Ballyhoo: Granada, Day 1

Last year I started thinking more and more seriously about traveling to Spain and Portugal. I had been dreaming for a while! My wife was going to be heading to Thailand at the same time, so this was going to be a solo trip. But as I started sharing my plan with others, my cousin from Alabama said he'd like to join me. I said, "Why not?!?" Over a few months, we talked over some possible itineraries. I was pretty much always sold on Lisbon after seeing a Bizarre Foods episode. I had also watched a lot of travel vlogs about the Algarve (Southern Portugal), and it looked pretty stunning. Spain was going to be the toughest to sort out. It's a big country. Initially, I was focused only on Madrid and Barcelona - fabulous, exciting cities with much to do. The plan was to go to Lisbon, take a train down to the Algarve, then back to Lisbon, then an overnight train to Madrid, eventually ending in Barcelona. But what happened next was discovering Andalucia (Southern Spain)! Some friends had been to Andalucia, and they loved it. I looked into it more. I watched some Rick Steves videos. I studied the weather forecast for late April. The temperature in Southern Spain would be just warming up - in fact, would be perfect. Then I learned about the Alhambra for the first time. It's arguably the most famous landmark in all of Spain. That certainly roused my curiosity! Then there was all the Christopher Columbus history: giving his sales pitch to Ferdinand and Isabella in Granada, being entombed in the Seville Cathedral, etc.. It kept getting more and more interesting! Finally, what matters more on trip than eating the local cuisine?!!? Andalucia has tapas, Moroccan, olives, sherry, churros, cured ham, and a whole lot more. Done. Andalucia simply became our point of focus in Spain, replacing Madrid and Barcelona - places I could easily visit another time.

Our next step was working on the logistics of everything, and deciding on the key places to visit. None of that was easy. But thank god for TripAdvisor, travel blogs, YouTube and friends who travel! Morocco was potentially an excursion. There were potential day trips to Andalucian cities like Cordoba, Jerez and Cadiz. And yet we knew it was impossible to do it all. What won out in the end was quality time in a few places rather than rushed visits to many. The map above represents what we ultimately did. My cousin and I flew into Malaga, separately, then saw each other for the first time in seven years! We then made our bus connection, and traveled to Granada. It took under two hours.

On this blog, I hope to make it simple to follow our route. I will probably label this trip "Europe Trip 2019", and it will show in the right sidebar. Also, at the end of the each post, there will be a link to the next day.

As I do with many of my posts, I will make revisions over several weeks and months. I certainly want to continue adding links for any helpful information. Little memories also return, and they make for a good story.