Three weeks in...

Too many pictures to sort through and lots of walking - I'm waaaaay behind on this.  Therefore - it's catch up time!

In Valencia, we picked up our rental car and made our way out to the highway and off to Granada.  This was a out a 4 hour drive.  We arrived at our apartment in the old town at about 3:30, and only got lost once.  But Rachel, our ever wonderful host, talked us right into the correct spot, checked us in, and gave us maps and directions to the places we wanted to go.  Mind you, the temperatures were about 110, so we waited until 5 pm to head out.  Had dinner at one of the restaurants that Rachel recommended, picked up a little something for breakfast, then headed back.  The apartment was outstanding, BTW.  And we got caught up on our laundry here - nice washer.

We had to get up somewhat early the next morning to meet the guides for our visit to the Alhambra.  By early, I mean 8 am - but I'm on vacation so that is just a bit too early for my liking.  Anywho, we went back to Plaza Nuevo and met our guide, then took the long tour of the Alhambra.  It is a beautiful place with stunning garden walks, but after all I had read and heard about it I found myself somewhat underwhelmed.  There was beauty but I expected much more.  Not saying I wouldn't go back - and our guide gave us all the history of the place from 700 A.D. to now (including some language shifts that occurred), so it was truly fascinating.  And I still expected more.

Afterwards, we headed down to Plaza Nuevo for lunch, went to H&M to get me something to wear to the Arab baths, then took our siesta.  At 5:30 we headed to the baths for relaxation and a massage.  It was relaxing, but nothing like we'd had in Turkey.  Two hours later, we stopped for dinner - then back to our apartment to get ready to head down to Algeciras the next morning.  I just had to stay up and stream the USA vs Japan Women'd World Cup final game and watch our women win!  Carli Lloyd was freaking amazing!  A hat trick within 16 minutes!  Loved it.  Of course, the game ended at 3:15 a.m. here, so I slept in a bit the next morning.

Somewhere around 10 we left for Algeciras, Spain - time to visit Gibraltar and Tangiers.  We got checked into our hotel about 3 again.  Just to settle, we found the bar and had some tapas and drinks, then planned our trip to Gibraltar.  For those who don't realize this - Gibraltar is a British possession, much to the chagrin of the Spanish.  We drove to the boarder crossing, then walked across the boarder.  From there, we took one of the local busses to the Gondola, and after an hour wait, took the gondola to the top of the rock.  Got some great pictures of the area and of the monkeys (barbary apes).  So much fun to watch them.

I'm going to end right here for now so that I can post a few pictures.  I'll pick up again in a bit to talk Tangiers, Sevilla, and Cordoba!