Beach towns are the best! And Cadiz can be characterized as the vacation of our vacation. We got rid of our maps, took the first bus out and simply walked around Cadiz like we didn't care! We savoured a cup of coffee by the sea, the most delicious fried seafood from a hole in the wall, and watched the Atlantic waves kiss the dry, empty beach.
Our time spent is Seville went by so slowly! Maybe it's just the slowed down lifestyle of the Spanish people that influenced our sentiment, but man, it felt like we were in Seville for a long time! It was only 2.5 days, which was more than enough to see the incredible monuments and experience the laid back atmosphere and kind faces of the Sevillian life.
Granada will always have a special place in our hearts. The winding cobblestone streets, painful to walk on for hours on in, but just too quaint and reminiscent to ignore! Our airbnb apartment was in the heart of the Al-baycin, the old Arabic quarters, where our eyes were charmed with greenery, bougainvillia, churches and smiling faces.
Granada is a city of hills. Seven hills to be exact. The city perches above and sprawls between them. Like the rest of Andalusia, the weather is nothing short of incredible. Mild, beautiful and with the Sierra Nevada close by, cooling winds pervade throughout much of the valley. Granada was by far the highlight of our trip. For several reasons but the most important of which (as all Andalusian travellers will know) was the Alhambra – a 14th century palace of the Nasrid Emirate of Granada of Moorish rule. Our views on the Alhambra are not unique – it’s an incredibly awesome place that everyone should visit. In terms of Islamic architecture, we rank it close to our experiences in Iran, Turkey and elsewhere in Muslim world.
So, this trip happened as a result of Batoul's ability to skillfully scower the internet to find the best travel deals possible. We've never travelled to Europe before. Yes, we know, we've been missing out for the longest time. Our usual shenanigans take us out to Asia and the Middle East, but this time around, we were looking for a more politically stable vacation where we wouldn't have to keep watch for curfews and AK-47s. More on one of those trips here.
