The Nasrid Palace
Leah, Dave and, me at the Alhambra
At the Alhambra with Granada in the background
Suzanne had an excellent guide book that told us about the different areas in Granada. Our hotel was situated next to the Albaicín neighborhood which is where many Moroccan immigrants live. The narrow streets are bursting with shops that sell leather, jewelery boxes, tea, shows, artwork and, other touristy things. The really interesting shops in the neigborhood were the tea houses. It was cold and rainy that afternoon so the idea of a tea house sounded even more appealing. Sean, Eliza, Taylor, Suzanne and, myself found a quiet one called Asurat. We walked in and noticed a table perched on top of an alcove in the restaurant accessed by a tiny little ladder of a staircase. We immediately requested to sit up there and a polite waiter granted our request. The menu consisted of at least 100 different teas with many exotic ingredients in creative combinations. Sean, Taylor and, I ordered the mint tea which is very typical of Morocco. Suzanne ordered a tea called 1000 nights. And Eliza ordered the Dreams of Alhambra tea. Each one had way too many ingredients for me to list/remember. Everything from jasmine to caramel. The atmosphere was very inviting and the staff was friendly. Our waiter wanted to practice his English on us and we tried to speak to him in Spanish instead. That has happened to me alot here, I'll begin in Spanish and they will reply in English. After tea, we continued to wander without an agenda and took in the sights around the city (Unfortunately, I forgot my camera in the hotel this afternoon.) We went out to a bar that night but no one stayed out too late because we were still very tired from Friday's activities. We also wanted to be well rested for Sunday's activity of the Alhambra.
For those of you who don't know, the Alhambra is a stunning example of Moorish and Arabic architecture from the time when the south of Spain was part of a Muslim kingdom ruled by the Moors. Our group took the entire day on Sunday exploring the vast complex of the Alhambra.
During our lunch break, we split up into smaller groups to find a place to eat. Dave G., Leah and, myself decided on a Doner Kebab place to get some unhealthy Turkish food. The Menu del Día included a chicken kebab (pita stuffed with chicken, vegetables and, two different sauces), french fires, a drink and, some mystery dessert (not good at all). It was filling but as soon as we started walking we began to regret it. It felt like a cinder block was just settling in our stomachs. After we adjusted to our post-lunch regrets, we decided to not meet up and find the rest of the group but rather to go exploring on our own as a smaller group. There was a bus you could take to the top of the Alhambra, but we wanted to save our money after the skiing fiasco and walk. The walk up was very hilly but scenic at the same time. The imposing walls of the complex began to take shape half-way through the walk and we noticed how large all of it was. At the top, we saw the line to buy tickets and we heard the multi-language announcement that the morning tickets had all sold out and we had to buy an afternoon session pass to get in. The Alhambra is so popular that even after you enter the grounds, you cannot go into the Nasrid Palaces (the main site with the ornate architecture) until your specified time printed on your ticket. We purchased our tickets and waited until 2 pm to enter. Our palace visiting time was not until 4 pm. Luckily, there is no shortage of interesting gardens and smaller buildings to wander around in and enjoy. Dave, Leah and, I meandered through to the Generalife (a smaller, but still interesting palace). One unique aspect of the Alhambra is there is a running stream/system of water/irrigation throughout the entire place. We would be walking up a staircase and on the sides there would be a stream of water flowing parallel to the stairs. The streams would end up in fountains or small reservoirs...the very intricate nature of all the buildings and the engineering was quite impressive when you consider that this was all built in the late 1400s.
Four o'clock finally rolled around and we began our tour of the Nasrid Palaces. The attention to detail was breathtaking in its accuracy and beauty. The intricate carvings of arabic letters and symbols looks like a state-of-the-art computer executed these carvings. I don't know how the large amount of artists and workers managed to create a very streamlined look to the place. One of the famous fountains (the ten lion fountain) was removed for renovations. The fountain is supported by ten stone liones all facing outward. The construction still didn't take away from the experience of the Alhambra. Afterward we walked back down to the center of Granda and got a sandwich and some gelato. Since our train didn't leave until 10 pm, we still had plenty of time to leisurely explore the city. The Hotel was nice enough to store nine big bags behind their tiny reception desk until we picked them up later that night. Despite a late train ride and an absurdly early/late? arrival in Valencia, my weekend in Granada is not one to forget!
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