Seriously, I feel inept. Standing in front of a wall that's been there for almost 1000 years and...I should be feeling, thinking, sensing...more, shouldn't I? Little did I know I'd be overwhelmed by The Alhambra the next day...
In Granada, I stayed in the hippie-est hostel in the The Albaycin, the oldest area of the city, where the old folk only go down to the center every ten years or so. In this compact little area, there is a baker, grocer, hardware store, shoemaker, a famous pastry shop and, as I was delighted to find, a beautiful Moraccan tea house.
The streets are more like alleys and the hills are more like mountains - good for the quads!
Down in the center, there are fountains and gardens everywhere - it really is a beautiful city.
One of the little shopping streets that hide behind the tall facades of downtown...
Love this coca-cola sign:
Back in the Albaycin, I peeked into a few private gardens - after the hoard of Japanese tourists pressed against the gate snapping photos, I didn't feel too bad about discreetly snapping a few of my own. See the tiles along the wall of the house and the plates hung above them? Gorgeous. Oh, and apparently, geraniums are very important - never did find out why...
On the creepier side, this is a private entryway as well - see the dolls down at the very bottom? Strange and unsettling, especially when you come across this view in a pitch black alley.
One of my favourite things about the Albaycin - aside from the 11th century wall, astonishing miradors (viewpoints) and remnants of castles, of course - was the random cat paintings on the walls of houses and corners of streets:
The main attraction in Granada is The Alhambra (Arabic for red one, for the colour of the earth it was built on), a complex of palaces and gardens built in the 13th century. Tickets usually sell out by 1pm. I stood in line for 2 1/2 hours. And it was so worth it.
There are two paths to and from The Alhambra - I went up one and down the other. Trees, flowers, and gurgling streams...
The Wine Gate, where tariffs were charged on anything coming into the ancient city which, obviously, was most often wine.
Near the entrance to the military fort:
Up the Torre de la Vela, you can see the foundations of the city: that big path was the main street - how tiny it must have been.
Apparently there was a secret tradition where young women would sneak up the tower to ring the bell to ensure they would be married before the year was out...
Views of Granada from the top of the tower:
Notice the snow-capped sierras...
The grounds of The Alhambra are perfectly sculpted and designed like labyrinths:
The Palaces...I can't even describe how beautiful they are...
What is it about grand and magnificent places that conjures that impulse to place ourselves in the very center of the structures we observe? I watched countless people do this over and over - beelining for that pothole in the middle of this huge round palace courtyard. Then I walked over and stood there myself...there is something about it...
The Nazrid Palaces were the most beautiful spaces I've ever been in. Ever.
If you can, save these photos and zoom in to see the detail - it's worth the trouble, trust me.
Imagine sleeping under that...
Or that...
Really, truly, amazing place.
But two days in Granada was enough to see the good stuff.
Off to Madrid.
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