KYQ4: Granada

Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada

The journey from Cordoba to Granada was via two towns: Baena at the centre of the olive growing region and Alcala la Real. The weather was improving but it still lacked the sharpness of light that we had enjoyed in Seville. The rolling countryside was decorated with olive groves and the distant landscapes gave way to the hazy blue profile of the Sierra Nevada which was capped with snow. Sitting in a plaza in Alcala we had the best of Spain: fresh orange juice and a tapas of mushroom and olives before a final half-hour drive into Granada.

Granada is a city protected by a huge ring road which eventually flung us with centripetal force into the traffic-crammed centre. After some time negotiating the one-way traffic schemes, we found an underground car park to store the car for three days. We walked the final kilometre, dragging our suitcases, airport style, to our hotel which was conveniently hidden beneath the looming Alhambra Palace and adjacent to Plaza Nueva.

At an altitude of 750 metres, Grenada was cooler than the plain but the plazas were busy and provided numerous tourist-focused shops, bars and restaurants. Unlike Seville, which is a real working city, Granada seemed to be dominated by tourism generated by the presence of the Alhambra. It attracts 3 million visitors a year and tickets have to be booked in advance. We decided to take the 9am slot on our second day so we could spend day one getting to know the city. We walked through the Albayzin which is across the river Darro from the Alhambra, a place of shady plazas and a lot less frenetic than the commercial centre. Afterwards, we returned to the centre and visited the Gothic Cathedral which seemed austere and dull after the splendours of the Mezquita in Cordoba. We were staying at the excellent hotel casa 1800, which had recently opened and provided afternoon teas, newspapers and a glorious patio to relax in after the exertions of walking all day.

Despite being there on the same day as the PM David Cameron, we saw nothing of him or his retinue of bodyguards. He had travelled by Ryanair as an empty gesture to populism. Taking a party of ten or so officials on Ryanair must have cost a fortune what with Sam's baggage and all the charges for the use of credit cards. I wonder if he hummed dam busters on takeoff?

The visit to the Alhambra was a real highlight with superb Muslim architecture and detailing in the palaces. The moulded stucco walls, water features, and carved lions (which were on show but being restored) made for an irresistible visit. The bonus was a superb exhibition of Escher's drawings in the Palacio of Carlos V. He had visited the Alhambra at the start of his career in 1922 and many of his drawings were influenced by the Muslim architecture and geometric decor. Equally impressive was the Generalife - the architect's garden - adjacent to the Alhambra and the site of the summer palace with judicious planting and more water features as well as an open-air concert area.

In the evening we ate at a quality restaurant in Albaysin and our table gave a balcony view overlooking the floodlit Alhambra opposite. The food as everywhere in Andalusia was first class and the entire visit to Seville, Cordoba and Granada in March had been a great success. Unlike the PM, we did not have the threat of a Ryanair flight home to disturb our penultimate day.

We travelled back the next day via the Alpujarra in the Sierra Nevada National Park with its attractive villages nestling on the side of the mountainous terrain. In the afternoon we visited Nerja, a large but well-maintained and attractive beach resort. Quite a few Brits were sunbathing and it was certainly warmer than Blackpool in July. We stayed for our last night in an excellent independent hotel high above Malaga so we could catch an early morning flight.

After a swim in the outdoor pool and another fine meal completed the spring break, I had a long conversation with a Canadian website designer who was working on the hotel's website. She explained the damage that Trip Advisor and other hotel booking websites were having on the independent hotels. Most disturbing was that they were skimming up to 50% of the payment for late bookings. Her advice if you wanted to support local facilities instead of chain hotels, was to search by specific location rather than country or region. She alleged that the chain hotels that operated in Malaga indulged in damaging reviews of their local competitors as well as submitting excellent reviews of their own facilities to improve their ratings on Trip Advisor. The next morning we were off early but the road network to the airport was badly signposted, I was doing laps of the town to find the right exit and we only just arrived in time to make the flight home.