The Colours of Arabia - In Spain!

Now normally I would not consider myself the kind of person who is drawn to Tourist trap shops, desperate to buy myself an I love Amsterdam T-shirt. I can even resist the tasteless magnets and bucket loads of thimbles. I may be persuaded to buy the odd postcard, but that's about as far as it goes.

Granada however, and in particular the Arabian district where we were staying was a different matter. The narrow streets were lined with small stall like shops all blindingly colourful displaying an array of delightfully garish wares. Whilst I may have resisted the aforementioned items, the temptation of rows of little shops selling a wide variety of fabrics, lamps, pottery and leather goods was a different matter, and in the end only my need to keep everything in hand luggage saved me! 

In the end I restricted myself to a scarf for my mother, some trousers for myself, and many a photograph.

The many shades of Granada

As always when I have a camera in my hand, I become unable to resist the lure of the monochrome.

With all of its ornate plaster work and architecture, the City of Granada, and in particular the Alhambra are just begging to be looked at in this way.

Tales of the Alhambra

So on a very cold and snowy February mornings 3 friends and I got up long before dawn to travel to Granada, the home of the Alhambra for a long weekend.
Despite a few hairy moments driving through the narrow steep cobbled streets of Granada's Arabian district we made it to our accommodation before heading out to explore the City.
Whilst not a City that necessarily requires a long visit, it should definitely not be missed.