Tuesday, February 14, 2017

GRANADA, GAR ANAT & ALHAMBRA - OTRO CUBO LISTER (ANOTHER BUCKET LISTER) FOR SURE

Even Car Rentals Are Muy Barato (Very Cheap) In The Land Of Quixote

Because of our plans to venture away from metropolitan areas, we rented a sweet little Fiat 500 L for five days for a measly $34.00 per day, from Hertz no less, and headed for Granada. Spain, on the road, is a beautiful country. And the small enclave of Granada is the perfect place to walk and enjoy the sites and sounds of a beautiful town with a world class UNESCO  World Heritage Site - Alhambra. Our small, boutique 4-star hotel, Gar Anat Hotel Boutique, has only fifteen rooms and is located in the center of the small town, so you can walk everywhere to restaurants and other cool places to, see.
 
Due to our plans for the remainder of our trip, we broke our Nomad Rule (minimum three nights) and stayed only one night at this small, intimate hotel. The low price of $170.00 included a beautifully appointed room, complimentary wine, snacks and breakfast. Which, as you can see in the photograph, is served in a stone vaulted room that combines ancient and modern to perfection. All good! This small higher end hotel, at the price it charges, further supports this Vagabond's advice to go to Spain to see some of the best designed places in Europe for a song, compared to the rest of Europe.

The Alhambra Is A Reminder of Past Magnificence in Architecture

This unbelievable palace and center of the Moorish World for two centuries is a must see for any Nomad. Its history of design and construction is beyond the scope of this blog. Suffice to say, it is long and complicated. For more information on the history of this sprawling group of buildings just click here and here. To get you a little more interested in this magnificent work of architecture, enjoy a short presentation by the Traveler In Chief Rick Steves:
 


Due to its size and complexity, I highly recommend that you book a tour with one of the local tour companies. We used VIATOR, which is affiliated with Trip Advisor. Our guide/docent was full of great information about the details of this magnificent structure. Another recommendation is to plan your visit to be an all day trek.

Next Up: We head to the country to one of the coolest places I-Escape presents for Nomads to lay their heads while enjoying the countryside, great food and simple relaxation.

Me Encanta Este Pais (I Love This Country)

d.l.stafford
thenomadARCHITECT

P.S. - And for your continued enjoyment of randomly found great music, please enjoy an ACL performance by one of the most unique folk/rock bands performing today as The Avett Brothers render a fresh take on a very old gospel song:
 

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