#3- The Southern Coast, Granada, and La Mancha

After Sevilla, we made our way down south to the coast. To clear one thing up, 300 Euros equals about $400 US, needless to say, no Flamenco dress for Shauna!! Also, I just realized I've been spelling hostel wrong. It's NOT hostile- I've been watching too much Lost! Anyways, Doug took me to the best beach ever in Nerja. It reminded me of Laguna with all the cliffs and rocks. It was so weird because there were no waves, it was more like a lake. Also, the water was really salty but we had to go in. We were pretty much the only ones in the water, but loved it none the less!

Eating at an Italian restaurant. We were so starved we had a pizza, lasagna, and of course Doug had to have Spanish Tortilla.

We were very happy now that we had eaten!

This could be Laguna!

Swimming in the Mediterranean Sea!!


A group of men going out to fish in a very old boat.

Doug's parallel parking job- not much room for our little car.

Driving up to Granada was amazing. The views were incredible and I couldn't believe all the open land along the coast. I wouldn't mind an acre or 2!

Now this was HILARIOUS!!! We finally got to Granada around 11PM. We were sandy, salty, hungry, and still in our bathing suits. Doug knew where our hostel was, but we couldn't get to it because the road it was on had a security gate. We finally parked our car and walked to it so we could get the code. Well, going back to our car we got soooo LOST! The roads in Granada are crazy and tiny. We probably hunted for our car for a good hour and just laughed when we finally found it. Notice how narrow the street is that Doug is on.

The road that our hostel was on (morning). Notice the pylons on the side of the street. When we finally found the hostel Doug parked up on the curb and hit a pylon and the top went rolling down the street. Everyone was staring at us and I practically peed my pants from laughing so hard. It had been a very LONG day!

Granada is famous for The Alhambra. It was a Moorish Palace that was eventually taken over by the Spanish in 1492. It was unbelievable. I rented a head set which helped me to understand and appreciate this palace. Otherwise, I would have been bored- I know sad, but it's true.



The gardens were beautiful and smelt amazing. It was so calming because you could hear water running throughout the entire garden and it was enormous!





The architecture was incredible. The detail was unlike anything I had ever seen.



We left Granada and made our way North towards Toledo. We stopped at La Mancha where we saw the famous windmills from Don Quixote. I had to read that book in Spanish and it all made sense now! I could have used this trip during my Spanish days.


Next stop Toledo. . .