We picked up our car at the Cordoba train station a couple days ago. Took us about 1 hour just to figure out how the key, the brakes, the shifts, etc worked. Mary Kay was the first driver as Nancy the Navigator tried to figure out way out of Cordoba. We stopped in a small town, Alcala (?) for lunch then onto Granada. The most unbelievable confusing city to drive in EVER. We drove round and round in circles, looking for names of streets and trying to manuever through tiny cobblestone streets for over 2 hours when we just "gave up" and realized we simply couldn't find out "hotel".

We paid a taxi driver and followed him through the windy streets of the Albycin and then into the area we were staying called Sacromonte. This area is all cobblestone streets, high in the hills above Granada and overlooking the Alhambra (see photos). The streets are so narrow that you have to pull your car side windows in and they barely touch the walls.

At one point the taxi driver left his taxi behind and jumped in our car to tell us where to go. MK had to navigate up a very steep incline to go to the "parking lot" (which on the map shows it's next door - ha ha). It was a little old Gypsy man's house and we paid him to watch it for us. Keep in mind that this area is where all the Gypsies of Granada live, so it is very different and has an unusual feeling and flare to it. Fortunately (ala celestine prophecy) we ran into a woman named Cookie who had a smaller car and she spoke English, we loaded up our luggage in her car and she drove it (with Rosemary) further up the hills to the Cuevas Albanico (name of the place we stayed). Meanwhile, Mary Kay and I hiked for about 3/4 of a mile up the steep incline to get to the place.

After checking in, we stayed in one of their 5 "caves". The smell was musty, accommodations rustic and not suggested for the average traveler.

Consuelo, the manager, helped us try and clear up our Alhambra reservations which took over an hour.

Then we walked down the steep hill to have dinner and watch a Flamenco show put on by the Gypsies, FANTASTIC!!! The pictures don't do the show justice, but it was a combination of spanish flamenco, morroccan singing, and wild dancing. The singer looked like Cher. We all enjoyed the food (Lamb and Steak). Very nice evening.

The next morning we got up early to head to the Alhambra for our 10am reservations. The taxi never showed up, so we had to find another one and he took us to car park 1 where after much more confusion we met our guide. The tour of the Alhambra was about 3 hours of straight walking, no rest and it was amazing.

The Alhambra is considered to be one the wonders of the world. Started in 500 AD by the moors, it is primarily muslim with mosques and palaces throughout. In 1500 the Christians took over, they did not destroy the muslim buildings recognizing how magnificent the structures and instead added a church or two. The Alhambra is a walled city or fortress that once had thousands of people living within the walls.

It's been HOT - in the mid to upper 90's, so walking around is tiring. After the Alhambra, we wondered around the Albycin and different areas of Granada. On the whole (and other than the Alhambra), so far we liked Granada the least. It seems to be the poorest and other than the old quarter, the city itself is not that pretty. However, the surrounding area is beautiful. Reminds me of Denver as you can see snow capped mountains off in the distance.

In the evening we had paella (again) in a main square and met some fun British people at the tables next to us. Took a taxi back to our "Cave" late in the evening.

Mary Kay had nightmares (being in the cave) and yelled much of the night, however, I will my face mask and ear plugs (see picture they snapped), slept happily and oblivious to all.

The following day we packed up and thought we lost our car keys, that took about 1 hour and we found them. Had to re-navigate back to the car park, load up the luggage and manuever our way out of Granada (MK driving) once again. This time we listened to the GPS and low and behold it worked. The 1st time we had it on simulation, so it was always miles ahead of us and that's where much of our confusion came in.

Mary Kay drove us successfully out of Granada and we decided to take the Route of the White Hill Towns on our way to Seville. Our first stop was Ronda, absolutely GORGEOUS and enchanting as it sits high on a cliff overlooking a gorge. It also has the oldest bull ring in Spain. We had a nice lunch here and after a few hours drove to another white hill town, call Arcos de las Fronteras. Windy cobblestone roads leading up to a cathedral. We only stopped for a short while before finally arriving in Seville and our Hotel Cervantes (they claim it's a 4 star, it is NOT and it's in a somewhat seedy part of town, however we needed a place that had a secure parking structure). We got into Seville around 8pm, still bright out. Had dinner near the hotel and came back "early" (midnight).

Today is Seville. MORE LATER.