Today, we departed Torremolinos and headed north for a few exploratory stops in Mijas and later spend the night in Granada.

The weather was gorgeous for the upcoming holiday season in Spain.

Mijas was a very nice (white) village on the side of the mountain in the Costa Del Sol area. Great views looking down to the coast. You might be able to see the unusual rectangle bull fight stadium in the distance.

A great place to do a little hiking.

Or walking around the steep stairs and walkways around the village. Just make sure you pack water, as it is quite warm and dry.

If you are really adventurous, you can go to the top of the mountain and visit the hidden church at the top.

We then drove to Granada to visit the Alhambra Palace.  It has some amazing views of the valley and city of Granada. I have to admit that Granada is a very nice city to relax and take in some different culture. It felt like San Francisco for some reason.

This was an area that I, honestly, have never heard about before. It is an amazing site and gardens with lots of history.

The one interesting historical tidbit, (outside of the Moorish, Sultans and Spanish Royalty history), is this is the place that Christopher Columbus met with the Queen to get his funding and approval to sail to west and discover North America.  It might have been on this very spot on the floor in the palace…

The sculptures, architecture, gardens and style were quite amazing throughout the castle/palace.  Everything follows the Islamic rules of seven, etc. in the layout and in places like the lions for the harem section of the palace.

One more tidbit, Granada and the palace is where Washington Irving (the author) lived for part of his life. He wrote a lot of historical stories and one classic which many may remember: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”