We set off at 9 am for our tour of the Alhambra and the Generalife palace. Entry into the Nasrid palaces within the Alhambra is tightly controlled and we did not want any glitches in making our 11 am entry time, which we had booked two months ago. Rather than walk up the hill, we caught a bus from Plaza de Isobel Catolica, spending a whole 1.20 euros.
Background info....Building of the Alhambra was commenced in 1238 by Muhammad I al-Ahmar of the Nasrid dynasty, and three palaces were built within the walls before the Alhambra was surrendered to the Catholic monarchs on January 2nd, 1492 (which seemed to be a particularly busy year in Spain....evicting the Jews, Columbus heading to the new world, and taking Granada from the Muslims). The Generalife palace (architect's garden) was built in the 14th century as a summer recreation area for the Nasrid Kings of Granada, and in 1526 Charles (Carlos) V built an additional palace within the Alhambra walls, so the whole hill is covered in palaces as well as fortifications. It was declared a national monument in 1870 and a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. Now on with the story....
Once we gained admission to the complex we had an hour before entering the Nasrid palaces so we started at the Generalife, which had some amazing gardens. The whole Alhambra complex has an integrated water system that uses gravity feed to move water to where it needs to be....it even runs in shallow channels in the floor of buildings or along the top of walls.
The interior of the Nasrid palaces was amazing, with the keyhole arches, pillars and Arabic plasterwork on the walls and ceilings.
After the Nasrid palaces we went through the Alcazaba, which is the military area of the complex. We climbed to the top of all of the towers and got some great views over the city of Granada.
We spent 4 hours in total at the Alhambra & Generalife and enjoyed every minute of it, but we were ready for a break. So we found a cafe in behind the cathedral and enjoyed a hot lunch and a cold drink, before walking back to the apartment in the 32 degree heat, at about 4 pm.
After siesta we went looking to buy some supplies for dinner, but being Sunday, nothing was open....no supermarkets, no bread shops, nothing except cafes and bars. So no dinner 😥
We had arranged to meet Randy and Marty at 6:30 pm, to do the walk along the river paseos that we missed yesterday due to the religious procession and other distractions, so off we went. As we approached Plaza de Isabel Catolica we heard another marching band....you guessed it another procession, and this one was big (they had both main streets closed off and the procession was several blocks long). This time the "float" was the crucified Christ (or as my friend Luis in Puerto Rico calls him "the deaded Jesus"). Again we have no understanding of the significance of this procession on this date, so any suggestions are welcome.
Eventually we tore ourselves away and set off in new territory towards the river, where we joined Paseo del Salon and then Paseo de la Bomba, as we headed upstream. These pedestrian areas were wide and there were lots of families walking, sitting and playing all long the route. We were very glad that we took the time to explore this area, and so we rewarded ourselves with a snack and drink in one of the larger plazas on our way back home. At 9:30 pm it was still 26 degrees, so a great night to be outside, watching the locals doing their local thing. We seem to be getting more into the eating later routine!
Tomorrow we take the train to Ronda, and a whole new adventure, as we enter the last quarter of our trip. There is no rain in the forecast for the next 8 days, so hopefully we won't see any until we hit Vancouver on the 28th.
Posted pictures are gorgeous and the warm evenings to wander around must be a treat.
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