Olive the Way to Granada

Monday, November 17, 2025

Leaving Madrid on an early train, we arrived in Granada three-and-a-half hours later. The trains in Spain are nice, especially if you can find a route that does not require you to change trains along the way. We passed an awful lot of olive trees on the way. Miles and miles of them, as far as you could see. 

Once we arrived, we took a taxi to our hotel, Palacio Mariana Pineda. It was a little quirky, but it had a great location and great views of Granada’s main attraction from our rooms. The hotel sits on the edge of the Albayzin district, close to Plaza Nueva. It was once a palace, or mansion, and had the typical central courtyard that is such a delightful feature in so many Spanish residences. The beds were very comfortable, but the hotel was disappointing in other ways. For one thing, the heat didn’t come on until 8:00 pm. It was chilly all day and we wanted heat before 8:00. We also think the heat was turned off in the middle of the night. Our “junior suite” consisted of a bedroom at one end of a long hallway (inside the suite) and a private bathroom at the other end. A number of things in the room and bathroom were in a state of disrepair. Things in the shower fell off when you touched them, for example. The breakfast was mediocre and the breakfast room was too small for the number of people using it. The bedroom did have a sort of funky Boho charm with some antique furnishings.

We forgot to take photos. This one comes from the hotel’s listing on TripAdvisor,
under “From management”

We ate a late lunch at Bodega Castañeda, a place that we had enjoyed very much on a previous visit to Granada. It was outstanding.

A fabulous tapas platter

It is known that the Iberian peninsula was, at different times long ago, occupied by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Celtic peoples. Before that, unknown groups left cave paintings behind. By 1 CE the Romans had arrived in Hispania and had established olive and wheat as major export crops. The Romans stayed for 500 years. After the Romans came the Visigoths, from the north.

In 711 CE the Moors showed up, and they would remain in control of Andalusia (the Moorish name for Spain) for nearly 800 years. They were Muslims from North Africa and their culture had developed expertise in mathematics, astronomy, sciences, literature and architecture. Their legacy can be found in Spain today - in the Spanish language, in architecture, and in music, for instance.

Moorish architecture features horseshoe arches, ceramic tiles, geometric patterns, fountains and gardens. The Alhambra, a palace/fortress complex dominating a hilltop in Granada, is one of the best preserved and most famous examples of historic Islamic architecture. It is why most visitors come to Granada. The Alhambra was begun in 1238, and periodically different rulers added on to it. 

In 1492, the Reconquista swept the last of the Moors out of Spain and the “Catholic Monarchs,” Ferdinand II and Isabel, unified Spain, expelled the Jews, and sent Christopher Columbus to look for a new route to India. They brought their Royal Court to Granada and made the Alhambra their official residence. It is at the Alhambra that Christopher Columbus obtained financial backing from the monarchy for his historic voyages of exploration.

It is remarkable that Alhambra survived. Instead of tearing it down and building a something less Moorish, which was a frequent pattern, the Catholic Monarchs and their successors chose to move in and use the Alhambra themselves. Did they recognize it as an architectural treasure?

To get a sense of perspective on the Alhambra, we went to Mirador de San Nicolas, a viewpoint in the Albayzin, to watch the sunset. We arrived before sunset, but the small plaza was already full of tourists ready to watch the sun go down and the lights come on.

Alhambra before sunset

The Generalife Gardens

Half an hour later

Ten minutes later

Another ten minutes, and some of the lights have come on

Part of the crowd at the Mirador (Viewpoint)

We walked back down to the river and enjoyed several unexpected views of the Alhambra. The Albayzin is primarily comprised of very narrow alleys, twisty lanes, tiny plazas tucked in here and there, and cobblestone surfaces.

Upon reaching the river we found a plethora of restaurants on both sides and we picked one out. It was delightful.

Anchovies in tomato sauce (boquerones)

Eggplant with bonito flakes

Gnocchi and “Russian” potato salad

Taken from our little balcony at the hotel

Today’s fabric is Euclidean Star Watercolour Geometric Gold Historique Large by ronya_lake for Spoonflower.

An I-NFL-ux

Sunday, November 16, 2025

When we first arrived in Madrid, I noticed a few people walking around wearing shirts with a large “W” on them. These people were obviously Americans. I was trying to figure out what college they went to. I knew it was not University of Washington or Washington State. Every day we were here, I noticed more people with “W” shirts. 

Then I began to notice a surprising number of people wearing Miami Dolphins fan gear. It is unmistakeable, with bright turquoise blue and orange colors. 

After a couple of days I mentioned it to Ken and he said an NFL game would be played in Madrid on Sunday (today), between Miami and the Washington Commanders. This would be a regular game that would count as part of the regular season and would count toward the playoffs, etc. (I have now written everything I know about football.)

By Saturday, people from the US had arrived en masse for the game. We saw them everywhere we went on Saturday and on Sunday morning and early afternoon. They were all over our hotel. A whole family came to breakfast this morning wearing Miami Dolphins one-piece pajamas. So much fan gear.

Stealth photography at breakfast

It surprised us to see so many football fans come to Spain for what amounts to a long weekend. But, Spain is closer to the East Coast than Alaska is, so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. The game was played at the big “soccer” stadium used by Real Madrid. (ICYMI, Miami won, 16-13 in “historic overtime thriller” says miamidolphins.com.)

And there you have it. Everyone in our paella group, other than our family and the two Italians, had come to Madrid from the US for the NFL game.

This morning we walked around and took in some of the sights on Rick Steves’ Gran Vía Walk. This area grew up between 1910 and the 1930’s. The reasons to come here include architecture, shopping, and a trendy vibe. In addition to the Art Deco buildings, you can see a bit of the ugly Brutalist architecture from Spain’s Fascist period.

Banco Bilbao

Centro Canalejas

Circulo de Bellas Artes

Metropolis Building

Plaza de Cibeles

Edificio Grassy

This is called the Royal Oratory of the Knight of Grace (Real Oratoria del Caballero de Gracia) but I don’t really understand what it is or why it looks like this

Gran Via Metro Station

Cine Callao

The Schweppes Building is is an Art Deco classic

Hotel Mayorazgo

We took a break to do laundry and rest. Scott and Keisha had some free time, and walked around on their own for a while.

We had dinner at a hip little place with a fusion menu called Lola Sí Mola in the Barrio de las Letras behind our hotel. Good place. 

Pan bao de carne mechada

Today’s fabric is Art Deco Scallop by whimsical_brush for Spoonflower.

Personal Note:

It is December 7 and I have now been sick for six weeks with an epic sinus infection. A couple of times I was almost better and then took a turn for the worse. Last week I felt quite good, but I started to lose ground about five days ago and have had a couple of days of very bad sinus congestion. For logistical reasons, I did not go to a doctor until yesterday. I am now taking antibiotics (again) and starting to improve. We just went through the Straits of Gibraltar, so I have some easy, restful days ahead.  I haven’t felt like blogging for several days, but I am still planning on it.

Palace Patrol and Paella Party

Saturday, November 15, 2025 

The Royal Palace (Palacio Real) in Madrid is a must-see attraction. Rick Steves considers it Europe’s third-greatest palace after Versailles and the Schönbrunn in ViennaThe current incarnation of Madrid’s Royal Palace was built in the 18th century in the Baroque style.

It is Europe’s largest palace, and it still makes a statement about how wealthy Spain once was, back when the treasures of the New World helped Spain become a super-power.

The current palace was built by Spain’sKing Philip V, who wanted a Versailles, the place of his birth. Philip’s grandfather was Louis XIV of France. (Philip’s own son is someone we have previously met - Charles III.) The palace has over 1,000 rooms. The royal family no longer lives in this palace, but it is still used for ceremonial functions. It is lavishly decorated and filled with antique furniture, frescoes, tapestries, chandeliers, porcelain, bronze, and gold leaf.

We saw maybe 20 rooms. It was an overwhelming experience to try to take it all in. Here are a few of the photos we took. In the interest of getting this post done in a reasonable amount of time, I am going to provide minimal captions.

A luxurious room

A ceiling

The Gala Dining Room seats 144

The Gasparini Hall

The Gasparini Hall

Ceiling of the Royal Chapel

The Royal Chapel

The Stradivarius Hall contains a viola, a cello, and two violins made by Stradivarius

The Royal Crown and Scepter

The Throne Room

We emerged from the palace just before 1:00 pm and as we gazed across the courtyard to the Almudena Cathedral, the bells began to toll.

Twelve seconds of bells:

Instead of going out to dinner, we went to a “paella workshop with bottomless sangria.” This was a lot of fun. The two leaders of the workshop were very good - a chef, and a lively guy from Colombia who was good at team-building and getting everyone involved. I was expecting a small group so late in the year, but we ended up with a good-sized class. There were two Italian women and a passel of Americans. I will explain why all the Americans were here in my next post.

We started out with introductions, Then we made lots of sangria, to lubricate the cooking process.

After taste-testing the sangria we learned how to make two kinds of paella - one with chicken and seafood, and one vegetarian.

The only things you need that you might not already have are some saffron, a special cooking pan (called a paella), and some kind of large burner to cook on.

The secret is to refrain from stirring it after one good mix at the beginning. This results in a desirable crust (called socarrat) forming on the bottom. (Make sure everybody gets served some of that crust!)

Scott adds some chicken

And when it was done we all sat down to drink more sangria and enjoy a hearty meal.             

Buen provecho!

Today’s fabric is brocade. Brocade is a rich decorative fabric, often silk, with a pattern woven in. The pattern is often woven with gold or silver thread.

An eye-catching circular sofa in Madrid’s Royal Palace is upholstered with a baroque
gold-on-blue brocade.