Spoiled in Spain, Part II: The Other Bits

In order to work off all of the food we ate and enjoy the fresh air, sunshine and great outdoors, we did what we always do on holiday: walk. And did we ever walk! We went out walking every other day and would clock anywhere between 5 and 12 km/day. We went anywhere and everywhere! We ended up in the middle of nowhere, at a crematorium, in big shopping centres, in front of famous cathedrals and restaurants, on the side of a freeway and even the Alhambra! We were lucky because it was dry and sunny every day. We didn't have air conditioning or fans, so it would get very warm. I loved it but the Irish chef not so much.

 Finding ourselves at the top of big hills. I miss those warm, sunny days!

A sheep crossing? A donkey crossing?? A bull crossing??? What kind of crossing is it?!?

 A lot of homes were built INTO the hills. It was really interesting to see these homes! They were nice and cool (COLD for me!) inside.

Taking one of the many routes to Mount Valparaiso

 After climbing up the increasingly steep Mount Valparaiso, we found ourselves in front of an abbey. Little did we know that it's quite a famous abbey: Sacromonte Abbey
 

 I'm really proud of this picture that I took! The Irish Chef can levitate!!
As we wandered around, we found ourselves at a freeway, lol. This is an area where cars can pull off of the main road. Not the safest place, but it had an awesome view of the city!

 The Alhambra!!! So beautiful. We were staying at an Airbnb about five minutes away.

Alhambra

Catedral de Granada 

 I found it amazing that we were landlocked because—although it was so dry—bright flora and fauna flourished everywhere!

Here are a few more pics of things we saw as we wandered around Granada:

I bought a barebecue seasoning from these stalls (which you can find ALL OVER the city), and it is delicious! I only have about a teaspoon left. It will be a sad day when we finish it :(

Our local haunt. Granada is amazing because you can still get a free tapas with your (alcoholic) drink!

When you wander around the city, you realize how many churches there are.

A small garden behind the Alhambra

Wandering down a main street, I just couldn't stop looking at this building, so white and clean! I love the architecture as well!

This is a food square near...Plaza de la Trinadad...I think. It was so bright that it was difficult to read the street names!

Ahhh, yet another example of the Baroque style so prominent in Granada. I've always been a bit obsessed with the Baroque period (music, art, architectural design, etc...), so I admit that I would get giddy when we went out.

We also did quite a bit of walking when we decided to go on a weekend trip to Málaga. It was in Málaga that I finally met an editor who used to work remotely for the publishing firm in Shanghai. She lives in Portugal. Her and her partner travelled to Spain for the weekend. After three years of chatting and getting to know each other, we had a chance to gab in person!

We FINALLY met!!! On a rooftop terrace with drinks after dinner

Málaga: 

the view from the terrace

Málaga Cathedral

Our trip to Spain was one that I won't soon forget. We learned that Spain is quite quiet in August, and we took advantage of that: we worked in the mornings and spent time outside in the afternoons when most people were enjoying a siesta! We got some much needed vitamin D—and tans! We also enjoyed the silence. If you've lived in a big city in China, you know what I'm talking about.

I was still working full time. In spite of the time I dedicated to work, I spent a lot of time reading. I subscribed to Scribd, and it was a good source for books. I'd subscribed to the service because I knew that as we made our way west, I wouldn't be able to take any books. My membership to my library had expired, so I needed an alternative. I'd never used Scribd, so this was a treat for me. My only concern with Scribd is that you can't access a lot of content from writers from other regions than the one you've subscribed in. If you can, you're lucky. Also, it's usually as an audio book (as opposed to an ebook) Furthermore, there wasn't content from a few famous writers, like J.K. Rowling, which I thought was weird. That being said, here's what I read in August last year:

-Party Summer, R.L. Stine
I read this as a young girl when I couldn't stop reading everything written by R.L. Stine. This hasn't aged very well, but it was a reread and was nostalgic for me.

-The Death of Mrs. Westaway, Ruth Ware
I read this because Kayla the BookTuber with the handle Books and Lala loved it. Sadly, I did  not.

-The Book with No Pictures, B.J. Novak

This is a kids book without pictures. It was okay. I love children's books, so I'm happy to take time and listen to/read them. This wasn't one I would buy or give as a gift to friends with kids.

-The Test, Sylvain Neuvel

I read this because another BookTuber, Books with Emily Fox, recommended it. I remember thinking that it was good, but it's a bit concerning that I can't really remember what happened. I may have to reread this again soon!

-Stillhouse Lake, Rachel Caine

This is the first book in a series. I didn't think that the mystery was that good, but I loved the ambiance that Caine created. I don't know if I'll continue with the series because there are so many other books that I'd rather read at the moment.

-Kitchen, Banana Yoshimoto (translated by Megan Backus)
This is a reread for me. It's a short story collection that I originally read in 2005. The stories were good, but I don't think that the translation was done well.

-The Chalk Man, CJ Tudor

Clearly I enjoy reading mystery novels in the summer. I liked the mystery in this one, but I didn't love the character development (or lack thereof) and interaction between some of the characters. I did enjoy that there were flashbacks and that there were unlikable characters, but this is another book that I can't remember a lot about. That's not a good sign :(

If you want to see more in-depth reviews, you can head over to my goodreads page here: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/83358101-miki

Thanks for reading everyone! Until my next post!