Alhambra - 1

The first thing that comes to mind when trying describe the Alhambra is: O. M. G. !! This place is amazing. To make our visit even more special, E booked us with a small group tour limited to no more than 12 people. Turns out that in winter, this service (being more expensive) is limited in demand and we got a personal tour - it was only us and the guide.

Sierra Nevada Mountains

From Wikipedia:

Sierra Nevada (meaning "mountain range covered in snow" in Spanish) is a mountain range in the region of Andalucia, in the province of Granadaand, a little further, Málaga and Almería in Spain. It contains the highest point of continental Spain and the third highest in Europe,^{[note 1]} after the Caucasus Mountains and the Alps, Mulhacén at 3,479 metres (11,414 ft) above sea level.

Sunrise

We are down in a deep valley with our back to the east. Looking west over the mountains in front of us, we can see the sun illuminating the clouds and the mountain tops as the sun comes up.

Plaza Balcón de Europa, Nerja

At the edge of the Mediterranean in Nerja is the Plaza Balcón de Europa, the Balcony of Europe. From here you can seemingly see forever.

Parroquia El Salvador, Nerja

About 20 minutes or so from us is the costal town of Nerja. Not far from the sea is the small but impressive parish church of El Salvador.

Torrox

After some time hanging about the house and getting thing settled there, we ventured out for a bite of breakfast. We drove to the nearby town of Torrox to check out the restaurants on the plaza.

While Walking Daphne

You are getting some days of posts about the local environment because we've been really hanging close to home for several days. One of the dogs has had some serious separation anxiety and that has complicated getting out of the house. Now that this is behind us, we'll soon be out and about a bit more.

Today I took Daphne on a walk up the hill we drive down to get here.

On the Southern Coast of Spain, Near Malaga

I brought our GPS expressly for this housesit since I knew we'd be driving. And, indeed, it is helpful. However, we are house sitting in a house situated on a "road" that in not in the GPS and does not have an address. It does have a name, Molino de Alborán, but that seems to only be useful on the gate post at the entrance of the driveway. We are not off-grid, but definitely, off the map.

From Valencia to Malaga by Train

Our house sit in Valencia ended before our hosts returned. But there was a plan. The hosts had engaged another house sitter to take over from us. After a thorough handing-off of the baton, we spent our last night in Valencia in a hotel. This way we could organize and get up early for short ride to the train station.

Basilica of the Virgen de los Desamparados

The Basilica of the Virgen de los Desamparados, the Basilica of the Virgin for the Hopeless is a small (by Valencian standards), structure. But the inside is quite exquisite.

Palau de la Generalitat

The Palau de la Generalitat is the seat of the Valencian government. Part of it is open as a museum.

Plaza de la Virgen

Also known as the Plaça de la Mare de Déu, this is the plaza next to the 

Basílica de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats, Basilica of Our Lady of the Forsaken. What you see above is the Basilica on the left and the back of the Valencia Cathedral on the right.

Mercado de Colón

The city of Valencia has some really amazing art-deco buildings. The one above is an excellent example of this style.

Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari y San Pedro Mártir

Just when you though the Valencia Cathedral was amazing, I bring you The parish church of St. Nicolas. Yes, that St. Nicolas. From Turkey. this place, as you will see is referred to as the Sistine Chapel of Valencia for good reason.

On the Streets

On one of our outings we happened across the Torres de Quart. These towers are part of the city wall. They were built between 1441 and 1460 and formed the western entrance to the city.

Valencia Cathedral

One of the high points of our visit to Valencia is a trip to the Valencia Cathedral. This is an amazing place with a mix of Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Renaissance,  and Neoclassical styles.

La Llotja de Mercaders

Not far from the Central Market is the La Llotja de Mercaders, the Commodity Exchange Building. Construction on this building was begun in 1493.

Central Market

After reading about the Central Market, we had to make a visit. E took a shopping cart from the house where we are staying so we could get the good out of the visit. And we did.

San Martín Obispo y San Antonio Abad

One of the first churches we visited is San Martín Obispo y San Antonio Abad. Above is what appears to be the main entrance although every time we go there, it is closed.

A Few of the Streets

We have found that walk is a perfectly acceptable way to see about the city. Nothing is really that far...20 minutes perhaps. One of the streets we walked is Carrer de Ribera. Those of you with a bit of Spanish under your belts (?) will recognize that it is not Calle for street. This is because there is a pretty thorough mixing of Spanish and Catalan here. Often store signs are in both languages. Thus, we find street signs in Catalan.

A First Walk About Valencia

We went out for our first walk about Valencia and enjoy the relatively warm sunshine of Spain. Our first stop was the train station, Estació del Nord.

Last Excursion into the City

On the day before we flew to Spain, we made our last venture into the city. We intended to visit the Churchill War Rooms but the crowds were too great, so we took a stroll. This led us to the horseguards.

Imperial War Museum

Our last museum day in London, we visited the Imperial War Museum.

Leicester Square

Also on New Year's Eve, the crowds were surging under the lights at Leicester Square.

Covent Garden Decked out for Christmas

On New Year's Eve (before the play and the 'incident'), we walked down to Covent Garden to have a look about. We found a place lit for the season.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Our visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum was, as always, a lot of fun.

London to Valencia

This past Friday, we left London for Valencia. It was an adventure stacked on the adventures of our stay in London. Above you see the hilly terrain of central Spain out the airplane window.

Walking Across the Southwark Bridge

We came out upon the southbank of the Thames near low tide making all the muddy banks of the river visible. Ahead is the Southwark Bridge. Behind it is St. Paul's Cathedral. We decided to walk across the bridge to the Mansion House tube station so we could catch the District train back home.

Southwark Cathedral

Just next to the Borough Market is the Southwark Cathedral. Although I've been here several times, I always love me a visit to a good cathedral.

Borough Market

After saving up our money and husbanding our appetites, we headed out to the Borough Market to enjoy the season.

Bletchley Park

A trip to Bletchley Park was a lot of fun. Once again I got to see the facilities and learn about the history of the great code breaking endeavor that happened here during WWII.

Bosque del Apache - 3

The longer I spent shooting photos at Bosque del Apache, the fewer shots I took. Once I got over the initial excitement (nearly 900 "keepers" from the first morning) I settled down to a few hundred. This makes it much easier to sort and process. In this batch from morning two, I had fewer out-of-focus and empty shots and a much higher fraction of keepers. This is mostly because I went out a little later when I had more light. Since I can't afford the really fast telephoto lenses and am stuck at f/8, I need more light than the folks with the really big f/2.8 lenses.

The image above is one of the earlier ones in the morning. You can see that the water around the cranes legs is frozen.