| After the fun and festivities
of Christmas and the January sales, February seems to roll around and overstay
its welcome like an unwanted visitor. If like me you're practically allergic
to turkey and have already broken one of your new year's resolutions, you probably
feel like spring is light years away. So if the idea of enduring these drab winter
days seems too much to bear, jetting off into the Marbella sunshine could be just
the tonic. There aren't many places in the world where you can go skiing
then sunbathe on the beach in the same day. California springs to mind, but closer
to home Andalucia has the best skiing in the whole of Spain in the wonderful Sierra
Nevada and the lovely beaches in Marbella are blissfully uncrowded at this time
of year. If you fancy a "sun, snow and spa" style holiday in Marbella,
make sure you save a day or two to see somewhere new. High on my list of favourite
escapes is Granada, about 90 minutes or so from Malaga. Definitely a city you
should visit at least once in your life, you're likely to fall in love with the
Alhambra Palace, a magical place that oozes with beauty and enchantment. The
Alhambra and its dreamlike gardens are one of the world's true architectural marvels.
Add the astonishingly beautiful views of the surrounding countryside and it's
the sort of sight that can take your breath away. In fact, just this January,
the Alhambra was just voted No.2 (after the Acropolis in Athens) out of twenty
one architectural wonders as part of a "NEW 7 Wonders Of The World"
campaign and the top seven will be decided on later this year by a panel of leading
architectural experts from all over the world. If you're coming to Granada,
make sure you take your camera with you because if you're lucky you'll capture
the sort of winter sunset that casts a dusky purple glow across the snow-capped
peaks of the Sierra Nevadas as the Alhambra Palace turns golden pink before twilight.
Admission to the Alhambra is €10. It's open during the day (in winter,
Nov - Feb from 8.30am - 8pm daily, then again from 10-11.30pm at night). The generous
opening hours mean you can wander through the various quarters of the Palace at
leisure and see the intricate carved ceilings, mosaics and elaborate artwork of
its arches and domes during daylight hours, then visit again after dark when it
takes on a completely magical appearance, beautifully lit against the night sky. After
the Alhambra, head into town to the Plaza Nueva area which is full of good places
to eat and drink. Save your euros for a fabulous dinner and pop in to the Café
Central in Calle Elviria 3 for a quick lunch. It's an elegant café on two
levels serving one of the best toasted sandwiches you'll ever eat, a delicious
concoction of melting cheese, Serrano ham and fresh tomatoes washed down with
a chilled beer, vino or a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. If you're
hunting for souvenirs you'll find beautiful Moroccan lamps and handmade arts and
crafts for the home in the Albaicin district , Granada's picturesque old Arabic
quarter, full of secret passageways and jasmine trailing from the whitewashed
houses. The Albaicin and the Alhambra make up one of the UNESCO world heritage
sites. This is a place steeped in history, full of Arabic ambiance and flavours
that takes you back in time as you wander through it. For good Moroccan
food, Tragaluz in this neighbourhood or alternatively Arrayanes, behind Plaza
Nueva, are both excellent. Need a shopping break? Just follow your nose to the
nearest tea room for some freshly-brewed mint tea and some bite-size syrupy-sweet
Moroccan pastries. Granada is one of the last places in Spain where you'll
be offered a free tapa with your drinks. Order a "ca?a" (home-brewed
beer) and you'll probably get a plate of olives or a taste of ham or cheese on
the side - free. One of the most popular places for tapas is the Gran Taberna
on the east side of the Plaza Nueva, a friendly place full of "bonhomie"
where you can get a snack and a beer for under €1.50 and while away the hours
in this cosy spot. For a special dinner, try the Via Colon restaurant on
the corner of Gran via and Carcel Baja, an exuberant 19th-century dining venue
where you can sit out on the terrace - no cheap and cheerful snacks here but the
food is divine. Other places where you can splash out are La Chumbera (Camino
del Sacromonte) which combines great views with great modern Andalucian food,
or spoil yourself unashamedly in the garden restaurant of the glorious Mirador
de Aixa (Carril de San Agust?n), highly rated by gourmets for its avant-garde,
Granada-style cuisine. So if you're ready for a break there's good news
if you book now as Exclusive Marbella is offering a 10% discount on any holidays
booked (and taken) in January or February 2006. | 
