Episode VI, The girls from Oxford join us in Granada..

Friday 17^th to Monday 20^th June

Super excited to have the girls with us, we enjoyed a lazy breakfast in the sunshine and grabbed the bus to town. Thankfully Terhi has been to Granada many times, so the whole experience was made much more pleasant by having some local knowledge on board! We spent the morning visiting the enormous cathedral and mooching through the beautiful streets of Granada, which has a markedly more Arabic feel. Famous for the Alahambra (a Moorish / Spanish palace and fort), we trekked up some windy streets to the Mirador which had a fantastic viewing point over the castle and Granada itself. Distracted by a boisterous four-piece band blasting out flamenco songs, we enjoyed lunch overlooking the Alahambra, listening to musical tales of woe. All set off nicely by the Spanish stag behind us, wearing a flamenco dress and being forced to dance! We booked our various tickets for the next few days, strolled back through some markets (oops, I bought more happy pants) and headed back to the campsite for dinner.

Militantly the next day, we were up and into the city to try and jump the queues at the Alahmabra. It is almost impossible to describe the grandeur and detail – similar to Alcazar (see Sevilla) but about ten times the size. Do check out the many photos. Granada was the last standing Moorish fort before being re-conquered and amalgamated back into Spain and therefore we encountered a unique blend of mosaics and intricate carvings under light renaissance arches. It was a long but pleasant cultural trek through the estate and gardens, and despite losing Sarah once, we all managed to leave together and head home. After a quick swim, we rushed back up the hill for a quick Moroccan meal before our Flamenco evening, which was quite frankly stunning. Delighted to watch the sun set over the Alahambra, to the strumming of a sole guitar, we sat for a couple of hours admiring traditional flamenco dancing and music. The evening continued down the hill amongst hundreds of Granadian football fans, car hooting, flag waving and cheering as they celebrated promotion into the Premier League for the first time in 35 years.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and girlie-catching up by the pool, I’d forgotten just how rare silence was in Bowness Avenue! A leisurely dinner and campfire-guitar session seemed the best way to send off the girls, who left at 6am the next morning. Thank you so much to them for a fabulous 4 days – for the laughter, the tour-guiding and the singing!