Alpujarra...

Last week I had a lovely week away, walking in the Alpujarra region of Andalucia, on the southern slopes of the Sierra Navada.

This was a leap of faith for me, joining a group of others travelling alone, but one I would certainly repeat. Whilst spending a week with a group of strangers definitely has its highs and lows - overall they were a nice bunch of people, all wanting to walk in the beautiful scenery and there is a lot to be said for company at mealtimes and days out!

I have taken way too many photos to post on here but for a flavour and a reminder for me...

We stayed at a small family run hotel in the little village of Berchules, with rooms overlooking the valley...

We were a bit unlucky with the weather, with the first few days decidedly cloudy but even so, stunning...

We walked along mule tracks and the ancient acequias (watercourses) which provided irrigation across this usually dry terraced landscape...

...studded with olive trees, wild thyme, lavender and rosemary, amongst a whole lot of other flora...

...through valleys overlooking pretty white villages, with the snow-capped peaks in the distance...

Fresh green leaves are following the last of the almond blossom...

and we did eventually see blue skies...

I slightly fell in love with the hotel's 11 year old dog that accompanied us on our walks...

There is a real mix of Moorish & Catholic history and culture here...

Spring definitely a little further ahead here...

Some of my fellow walkers...

and our fabulous walking guide George...

who had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the area, the culture and the history...

We were walking at 1500-2000m but I hadn't expected there to be snow on the ground in places!! (and in spite of the sunshine, it was bitterly cold that day!)

But by the end of the week our longest walk saw us in shorts and T-shirts walking across ridges and through dappled pine forest...

Our final day was spent in Granada, where I wandered up through the old town's narrow streets...

before going to visit the impressive Alhambra with its fortresses and palaces...

and stunning views across Granada and the mountains...

...before ending the holiday with a group meal, a carajillo (coffee & brandy!) and a walk up to the top of the town to look at the Alhambra lit up at night...

I have come home yearning a simpler way of life, some sunshine and a desire to learn Spanish! Perhaps something to aim for!!

Back to work tomorrow...

S x

on my window sill...

I have two pots of extremes flowering in my kitchen. 

A £1 pot of miniature tete-a-tete daffodils (though even these seem to have shot skywards!)...

Love that these don't disappoint with their quick growth into little splashes of spring yellow.

  

Whereas, frankly, the enormous amaryllus has taken an age to turn into this big, bright, blowsy and somehow unseasonal looking show off...

I was beginning to think it would never flower. I'm sure I planted it around Christmas-time, when the prospect of a big red flower seemed apt. For several weeks it seemed to do nothing, then just grew up and up, several cms a day or so it seemed. It is not far off 3ft tall and the flower head is huge; the whole thing is so heavy that I've had to lean it against the window!

Can't quite decide if I like it or not, but its certainly impossible to ignore!

S x

Spring sunshine...

With the temperature briefly hitting a heady 16C yesterday, it was possible to really begin to feel Springlike. Even with a hefty dose of flu I decided it would do me good to take a slow meander up to the river in the late afternoon sunshine.

My walk takes me through the cathedral grounds then along the back of the school playing field behind it.

The verges seem to have suddenly come alive with purples, yellows & whites of crocuses...

This is Cow Tower, glowing golden in the afternoon sunshine; this is part of the remains of the Norwich medieval defence structure and would have been used to house gunners and arrowmen defending the approach to the city across the River Wensum. 

Built in the late C14th, this tower is a ruin but I love that some of the detail of the window& arrow ports remain...

This stretch of the riverside walk is covered with daffodils; in a week or two it is going to be glorious...

For now just the odd flower is bringing a welcome splash of colour...

The birds seem to have cottoned on to the Spring feeling too. A pair of blackbirds have been flirting like crazy by my door (last year they nested in the holly tree in the courtyard - hoping for the same again this year!) and down by the river a pair of ducks were dancing round each other on the water...

Back through the cathedral grounds the light was lovely through the trees...

and the cathedral looked beautiful against the blue sky...

More crocuses and a few early daffodils in the sheltered courtyard of Tombland...

and even some beginnings of pink blossom cheering my soul...

It really feels like winter is receding, hurrah for sunshine and colour, I love this time of year when everything is getting going again.

S x

'city of perspiring dreams...'

Apparently this term was coined as a counterpart to Cambridge's rival city Oxford, the 'city of dreaming spires'. I quite like it, sounds somehow as though more effort goes into the dreaming in Cambridge, more grounded...

Though in reality, both are lovely cities with beautiful buildings and a different level of eavesdropping (not many 'football TV' type pubs near me where the neighbouring table of young lads are earnestly discussing the economy!). 

For a myriad of reasons we decided to get out of the county last weekend and took a day trip to Cambridge, with the intention of visiting the snowdrops and orchid displays at the botanic gardens combined with a bit of lazy lunch and shopping.

The gardens didn't disappoint, even with the slight drabness of winter it is a lovely space and the snowdrops were almost luminous in the spring sunshine...

I would love to come back here at different times of the year - there are seasonal gardens, a fragranced garden, sensory gardens, even a whole area full of lavenders which must be stunning in early summer. 

There are some beautiful trees...

and it is easy to forget you are within easy walking distance of the busy city centre.

It is, of course, a part of the university, and there was a bit of science there too - the techy stuff behind living walls was interesting, very clever...

Sadly our trip was a little shortlived as there was a bitter wind blowing that threatened to thin the winter deadwood from the trees which meant that, not long after testing the delights of the cafe, the gardens were emptied for safety reasons. Definitely one to go back to though.

Cambridge, for me, is typified by a few things - narrow old streets and bicycles...

Beautiful buildings...

Bridges, river and punting...

We walked along the backs, behind the colleges...

and came upon a carpet of lilac crocuses...

And, of course, you can't go to Cambridge without popping into the fudge shop for the butteriest, sweet treat...

We wondered why we don't go there more often?

S x