One Day Seeing One Place--The Alhambra

Wednesday, June 7, 2017--Granada, Spain

We bought our tickets to see the Alhambra in February, since times are regulated and tickets are limited.  Although the tickets get a person into 3 different venues, it is only the Nasrid Palaces that requires an entry time.  We chose 9:30 so that it would be less likely to be filled by tour groups yet.

We walked from our apartment to the Alhambra getting there about 8:00.  The grounds are open then, but entry into the specific sights are not open until 8:30.  Therefore, we just enjoyed the views of the city from the grounds including seeing the viewpoints where we had stood last night to look in this direction.

At 8:30, we went into the Palace of Charles V, the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella who, as a Christian King after the Moors were expelled, built his own palace attached to the Moorish palace on the grounds.  It is a simple building with an interesting design--square-shaped exterior and circular interior.  Inside, we toured the Alhambra Museum with items that have been placed there for better care--glasswork, tiles, vases, coins, oil lamps, etc.

At 9:00, we went to the area known as the Plaza de Armas where mainly we just climbed towers to see the views toward the city.  This was where military was housed and was the main point for protecting the compound from an attack.

Just before 9:30, we were in line for our entrance to the Nasrid Places and we were admitted just afterward.  We spent about 3 hours there seeing courtyards and rooms for various purposes.  Almost every room is splendid with unbelievably elaborate decorative details.  There are ceilings that are ornately carved and decorated in wood and others made of plaster that cascade downward like stalactites.  Walls are covered with plaster in very detailed designs, in calligraphy, and in tessellating tile designs.  Windows are arched in various ways and sometimes covered with fitted carved wood screens or with plaster screens.  Throughout the compound small fountains bubble--both in the courtyards and in the rooms.

We returned to the apartment after that and I prepared us a late breakfast.  But later in the afternoon, we returned.  Our tickets were good until 20:00, and we still had one feature to see--the Generalife Gardens.  We stopped on the way there to get a bite to eat, then we walked back up the steep hillside to the far back side of the Alhambra grounds and entered the gardens.  It was then close to 19:00 with the air fresher than it would have been if we had seen them before leaving earlier.  Also, the crowds were smaller.  Before leaving the grounds, we also looked into the old bath house which we had skipped earlier. 

It was a LOT of walking to go up to the Alhambra twice and back both times, but it is a huge complex and it was better to break the visit into two parks.  The result from getting up early and making the two trips in one day is that we are very tired tonight!