Spain!!

We really loved Spain, it is our favorite place in the entire world. The culture is amazing, the food is incredible, the scenery is beautiful, the people are super-friendly. When we went two years ago, we went to Sevilla, the previous capital of Spain and is located in the part of Spain called, Andalusia. Andalusia, is the southern part of Spain and really has its own dialect and culture. Granada, where we went this time, is another town in Andalusia nearer to the coast. And again, we had an amazing time, here's the last of our pics:

Granada

About a 1000 years ago, Spain was occupied by the Muslims. That is when they built the Alhambra, the most well preserved castle/fortress in Spain. In 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella gave Columbus the go ahead to explore for the New World, in the Alhambra. In the 1900s, Washington Irving was staying at the Alhambra. At the time, it was abandoned and inhabited by homeless people (gypsies) and donkeys. But the book that he wrote about The Alhambra became world renowned and convinced the Spanish government to reclaim this ancient structure and make it into a national monument.
The Alhambra
The Alhambra looking out over Granada

You can see the snow covered tops of the Sierra Nevada mountains
The Alhambra Summer Palace
One of the typical Andalusian foods, almost every restaurant/cafe has these legs of ham that have been cured years ago. They take a leg, slice the meat very thin and serve it with different chesses and bread. It is our absolute favorite tapa (appetizer), though it was a little unsettling to see pig legs hanging out everywhere.
Me & my favorite Spanish food, churros. They are like funnel cakes made out of potatoes and dipped in hot chocolate. So incredibly good!!
While we were there, they were having a week long celebration of Korpus Kristi (body of Christ). And how they celebrate is festivals, carnivals, fireworks, parades all day and all night. This carnival started at midnite and lasted until 6 am and everyone was there dressed in flamenco dresses, riding rides, eating, dancing and partying. It was a total blast!
Flamenco
Us walking down one of the streets in Granada, at about 3:30 in the morning! Look how crowded it is!! :)
Us looking out over the Alhambra at sunset
Our hotel receptionist told us about Salobrena, a beach town that is known as a "White Town". Southern Spain is known for it's towns with all white buildings with terra cotta roofs. It was a beautiful town set on a hill, looking out over the Sea.
On top of the castle in Salobrena.
Brian posing out of a window in the castle
The best meal we had in Europe: Tapas (the ham & cheese) and fried fresh fish, and Sangria (my absolute favorite!)
The beach, it was gravel and rock, ouch! The water was super cold, so we baked on the rocks but couldn't cool off in the water...And our hotel lady neglected to tell us that it was a "clothes optional" beach! We just walked head down till we reached an empty part of the "beach". Oh well! It's Europe!
Us on the beach in Salobrena
A parade when we got back from Salobrena at midnite. The guys at the parade were dressed in traditional Spanish attire, vaqueros and flamencos on horseback.

All in all, we really did have an amazing time. We've been glad to be back this week, and have enjoyed seeing friends and family and sleeping in our bed with our puppies. But we are so grateful to God for blessing us with the opportunity to visit Albania and the beautiful people there as well as play for two weeks, just the two of us!