Granada Spain: A Must Visit!!!

Words don't quite explain The Alhambra palace or the sights, tastes, smells or sounds of Granada as a whole. 

We began our visit with a lengthy guided tour of the Alhambra palace and gardens, which were historically Muslim and was the home of Sultans. The architecture, art, and overall design was far different than anything else I have seen. With almost all of what I have seen so far in Europe being Christian driven, the Muslim flair was quite a surprise. The palace was absolutely stunning! Supposedly, this was the starting point of Christopher Columbus following him being supported by the Spanish monarchy (Alhombra was taken over by the Christians). 

We also toured some Catholic cathedrals that were awesome, ate some great food (I chowed down on some delicious oxtail stew), and saw a great street performance.... See YouTube link!

http://youtu.be/-v-17BC7Nx4

What a cool place.. I Love Granada!

Gibralter, Monkeys, and Vistas

Made it to Gibralter today. I'm not 100% sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't quite what we experienced. Gibralter was rather disappointing in many ways. It was very run down and dirty. We did get to see some AMAZING views and Lisa was very nearly accosted by a monkey though. Barbary monkeys have lived naturally on this rock for a very very long time and are overly unafraid of humans!

 

Spanish Countryside (The White Villages)

Wow, wow, wow.... Got to love the Spanish White Villages! Had a great day hanging out with the lady quatro of Lisa, Corie, Grammie, and Michelle (Stringer). We visited the famous city of Ronda, famous for their bull fights and a jail housed in a bridge over the gorge.

We also took a very scenic drive to Zahara that houses a Moorish castle, quaint shops, and streets that climbed nearly straight up. Best part was the views of the lake at the base of the village. Stunning views a plenty!

Corie and Jason: Horse Trip in the Andelucians!

What an incredibly awesome day with my sweet Corie. Spent 4 hours riding horses in some of the most ruggedly beautiful terrain around. 

We began our ride climbing a mountain road that was built by the Romans over 2000 years ago. Can you believe that? We also rode through olive groves, citrus farms, almond groves, past an old marble mine, and more. One of the coolest (besides the 2000 yr old Roman road) were these large pits/wells where Spaniards would mine for limestone to be ground into a paint for the villages. It is what gave them the white that they are now famous for! Our day ended with a plethora of food scrounged for in the local market!

A M A Z I N G.... Now time to go ice my butt:)

Lisa Has Found Her Element

Made it to the lovely resort town of Malaga Spain today. Arrived well in advance of the Stringer clan and decided to hit the beach. We were dumbfounded with the amazingly beautiful sea glass, and the tiniest of sea shells. Seriously, as small as the lead at the end of a pencil. 

Lisa sat on the beach for hours and found some amazing treasures! The last picture shows the nice sunset... That's Africa and the Rock of Gibralter out in the distance:)!

Ryanair.... And the uniqueness of European travel

There are some amazing aspects of living in Europe that every person on earth must experience at one point in their life. One such event is flying the ultra low cost airlines Ryanair, where 50$ round trip tickets are almost guaranteed. For this week's trip to Malaga Spain I nustled myself between a quite large Russian gentleman and a horde of farm animals destined for slaughter (not really...). It would prove to be a quick 2.5 hour flight right? It was quick, but my chest rubbing against my knees made it all the better.

Who am I to complain, my lovely bride snagged me a copy of Bill Bryson's book, "Neither Here Nor There," highlighting the oddness of European travel. Love Bryson's humorous prose, and had picked this book up many times in consideration for a nice read. Never quite clicked with me before, but now that I live here I can't put it down (except to write here that I can't put it down). I particularly loved the reported antics of Paris. Still can't believe I drove a 9 passenger bus, and willfully peddled bikes with Lisa in this crazy place. So, for my travel loving family and friends that need a laugh till you cry read... Pick this one up. Don't do as I did so many times before and pass this book up!

Christmas 2013 at the Post Office

The James Gang quintet of Lisa, Grammie, Austin, Corie, and I spent an hour or so at the Ramstein Air Base post office this evening for some volunteer time putting away mail. With the rush that comes with the Christmas season our service members would be stuck at work instead of going home with their families. The airman that we spoke with said that they had so many volunteers this year that they are for the first time fully caught up. We all enjoyed our time, but were wishing we could have done more!