Grazalema to Ronda to Granada...

January 11...a most auspicious day...
We left the lovely town of Arcos and travelled through some mountain roads to stop off at a beautiful little village...another one...called Grazalema.  The rain and fog lifted to order as we arrived...

Eeny meeny miney mo and it was off on a slight detour to Ronda, which was well worth the effort.
Another Plaza de Toros (bull-fighting arena)...one of the oldest in Spain.  Picasso sat on one of these seats...

...Ernest Hemingway extolled the virtues of the town in his writings. The view from the bridge was incredible, and not for the faint-hearted.  More narrow, cobbled streets...more photos...

From Ronda it was on to Granada, where miraculously in this big bustling city we found our way to the Albayzin/Albaicin (oldest part of the town) by following Alhambra signs, asking at a hotel where we were told "it´s very far from here", and more than a dash of the good luck that seems to have surrounded us on this trip...Once in the heart of the Albayzin, a phone call to our (fabulous, highly recommended)hotel; Santa Isabel La Real, was required to pin-point our exact destination, which ended up to be about half a kilometre away. Incredible!

En route to Granada, we couldn´t believe how many olive trees we saw...millions upon millions...all about to be harvested/already harvested/in the process of ... more photos, as I found a new fascination akin to my fixation for grapevines...

That night we dined like kings, queens and princes at the Mirador de Aixa, complete with stunning views of the Alhambra no less.  Great way to whet the appetite for our planned visit the next morning.  We ate the best food (including the tail of the toro!) and drank the best wine (from the region of Paco) ...the perfect end to a magnificent day.