The Alhambra

When I told my great uncle John that I was going to Spain his first response was "you have to go to the Alhambra".

The Alhambra is a walled-in city above Granada in the foothills of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains. It is supposedly Spain's most visited monument and they limit the amount of visitors daily so advanced reservations are pretty much necessary.

I booked my ticket when I was in Madrid via a 3rd party since all the tickets sold directly from the Alhambra were sold out. I was a little skeptical both during my research and booking, but sure enough a group of us met at the Plaza Nueva and were taken in a little bus up to the Alhambra.

I then joined 29 other tourists for an English speaking group. Every day there are 130 guides in all languages walking groups around, to give you an idea. It was a 3 hour tour, not sure if my tour guide was giving another one later or not.

The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex constructed during the mid 14th century by Moorish rulers. The Moorish palaces were built for the last Muslim Emirs in Spain and its court, of the Nasrid dynasty. After the Reconquista by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492 some portions were used by the Christian rulers.

We walked through the palaces and the Generalife gardens. The interior palace walls were covered with hand-made ceramic tiles and stucco with Arabic inscriptions. Was very beautiful.

After the tour ended I walked around Granada's town center a bit in search of a nice little lunch spot. I came across a restaurant called Kasbah which was a fusion of Arab, Indian, and something else. It was ok. I already miss having a guidebook. I'll have to wing it here and in Seville, or ask the hostel folks for recommendations.

As soon as I walked out of the restaurant it started to sprinkle and then developed into a nice little thunderstorm. Short and sweet but I thought it was a perfect time to head back to my hostel for a little siesta.

The sun was really strong earlier today before the rain. While I kept my leggings and fleece on all day I have seen lots of sunburned faces and arms. Might have to dig my sunscreen out from the depths of my bag.

Speaking of bags - it's been relaxing already being in a smaller town and less worried about my belongings. Alegria would not be pleased but I wore my bag on my back most of the day. Except for in the palaces where you are actually required to wear your bag in front of you so you don't accidentally touch the walls.

Tonight I'm going to do the Tapas tour guided by the hostel. Am hopeful it'll be fun.