1936 On the Continent

and La Granadina in the lower town. Among the restaurants the Suizo at Puerta Real is excellent, while the good cafés include the Colon on Calle de los Reyes Catolicos and the Cerveceria Inglesa on Puerta Real.
    There are many exciting excursions from Granada, but I will only mention one—to the Sierra Nevada. You can hire mules and guides at a low cost plus the keep of the muleteer, and you can make all your expeditions, including the ascents, on muleback. However, this excursion is only possible in the summer. Nor is it a simple matter and you will have to consult the
P. N. T.
or the Club Penibetico before you start. On no account must you set out on the advice of stray acquaintances.
    You will probably wish to do a little shopping in Granada, so I will recommend—or at any rate suggest—a few shops: Ricardo Torres, on Cuesta de Gomerez, Manuel Arrufat on Plaza Nueva, and Linares in the Alhambra enclosure for antiques, shawls, etc.; and Casa Oriol on Calle Zacatin for miniature figures of peasants in costume.
Cordova
    If you are a brave man and prepared to depart from the conventional itineraries you may give Cordova a miss. Now that you have seen Granada this ancient city of Spanish Islam has little to offer you in the way of atmosphere, and it will not add to your knowledge of the Spanish people.
    However, Cordova has one thing that may repay a visit, and that is the Mezquita, as the cathedral is still called. This is a mosque transformed into a Christian church and, in its way, as great as the Alhambra. It is a magnificent example of Mohammedan art and, incidentally, the second largest church in the world. The Patio de los Naranjos, the orange grove through which you pass to reach the Mezquita, is very lovely.
    Although, being a discerning tourist, you, will probably spend most of your time while in Cordova at the Mezquita, I may mention that the city has theatres and a bull-ring and a
Feria
in the last week of May.
    Cordova, as you know, was once the seat of the Moorish caliphs, and the city, particularly the older part, bears many traces of this, mainly in the form of ruins. But if you want to see something really interesting, ask the
P. N. T.
, on Paseo del Gran Capitan, where you can see a good example of the Moorish private houses in the old town. If you are lucky you will be directed to a house with no fewer than seventeen courts, and as you enter it you will be transported seven centuries back into a strange, glamorous, romantic world that will give you, in retrospect, a better understanding of Eastern fables.
    If you have ever heard of Moses Maimonides, the rationalistic Jewish philosopher, you may be interested to know that he was born in Cordova in the year 1135; and if you have ever read a Spanish commercial letter of 2,000 words, but consisting of a single sentence with many twists and turns, you will not be surprised to learn that Luis de Gongora, the originator of “Gongorism,” first saw the light of day in this Spanish city.
    But if you are after a bit of Cordovan leather you will be disappointed, because it is made no longer in Cordova itself, though the name of the city has crept into practically every language in the world in connection with that product.
    The hotels Regina and Simon are excellent for meals, while the La Perla café serves excellent thick chocolate—and, no doubt, you are expert by now in sucking sticks of sugar. As to the spitting that goes on, I will not criticise it further, but I have known foreign visitors to admire the way in which, for instance, a youngster can spit again an again at the same point some ten or twelve feet away.
Alicante
    Instead of going from Granada to Cordova you can go to Alicante, which has been called the “Nice of Spain”—and that is a tremendous compliment to the other Nice in so far as its winter climate is concerned.
    Alicante has nothing to offer but its pretty bay and its sunshine and a magnificent palm-lined seaside promenade, so that it is not a place that should be included in a sightseeing tour. On the other hand, as a winter resort, it hasfew equals. In the summer it is far too hot, though it is spared the depressing wind that visits other parts in this region.
    Alicante, as you know, exports a great deal of wine and the visitor may do worse than observe the technique of this intoxicating trade round the harbour.
    Among the good hotels the Samper, Palace and Reina Victoria overlook the Pasco de los Martires, the seaside