Iced gazpacho and manchego cheese in Pampaneira in Las Alpujarras (Sierra Nevada foothills)Saving the best for last in my vacation recap: Of my travels through Spain, Granada spoke to me the most. It's white-washed houses in the hills and arid landscape surrounding the majestic Alhambra recall fond memories of Greece. Farther south than even most of Andalusia, it evokes the Moors and an eastern way of life far more than any place I've seen: tea-houses and hookah bars, winding cobblestone paths... the oppressive heat that I enjoy so much.
After arriving by train from Sevilla, my first afternoon in Granada took my through a dimly-lit tea-house for almond cookies and a smoothie, then up a long mountain walk through siesta heat to reach remote underground chapels in the hills. Evening brought me to an open-air cafe, with wine and a sketchbook, overlooking the Alhambra at sunset.
But if tapas come from Spain, and the better tapas come from the Andalusia region, then the BEST tapas come at the top of a three-hour uphill hike in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. And they come to you for free with a round of frosty beers!
Las Alpujarras, the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, are bespeckled with wonderfully quaint cliff-side towns. Very white, like snowy peaks. And small. The kind of small town where you hike through the center during siesta and don't see a living sole aside from two loose donkeys hanging out in the town square.
Yep, there they are. (The second one is hiding behind the fountain.)
And to save you the pictures of dripping, sweaty faces, I'll leave you all with the best tapas ever served, eaten at the top of the three villages of the Poqueira Valley, on plastic chairs outside the only bar open.. the taste of perfection:
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