I Have Lived

Early Saturday morning, the four of us got in the car and headed to Granada. For once, we drove the whole way without getting lost (not counting the 5 minute "detour"). We had some time to kill before going to the Alhambra, so we walked to the city center. There, we saw the outside of the Granada Cathedral and walked through the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel). The Capilla Real was smaller than a cathedral, but was beautiful on the inside. The chapel actually houses the remains of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

After a quick lunch, we headed to the Alhambra- meaning "The Red One" in Arabic. This palace and fortress complex was built in the mid-14th century by the Moors during the reign of Spain. According to the Spaniards, the Alhambra is so beautiful that if you haven't seen it, then you haven't live. Hopefully the pictures can give you a little idea of how cool this place was.

The grounds consist of 4 main areas- the Alcazaba, the Nasrid Palaces, the Palace of Charles V, and the Generalife Gardens. We started at the Palace of Charles the V which wasn't added to the Alhambra until after the Reconquest of Granada in 1492. It was built so that Charles V could have a residence close to the Palaces. The most amazing part, however, was how both Tori AND her mom lost their tickets in this palace. Of course, you must have the ticket in order to enter every part of the Alhambra. Even more amazingly, we found both of their tickets after 20 minutes thanks to the good hearts of strangers-- let's just say Mickey and I had no words.

After our good fortune, we were able to enter the Alcazaba, which served as a watch-tower for the Moors. It is the oldest part of the Alhambra and has seen plenty of wars. The views from the tower were awesome--indescribable. Next, we entered the Nasrid Palaces- the most elaborate and incredible part of the complex. They are named after the Nasrid Dynasty because they built the lasting buildings of the Alhambra. The attention to detail here was amazing. Nearly every wall consisted of intricate designs and carvings. Also, the views out of nearly every window were of the entire city of Granada and the surrounding mountains. It's unbelievable to think these were built nearly 700 years ago. Nothing like this exists in the United States. This area included its own gardens that were beautiful in their own right. After about an hour in the Nasrid Palaces, we continued to the Generalife Gardens. These, of course, were beautiful and consisted of thousands of flowers in vibrant colors. The views from the garden were especially spectacular because you could see the whole of the palaces across the ravine. All I can say is just look at the pictures-- I think I am gonna go over my usual 5 per post.

After the Alhambra visit, we checked into our hotel. This was the closest hostel experience Mickey and Linda got-- the room had 2 twin beds and bunk beds. The room overlooked a narrow street which happened to have to area's discoteca. For us, that meant being kept up the whole night by high heels and drunken escapades. The night was characterized by the creak of my bed from my tossing around, hahaha- sorry guys. Happy to get out of that hell hole of a hotel, we left by 6 a.m. to get a good start on our 5 hour drive to Valencia...