Spain. Gibraltarians voted overwhelmingly to remain under British sovereignty in the Gibraltar sovereignty referendum, 1967, which led to the passing of the Gibraltar Constitution Order in 1969. In response, Spain completely closed the border with Gibraltar and severed all communication links. The border with Spain was partially reopened in 1982 and fully reopened in 1985 before Spain's accession to the European Community.... (fascinating, right?!?!... who knew?!?!).
Sheryl and I both loved wandering the streets of Gibraltar! It's like another tourist said to us, "It's like stepping back to the 1950s in many ways with banks, most stores and many restaurants closed on Sundays." It had this lovely mediterranean feel with this gorgeous, huge rock in the background of every picture.... yet every shop had some sort of British influence. It had a very unique, surreal feel we couldn't quite put into words!!
After an incredible lunch in the sunshine in Gibraltar and a brief history lesson, we finally headed back to our hotel and got checked into our LOVELY oceanfront room! Between the Alhambra, Tapas in Granada, and seeing the Rock of Gibraltar, it has been an interesting couple of days.... seeing sights we've heard about for years, but hadn't imagined what they would look like up close and personal!! With all this sunshine and the gorgeous views, we might just hang out here a bit - but once we get sated with all this relaxing and chatting, we'll probably do a bit more sightseeing! We're DEFINITELY heading to Morocco sometime this week (my birthday present from Sheryl - yaaaay!!), and possibly Seville or Cordoba since either of those are about 2 hours away by car!!
I'm sure there will be more to chat about soon, but for now, I'll leave you with a few lovely pictures of our adventures and the gorgeous view from our room! I'm definitely more of a budget traveler, so this beachfront accommodation is a luxury compared to my normal traveling style - but I'm not complaining - just soaking up every little bit of loveliness with the sun shimmering on the water as the waves rush against the shore! More later, my friends!! xoxoxo
P. S. For those who want to know a bit more about The Alhambra, here's a quick, condensed version of info from Wikipedia....
The Alhambra (or "The Red One") is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It was originally constructed as a small fortress in AD 889 on the remains of Roman fortifications, and then largely ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the Nasrid emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada, who built its current palace and walls.
The Alhambra was extended by the different Muslim rulers who lived in the complex. However, each new section that was added followed the consistent theme of "paradise on earth." Column arcades, fountains with running water, and reflecting pools were used to add to the aesthetic and functional complexity. The Alhambra was the last flowering of Islamic palaces that was built for the last Muslim emirs in Spain during the decline of the Nasrid dynasty, who were increasingly subject to the Christian Kings of Castile.
After the conclusion of the Christian "Reconquering" in 1492, the site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella (where Christopher Columbus received royal endorsement for his expedition), and the palaces were partially altered in the Renaissance style. After being allowed to fall into disrepair for centuries (with the buildings occupied by squatters for many years), The Alhambra was rediscovered following the defeat of Napoleon. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions, exhibiting the country's most significant and well-known Islamic architecture (along with 16th-century and later Christian buildings and gardens).
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