Granada, Spain

Granada!  I wish I had more time to spend in Granada, and I wish it hadn't included a hospital visit!

Yes.  It included a visit to the hospital, and not for the sick person (me.)  We arrived in Granada around lunchtime and although our apartment wasn't ready, we were able to drop our bags off and head out for some lunch.  We were psyched about the view from the deck of the apartment, over looking the Sierra Nevada mountains.

And from our bathroom, we had a nice view of the Alhambra!

Because we had nearly a full day planned on Tuesday at the Alhambra and Generalife, we decided to go visit the old neighborhood Todd used to live in when he went to the University of Granada.

Hanging out in his old 'hood.

He lived on the top floor of this building when he was here!  (No, we didn't ring the bell and see if his Señora still lived there!)

"I used to get my hair cut here!  I can't believe he's still here and in business!"

"I used to go to this bar when I lived here!" (I probably don't want to know these stories!)

We also visited another of Todd's old stomping grounds on our honeymoon, Bar Refugio. Here we are, back again!  (Of course, you can't see the name of it because our kids are still learning the finer art of taking photographs!)

Well they changed the sign, that's for sure!

No porróns for me today though, just a nice, cold Cruzcampo.

We wanted to visit the Cathedral and see the graves of Ferdinand and Isabella, but we had to stop off for some ice cream at the Plaza de la Trinidad on the way back.

While the kids ate ice cream on another bench, we got to hang out in the sunshine.

Next it was on to the Granada Cathedral.  Finished in 1561, it is the fourth largest cathedral in the world.

The cathedral took over 180 years to build!

I think I took this exact same picture when I was here in 2005.  I don't remember it being this pretty though.

I love the golden stars against pale blue in the dome of the cathedral.  The architecture here is interesting - as I mentioned, it took 181 years to built.  The first architect was a fan of Gothic architecture, while subsequent architects completed the cathedral in Renaissance fashion.

Once you're doing touring the Cathedral, you can visit the Royal Chapel next door.  Of course, you can't take any pictures of the famous tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella, but naturally I will steal some from the interwebs and show you what it looks like.

This is pretty much the only picture I could find that wasn't watermarked or threatened my life if I borrowed it.  I can't help it that they don't allow photos! Above the ground, there are beautiful white marble tomb depicting Ferdinand and Isabella laying side by side.  You can also take the steps down below ground level to see the (less impressive, although actual) coffins of Ferdinand, Isabella, their daughter Joanna and her husband Philip the Handsome (for real!) as well as Joanna's nephew Miguel who died at a young age (his coffin is much smaller, on the right.)

After we left the Royal Chapel, we realized we weren't too far away from the University of Granada where Todd went WAY back in 1992-1993.  Happily, Todd was able to find it based on memory and without a map.  You're not too old, honey!

It took him 12 years to come back the first time (with his new bride), and 13 additional years to come back the second time (with his two children).  Let's not make it 14 more years before we go back again!

The building that houses his college has a nice covered courtyard in the middle, with classrooms on two levels surrounding it.

Outside of the classroom where many of his classes were, I dared him to just walk in and sit down and start speaking Spanish!

Funny story... we noticed they had shirts for sale in the courtyard and it directed us to go to the office where the guy told us he didn't have anything but medium sized shirts.  Todd was bummed but as we were leaving, we noticed they had an assortment of other things for sale bearing the name and seal of the Universidad de Granada, including coffee mugs.  So he tracked down the guy again to buy a coffee mug and the guy threw in the medium t-shirt for free!  He must have felt bad ... no large shirts for my giant!

Alas, it was time for a nice siesta, so we went back to the apartment and prepared to drink Spanish beer on the beautiful balcony.  The Alhambra (from the bathroom) was all lit up in the evening sun.

But alas, happy hour (errrr, ummmm... siesta!) did not happen on this particular evening because as soon as we got back to the apartment, we noticed that we had ONE, not TWO backpacks.  The little boy in charge of the little blue backpack came home WITHOUT the little blue backpack that carried his EpiPen.  Detectively, we went back through all of the photos on our phones and camera to see the last time he had the backpack on.  Todd even retraced our steps walking back to the University and walking by the Cathedral. We concluded that Grant left the bag at the Cathedral or the Royal Chapel, but both locations didn't open until 10 am. Unfortunately, we had 9 am tickets the next day to the Alhambra.  Also, honestly... what are the chances someone didn't steal the backpack?  Slim.  We went to the local pharmacy and begged the guy to sell us an EpiPen, but (naturally) he wouldn't without a prescription.  So instead of happy hour in the sunset on the balcony, we trucked off to the private hospital in a taxi to get a NEW prescription for an EpiPen.  Above is a grumpy mommy in the hospital waiting room with a little boy who appears to be shrugging.  After we obtained said prescription (which of course, they gave us based on our word, not any actual medical tests), we had to track down a 24-hour pharmacy that actually HAD EpiPens in stock.  The first three didn't have any, and neither did the fourth, but he offered to order one for delivery the next morning at 10 am.  GOOD ENOUGH.  Grant, you're eating bread for dinner.  

So, early the next morning, we woke up and trekked up to the Alhambra sans EpiPen and prayed this little guy didn't come in contact with any peanuts along the way.

The walk up to the Alhambra isn't for the weak... but we had a good laugh when we passed this house who was using it's balcony (intended for flowers) for storage.  Who needs a storage closet (trash can?) when you have a window sill!

Huffing and puffing her way up to the Alhambra.

Being that it was late March, we were happy at least some of the flowers at the Alhambra were blooming! Granada sits at 730 meters (about 2400 feet) above sea level, so it was much cooler here than in Cordoba.

We had 9 am tickets for the Nasrid Palace, which is the highlight of a visit to the Alhambra.  The tour is self guided, but you can pay for an audio guide which is definitely worth it.  The first room you visit is the Mexuar which was a public reception hall for the Nasrid Sultan's who lived here. Later, it was used as housing for the architects who built Carlos V's (very out-of-place) palace in the 1500s and 1600s.

Attached to the Mexuar is the Mirhab (a small mosque which you are unable to walk into).

Hello there, Granada.

I've mentioned this in other posts, but with Islam, there are no pictures of people or animals, only words (in Arabic, as you see above) and geometric patters (as you also see above.)  The detail is really amazing. At least part of this reads, "There is no victor but God."

In Arabic, the word Alhambra means, "Red Fortress" which if you see the structure in the evening light, you can definitely see this.  The Court of the Myrtles even looks a bit red in normal mid morning daylight. The Tower of Comares that you see is where the kings lived prior to the Christian takeover (aka: The Reconquista!)

Pretty colors and shapes at the Alhambra.

Looking the other direction across the Court of the Myrtles.  This reflecting pond used to be surrounded by myrtle trees (hence the name) and was used to help keep the palace cool in the hot Spanish summers.

The Hall of the Ambassadors is really impressive. The mudejar style ceiling was built during the reign of Muhammed V.  I took this picture as a panorama and it made it look like it was a pentagon shaped room!  But no.  See below.

This is really what the Hall of the Ambassadors looked like.  Just four, super detailed square walls.  The Sultan's throne was in here, where he would receive visitors.

It's difficult to see any remaining color, but there is still a bit of blue and gold in the wooden ceiling of stars and flowers.

You can see such detail as you look up against the wall in the Hall of the Ambassadors.

There are even small pretty tiles on the floor of the Hall of the Ambassadors.  Can you guess whose shoe belongs to whom?

Many of you probably don't know this but my husband is a DOODLER.  He cannot have a phone conversation without doodling something as he's talking.  This looks like one of his doodles (minus the color!)

And then there's THIS (!!!) which you see along the walk to the Patio of the Lions.

Probably the most famous part of the Alhambra is the Patio of the Lions (or Patio de los Leones.)  It was built during Mohammed V's time (mid to late 1300s).  There are 124 marble columns just in this patio alone!

One good thing about traveling off season and going first thing in the morning is that there weren't many people there.  

No one knows where these lions actually came from, since they would not have been put here by the Moors as it is forbidden to have statues of animals according to the Qur'an.

You can see the four channels that send water in and out of the fountain. The fountain can never overflow because all excess water is spit out of the lions' mouths.

The ceiling in the Sala de Reyes, which is one of the rooms flanking the Patio of the Lions, juxtaposes intricate Islamic mocarabe and a painting of the reign of the Sultan (not painted by the Moors, of course, but done later under Christian rule.)

Another view of the Patio of the Lions from the opposite side of the courtyard.

You guys probably think my kids actually like each other.

Seriously.  The preserved tile work is one of the best reasons to visit the Alhambra!  This pattern is in the entryway of the Hall of the Two Sisters, just off of the Patio of the Lions.

As you move on, you are treated to more beautiful tile work in Daraxa's Mirador, which is a pretty little lookout room that overlooks Daraxa's Gardens.

I can't even get over the beauty of this.  I wonder what it looked like in it's prime?

Since most of what we see at the Alhambra dates back to the mid to late 1300s, we can justifiably say that they were a much shorter people back then.

This is kind of an inside joke, but Grant has a stuffed deer called Little Bush Deer and every time we saw this at the Alhambra, we would say, "Little Bush Deer!"  (He says it in this really funny accent and you can just keep scrolling because it's probably only funny to us!)

This is the view of the surrounding parts of Granada (mainly the Albaicín).  The building on the right is the Queen's Dressing Room, which dates back to the 16th century.

Daraxa's Garden was built in the 1520s and 1530s.  He was built in 2009.

I had to dig this one out of the archives, but I found a great picture of Todd in Daraxa's Garden back on our honeymoon in 2005!  Like father, like son!

The last thing you see before you head out to the gardens are the former baths.  They have three main chambers - a cold, a warm and a steam bath.

El Partal or "the Portico" is actually the oldest, yet the newest part of the Alhambra.  Based on the design of it, they believe it was built in the structure dated back to the early 1300s under the reign of Muhammed III.  It was a part of a series of homes that were near the Alhambra, but not an actual part of it.  It became privately owned until 1891, when the Alhambra was able to buy it back, thereby making it the newest part!

Well, it's good to know I'm not shrinking.  Here we were in 2005, also in front of El Partal, but at a different angle.

The Garden of the Partal is really pretty (and not to be confused with the Generalife).  Kind of like the Partal above, it used to be an area of stately homes of well-to-do homeowners.  The ruins of some of the homes are still visible in these gardens.

I'm obsessed with these flowers.  We have them in a few of the town flower beds in Auerbach.  It's called a Fritillaria Imperialis (commonly called the Crown Imperial, appropriate for this location) and it's from the lily family.

As we left the Alhambra's main complex, we had to grab a family stairway selfie.

We headed over to the Carlos V Palace, and Grant just wanted to sit down and lay in the sun.  It was cold, but the sun felt good.  (Come on buddy, we don't even have 10,000 steps yet!)

I have Raynaud's syndrome where my fingers turn white when they are really cold.  I haven't had this problem ALL WINTER in Germany.  Not even when I was in Oslo in November.  But I go to Spain in late May and this happens!

The palace is square on the outside but round on the inside.  They started construction on this palace in 1527, but it was never completed.  It didn't even get a roof until the 1950s!  This picture is a game of Where's Waldo.  See if you can find Natalie and Grant!

Next we walked around the towers and ramparts of the Alcazaba.  From here you get the very best views of all of Granada.

They're so faking you out with this.  They SO have you fooled.

Panorama of the Alcazaba and the Charles V Palace (on the right).  The Alcazaba is the oldest part of the Alhambra as a whole, originally built in the 9th century although not much but ruins remains from this time.  Most of it was rebuilt in the 1200s-1300s, and then again during Christian rule.

The Torre de la Vela (the tall tower you see here) was built in the 1200s.  Currently it displays four flags - the European Union flag, the Spanish flag, the Andalusian flag, and the flag of Granada.  The views are the VERY best from up here!

At one point, this was military housing for soldiers.  Beneath it in certain spots, there were also dungeons. 

Hanging out in the Alcazaba with my hubby.  It got a little warmer as they day went on.  I think I could finally feel my fingers by this point!

The rampart walls of the Alcazaba portion of the Alhambra complex.

You get a good feel for how large the Granada Cathedral is from the Alhambra.  You can see it only has one tower.  At one point during the construction the cathedral plans called for two towers, but the Gothic foundations couldn't support both of them, so they settled on just one.

Views of the Cathedral from the Torre de la Vela.  I wonder if Grant's EpiPen is in there?

Beautiful panorama of the southern side of Granada.

Grantie looked so cute under this pretty wisteria tree. 

Flowering trees make me happy.  We stopped for a little semi-lunch just outside of the Alcazaba.  Well... we had bocadillos and beer!

MMMMMM.  Smells so yummy!

We walked around the Generalife (also known as the Architect's Gardens) for a little bit.  It's pronounced Hen-er-ah-lee-feh, for those who want to say it right.

Flowers were blooming in the Generalife Gardens.

Ponds and trees galore.

The gardens are very peaceful.  A nice little quiet oasis.  It was only my kids running around and being loud!  (Just kidding... they were fine!)

Framed by manicured hedges.

Grant looks like he's in a scene from Game of Thrones!

Part of the ground featured rock mosaics, including this cat!  Or at least that's what we think it is.

Gimme all the pretty peonies.

The beautiful gardens of the Generalife.

I know I've said it before, but traveling outside of peak season really does have it's benefits!

I'll give Todd credit for this pretty picture.

He showed me the photo above this, and so I was feeling artsy and took this one.  It wasn't as good as his.

Two cool dudes at the Alhambra and Generalife.

As soon as we left the Alhambra, we went directly back to the Royal Chapel to inquire about the backpack.  Nope, no backpack there.  So we went to the Cathedral and HALLELUJAH they had the backpack!  Victory was sweet for this little kid, although he owes us 270 Euros for the hospital visit, and had they not found the backpack, which we didn't realize also had Natalie's prescription glasses in it, he would have owed us for that, too!  We also picked up one brand new EpiPen at the pharmacy for 33 Euros!

Todd then wanted to stroll around the Jewish Quarter (or the Realejo), with it's narrow streets and busy shops.  Jews quietly lived here from the first settlements in the 1st century AD until, of course, around 1492 when Ferdinand and Isabella took over and they were kicked out. 

I made a new friend.  I don't think he likes me though. He appears to be giving me the cold shoulder.



Can we finally have happy hour now?  Please?  For the record, Amstel's cerveza is much better than Amstel Light!

That's more like it!  It's good when you can see our faces.  But not nearly as funny!

Before we left Granada, we had to go up to the Albaicin and the Mirador San Nicolás to see the "sunset" over the Alhambra.  On the way, we checked out the Plaza Isabel la Católica from 1892.

The views in the evening of the Alhambra from the Mirador San Nicolás are really something to see.  The snow is still covering the Sierra Nevada.

We visited this spot on our honeymoon!  Of course, the sunset wasn't blocked by clouds, so it was really a lot prettier back then.  But this guy is still just as handsome!

The Alhambra actually was a runner up to the one of the Seven Wonders of the New World.

I'm not really an ice cream fan.  It's not my go-to dessert.  UNLESS the ice cream is flower flavored.  And the little shop below the Mirador San Nicolás had SEVERAL flower flavors!  I got rose and lavender!

Time for a silly selfie at the Mirador San Nicolás!

I'm so sad we picked a bad evening to see the sunset.  It actually sets to our right, but as it does, the coloring on the Alhambra is beautiful.  Not so much this evening.

A magical 2005 Alhambra sunset!

On our honeymoon, we had sat out here and had a drink.  It's situated behind the Mirador San Nicolás (away from the Alhambra.)

Instead of taking a taxi back down through the Albaicín to the city center, we decided to walk down.  There are views of the Alhambra from all over!

Phew, finally!  A manhole cover of Granada!

We found a place for dinner, and HOW EXCITED WERE WE to find the SAME wine we loved on our honeymoon?  Enate Crianza!  So we go to order it and... "I'm sorry, we are out of that."  Wah... wah... wah........

We found another bottle of wine though, and we agreed this was one of our best meals in Granada. 

Todd and Natalie ordered gazpacho and it came in a glass!  Honestly.  If you order a soup and it comes cold in a glass... is it even a soup???

I don't want to leave Granada, so I'm going to try to hide behind my wine bottle.

Alas, we headed back to the apartment for a final sleep before we were set to head to Gibraltar (country #39 for me!) in the morning.  Grant decided he needed to go to sleep, just like this.

Until next time, Granada!  See you in 2033!