Category Travel
Valencia, Day 2 – Michelin stars with a view
To condole ourselves for having missed out on a Michelin-starred dinner the night before, we made lunch reservations at Vertical. Not only did it have a Michelin star and rave reviews, it was also conveniently located at the top of a swank tower very near the City of Arts and Sciences. By the time we had finished admiring the […]
Valencia, Day 2 – Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias
Just as the Alhambra motivated our visit to Granada, the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias motivated our trip to Valencia. Built in the late 1990s in the former bed of the Turia river (which ran through downtown Valencia until the 1960s, when it was diverted after major flooding). The uber-modern architecture is exciting […]
Valencia, Day 1 – Not quite Michelin
The drive from Granada to Valencia was long, SO LONG!! We left shortly after 2pm and arrived around 8:30pm — by then I was more than ready to be done driving. Not that it wasn’t a fun road trip, as road trips go: We traveled through picturesque countryside, with mountains, valleys and little plaines. Castles […]
Granada – More than just the Alhambra?
We came to Granada to see the Alhambra, and that’s what we did: We got in first thing in the morning, visited until early afternoon, and then left after a quick lunch. Our itinerary didn’t permit a longer stay (not unless we wanted to sacrifice beach time in Barcelona), but we regretted leaving the city […]
Granada – The Generalife
One thing I had read about the Generalife (a summer palace adjacent to the Alhambra) is that the gardens there are the closest thing on this earth to the Koran’s description of heaven. After seeing those gardens, I must say that they make a very good case for converting to Islam. Everything about them is exquisite — the fountains, […]
Granada – Palace of Charles V
As I mentioned in the Alhambra post, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V built a Renaissance palace on the grounds of the Alhambra. The most remarkable feature is the giant circular courtyard (some people think it was meant to have a dome). The Renaissance style is very different from the medieval Islamic architecture of the Alhambra […]
Granada – The Alhambra
The Alhambra is a fortress-palace complex that dates from the 9th century, with the principal buildings and gardens having been built in the 13th and 14th centuries by the Nasrid emirs. After the Christians conquered the region, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella who funded Columbus) added a large Renaissance palace to the site as well. Amanda and […]
Over land and sea — back to Spain!
Right now I’m sitting in a hotel room in Valencia, Spain — which is a long way from Fez, Morocco, where I last posted. In the past two days we covered an enormous amount of terrain — going from Fez to Granada yesterday, and then from Granada to Valencia today. The trip covered (parts of) two continents, required […]
Fez, Day 3: What we ate
Breakfast in the riad was the same as before, though with slightly better bread. I explored the honey and the lemon marmalade. I’m going to miss breakfasting in courtards like this I wonder if I could keep a turtle on my balcony… For lunch we returned to the Cafe Clock. It’s conveniently located at one […]
Fez, Day 3: Shipping and shopping
What to say about our last full day in Fez? I’m not really sure. It was productive and exhausting, more like work than play. One of those days that come a little after the midpoint of these two-week vacations, when you just need a break to take care of business and recharge your batteries. The primary business of […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 