Alhambra!

Today we visited the Alhambra, began in the 11th century and completed by the 15th century. It is a city itself with numerous palaces, streets, and gardens. We took a bus up there, (thankfully!) as it is atop a mountain. We saw three main parts of the Alhambra: Alcazaba (where more of the military lived), Palacios Nazaries (palaces), and the Generalife (gardens). We started with the Alcazaba and saw stairs descending into the ground where a dungeon was, ancient soldiers’ quarters, and climbed a tower with a gorgeous view overlooking Granada and the Albayzin. We were able to see the lookout point on the Albayzin mountain that we climbed on Wednesday to look at the Alhambra. Then we went through Palacios Nazaries, where each room was more beautiful than the one before. Most of the rooms had fountains with water running through them. The architecture was fantastic, very heavily Muslim influenced; it made me excited that I registered for an art history of Spain class this semester. Our tour ended after that and we were given the option of returning to Granada or walking through the Generalife and its gardens by ourselves. My friends and I had asked our señoras for “bocadillos” (sack lunches) so we ate lunch together in the gardens. They are so gorgeous, even in the winter, I can’t imagine what they look like in the summer when everything is in bloom. We didn’t stay too long in the gardens because it began to rain. We decided to take a bus back into the city rather than walk down a mountain in the rain. I think the 1.20 Euro was definitely worth being dry!